Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;34;ar
Library Location
Alcazar do Sal; Setubal, Portugal
Notes
The fort forms an irregular rectangular polygon, surrounding a small hill with a height of 62 metres. The navigable Sado River flows at its foot between the Bay of Setubal and Puerto Rey, a distance of approximately 40 km. Successive restorations and urban arrangements carried out on the fort caused subtle changes in its plan, led to collapses and obscured the original techniques used during its construction. It is possible that the Alcázar do Sul fort was originally a fortress. However, starting with the settlement of the Berbers from the Beni Danis at the beginning of the 4th century AH / 10th century AD, important works began to be carried out on its fortifications and in the city. During the reign of Abd al-Rahman III, Alcázar became the capital of the region and a shipbuilding workshop, thus confirming its close relationship with the Atlantic Ocean. In the 5th century AH / 11th century AD, Alcázar maintained its purely military character, forming, according to Arab sources, the Al-Qasr region, a large area in which Alcázar was the main citadel. Two inscriptional stars written in Kufic script date back to that period, and they were found at the foot of the fort’s hill. It is possible that the Kasbah (Alcachova), which is located in the far west, originally had a quadrangular plan that reused Roman buildings. On the northwestern tower of the Kasbah, the remains of a transcendent arch were discovered, as were decorations made from the refined rubble stone in the same area. Communication between the Qasrubian area outside the fortification wall was through an entrance located in the west. Two other doors also open entrance to the fortifications: the New Gate (Porta Nuova) in the north and the Iron Gate (Porta de Ferro) in the east, which is the door that leads to the frontiers and the harbor area. The Almohads, after being certain of the strategic and military importance of the fortress, decided to make it the headquarters of their general staff, considering the mouth of the Sado River as a dividing line between them and the Christian lands on the Setubal Peninsula; A bold construction program was launched aimed at making the fort invincible against the Portuguese powers that posed a real threat. The fortified group will have an area of 3.6 hectares, surrounded by walls that adapt to the topography of the hill. Some technical innovations were also introduced, most notably the use of mortar and the raising of the octagonal tower in the northeastern corner of the castle, from which some ruins remain. The fortified wall was also reinforced with a large number of towers, niches for throwing arrows, trenches, and, according to recent archaeological works, with shields. Of the two fortified towers located in the southern wall, only one tower built of tabiyya (rammed earth) has remained preserved. Christian accounts of the conquest of Alcazar in 1217 AD acknowledge that the castle was one of the most impregnable castles in the Islamic south. In the documents of the 18th century, about thirty towers are mentioned, of which nearly a dozen have been preserved. During the excavations carried out in Alcachova starting in 1993, some structures were uncovered and materials were extracted that allowed archaeologists to support the hypotheses of an evolution in the spatial organization of the group. The captured ceramics date back to the 8th century AD until the 13th century AD, and the group of pieces dating back to the Almohad period is characterized by formal and decorative diversity.
Sample Text
Isabel Cristina Ferreira Fernandes “Fortress of Alcásar do Sal” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;34;ar
