Saladin departed from Latakia after its capture, he marched towards Sahyun Castle on the 29th Jumada al-Awwal (26 July 1188),[1] the castle was held by Knights Hospitallers,[2][3] Saladin surrounded the place with his army and set up six mangonels to bombard the walls.

The castle is an inaccessible fortress built on a steep slope of a mountain protected by wide ravines of fearful depth, but on one side it was only defended by a 60-inch trench.

[4] The fort had three ramparts, and on the summit of the castle, there was a long flag on a turret that fell when the Ayyubid troops were getting near, which was considered a good omen.

The castle was attacked from all sides, and Az-Zahir Ghazi lord of Aleppo, brought his mangonel into the siege.

On Friday morning of the second day Jumada al-Thani (29 July), Saladin gave command to assault, ordering the men to keep bombarding the walls without stopping.