The Aleppo Citadel Museum ( ar, مَتْحَف قَلْعَة حَلَب, Matḥaf Qalʿat Ḥalab) is an archaeological museum located in the city of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, within the historic

Citadel of Aleppo The Citadel of Aleppo ( ar, قلعة حلب, Qalʿat Ḥalab) is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of ...

. It was opened in 1994 in the building of Ibrahim Pasha military barracks of the citadel, built in 1834. It occupies an area of 754 m² at the northern part of the citadel. The museum is home to many archaeological remains found in the citadel and belong to ancient civilizations.

Background

In 1994, the building was entirely renovated by the Aleppo Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, with the assistance of the Aga Khan Cultural Services. The museum was opened on 26 September 1994 with the presence of then-minister of culture

Najah al-Attar Najah Al-Attar ( ar, نجاح العطار; born 10 January 1933) is the Vice President of Syria, since 2006. She is the first Arab woman to have held the post. Previously she was Minister of Culture from 1976 to 2000. Early life and education A ...

History

The building of Ibrahim Pasha military barracks was built in 1834 by the Egyptian

wāli ''Wāli'', ''Wā'lī'' or ''vali'' (from ar, والي ''Wālī'') is an administrative title that was used in the Muslim World (including the Caliphate and Ottoman Empire) to designate governors of administrative divisions. It is still in us ...

Ibrahim Pasha, after his successful campaign in Syria against the rule of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. The rectangular shaped building (57 by 13 meters) is divided into three halls: the main exhibition hall is located at the centre of the building, occupying an area of 404 m². The other two halls (175 m² each) are located at the ends of the building. The museum exhibits antiquities found during the excavations in the Citadel of Aleppo. The remnants of the museum date back to the early Syrian civilizations such as the

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

ians,

Akkadians The Akkadian Empire () was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad () and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule ...

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...

, etc. There are also objects from the Roman and Arab Islamic periods. A comprehensive restoration of the museum due to damage during the

Battle of Aleppo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

began in 2021.

References

{{authority control Museums established in 1994 Museums in Aleppo Archaeological museums in Syria Buildings and structures in Aleppo 1994 establishments in Syria Museums of Ancient Near East in Syria