Terre de Suète[1] (from the Arabic al-Sawad, the black earth) also known as Terre de Sueth, was the name applied by the Franks to a region east of the Sea of Galilee, referring to its dark basalt soil.
The region was invaded by Tancred in 1100, and after intervention by Duqaq, the emir of Damascus, agreed to Frankish suzerainty.
In the period 1105–1126, the Franks of Jerusalem made several unsuccessful efforts to wrest control of the region from Damascus.
The treaty provided that each party took a third of the produce and revenues of Coele-Syria, with the remainder going to its inhabitants.
[3] For most of the twelfth century the Franks maintained an important strongpoint south of the river at the cave fortress of Cave de Sueth, replacing the presence sought by the castle of al-Al.[4]