would have to complete his massive fortification. In 1179, only a few months after construction of Chastelet began, Saladin summoned a large Muslim army to march southeast towards Jacob’s Ford. The plan was simple: lay siege to the castle and its inhabitants before any reinforcements from Jerusalem or any of its neighboring territories could arrive. Baldwin, on the other hand, was situated at Tiberias, a province situated on the Sea of Galilee, approximately a half day’s march from Jacob’s Ford. If any attack were to befall his project, reinforcements would be able to arrive relatively quickly. Moreover, the fortification at Jacob’s Ford, at least what was completed of it, was relatively strong and was likely able to hold out until relief could arrive in case of siege. As one Crusades author asserts and inquisitively asks, "[t]he siege was effectively a race – could the Muslims crack the stronghold's defenses before the Latin forces arrived?" Siege On 23 August 1179, Saladin arrived at Jacob’s Ford and ordered his troops to shoot arrows at the castle, thus initiating the siege. While the archers distracted the men inside the fortification, miners were digging a tunnel to breach the stone and iron walls at the north-east corner of Chastelet. Once the tunnel was dug, Saladin’s forces placed large amounts of wood inside and set it alight. This process, called sapping, was a method in which the tunnel's supports were burnt away forcing the walls to eventually collapse under their own weight. The walls didn't collapse, because the tunnel was too narrow. Sapping initially failed for Saladin and his troops, so the troops were forced to put out the fire with buckets of water and were paid one gold piece per bucket to do so. After the fire was extinguished, the miners were instructed to broaden the tunnel and eventually relight the fire. At the same time, Baldwin, having learned of this attack, called for reinforcements from Jerusalem. However, communications between Baldwin and Chastelet were slow and, by this time, the siege had been under way for several days. Baldwin’s forces inside the castle began to reinforce the main gates around the castle. Shortly after, the Muslims relit the fire in the tunnel under the castle, and the walls collapsed. As a result, the Crusaders’ attempts to refortify the castle were in vain and, approximately six days after the siege began, Saladin and his troops