From the Christian perspective, there are the Gestes des Chiprois, Estoire d'Eracles, Annales de Terre Sainte and Maius chronicon Lemovicense.
[1] According to De constructione castri Saphet, an account of the construction of the castle of Safed probably written around 1260, the peacetime garrison was 1,700 men.
This included 50 knights of the Templar Order, 30 brother sergeants and 50 turcopoles (native Syrians) with horses and arms, plus 300 crossbowmen, 820 workers and servants and 400 slaves.
[3] The additional 500 troops prescribed for wartime in De constructione castri Saphet were probably hired mercenaries.
[4] The Franciscan vicar-general in the Holy Land, Fidentius of Padua, sent two of his friars to serve the garrison as chaplains.
[5] As part of his strategy, Baybars launched several raids throughout Palestine to distract his opponents, confuse them about the main target of the campaign and prevent them from sending reinforcements to Safed.
[7] His forces also raided Tripoli, where they capturing three forts; Tyre, where they took a substantial booty of camels, cattle, sheep and high-ranking prisoners; Sidon; and Montfort, before their full weight was brought against Safed.
Their weight proved too much for the camels, and men of both low rank and high were forced to help move them to Safed.
[15] According to Ibn al-Furāt, Baybars offered 100 gold dinars each to the men who removed the first ten stones from the wall of the citadel.
[25] Already in October 1266, Pope Clement IV could mention the fall of Safed when ordering the preaching of a new crusade and the raising of funds for 500 crossbowmen to be sent to the Holy Land by March 1267.