page_title: Beit She'an
section_title: Crusader period
hierarchical_section_title: Beit She'an / History / Crusader period
caption_attribution_description: English: The "Old Saray" (incorporating a crusader fortress), Beyt Shean, Israel.
context_page_description: Beit She'an, also and Beisan, and historically known as Scythopolis is a city in the Northern District of Israel, which has played an important role in history due to its geographical location at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley. In the Biblical account of the battle of the Israelites against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, the bodies of King Saul and three of his sons were hung on the walls of Beit She'an. In Roman times, Beit She'an was the leading city of the Decapolis, a league of pagan cities. In modern times, Beit She'an serves as a regional centre for the settlements in the Beit She'an Valley.
  The ancient city ruins are now protected within the Beit She'an National Park.
context_section_description: In the Crusader period, the Lordship of Bessan was occupied by Tancred in 1099; it was never part of the Principality of Galilee, despite its location, but became a royal domain of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1101, probably until around 1120. According to the Lignages d'Outremer, the first Crusader lord of Bessan once it became part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was Adam, a younger son of Robert III de Béthune, peer of Flanders and head of the House of Bethune. His descendants were known by the family name de Bessan.
  It occasionally passed back under royal control until new lords were created, becoming part of the Belvoir fiefdom.
  A small Crusader fortress surrounded by a moat was built in the area southeast of the Roman theatre, where the diminished town had relocated after the 749 earthquake. The fortress was destroyed by Saladin in 1183.
  During the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut, retreating Mongol forces passed in the vicinity but did not enter the town itself.
caption: Crusader castle with moat and inner tower.
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