Toron, Tibnin today, was a major Crusader castle, built in the mountains on the road from Tyre to Damascus by Hugh of St-Omer in 1105. It was the centre of the lordship of Toron, a seigneury within the Kingdom of Jerusalem, actually a rear-vassalage of the Principality of Galilee through the Lordship of Beirut. In 1107, Hugh was succeeded by Humphrey I of Toron , and the castle and lordship successively passed to his descendents Humphrey II, Humphrey III , and Humphrey IV. Toron remained in Crusader posession until 1187 when it fell to the forces of Saladin after the Battle of Hattin when Saladin all but destroyed the Crusader States.

Ten years later, in November, 1197 Toron was besieged by the German contingent of the Third Crusade and would have fallen; but the Muslim garrison was warned, by the Christian lords of Outremer that the Germans could not be trusted, and would slaughter them if they surrendered. This gave the garrison the courage to hold out against the Germans, until relief arrived from Egypt.

Toron was dismantled by Sultan al-Mu'azzam in 1219 along with the defences of Jerusalem and the castles of Safed and Banyas. This was done in case it was necessary to exchange these for Damietta on the Nile Delta, which had been captured by the forces of the Fifth Crusade who were now threatening Cairo. Al-Mu'azzam was not prepared to give strong defendable cities to the Crusaders if he could avoid it.

Although the exchange proved unnecessary, Al-Mu'azzam's caution was justified. In 1229, just two years after al-Mu'azzam's death on November 11, 1227, Frederick II recovered Toron in a treaty with Sultan al-Kamil. Frederick then had the fortifications of Toron and Montfort rebuilt.

Toron tenuously remained in Crusader hands until it was finally lost, almost without a struggle, to the Mameluke armies of the Sultan Baibars, in 1266.