Gibelacar
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Gibelacar, also known by its original Arabic name Hisn Ibn Akkar or its modern Arabic name Qal'at Akkar, is a fortress in the village of Akkar al-Atiqa in the
Akkar Governorate french: Gouvernorat de l'Akkar , settlement_type = Governorate , image_skyline = Berkayl.jpg , image_caption = Berkayel, Akkar Governorate , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_shield ...
in northern
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
. The fortress dates back to the
Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...
era in the early 11th century. It was captured and utilized by the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
in the early 12th century until it was captured and strengthened by the Mamluks in the late 13th century. It became the headquarters of the Sayfa clan, whose members, chief among them Yusuf Pasha, served as the governors and tax farmers of the
Tripoli Eyalet Tripoli Eyalet ( ota, ایالت طرابلس شام, Eyālet-i Ṭrāblus-ı Şām; ar, طرابلس الشام) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. The capital was in Tripoli, Lebanon. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It extended ...
and its
sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
s from 1579 through the mid-17th century.


Location

Gibelacar is located in Jabal Akkar, the northernmost slopes of the Mount Lebanon range. It is 27 kilometers south of the
Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers, ar, قلعة الحصن, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn also called Hisn al-Akrad ( ar, حصن الأكراد, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, rtl=yes, ) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital; Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (), is a medieva ...
in Syria, at the opposite end of the
Homs Gap The Homs Gap ( ar, فتحة حمص) (also called the Akkar Gap and known in Arabic as al-Buqay'a) is a relatively flat passage in the Orontes River Valley of southern Syria. Nicknamed the "gateway to Syria," the gap separates the An-Nusayriyah M ...
.Kennedy, pp. 67–68. Gibelacar is situated on a narrow ridge formed by the two ravines of the Nahr Akkar stream. Though largely ruined, the remains of the fortress extend the entire length of the 200-meter ridge. Its tower, which stands at the southern end of the ridge, is still well-preserved. The site has an elevation of 700 meters above sea level and has a commanding view over the mountain road leading to the fortress.


History


Arab origins

Gibelacar was referred to by the
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
as . The fortress secured the Hims–Tripoli Gap and overlooked the northernmost slopes of Mount Lebanon. According to Arabic sources, the fortress's namesake and founder was a certain Muhriz ibn Akkar, who built it in .Deschamps 1973, p. 307. Hisn Ibn Akkar remained in the hands of Muhriz's family until 1019. Later, during a rebellion against the Fatimid Caliphate in 1024, it was captured by
Salih ibn Mirdas Abu Ali Salih ibn Mirdas ( ar, ابو علي صالح بن مرداس, Abū ʿAlī Ṣāliḥ ibn Mirdās), also known by his ''laqab'' (honorific epithet) Asad al-Dawla ('Lion of the State'), was the founder of the Mirdasid dynasty and emir of ...
, the preeminent chieftain of the
Banu Kilab The Banu Kilab ( ar, بنو كِلاب, Banū Kilāb) was an Arab tribe in the western Najd (central Arabia) where they controlled the horse-breeding pastures of Dariyya from the mid-6th century until at least the mid-9th century. The tribe was div ...
tribe and founder of the
Mirdasid dynasty The Mirdasid dynasty ( ar, المرداسيون, al-Mirdāsiyyīn), also called the Banu Mirdas, was an Arab dynasty which ruled an Aleppo-based emirate in northern Syria and the western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) more or less continuously f ...
. Fatimid authority was restored in 1033 when the governor of Tripoli seized the fortress from the Mirdasids. This came after the Fatimid army defeated the Kilab and killed Salih at the
Battle of al-Uqhuwana The Battle of al-Uqhuwana () was fought at a place east of Lake Tiberias in May 1029 between the Fatimid Caliphate under general Anushtakin al-Dizbari and a coalition of Syrian Bedouin tribes. The latter was represented by the Tayy tribe of Palest ...
in May 1029. The Seljuk ruler of Damascus,
Tutush I Abu Sa'id Taj al-Dawla Tutush (; died 25 February 1095) or Tutush I, was the Seljuk emir of Damascus from 1078 to 1092, and sultan of Damascus from 1092 to 1094. Years under Malik Shah Tutush was a brother of the Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I. In 1 ...
, captured the fortress in 1094.


Crusader control and constructions

By the time of the Crusader invasion of Tripoli's countryside in the early 12th century, Hisn Ibn Akkar was in the hands of Tughtakin, the Burid ruler of Damascus. The Crusaders conquered Tripoli in 1109 and were poised to capture the important fortress of Rafaniyya (Raphanea) to the north of Hisn Ibn Akkar. To prevent this, Tughtakin made an agreement with the Crusaders, giving them Hisn Ibn Akkar in exchange for desisting from attacking Rafaniyya. Nearby Hisn al-Akrad (known by Crusaders as ''Krak des Chevaliers'') was made to pay tribute to the Crusaders, but the latter nonetheless seized the fortress in 1110. Hisn Ibn Akkar was called ''Guibelacard'' by the Crusaders as early as 1143, but was officially renamed ''Gibelacar'' in an 1170 edict. For much of the first half of the 12th century, Gibelacar was controlled by the Puylaurens, a large baronial family of the
County of Tripoli The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was the last of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant in the modern-day region of Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria which supported an indigenous population of Christians, ...
. The fortress served as the family's feudal seat until circa 1167, when it was captured by the
Zengid The Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli ...
lord Nur ad-Din. In January 1169 or between December 1169 and January 1170, the Crusaders recaptured Gibelacar and imprisoned its Zengid governor Qutlug al-Alamdar.Deschamps 1973, p. 308. The County of Tripoli was then held in regency by King
Amalric I of Jerusalem Amalric or Amaury I ( la, Amalricus; french: Amaury; 113611 July 1174) was King of Jerusalem from 1163, and Count of Jaffa and Ascalon before his accession. He was the second son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and succeeded his older brot ...
while its count
Raymond III of Tripoli Raymond III (1140 – September/October 1187) was count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187. He was a minor when Assassins murdered his father, Raymond II of Tripoli. Baldwin III of Jerusalem, who was staying in Tripoli, made Raymond's mother, Hodierna ...
was held captive by Zengid forces. The fortress was destroyed in a massive earthquake that began on 29 June 1170 and whose after shocks lasted until 24 July. Afterward, King Amalric assigned control of Gibelacar to the
Knights Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
with instructions to restore its fortifications. However, this assignment may not have been official as contemporary court records indicate Gibelacar was still directly under the jurisdiction of the County of Tripoli. At the beginning of the 13th century, control of Gibelacar passed to the Crusader lord of
Nephin Nephin or Nefin ( ga, Néifinn), at 806 metres (2646 ft), is the highest standalone mountain in Ireland and the second-highest peak in Connacht (after Mweelrea), Ireland. It is to the west of Lough Conn in County Mayo. ''Néifinn'' is v ...
, Raynouard III, who acquired it as a result of his marriage in 1203/04 to an Isabelle, daughter of Gibelacar's previous lord, a certain Astafort. Raynouard's control was confirmed by Raymond III, who had since been restored as the count of Tripoli. However, because the transfer was done without the approval of Raynouard's lord,
Bohemond IV of Antioch Bohemond IV of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the One-Eyed (french: Bohémond le Borgne; 1175–1233), was Count of Tripoli from 1187 to 1233, and Prince of Antioch from 1201 to 1216 and from 1219 to 1233. He was the younger son of Bohemond III ...
, the latter opposed the move and a civil war ensued. Bohemond razed Nephin, captured Raynouard and released him in exchange for handing over Gibelacar in 1205. Raynouard subsequently left for
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
, where he died.


Mamluk capture

The fortress remained in the hands of Bohemond IV's royal successors until the
Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
sultan Baybars wrested control of it soon after capturing the Krak des Chevaliers on 8 April 1271. Baybars personally commanded the march toward Gibelacar on 28 April and experienced great difficulty in transporting his siege engines through the mountainous forests surrounding the fortress. The Mamluks' bombardment commenced on 2 May and during the fighting, a Mamluk emir, Rukn al-Din al-Mankurus al-Dawadari, was killed by a Crusader projectile while praying. By 4 May the defenders were virtually defeated, but held out until surrendering on 11 May in exchange for safe passage to Tripoli. Baybars had his signature leopard emblem sculpted on a frieze on Gibelacar's main tower.Deschamps 1973, pp. 308–309.


Headquarters of the Sayfa clan

In the 1520s Yusuf Sayfa, an Ottoman ''
levend Levend or levendi (Arabic ''lawend'') was a name for irregular soldiers. The term originated with the Ottoman Navy, but eventually spread to encompass most irregular troops. The origin of the term is probably from Italian ''levanti'', and was us ...
'' (irregular soldier) of Turkmen origins, or his family, established themselves in Hisn Ibn Akkar, which had become the fortified center of its own village by then. From there the family became a local power, subordinate first to the Shu'aybs, lords of
Arqa Arqa ( ar, عرقا; akk, 𒅕𒋡𒋫, translit=Irqata) is a Lebanese village near Miniara in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon, 22 km northeast of Tripoli, near the coast. The town was a notable city-state during the Iron Age. The city of ' ...
, later the Assafs, Turkmen lords of
Ghazir Ghazir ( ar, غزير) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is located north of Beirut. It has an average elevation of 380 meters above sea level and a total land area of . The tow ...
. In 1579 Yusuf was appointed governor of a new eyalet (province) centered in Tripoli and grew increasingly independent of the Assafs. In addition to his lack of a strong local following in the area of the type possessed by the long-established Assafs and his intimate familiarity with the local chieftains, Yusuf was also appointed because of the relative ease of access of his Hisn Ibn Akkar stronghold from the major cities of the Syrian interior through the Homs Gap; the Ottomans would thus have the ability to intervene against Yusuf or his family in case they became recalcitrant, unlike other local chiefs whose strongholds were nestled deep in the Mount Lebanon range. Hisn Ibn Akkar was one of several targets of an Ottoman imperial expedition in 1585. The assault was led by Yusuf's replacement as governor of Tripoli, Ja'far Pasha. Afterward, the Sayfas became once again fiscally subordinate to the Assafs until Yusuf had the last Assaf chieftain Muhammad assassinated in 1590.


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{coord, 34.5250, N, 36.2417, E, source:wikidata, display=title 11th-century fortifications Akkar District Castles and fortifications of the Knights Hospitaller Castles in Lebanon Fatimid fortifications