- Type
- Fortress
- Built
- 1237 · 13th century
- Site origins
- 300 per Wikidata – an earlier stronghold or first mention
- Commissioned by
- Ancient Rome
- Coordinates
- 31.8800°, 36.8274°
History
The first fort by the waters of the Azraq oasis was built by the Romans around 300 – an inscription naming the emperors Diocletian and Maximian survives. The post was later used by the Byzantines and the Umayyads. The present fortress of black basalt was built in 1237 by the Ayyubid governor Izz al-Din Aybak, with a mosque in its courtyard. It then served the Mamluks and the Ottoman Turks. In the winter of 1917–1918, during the Arab Revolt, T. E. Lawrence and Emir Faisal made their headquarters here. An earthquake in 1927 brought down part of the walls.
What to see
Walls of dark basalt enclose a square courtyard with a small mosque in the middle. At the entrance survives a huge door made of a single basalt slab, still turning on its stone pivots. Above the gate is the room where Lawrence lived, and nearby lie the wetlands of the Azraq oasis, now a bird reserve.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q2121495
Popularity: articles about this site in 18 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).