Qasr al-Azraq ( ar, قصر الأزرق, "Blue Fortress") is a large fortress located in present-day eastern
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 ...
. It is one of the
desert castles, 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
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 ...
.
Its strategic value came from the nearby oasis, the only water source in a vast desert region. The name of the fortress and associated town came from these. The settlement was known in antiquity as ''Basie'' and the Romans were the first to make military use of the site, and later an early
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
was built in the middle. It did not assume its present form until an extensive renovation and expansion by the
Ayyubids in the 13th century, using locally quarried
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
which makes the castle darker than most other buildings in the area.
Later, it would be used by the
Ottoman armies during that empire's hegemony over the region. During the
Arab Revolt,
T.E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...
based his operations here in 1917–18, an experience he wrote about in his book ''
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British Army Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), of serving as a military advisor to Bedouin forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire o ...
''. The connection to "Lawrence of Arabia" has been one of the castle's major draws for
tourists
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
.
Architecture
![Stone door - Desert castle - Jordan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Stone_door_-_Desert_castle_-_Jordan.jpeg)
The castle is constructed of the local black
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
and is a square structure with 80 metre long walls encircling a large central courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard is a small mosque that may date from
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 ...
times. At each corner of the outer wall, there is an oblong tower. The main entrance is composed of a single massive hinged slab of granite, which leads to a vestibule where one can see carved into the pavement the remains of a Roman board game.
Although very heavy — 1 ton for each of the leaves of the main gate, 3 tons for single the other — these stone doors can quite easily be moved, thanks to palm tree oil. The unusual choice of stone can be explained by the fact that there is no close source of wood, apart from
palm tree
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...
wood, which is very soft and unsuitable for building.
History
The strategic significance of the castle is that it lies in the middle of the
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 ...
oasis, the only permanent source of fresh water in approximately of desert. Several civilizations are known to have occupied the site for its strategic value in this remote and arid desert area.
The area was inhabited by the
Nabataean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
people and around 200 CE fell under the control of the
Romans
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 ...
. The Romans built a stone structure using the local basalt stone that formed a basis for later constructions on the site, a structure that was equally used by the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and
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 ...
empires.
Qasr al-Azraq underwent its final major stage of building in 1237 CE, when 'Izz ad-Din Aybak, an emir of the
Ayyubids, redesigned and fortified it. The fortress in its present form dates to this period.
In the 16th century the
Ottoman Turks stationed a garrison there, and
T. E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
(Lawrence of Arabia) made the fortress his desert headquarters during the winter of 1917, during the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. His office was in the chamber above the entrance gatehouse.
It had an additional advantage in modern warfare: the flat nearby desert was an ideal place to build an airfield.
![Qasr Al-Azraq](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Qasr_Al-Azraq.jpg)
According to Lawrence, "Azrak lay favourably for us, and the old fort would be convenient headquarters if we made it habitable, no matter how severe the winter. So I established myself in its southern gate-tower, and set my six
Hauran
The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...
i boys...to cover with brushwood, palm-branches, and clay the ancient split stone rafters, which stood open to the sky." Ali ibn el Hussein "took up his quarters in the south-east corner tower, and made that roof tight." The postern gate was shut each night, "The door was a poised lab of dressed basalt, a foot thick, turning on pivots of itself, socketed into threshold and lintel. It took a great effort to start swinging, and at the end went shut with a clang and crash which made tremble the west wall of the old castle."
Lawrence wrote of their first night, "...when there rose a strange, long wailing round the towers outside. Then the cries came again and again and again, rising slowly in power, till they sobbed round the walls in deep waves to die away choked and miserable. Lawrence was told, "...the dogs of the
Beni Hillal, the mythical builders of the fort, quested the six towers each night for their dead masters...their ghost-watch kept our ward more closely than arms could have done."
[
]
Today
Qasr al-Azraq is often included on day trips from Amman to the desert castles, along with Qasr Kharana
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 ...
and Qasr 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 ...
, both east of the capital and reached via Highway 40. Admission is JD 2. Visitors can explore most of the castle, both upstairs and downstairs, except for some sections closed off while the rock is shored up. There is little interpretive material at the moment.
See also
* Desert castles
*Jordanian art
Jordanian art has a very ancient history. Some of the earliest figurines, found at Aïn Ghazal, near Amman, have been dated to the Neolithic period. A distinct Jordanian aesthetic in art and architecture emerged as part of a broader Islamic art t ...
References
External links
Photos of Azraq Castle
at the American Center of Research
The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...
Photos of Qasr al-Azraq
at the Manar al-Athar
Manar al-Athar is a photo archive based at the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford which aims to provide high-quality open-access images of archaeological sites and buildings. The archive's collection focuses on areas of the Roman Em ...
photo archive
{{Castles in Jordan
Buildings and structures completed in 1237
Ayyubid architecture
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 ...
Nabataean sites in Jordan
Roman legionary fortresses in Jordan
Tourism in Jordan