 The modern Arabic word for a castle is <unk> ( <unk> ) , but Krak des <unk> is known as a " <unk> " ( حصن ) , or " fort " . This derives from the name of an earlier fortification on the same site called <unk> al @-@ Akrād ( حصن <unk> ) , meaning " fort of the Kurds " . It was called by the Franks Le <unk> and then by a confusion with <unk> ( fortress ) , Le Crac . <unk> was probably the Frankish version of Akrād , the word for Kurds . After the Knights Hospitaller took control of the castle , it became known as Crac de l 'Ospital ; the name Crac des Chevaliers ( alternatively spelt Krak des Chevaliers ) was introduced by Guillaume Rey in the 19th century . 
