In the 17th century Fakhr-al-Din II took the castle as a part of his network of fortifications. Fakhr-al-Din II was defeated by the Ottomans, who destroyed the upper portions of the castle. The area was ruled by feudal families until 1769. In 1782 the Governor of Acre, Jazzar Pasha, besieged the castle, captured it and destroyed many of its remaining fortifications. The Galilee earthquake of 1837 caused further damage to the structure and from then on the ruins were used as a quarry and a shelter for sheep. The late 19th century saw the start of study of Beaufort Castle, with surveys by Victor Guérin in 1880 and Claude Reignier Conder and Herbert Kitchener in 1881 as part of the Survey of Western Palestine.