Siege of Jacob's Ford

Siege of Jacob's Ford
Part of the Crusades

The Ruins of the Crusader Fortress in Jacob's Ford
Date23–30 August 1179
Location33°0′17″N 35°37′37″E / 33.00472°N 35.62694°E / 33.00472; 35.62694
Result Ayyubid victory
Territorial
changes
Ayyubid Capture of Jacob's Ford
Belligerents
Kingdom of Jerusalem Ayyubid Dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Castellan Saladin
Nur ad-Din Nuhammad bin Kara Arslan Ortoki
Badr al-Din Dolderim al-Yaruki
Strength
1,500 Crusaders Unknown
Casualties and losses
Total : 1,500+ casualties
800 killed
700 captured
Unknown

The siege of Jacob's Ford was a victory of the Muslim Sultan Saladin over an unnamed Templar Castellan of Jacob's Ford. It occurred in August 1179, when Saladin conquered and destroyed Chastelet, a new border castle built by the Knights Templar at Jacob's Ford on the upper Jordan River, a historic passage point between the Golan Heights and north Galilee. Jacob's Ford is also known by the Latin name of Vadum Iacob and in modern Hebrew as Ateret. Many scholars believe that Saladin's reconquest of the Holy Land and Jerusalem in 1187 was heralded by this earlier victory.