Maraclea

Maraclea was a small coastal Crusader town and a castle in the Levant, between Tortosa and Baniyas (Buluniyas).Template:Sfn The modern-day location is known as Kharab Maraqiya (Template:Langx).

History

Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Caliph Mu'awiya I repopulated and garrisoned the coastal cities including Maraclea.Template:Sfn In 675/676, a Byzantine fleet assaulted Maraclea, killing the governor of Homs.Template:Sfn

In 968, Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas ravaged the region including Maraclea.Template:Sfn In 1030, Niketas of Mistheia, doux of Antioch, managed to force a coalition of Arab tribes led by Nasr ibn Musharraf al-Rawadifi, the qadi of Tripoli and the local Fatimid commander to withdraw from besieging Maraclea.

During the middle of the 13th century, the possession of the castle was a matter of dispute between the Principality of Antioch and the Hospitallers. In 1271, the city of Maraclea was destroyed by the Mamluks.Template:Sfn Its Lord, one of the vassals of Bohemond VI, named Barthélémy de Maraclée, is recorded as having fled from the Mamluk offensive, taking refuge in Persia at the Mongol Court of Abagha, where he exhorted the Mongols to intervene in the Holy Land.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

In 1285, Qalawun blackmailed Bohemond VII into destroying the last fortifications of the area, where Barthélémy was entrenched, a square tower which had been erected some distance from the shore. Qalawun said he would besiege Tripoli if the Maraclea fort was not dismantled.