Beaufort Castle, Lebanon
| Beaufort Castle | |
|---|---|
| قلعة الشقيف | |
| Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon | |
The ruins of Beaufort Castle in 2005
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 Beaufort Castle
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| Coordinates | 33°19′29″N 35°31′56″E / 33.324741°N 35.532215°E |
| Type | Castle |
| Site history | |
| Built | 12th century |
| Built by | Crusaders |
Coordinates: 33°19′29″N 35°31′56″E / 33.324741°N 35.532215°E
Beaufort or Belfort Castle (Arabic: قلعة الشقيف Qala'at al-Shaqif ) is a Crusader fortress in Nabatieh Governorate, Southern Lebanon, about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the south-south-east of the village of Arnoun. There was a fortification on the site before it was captured by Fulk, King of Jerusalem, in 1139 and construction of the Crusader castle probably began soon after. Saladin captured Beaufort in 1190, but 60 years later Crusaders re-took it. In 1268 Sultan Baibars finally captured the castle for the Islamic forces.
Beaufort provides one of the few cases where a medieval castle proved of military value and utility also in modern warfare, as its late 20th-century history shows.
The castle was named bel fort or beau fort (French for "beautiful fortress") by the Crusaders who occupied the castle in the 12th century. Its Arabic name Qala'at al-Shaqif means "Castle of the High Rock" (shqif is the Aramaic word for "high rock").
The outcrop Beaufort occupied overlooks the Litani River. The river flows past the east side of the castle, which stands atop a 300 metres (980 ft) cliff which declines steeply to the river. Little is known of the site prior to its capture by Crusader forces in 1139, as no contemporary documents mention the site before then. However, historians assume that the castle's commanding hilltop site made it a strategic position that was fortified before its capture by the Crusaders.Fulk, King of Jerusalem, captured the fortification of Qal'at al-Shaqif in 1139 and gave the site to the lords of Sidon. Medieval historian Hugh Kennedy speculates that construction of the Crusader castle began soon after Fulk gave the site to the lords of Sidon.
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