List of castles in Syria

This is a list of castles in Syria.

Key
Key
NameName of the surviving building, either how it is popularly known in English, its medieval name or its Arabic name
TypeUsually the type of castle represented by the predominant surviving fortified remains
DateUsually the dates of the principal building works relating to the surviving remains
ConditionAn indication as to what remains of the original castle structure
ImageBuilding or site as it currently exists
CoordinatesLocation of the castle
GovernorateGovernorate in which the castle is located
NotesBrief description or information of note

List of castles
Name
 Type
 Date
 Condition
 Image Coordinates Governorate Notes
Citadel of Aleppo Castle 12–13th centuries Partially restored 36°11′57″N 37°09′45″E Aleppo Covers an ancient tell with remains dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE.
Qal'at Najm Hilltop castle 12–13th centuries Partially restored 36°33′18″N 38°15′42″E Aleppo Besieged in 1820 by Ottoman forces after a local warlord had sought refuge in the castle.[1]
Citadel of Damascus Castle 11–13th centuries Partially restored 33°30′42″N 36°18′7″E Damascus Part of the Ancient City of Damascus World Heritage Site.[2]
Citadel of Bosra Castle Partially restored 32°31′04″N 36°28′54″E Daraa Built around a Roman theatre. Part of the Ancient City of Bosra World Heritage Site.[3]
Halabiye Hilltop castle 6th century Ruins 35°41′22″N 39°49′08″E Deir ez-Zor Originally fortified by Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, refortified under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and partially re-used after the Muslim conquest of Syria.[4]
Qal'at Rahbeh Hilltop castle Ruins 35°00′18″N 40°25′24″E Deir ez-Zor Much of the current structure dates back to its construction by the Ayyubid lord, Shirkuh II, in 1207.
Qal'at Sukkara Hilltop castle Ruins 36°25′38″N 40°23′56″E Al Hasakah Located in the Jebel Abd al-Aziz.
Qalʿat Abū Qubais Hilltop castle Partially restored 35°14′05.9″N 36°19′50.8″E Hama
Citadel of Hama Castle Ruins 35°08′10″N 36°44′58″E Hama Excavated by a Danish expedition between 1931 and 1938.[5]
Qalaat al-Madiq Hilltop castle Residential area 35°25′12″N 36°23′33″E Hama
Qal'at al-Rahiyya Castle Ruins 35°16′45″N 37°6′30″E Hama The castle dates back to the second millennium BC.[6]
Masyaf Castle Spur castle Partially restored 35°03′58″N 36°20′36″E Hama
Shaizar Spur castle Partially restored 35°15′55″N 36°33′59″E Hama
Shmemis Hilltop castle Ruins 35°02′13″N 37°00′49″E Hama
Citadel of Homs Castle Ruins 34°43′25″N 36°42′52″E Homs Built on top of an ancient tell with remains dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE.[7]
Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle Hilltop castle Partially restored 34°33′46″N 38°15′25″E Homs
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi Desert castle Ruins 34°22′28″N 37°36′21″E Homs
Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi Desert castle Ruins 35°4′26″N 39°4′16″E Homs
Krak des Chevaliers Hilltop castle Partially restored 34°45′25″N 36°17′4″E Homs Part of the Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din World Heritage Site.[8]
Harem Castle Hilltop castle Ruins 36°12′27″N 36°31′09″E Idlib
Bani Qahtan Castle Hilltop castle Ruins 35°23′44″N 36°09′15″E Latakia
Bourzey castle Hilltop castle Ruins 35°39′29″N 36°15′39″E Latakia
Mahalibeh Castle Hilltop castle Partially restored 35°30′28″N 36°05′14″E Latakia
Qal'at Salah ed-Din Spur castle Partially restored 35°35′45″N 36°03′26″E Latakia Part of the Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din World Heritage Site.[8]
Nimrod Fortress Hilltop castle 13th century 33°15′10″N 35°42′53″E Quneitra Located in the Golan Heights, which is currently under Israeli occupation.
Citadel of Raqqa Castle 13th century Destroyed 35°56′4″N 39°00′5″E Raqqa The citadel was completely removed and built over in the 1950s.[9]
Qal'at Ja'bar Hilltop castle 12th century Partially restored 35°53′51″N 38°28′51″E Raqqa Originally situated on a hilltop overlooking the Euphrates Valley but now turned into an island by the flooding of Lake Assad.[10]
Salkhad Castle Hilltop castle Ruins 32°29′38″N 36°42′36″E Suwayda
Chastel Blanc Hilltop castle Partially restored 34°49′14″N 36°07′01″E Tartus
Chastel Rouge Partially restored 34°48′44″N 35°58′14″E Tartus
Al-Kahf Castle Spur castle 12th century Ruins 35°02′27″N 36°04′58″E Tartus In 1192, Rashid ad-Din Sinan, also known as the Old Man of the Mountain, died in Al-Kahf Castle, which was an Ismaili stronghold during the 12th century.[11]
Qala'at Khawabi Spur castle Residential area 34°58′22″N 36°00′06″E Tartus
Margat Spur castle 11–12th centuries Partially restored 35°09′08″N 35°57′0″E Tartus Headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller in Syria.
al-Sheikh Deeb Castle Hilltop castle Ruins Tartus
Citadel of Tartus Castle Residential area 34°53′36″N 35°52′35″E Tartus

See also

References
  1. Sourdel 2010
  2. Ancient City of Damascus, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, retrieved 16 March 2011
  3. Ancient City of Bosra, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, retrieved 23 August 2011
  4. Burns 2009
  5. Shaw & Jameson 1999, p. 167
  6. "Discovery of a 4,000-year-old military network in northern Syria". cnrs.fr. 19 December 2017.
  7. King 2002, p. 42
  8. Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, retrieved 24 August 2011
  9. Heidemann 2006, p. 122
  10. Bounni 1977
  11. Willey 2005, p. 234

Sources
  • Bounni, Adnan (1977), "Campaign and exhibition from the Euphrates in Syria", The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 44: 1–7, JSTOR 3768538
  • Burns, R. (2009), The monuments of Syria. A guide, London: I.B. Tauris, pp. 160–161, ISBN 9781845119478
  • Heidemann, Stefan (2006), "The Citadel of al-Raqqa and Fortifications in the Middle Euphrates Area", in Kennedy, Hugh (ed.), Muslim Military Architecture in Greater Syria: From the Coming of Islam to the Ottoman Period, History of Warfare, 35, Leiden: Brill, pp. 122–150, ISBN 9004147136
  • King, G.R.D. (2002), "Archaeological Fieldwork at the Citadel of Homs, Syria: 1995–1999", Levant, 34: 39–58, doi:10.1179/007589102790217336
  • Shaw, Ian; Jameson, Robert (1999), A Dictionary of Archaeology, Oxford: Blackwell, ISBN 978-0631174233
  • Sourdel, D. (2010), "Ķalat Nadjm", in Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Leiden: Brill Online, OCLC 624382576
  • Willey, Peter (2005), Eagle's Nest: Ismaili Castles in Iran and Syria, Institute of Ismaili Studies, I.B.Tauris, ISBN 9781850434641
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