Because of its position east of the Dead Sea, Kerak Castle was able to control bedouin herders as well as the trade routes from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca.

The most notable Crusader architectural feature surviving is the north wall, into which are built immense arched halls on two levels.

These were used for living quarters and stables, but also served as a fighting gallery overlooking the castle approach and for shelter against missiles from siege engines.

From Kerak Castle, Raynald harassed the trade camel trains and even attempted an attack on Mecca itself.

Due to the castle's importance, it also maintained a significant military force, which under the rule of al-Mughith, contained at least 700 horsemen.

[5] During the Ottoman Empire, it played an important role due to its strategic location on the crossroads between the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and the region of Syria.

[6] In 1893, the Ottoman authorities reestablished control over the area by appointing a mutasarrıf (governor) resident in Kerak Castle with a garrison of 1400, including 200 cavalry.

Some of the destruction that had occurred to the structure was due to locals removing stones containing potassium nitrate ("saltpetre"), which is used to make gunpowder.

Amongst the important research done by Deschamps, in 1929 he and architect Francois Anus created the first accurate plans of Kerak Castle.

In the second half of the twelfth century, the growing Muslim threat made crusaders update their castle design and prioritize defensive elements.

After Sa'd al-Din captured Kerak, the Muslims used limestone from nearby quarries to repair and expand the castle.

[12] Both the Muslim and Christian stonework show signs of draft masonry, stone blocks which are smooth on the edges, but the centre portion is left rough and raised.

[16] While Kerak Castle had historically been used to protect the assets of crusader states in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, today its job is much more mundane.

[17] in 1985 the World Heritage Committee decided that Kerak should not be an UNESCO site as there were "more representative examples of crusader castles".

In December 2016, Kerak was the target of a terrorist attack that left 14 dead, including two civilians and a Canadian citizen.

[9] There are not many references to Kerak Castle in popular-culture today, however it did play a large role in the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven.