In October 1178 Baldwin set out to construct a castle which would destabilise Saladin's nascent empire and shift the balance of power in his own favour - the fortress of Jacob's Ford.
His new castle was designed to be a defensive tool as well as an offensive weapon, to severely inhibit Saladin's ability to invade the Latin kingdom while simultaneously undermining the sultan's security in Damascus. If completed, this fortress could thwart Saladin's ambitions for an empire stretching into northern Syria and Mesopotamia.
