The column which was to proceed through the valley of the Jordan, entered the great plain of Esdraelon by Mount Thabor, and taking the direction of Nain and Endor to Jezreel, they crossed the mountains of Gilboa to Beisan, and descended the valley of the Jordan, as far as Jericho. Thence they proceeded to lay siege to a solitary castle of the Templars, seated upon that celebrated mountain where, according to tradition, our Saviour was tempted by the Devil with the visionary scene of “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.” In this castle the Templars maintained a garrison, for the protection of the pilgrims who came to bathe in the Jordan, and visit the holy places in the neighbourhood of Jericho. From the toppling crag, whereon it was seated, the eye commanded an extensive view of the course of the Jordan, until it falls into the Dead Sea, also of the eastern frontier of the Latin kingdom, and of the important passes communicating with Jerusalem. The place was called _Maledoim_, or “the Red Mountain,” on account of the blood that had been shed upon the spot. Fifty Tyrian dinars had been offered by Saladin, for the head of every Knight Templar that was brought him, and the blood-thirsty infidels surrounded the doomed castle eager for the reward. The whole garrison was put to the sword, and the place was left a shapeless ruin. The infidels then marched off in the direction of Jerusalem, and laid waste all the country between Jericho and the Holy City. They pitched their tents at Bethany, upon the spot where stood the houses of Simon the leper, and of Mary Magdalene and Martha, and they destroyed the church built over the house and tomb of Lazarus. The wild Arab cavalry then swept over the Mount of Olives; they took possession of the church constructed upon the summit of that sacred edifice, and extended their ravages up to the very gates of Jerusalem.