The siege of Jacob's Ford was a victory of the Muslim sultan Saladin over the Christian King of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV. It occurred in August 1179, when Saladin conquered and destroyed Chastelet, a new border castle built by the Knights Templar at Jacob's Ford on the upper Jordan River, a historic passage point between the Golan Heights and northern Galilee. Jacob's Ford is also known by the Latin name of Vadum Iacob and in modern Hebrew as Ateret. Many scholars believe that Saladin's reconquest of the Holy Land and Jerusalem in 1187 was heralded by this earlier victory. Background Saladin was Sultan of Egypt and, by 1174, sultan of Syria after his takeover of Damascus. After seizing power in Syria, Saladin vowed to forge an Islamic empire around Jerusalem. Naturally, the end goal was to recapture the Holy City from the Crusaders, a significant stride towards an end to the Jihad. However, such a plan would take the Holy Land without major military conflict. Baldwin IV took control over the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the age of thirteen after the death of his father Amalric I in 1174, the same year that Saladin came to power. Baldwin was a staunch believer in Christianity and, as a result, Saladin's biggest problem to overcome. Although Baldwin was a rich and powerful leader, he was stricken with leprosy at a very young age. After approximately three years on the throne at Jerusalem, Baldwin was faced with his very first military challenge. Saladin invaded the Christian kingdom in approximately 1177 to rout the Crusaders. Although Saladin was almost twenty years older and more experienced than Baldwin, the youthful Christian monarch did not flounder in stressful situations. Baldwin and his Crusaders outwitted the Muslims at the battle of Montgisard on 25 November 1177. As one Crusade scholar wrote with regards to Montgisard, "[t]his was a striking achievement – the only defeat in pitched battle that Saladin suffered before the advent of Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade". By the end of the battle, Saladin was forced to flee back to Egypt after narrowly escaping death. Although the victory resulted in tremendous losses for Baldwin's armies, his image throughout the kingdom gained in strength. In fact, some Christians in the Near East had even come to believe that 'miracle' of his victory [at Montgisard] appear[ed] as a sign of divine mandate". History Jacob's Ford is