The IDF on Sunday revealed that it had taken the Beaufort Ridge outpost in southern Lebanon as part of its ongoing operations to remove the threat Hezbollah poses to the communities of northern Israel.
Pictures released by the military show a magnificent set of ruins perched atop an outcropping overlooking the Litani River - an excellent vantage point to survey the surrounding region and, as its history presents, any approaching enemies.
Beaufort Castle, known locally in Arabic as Qal'at al-Shaqif (“Castle of the High Rock”), was captured in 1139 by Crusader forces led by Fulk the Younger, who at the time ruled from Jerusalem with his wife and co-ruler, Queen Melisende.
Melisende was the first female ruler of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the first woman to hold a public office in the crusader kingdom.
Aside from a smaller fortification present at the site of the current Beaufort Castle, believed by some to be from the late Roman or Byzantine period, little else is known about the site prior to its capture by Fulk and Melisende’s forces.
After its capture, however, it was gifted by Fulk to the lords of Sidon, and soon after, construction of the stone castle is estimated to have begun.
Crusaders fall to Saladin
Approximately 48 years later, in 1187, Saladin, who spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader presence in the Levant, defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin near modern-day Tiberias.
The crushing defeat started a domino effect across the crusader kingdom. Countless castles and cities, including Jerusalem, fell to Saladin’s hand, leaving only a handful under Crusader control.
Beaufort, at the time under the control of Reynald of Sidon, who had survived Hattin, was one of the last castles to resist Saladin’s might.
While camping at the nearby town of Marjayoun to prepare for his siege of the fortress, Saladin was approached by Reynald bearing a proposal: Claiming Muslim sympathies, Reynald said he would surrender Beaufort Castle in exchange for the chance to get his family out of Tyre safely.
Saladin, hoping to take the castle with as little bloodshed as possible, agreed and granted Reynald three months to remove his family from the city. However, rather than help his family flee Tyre, Reynald spent the three months repairing any damage the castle had sustained and stocking up on supplies.
At the end of the three months, the two leaders met again. Reynald claimed he needed more time. Saladin refused to accept the matter, and so Reynald ordered his garrison to surrender the castle.
When the Crusader forces refused, Reynald was taken prisoner, and Saladin began the siege proper. In 1190, Beaufort Castle’s garrison surrendered itself to Saladin in exchange for Reynald’s release.
Fifty years later, the castle was returned to Crusader control following a treaty negotiated by Theobald I of Navarre. In 1260, Reynald’s grandson, Julian, sold the Beaufort to the Knights Templar, who further repaired and fortified the site.
In 1268, nearly a decade later, the site was captured by the fourth Mamluk Sultan, Baibars (Baybars), and held relatively peacefully until the Ottoman conquest in the early 17th century, when parts of the upper castle were destroyed.
The 1837 Galilee earthquake caused further damage to the structure. From then on, the ruins were used as a quarry and a shelter for sheep.
Historical and archaeological surveys of the castle began in the 19th century, with Victor Guérin in 1880 and Claude Reignier Conder and Herbert Kitchener in 1881 as part of the Survey of Western Palestine.
More recently, in 1936, during the French Mandate, medieval historian Paul Deschamps and architect Pierre Coupel brought in 65 soldiers to clear out Beaufort's keep proper and its inner enclosure.
Some 33 years after the end of the French Mandate, in 1976, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) held the castle until the First Lebanon War in 1982.
During the war, the site was captured by the IDF's Golani Reconnaissance Unit and held until May 2000, when former prime minister Ehud Barak ordered Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon.
Lebanon adds Beaufort Castle to UNESCO tentative list
In September 2025, the Permanent Delegation of Lebanon to UNESCO added Beaufort Castle to Lebanon’s tentative list of heritage sites that have yet to be considered for nomination to the World Heritage List.
It is one of five castles presented together to the tentative list, representing “some of the most remarkable examples of cultural and architectural exchange in the Near East during the medieval period,” according to UNESCO’s website.
“They embody a layered architectural heritage shaped by Crusader, Ayyubid, and Mamluk traditions, while also integrating local domestic architectural elements unique to their respective regions,” the description continues. “Together, they offer a unique and authentic record of the evolution of fortified architecture over nearly nine centuries, as they remained in use until the late 19th century.”
Today, it added, Beaufort Castle “stands as one of the best-preserved examples of medieval castles in the Near East.”