Toron

Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus. The castle was the centre of the Lordship of Toron, a seigneury within the Kingdom of Jerusalem, actually a rear-vassalage of the Principality of Galilee.

]] Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus. The castle was the centre of the Lordship of Toron, a seigneury within the Kingdom of Jerusalem, actually a rear-vassalage of the Principality of Galilee. ===Lords of Toron=== Humphrey I of Toron (before 1109–after 1136) Humphrey II of Toron (before 1137–1179) (Humphrey III predeceased his father) Humphrey IV of Toron (1179–1183) Royal domain (1183–1187) Humphrey IV (restored) (1190 – c. 1192) occupied by Muslims until 1229 and the title not used Alice of Armenia (1229– after 1236), granddaughter of Humphrey III Maria of Antioch-Armenia (after 1236–1239), granddaughter of Alice and great-granddaughter of Isabella of Armenia, daughter of Humphrey III. occupied by Muslims from 1239 until 1241 Philip of Montfort (1241– before 1257) John of Montfort (before 1257–1283), Lord of Tyre. It was lost again in 1266 Humphrey of Montfort (1283–1284), Lord of Beirut, Lord of Tyre Amaury of Montfort (1284–1304) Rupen of Montfort (1304–1313), Lord of Beirut Humphrey of Montfort (d. 1326), constable of Cyprus, titular lord of Beirut Eschiva of Montfort (d. bef 1350), wife of Peter I of Cyprus titular lord of Beirut Toron had two vassals of its own, the Lordship of Chastel Neuf and the Lordship of Maron. Chastel Neuf was built by Hugh of Falkenberg around 1105 but was later given to the Hospitallers, until it fell to Nur ad-Din in 1167. Maron was given in 1229 to the Teutonic Knights in exchange for their claims on Toron. ==The castle== The castle of Toron occupies a steep hill, in fact a Bronze Age tell, north to the village of Tibnin, at a height of above sea level. It is oval in shape with its outline following the contours of the tell. It once had twelve rectangular towers with one of them - to the south - having been the donjon. The castle, razed in 1266 by the Mamluks was rebuilt 500 years later in the mid-18th century by the Shiite sheikh Nasif al-Nassar during his struggle against the Ottoman rule. He used the ruins of the medieval walls as a basis for his rebuilding campaign and thus the castle today mainly appears as an Ottoman construction. The castle was then used as the home and base of the House of El-Assaad, the family of Nasif. In 1881 it was noted that it was the residence of the local Governor, and that about twenty Muslims lived there. The castle was damaged during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in late 2024, and one of the medieval walls collapsed. In July 2026, the Mount Amel Castles, including the Toron Castle, were designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and immediately classified as endangered. ==See also== List of Crusader castles Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem ==References== ==Bibliography== Mathias Piana, "The Crusader Castle of Toron: First Results of its Investigation ", Crusades 5, 2006, pp.173–191

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