1100-1200 CE
Crusaders, Saladin & Jewish Scholars in Medieval Jerusalem
Explore Jerusalem under Crusader and Ayyubid rule, the Battle of Hattin, and the lives of Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, Maimonides (Rambam), and Benjamin of Tudela.
The stone plaque represents the volatile period during which Jerusalem and the Land of Israel changed hands between various powers over a century of war.
The Arabic inscription commemorates the construction of the Fatimid defensive wall in Ashkelon against the Crusaders in 1150 CE.
Afterwards, Crusaders retook the city's fortifications in 1241 CE for a short while, carving the coats of arms of Sir Hugh Wake of County Lincoln over the Arabic inscription.
The Crusader reign over the Holy Land was short-lived. Egyptian Sultan Saladin conquered Jerusalem after his victory at the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, northwest of the Sea of Galilee, in 1187 CE.
Akko, the last Crusader stronghold, fell in 1291 CE.
