Mamluk Capture of Safed Castle

Timeline

1. 1266Safed Castle · GalileeMamluk Sultan Baybars I arrived before Safed Castle with a large army and began the siege. He deployed trebuchets and cut the fortress off from the outside; the Knights Templar garrison could obtain no aid from Acre or other Crusader strongholds.
2. 1266Safed Castle · GalileeFacing relentless siege pressure, depleted supplies, and no hope of relief, the Knights Templar garrison of Safed Castle proposed negotiations to Baybars. Baybars promised safe passage, and the garrison opened the gates and surrendered.
3. 1266Safed Castle · GalileeOnce the garrison left the castle, Baybars broke his safe-passage pledge, ordering the execution of all Templar knights and garrison personnel who refused to convert to Islam; only a few were spared. Safed Castle thereafter came under Mamluk control and was transformed into an important administrative and military stronghold, marking the end of Crusader power in the Galilee region.