![]() ![]() In 1266, during a Mamluk military campaign to subdue Crusader strongholds in Palestine, Baybars captured Safed in July, following a failed attempt to capture the Crusaders' coastal stronghold of Acre. In 1260, the Mamluk sultan Baybars declared the treaty invalid due to the Christians working in concert with the Mongol Empire against the Muslims, and launched a series of attacks on castles in the area, including on Safed. Rabbi Isaac Luria introduced interest in the Kabbalah to the city in the 16th century. Since the 16th century, Safed has been considered one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias since that time the city has remained a centre of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. Under the Ottomans, Safed functioned as the capital of the Safad Sanjak, which encompassed much of the Galilee and extended to the Mediterranean coast. The city also became the administrative centre of Mamlakat Safad, a province in Mamluk Syria whose jurisdiction included the Galilee and the lands up to Jenin. The Mamluk SultanBaibars captured the city in 1266 and appointed a governor to take charge of the fortress. In the 12th century CE Safed was a fortified city in the Crusaders' Kingdom of Jerusalem, known to them as Saphet. The Jerusalem Talmud mentions it as one of five elevated spots where fires were lit to announce the New Moon and festivals during the Second Temple period. Safed has been identified with Sepph, a fortified town in the Upper Galilee mentioned in the writings of the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus. ![]()
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