Qal'at Najm ( ar, قلعة نجم) is a castle located on the right bank of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

, near the town of

Manbij Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cent ...

in north

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 ...

. The castle probably stood on the site of an earlier

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

site and is known from Arabic texts since the 7th century CE. Reconstruction works were carried out in the castle by

Nur ad-Din Zangi Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd Zengī (; February 1118 – 15 May 1174), commonly known as Nur ad-Din (lit. "Light of the Faith" in Arabic), was a member of the Zengid dynasty, which ruled the Syrian province (''Shām'') of the Seljuk Empire. He reign ...

and

Az-Zahir Ghazi Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly known as az-Zahir Ghazi; 1172 – 8 October 1216) was the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216.

during the 12th and early 13th centuries. The castle sits on a mound that is protected by a

glacis A glacis (; ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in bastion fort, early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More genera ...

and houses a palace-bath complex and a mosque.

History

The castle probably stood on the location of an earlier Roman site, the name of which has not yet been identified, although ''Caeciliana'' has been suggested. The oldest reference to Qal'at Najm in Arabic texts is ''Jisr Manbij'', while the current name came only into popular use in the 12th century CE. According to one text,

Caliph Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...

had a bridge constructed over the Euphrates at Jisr Manbij. Following the conquest of the region by the

Umayyads Umayyads may refer to: *Umayyad dynasty, a Muslim ruling family of the Caliphate (661–750) and in Spain (756–1031) *Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) :*Emirate of Córdoba (756–929) :*Caliphate of Córdoba The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خ ...

, the castle was controlled by the

Hamdanids The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern A ...

and 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 ...

, before passing into the hands of the nomadic tribe of the

Banu Numayr The Numayrids () were an Arab dynasty based in Diyar Mudar (western Upper Mesopotamia). They were emirs (princes) of their namesake tribe, the Banu Numayr. The senior branch of the dynasty, founded by Waththab ibn Sabiq in 990, ruled the Euph ...

. The castle served as a stronghold for the Banu Numayr, who also controlled

Qal'at Ja'bar Qal'at Ja'bar ( ar, قلعة جعبر, tr, Caber Kalesi) is a castle on the left bank of Lake Assad in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. Its site, formerly a prominent hill-top overlooking the Euphrates Valley, is now an island in Lake Assad that can o ...

, until at least 1120. Control then shifted to the

Zengid dynasty 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 to ...

under Nur ad-Din, ruler of Aleppo and the son of Zengi. Nur ad-Din had the castle restored. In 1202, Az-Zahir Ghazi, the

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...

governor of

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

from 1186 to 1216, attacked the Jezirah and conquered Manbij, Qal'at Najm and Qal'at Ja'bar, pushing on to Ra's al-'Ayn on the Khabur in northeast Syria. After this campaign, Az-Zahir refortified many of the places he had conquered, including Qal'at Najm. In 1820, an Arab warlord sought refuge in the castle, which was subsequently besieged and damaged by Ottoman forces. On 1 June 2016, during the Syrian Civil War, the SDF captured Qal'at Najm from

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

Description

The castle is located on the right bank of the Euphrates, at a site where two islands allowed the construction of a

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maxi ...

which carried a trade route from Aleppo to

Harran Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border cr ...

over the Euphrates. Qal'at Najm is a castle of the truncated cone type, similar to the

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 ...

and those of Hama and Homs. It lies on a mound whose slopes were covered with an

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

glacis, remains of which are still visible at Qal'at Najm. Also like the Citadel of Aleppo, its entrance is characterized by a ramp and a massive gate with four bends. At least three, and possibly a fourth, inscription dating to Az-Zahir's reign have been found at Qal'at Najm. Inside Qal'at Najm is a palace-bath complex, consisting of four wings opening to a central courtyard with a fountain. The castle also housed a mosque with an exterior double

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

looking out over the Euphrates. This architectural feature is very rare in mosques; another example can be seen in a mosque in the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The town that lay at the foot of the castle, and that is mentioned in historical texts, has disappeared.

References

{{Castles in Syria Castles in Syria Euphrates Buildings and structures in Aleppo Governorate