Ajlun Castle
From BlogJordan
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Ajlun Castle or transliterated as Qal'at Ajlun (Arabic: قلعة عجلون), the fortress is sometimes referred to as Qal'at ar-Rabad or Qal'at Al-Rabed (Arabic: قلعة الربض), an Islamic defensive structure that stands atop Jabal Auf near Ajlun in present-day northern Jordan, at 32°19′30.75″N, 35°43′38.21″E. The castle is considered to be one of the best preserved and most complete examples of medieval Arab-Islamic military architecture. |
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History
Built in in 1184 AD by one of Saladin's nephew generals, Izzeddin Usama Munqith, it controlled the iron mines of Ajloun while deterring the Franks from invading Ajloun, the fortress dominated the three main routes leading to the Jordan valley.
A fine example of Islamic architecture, the castle protected the trade routes between south Jordan and Syria, becoming a link in a chain forts, that defended against the Crusaders; the latter of whom unsuccessfully spend decades trying to capture the castle and the nearby village.
Perched upon a strategic hilltop elevation, it became a beacon at night, passing signals from the Euphrates as far as Cairo[1].
Expansion
The original castle had four towers; arrow slits incorporated into the thick walls and it was surrounded by a moat averaging 16 meters in width and up to 15 meters deep.
In 1215 AD, the Mameluk officer Aibak ibn Abdullah expanded the castle following Usama's death, by adding a new tower in the southeast corner and a bridge that can still be seen decorated with pigeon reliefs[2].
Demise
The castle was conceded in the 13th century to Salah al-Din Yousef Ibn Ayoub, ruler of Aleppo and Damascus, who restored the northeastern tower. These expansion efforts were interrupted in AD 1260, when Mongol invaders destroyed the castle, but almost immediately, the Mameluk Sultan Baybars reconquered and rebuilt the fortress.
In AD 1260, the Mongols destroyed sections of the castle, including its battlements. Soon after the victory of the Mamluks over the Mongols at Ain Jalut, Sultan ad-Dhaher Baibars restored the castle and cleared the fosse. The castle was used as a storehouse for crops and provisions. When Izz ad-Din Aibak was appointed governor, he renovated the castle as indicated by an inscription found in the castle's south-western tower.
During the Ottoman period, a contingent of fifty soldiers was set inside the castle. During the first quarter of the 17th century, Prince Fakhr ad-Din al-Ma'ni II used it during his fight against Ahmad ibn Tarbay. He supplied the castle with a contingent and provided provisions and ammunition. In 1812, the Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt found the castle inhabited by around forty people.
Two major destructive earthquakes struck the castle in 1837 and 1927. Recently, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan has sponsored a program of restoration and consolidation of the walls and has rebuilt the bridge over the fosse[3].
