Many of the castles of Jordan ( ar, قلاع الاردن), (

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

) date to

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, or were built 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 12th century. There are also many

desert castles The Umayyad desert castles, of which the desert castles of Jordan represent a prominent part, are fortified palaces or castles in what was the then Umayyad province of Bilad al-Sham. Most Umayyad "desert castles" are scattered over the semi-arid ...

in Jordan. What is known in English as a "desert castle" is known in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

as ''qaṣr'' (singular), ''quṣur'' being the plural.Khouri, R.G., ''The Desert Castles: A Brief Guide to the Antiquities''. Al Kutba, 1988. pp 4-5

List of castles in Jordan

}),

: Qalʻat 'Ajloun; also Qalʻat ar-Rabad), is a 12th-century Muslim castle situated in northwestern

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. The castle was renovated in 1184 and it regulated traffic between

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and Egypt. It is placed on a hilltop surrounded by a 15 meter deep moat and had seven towers. The castle was destroyed by Mongols in 1260, and subsequently rebuilt in the 17th century. , - , Aqaba Fortress ,

, align="center" , Aqaba Fort - Facade

, The Aqaba Castle, Mamluk Castle or Aqaba Fort ( ar, قلعة العقبة, Qalʿat al-ʿAqaba), located in

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

, is a fortress originally built by

in the 12th century, and named ''Helim''. Ayla (ancient Aqaba) was recaptured by

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

in 1187 and the fortress was destroyed, until it was rebuilt in the early 16th century under 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

Al-Ashraf Qansuh Al-Ghuri Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri ( ar, الأشرف قانصوه الغوري) or Qansuh II al-Ghawri (c. 1441/1446 – 24 August 1516) was the second-to-last of the Mamluk Sultans. One of the last and most powerful of the Burji dynasty, he reigned f ...

. The castle was captured by the Ottoman's in 1917. , - ,

Kerak Castle Kerak Castle ( ar, قلعة الكرك, Qal'at al-Karak) is a large medieval castle located in al-Karak, Jordan. It is one of the largest castles in the Levant. Construction began in the 1140s, under Pagan and Fulk, King of Jerusalem. The Crusa ...

, align="center" , 14 Al-Karak 2

, Kerak Castle ( ar, قلعة الكرك, Qal'at al-Karak) is a large

Crusader castle Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

located in

al-Karak Al-Karak ( ar, الكرك), is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of the Karak Governorate. ...

. It was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century and it is situated high on a hilltop. Construction of the castle began in the 1140s, under

Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

and

Fulk, King of Jerusalem Fulk ( la, Fulco, french: Foulque or ''Foulques''; c. 1089/1092 – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129 and the king of Jerusalem with his wife from 1131 to his death. During t ...

. The Crusaders called it ''Crac des Moabites'' , - ,

Montreal (castle) Montreal ( ar, مونتريال; la, Mons Regalis, Mont Real), or Qal'at ash-Shawbak (قلعة الشوبك) in Arabic, is a castle built by the Crusaders and expanded by the Mamluks, on the eastern side of the Arabah Valley, perched on the sid ...

Arabah The Arabah, Araba or Aravah ( he, הָעֲרָבָה, ''hāʿĂrāḇā''; ar, وادي عربة, ''Wādī ʿAraba''; lit. "desolate and dry area") is a loosely defined geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the borde ...

Valley,

, align="center" , Montreal Castle Visitor center

, Montreal ( ar, مونتريال; la, Mons Regalis, Mont Real), or Qal'at ash-Shawbak (قلعة الشوبك) in Arabic, is a castle built by the

and expanded by the

Mamluks 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'') i ...

, on the eastern side of the

Valley. , - ,

Qasr Al-Kharanah Qasr Kharana ( ar, قصر خرّانة), sometimes Qasr al-Kharana, Kharana, Qasr al-Harrana, Qasr al-Kharanah, Kharaneh, Khauranee, or Hraneh, is one of the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan, about east of A ...

, align="center" , Qasr Kharana in Jordan

, Qasr Kharana ( ar, قصر خرّانة), sometimes Qasr al-Harrana, Qasr al-Kharanah, Kharaneh or Hraneh, is one of the best-known of the

desert castle The Umayyad desert castles, of which the desert castles of Jordan represent a prominent part, are fortified palaces or castles in what was the then Umayyad province of Bilad al-Sham. Most Umayyad "desert castles" are scattered over the semi-arid ...

s located in present-day eastern

, about east of

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

It is believed to have been built sometime before the early 8th century AD and consists of stone walls and large round corner towers. , - ,

Qusayr 'Amra It is not known who the woman represents, but due to the apparent classical and late Roman style of depicting her, a number of mythological persons have been suggested. Qusayr 'Amra or Quseir Amra, ''lit.'' "small qasr of 'Amra", sometimes also na ...

, align="center" , Qusayr Amra

, Qusayr 'Amra or Quseir Amra, ''lit.'' "small qasr of 'Amra", sometimes also named Qasr Amra ( /

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''Qaṣr ‘Amrah''), is the best-known of the

s located in present-day eastern

. It was built some time between 723 and 743, by Walid Ibn Yazid, the future

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Walid II Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (709 – 17 April 744) ( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) usually known simply as Al-Walid II was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. ...

.Qusayr 'Amra
, World Monuments Fund, accessed 14 December 2019 , - ,

Qasr Al-Mshatta Qasr Mushatta ( ar, قصر المشتى, "Winter Palace") is the ruin of an Umayyad winter palace, probably commissioned by Caliph Al-Walid II during his brief reign (743-744). The ruins are located approximately 30 km south of Amman, Jorda ...

, align="center" , Mshatta-07

, Qasr Mushatta ( ar, قصر المشتى, "Winter Palace") is the ruin of an

winter palace, probably commissioned by

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Al-Walid II Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (709 – 17 April 744) ( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) usually known simply as Al-Walid II was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. ...

during his reign (743-744). The castle is 144 square meters and it was used for ceremonies. , - ,

Qasr Azraq Qasr al-Azraq ( ar, قصر الأزرق, "Blue Fortress") is a large fortress located in present-day eastern Jordan. It is one of the desert castles, located on the outskirts of present-day Azraq, Jordan, Azraq, roughly east of Amman. Its strat ...

, align="center" , QasrAlAzraq

, Qasr al-Azraq ( ar, قصر الأزرق, "Blue Fortress") is a large fortress located in present-day eastern

. It is one of the

s, located on the outskirts of present-day

Azraq Azraq ( ar, الأزرق meaning "blue") is a small town in Zarqa Governorate in central-eastern Jordan, east of Amman. The population of Azraq was 9,021 in 2004. The Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is located in Azraq. History Prehistory Archaeolo ...

, roughly east of

. , - , Qasr al-Muwaqqar and Qasr al-Mushash ,

, , Qasr al-Muwaqqar ( ar, قصر الموقر), and Qasr al-Mushash ( ar, قصر المشاش), were built in 723 AD, is the ruins of an

complex, the Qasr al-Muwaqqar, a ''qasr''-type fortified palace also known as a

. The original castles are mostly destroyed. , - , Qasr Bayir Castle ,

, align="center" , Bayir Castle

, Qasr Bayir ( ar, قصر بيير), was constructed in 743 AD by

. It is found in the desert of Jordan and it was destroyed in 1931. , - ,

Qasr Burqu Qasr ( ar, قصر, lit=palace/castle/fortress, plural ''qusur''), from Latin ''castrum'', may refer to: Individual ''qusur'' and places named after a ''qasr'' * * Particular types of ''qusur'' * Alcázar (cognate Spanish term; also ''Alcácer'' ...

, align="center" , Qasr Burqu 2014

, Qasr Burqu' ( ar, قصر برق), is a set of

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

and an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

in the ''badia'' of eastern

and is the site of one of the earliest of the

. , - , Qasr Al-Qatraneh ,

, align="center" ,

, Qasr Al-Qatraneh ( ar, قلعة القطرانة); alternatively: "Qatraneh" or "Qatrana Castle," "Fortress Qatrana," or "Khan Qatraneh") is an Ottoman structure which largely served to provide water and protection on the Syrian pilgrimage route between the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

and the

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

. It is located in modern-day

.Al Shebli, Mohammad. "THE CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF AL- QATRANEH FORTRESS PROJECT." Presentation at the 14th International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan (ICHAJ 14) in Florence, Italy. January, 2019. http://ichaj.org.10-0-0-4.mint.imagine.com.jo/content/abstracts , - ,

Qasr Tuba Qasr Tuba is an 8th-century Umayyad ''qasr'' or castle in the Amman Governorate of northern Jordan. History Qasr at-Tuba is the southernmost of the Umayyad desert castles in Jordan. Built in 743 CE by Caliph al-Walid II for his sons, al-Hakam a ...

, align="center" , Qasr Tuba

, Qasr at-Tuba ( ar, قصر طوبا), is the southernmost of the Umayyad

in Jordan. Built in 743 CE by Caliph

al-Walid II Al-Walīd ibn Yazīd (709 – 17 April 744) ( ar, الوليد بن يزيد) usually known simply as Al-Walid II was an Umayyad Caliph who ruled from 743 until his assassination in the year 744. He succeeded his uncle, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. ...

for his sons, al-Hakam and ‘Uthman,Hattstein, M. and Delius, P., ''Islam: Art and Architecture,'' Könemann, 2000. p. 72; Fowden, G., ''Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria,'' University of California Press, 2004 p. 158 , - , Vaux Moise (Wu'ayra Castle) ,

Wadi Musa Wadi Musa ( ar, وادي موسى, literally "Valley of Musa (AS)) is a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department and the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra. I ...

, , Vaux Moise, ( ar, فو مويس), also ''Li Vaux Moise'' or ''Alwaeira Castle'' (The Valley of Moses) is a small crusader castle close to

. It was founded by

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I, also known as Baldwin of Boulogne (1060s – 2April 1118), was the first count of Edessa from 1098 to 1100, and king of Jerusalem from 1100 to his death in 1118. He was the youngest son of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and Ida of Lorr ...

as an outpost of the larger crusader castle at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

List of castles in Jordan

See also

References

Further reading