 The Crusaders conquered the Levant from the Arab Muslims in 1099, and built a fortress on the site of Majdal Yaba in 1152, naming it Mirabel.The fort was held against Baldwin of Ibelin by Manasses of Hierges, but eventually fell to Baldwin who ruled it as an independent lordship of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1162 to 1171.In 1166, lands belonging to the fortress and the harvest of its fields were given to the Church of St. John the Baptist in Nablus.