Shmemis () also ash-Shmemis, ash-Shmamis) is a castle located in Syria. It is located 3 km north west of

Salamiyah file:Hama qalat shmemis salamiyyah syria 1995.jpg, A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995) Salamiyah (; also transliterated ''Salamiyya'', ''Salamieh'' or ''Salamya'') is a city in central Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is ...

and 30 km south east from

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

History

200px, A view of Shmemis castle at sunset The castle ( Qalat Shmamis) was first built, on top of an extinct

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

, in the 1st century BC by Sampsiceramus I, the first Priest King of the

Royal family of Emesa The Emesene (or Emesan) dynasty, also called the Sampsigeramids or the Sampsigerami or the House of Sampsigeramus (), were a Roman Empire, Roman client dynasty of Syrian priest-kings known to have ruled by 46 BC from al-Rastan, Arethusa and later ...

. Most of the original structure was subsequently destroyed by an earthquake. It was later destroyed by the Persian king

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; and ''Khosrau''), commonly known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran, ruling from 590 ...

in AD 613. It was rebuilt by Assad ud-Din Shirkoh, an

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, 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 Egyp ...

governor of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

; the date of this reconstruction was set by Abu Fida in 626 AH (AD 1228), while Muhammad Kurd Ali in his book "al-Sham Plans" fixed it at 627 AH (AD 1229). However, the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

destroyed it in AD 1260, and then it was attacked again by the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

in AD 1401. It was rebuilt after the expulsion of the Mongols and Tatars from Syria. The castle today is in ruins with only partially preserved walls. This castle was built on a basaltic layer covering a conical top of the mountain. This summit is surrounded by a moat 15 m depth, and provides a very deep well to meet the water needs for the castle, and another well for supplies. The walls of the latter well were covered with a layer of lime and sludge. The castle housed the royal palace, as well as foundations for housing soldiers. The importance of this castle is due to its location which allows to observe a circular area of more than 50 km in diameter.

References

External links

الموقع الرسمي لمحافظة حماة
Castles in Syria Emesene dynasty Roman Syria Buildings and structures in Hama Governorate {{Syria-struct-stub