Damascus Citadel
| Damascus Citadel | ||
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 Southern rampart of the Damascus Citadel |
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| Alternative name (s): | Arabic قلعة دمشق | |
| Conservation status: | Partly ruin | |
| Geographical location | 33 ° 30 '42.9 " N , 36 ° 18' 7.8" E | |
| Height: | 693 m above sea level NN | |
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The Citadel of Damascus ( Arabic قلعة دمشق, DMG Qalʿat Dimašq ) is an almost completely preserved Ayyubid fortress in the Syrian capital Damascus .
history
The first citadel was built under Emperor Diocletian (284–305). This assumption is based on the formats of the stones found and the shapes of the architectural decorations. During the Byzantine and early Islamic periods, the fortifications were extended to the west. Reports of events in Damascus from the 10th century suggest that the old fortification was lost during the Islamic period.
In 1071 the Fatimids called on the Seljuq leader Atsiz ibn Uvak to help put down revolts in Palestine . Atsiz used this opportunity to seize Damascus in 1076. He now saw himself in a position to turn against the hostile urban population on the one hand and against the Fatimid front on the other. In this situation, he decided to build a citadel in the city. The construction work had probably already started when he lost control to Tutusch in 1078 . The Seljuk citadel was designed in the form of a Roman castrum . It had a gate system in the middle on all four sides. The fortress was built in the period from 1076 to 1095. During Tutusch's time, the large residential complex "House of Roses" was built within the citadel.
In 1154 Nur ad-Din Zengi invaded Damascus and made it the capital of his empire. In the 20 years of his reign he had the fortifications renewed, which included the city wall with its densely set towers and a moat and wall system. It can be assumed that the citadel was also equipped with adequate defenses at that time.
After Zengi's death, Saladin took power. He made Damascus the starting point for all of his activities. Saladin also strengthened the defenses. There are still inscriptions on a semicircular tower and on the Victory Gate that refer to him as the builder. From 1176 to 1193 the Saladin citadel served as a residence.
After the earthquakes of 1201 and 1202, Saladin's successor al-Adil began to build a new citadel in 1203. The construction work dragged on for a total of 15 years. It started with the southwest tower. All princes of the Ayyubid ruling house were required to finance a tower of the citadel. After the completion of the inner castle, the renovation of the outer defensive system began. As a cautious ruler, Al-Adil placed the new defensive structure in front of the old one or integrated the old structures into the new ones. The north gate, for example, was placed in front of the Seljuk gate. In this way he was able to prevent the citadel from being unable to be defended during construction. Compared to the construction of the Seljuks, he built the towers taller, taller and thicker and shortened the distances between the towers. This was due to advances in attack technique. All towers and curtains probably had two-storey battlements on the roof platforms. They were equipped with battlements, loopholes and cast cores . The roof platforms of some of the towers were set up for slingshots.
A specialty of the defense technique is the Ayyubid north gate. It had two opposite outer gates that led into the gate hall. The citadel was reached through a second gate at right angles to the outer gates and the third, old Seljuk gate. A hall building was attached to the gate hall. This served as a staging area for military departments to carry out raids during a siege. The unity of the gate hall and hall building is a typological peculiarity in the castle building of the region. The east gate has a similar, albeit smaller, facility.
In the Mongol storm of 1260, the west side of the citadel was severely damaged by throwing machines. A number of palace buildings fell victim to fires. After the conquest of Damascus, the Mongols ordered the destruction of the castle complex. Almost the entire north side of the fortress was demolished on this occasion.
The reconstruction of the citadel began under the Mamluk Sultan Qutuz and was continued under Baibars. In addition, he built the towers and connecting walls on the north side about 10 m in front of the Ayyubid defenses.
In 1298 there was another attack by Mongol armies. The city lord al-Din holed up in the citadel and prevented catapult attacks by hurling oil-filled grenades at the surrounding buildings. In addition, he sent a contract killer to take out the opposing military leader. The damage caused by this attack was repaired under al-Nasir Muhammad around 1309.
In 1401 the Mongol leader Tamerlane besieged the citadel after the city of Damascus surrendered on March 24th. Tamerlane used siege towers and brought down the walls of the citadel using fire and vinegar. A large part of the fortress fell victim to the fire. After 1405, governor Nauruz had the outer defenses rebuilt, with the north wall being reconstructed with five towers and the connecting walls. In 1516 the ruler of the citadel, Ali Bay, handed it over to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I.
In the 18th century, earthquakes caused considerable damage to the structures of the citadel. Sultan Mustafa III. took on the enormous task of rebuilding the citadel so that construction work was completed in 1761. In the following years the citadel lost its military importance and was left to decay. In 1875, the previously 18 m wide and 4.5 m deep trenches were filled in under Midhat Pasha.
Until 1984 the citadel was used as a barracks and prison. Then their value as a sight was recognized and an extensive reconstruction began. The removal of disfiguring fixtures and the exposure of the outside significantly increased the show value of the complex. In 1985 the south-west tower, which was only preserved in its foundations and destroyed by fire, was rebuilt based on the model of the south-east tower. In 1987, restoration work began on the west side. In the meantime, the north and east sides have also been repaired.
sightseeing
At the moment it is not possible to visit the citadel due to the restoration.
gallery
Southwest corner tower
North gate
Detail on the east gate
Southern wall
Ayyubid loopholes in the southern Kurtine
Saladin Monument
Literature and Sources
- Hanspeter Hanisch: The Ayyubid gates of the citadel of Damascus. A contribution to the knowledge of the medieval fortress construction in Syria. Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden 1996, ISBN 3-88226-886-7 .
- Hanspeter Hanisch: The Citadel of Damascus . Ed. Dt. Companion for fortress research e. V., Wesel 1987 (series fortress research, vol. 6).
