Publication Date
634 / 1236
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;18;ar
Library Location
It is located near Azraq Oasis, 120 km northeast of Amman, Azraq Oasis, Jordan
Date
634 / 1236
Notes
The Azraq Oasis was famous for its abundant water sources, which made it a center of settlement since the ancient Stone Ages. It is possible that the oasis was known in ancient times (in the Roman era) as Dazianis or Bazianis, as indicated by one of the Latin inscriptions found in the Azraq area. Azraq Oasis is currently divided into two settlements: Northern Azraq and Southern Azraq. Northern Azraq is inhabited by Chechens who left their homeland in the Caucasus at the beginning of the 20th century. Azraq Oasis is located at the northwestern end of Wadi Al-Sarhan, which extends for 400 km in a southeastern direction towards Al-Jawf (Dumat Al-Jandal), which has been a crossing for commercial caravans since the Nabataeans and Romans. Due to the importance of its strategic location and the abundance of water, the Romans built a series of forts and castles to monitor and protect the roads leading to Azraq. Among these forts are Fort Al-Awend, which is located 15 km southwest of Azraq, Asykhim, 15 km northeast of Azraq, and Azraq Castle, which was built on a high surface of basalt, 100 meters from a heavy spring in northern Azraq. The dimensions of the castle, which was built from basalt stone blocks, are 80 x 72 metres. Towers were erected at the corners and in the middle of the surrounding walls, protruding from the zenith of the southern wall. The main entrance to the castle protrudes from the southern facade, and is surmounted by a lattice to prevent the enemy from approaching the entrance. Below the ratchet there is a stone tablet on which is engraved an inscription in Arabic in Naskh script bearing the name of the Ayyubid governor Izz al-Din Aybak and the Hijri year 634 (1236 AD). The central courtyard of the castle is surrounded by a group of rooms two stories high, and in the middle of the courtyard is a small mosque. The Greek and Latin inscriptions found in the citadel indicate its construction at the end of the 3rd century AD and the beginning of the 4th century AD. To the northeast of the citadel, and 1.75 km from it, there is a small Umayyad building known as Qasr’in al-Sail. The building, which was constructed of basalt stone blocks, is approximately square in shape, measuring 17.80 The building is bordered to the west by a bathroom, consisting of small rooms extending from north to south. There is evidence indicating some architectural activities in southern Azraq that can be attributed to the Umayyad era. One of these pieces of evidence is a hexagonal pool built around the main spring in this area. The length of the pond's walls ranges from 200 to 500 metres, and its width is 2-2.25 metres, and its internal and external facades are supported by round and triangular towers. On the eastern side, the thickness of the wall increases to form a terrace measuring 30.5 While cleaning the pond in the fall of 1983, a group of basalt stone blocks on which various decorations and shapes were engraved was found. In the spring of 2004, another set of decorated stones was found. Decorative elements include animal figures, including various birds, fish, and some mythical animals such as the winged horse. From the way the edges of these decorative stone blocks are cut, it appears that they were overlapping each other to form an arched facade. In addition to the hexagonal pool, there is a buttressed wall between 1.30 and 1.55 m thick, extending towards the south and east to surround the marshes adjacent to the pool. This wall reminds us of the agricultural courtyards adjacent to Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi and Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi in Syria.
Sample Text
Ghazi Bisheh “Blue” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;18;ar
