This arched entry leads you inside Mons Regalis. Montreal Castle was built by a Crusader king and controlled by the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1115 until 1142. That year it became part of Oultrejordain, a vassal of the Jerusalem Kingdom rule by a lord. In 1176, the fort was transferred to Raynald of Châtillion when he married the lord’s daughter, Stephanie of Milly. This knight from the Second Crusade used the stronghold to terrorize and rob passing caravans. He was captured in 1187 during the Battle of Hattin and executed by Saladin. This first sultan of Syria and Egypt (1174 – 1193) proceeded to overthrow the rest of the Kingdom of Jerusalem within a few months. Then his troops attacked this garrison for 18 months before capturing it in 1189, the same year the Third Crusade began (1189 – 1192). Saladin’s Muslim forces used this fort as part of their defense against the Christians during that King’s Crusade.
