The location of Lod, on the road connecting the port of Jaffa and Jerusalem, led to frequent wars between the Crusaders and the Muslims, who fought for control of the city and its surroundings. The Crusaders arrived in Lod on June 3, 1099, and found it empty of inhabitants.

The city served as an important staging post for the new conquerors before they set out to capture Ramla, the capital of Palestine. Since the inhabitants of Ramla had also fled in fear of the Crusaders, the latter succeeded early in the First Crusade in creating a narrow corridor from Jaffa to Jerusalem. From this foothold, they spread out in all directions and expanded their control over the years. When the Crusaders reached the city, they found St. George's Church destroyed and the Monastery burned down. The Christian conquerors adopted the symbol of the dragon-slaying hero and made him their patron saint. In Lod, the birthplace of the martyred saint, the valiant knight, the conquerors established the first Latin bishopric in the Land of Israel and built a cathedral in honor of their most revered saint, naming it after him.

The burial place of St. George became a focal point for many pilgrims from that time onwards. Pilgrims coming from Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem and those coming in the opposite direction usually visited the church where the saint was buried, while the city itself was of less interest to them. At that time, St. George and Lod were so closely associated that the Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Lod in the 12th century, called it “Shin George.” In his book “The Travels of Benjamin,” Tudela recounts that he found only one Jewish family there. Such was the decline of the Jewish community in the city.

(From: Vakar, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Lod Municipality - Cherikover).

The church, named after St. George, was built in the style of a fortress church, which protected pilgrims from Jaffa to Jerusalem. Since the church served as a fortress and not only as a place of worship, it was very heavily built. From travelers' descriptions, it can be understood that the basilica was massive, with three sections. The church's function as a fortress can be seen from the fact that Christians found refuge there on November 25, 1177, when Saladin's troops tried to surround and capture Lod. The attackers didn't make it, and the Crusaders beat them.

The day on which the Crusaders defeated their enemies is called “Ramla Day” and is attributed to St. George. At the end of the battle, a truce was signed between Saladin's forces and the Crusaders. However, the truce did not last long, and with the conquest of Jerusalem by the Muslims, it was Lod's turn. On September 24, 1191, Saladin ordered the destruction of the church. According to researchers, the church was destroyed out of fear of Richard the Lionheart, who was then on his way to the Land of Israel. According to a peace agreement signed later between the two rulers, the city was divided in two according to the religious composition of the population. A folk legend held by the Crusaders linked Richard the Lionheart to the construction of a new church in place of the one destroyed by Saladin, but this tradition has no historical basis.

(From: Vakrat, Ora, 1977, Lod - Historical Geography, published by Goma and the Municipality of Lod - Cherikover).

The Crusaders' control of Lod continued until its conquest by the Mamluks. In 1260, the Mamluks defeated the Crusaders and, through systematic erosion, pushed them into a smaller territory.