Wu'ayra Castle is a ruined

Crusader 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 ...

castle located in

Wadi Musa Wadi Musa (, 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, being only 3.5 km (2.2 ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, north of the main entrance to

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

. It was founded by

Baldwin I of Jerusalem Baldwin I (1060s – 2 April 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 Lorraine and married a Norman noblew ...

as an outpost of the larger Montreal Castle, which stands about north of it at

Shoubak Shoubak () is a municipality that lies at the northwestern edge of the Ma'an Governorate in Jordan. It had a population of 19,297. At one of the highest elevations above sea level in Jordan, this municipality is famous for apple and fruit farms. T ...

. The area is extremely rugged and difficult to access. The site rises about above sea level and is surrounded by a natural valley. It was conquered by the

Ayyubids The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish ori ...

in 1188.

Name

The name given to the castle by its Crusader builders was Castellum Vallis Moysis or li Vaux Moysi,Pringle (1997) both meaning " astle ofMoses Valley" in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

and

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

, respectively, mirroring the name of the valley, Wadi Musa in Arabic. The Arabic name is spelled al-Wu'aira or al-Wu'ayra.

History

During their rule, the Crusaders built several castles and forts from Antioch in the north, to Al-Karak, Karak, Montreal (castle), Montreal (Shawbak), and the Petra region to the south. At Petra, Baldwin I, king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, built the fortress of Al-Wua'yra to be able to control the area extending southeast of the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

. This allowed him to control the commercial, military and

Muslim pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is o ...

roads between the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and the

Hijaz Hejaz is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province ...

. The forces of Sultan

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

(Salah ad-Din) conquered the castle in AD 1188, shortly after also taking Montreal Castle.

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

mentioned the castle in his 1220s "Geography" (''Mu’jam Al-Buldan'', lit. 'Dictionary of Countries').Al-Nasarat & Al-Maani (2014) The castle was then deserted and was only known to the inhabitants of the area.

Description

Wu'ayra is a small

spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur (mountain), spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where t ...

on a narrow ridge with smooth sides. Its military effectiveness is due more to its remote and inaccessible location than impressive fortifications. Its most remarkable architectural feature is a gatehouse excavated from solid rock guarding the bridge to the entrance.Kennedy (1994) Although the building is largely ruined, it can be described from existing remains and foundations. Where the rectangular castle is surrounded by a wall with a tower on the northeastern side and its entrance on the south side. The area of the tower from the inside is 4 x 5 m. It is surmounted by a barrel barrel and in the eastern wall, it has a fluency, that is, a gap for arrows, 120 cm long and 15 cm wide. In the northwestern corner of the castle there are the remains of a church built on a single hall system measuring 13 m by 6 m. A room is connected to it from the eastern side. There is another tower in the western wall. Fences, towers and the church were built of small stones whose dimensions are 40 cm x 30 cm. They are not precisely carved and do not have a lot of homogeneity in terms of how they were carved. Wu'ayra Castle is a significant cultural landmark that welcomes people from all over the world. It provides a window into the past and aids tourists in comprehending the background of the area. Architectural significance: Wu'ayra Castle is a well-preserved example of early Islamic architecture and provides insightful information about that era's construction methods. Wu'ayra Castle is a popular tourist destination in Jordan and brings in money for the area's economy. It plays a significant role in the nation's tourism sector. Wu'ayra Castle is a significant educational asset that gives students and academics the chance to delve into the history and culture of the area.

References

Bibliography

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External links