قلعة قليعات | |
  Shown within Lebanon | |
| Location | Lebanon |
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| Region | North Governorate |
| Coordinates | 34°34′55″N36°00′57″E / 34.5819°N 36.0158°E /34.5819; 36.0158 |
Coliath (Arabic:قلعة قليعاتQalaat al-Qlaiaat;French:Colée) areruins of afortification of thecrusaders inLebanon. It belonged to theKnights Hospitaller. This large plain castrum, built during the first phase of Frankish occupation, dominates a slight knoll only two kilometers from the shore and five kilometers north of Archas. Coliath or "La Colée" - a francization of the non-Arabical-Qulai'a, "the little fortress", the fort, pluralal-Qulai'at, the forts - was given by CountPons of Tripoli to the Hospitaller order in 1127.Saladin's brother,al-Adil, seized it in 1207 and dismantled it. It was then reoccupied by the Franks, but it was theMamluksultanBaibars who, in the summer of 1266, completely ruined it as a prelude to thecapture of Tripoli.
Its defensive role was mediocre, so it was generally used as a dwelling for a troop in the field in times of war, as a base for economic domination in times of peace, or more simply as a place of refuge against raiders. The plan of its construction is that of acastrum (enclosure castle) similar to that of several other sites fortified by military orders in the region. It is a square enclosure flanked by towers, housing on its reverse side large vaulted multifunctional halls. Comparative examples include the inner enclosure of the citadel ofBelvoir overlooking the Jordan Valley, the first enclosure of theKrac des Chevaliers, and the more modest enclosures ofQalaat Yahmour and Umm Hosh.
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Catholicorder of chivalry andsovereign subject ofinternational law, founded in 1099 inJerusalem,  Kingdom of Jerusalem | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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34°34′55″N36°00′57″E / 34.5819°N 36.0158°E /34.5819; 36.0158
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