The fortress, named La Toron des Chevaliers (“the Castle of the Knights”), is a Crusader fortress whose remains are situated on a hill behind the monastery. It was built by the Crusaders in 1132 to protect the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. In 1141 it was transferred to the Order of the Templars and received the name “La Toron des Chevaliers”, which over the years was shortened to “Latrun”*. In 1187 it was conquered by Saladin, the Muslim military leader who would ultimately become Emperor of Syria and Egypt.
