Publication Date
First half of the fifth century - middle of the seventh / first half of the eleventh century - middle of the thirteenth century
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;38;ar
Library Location
On the left bank of the Euphrates River, east of the point where it meets the Balikh River, 45 km west of Raqqa, Raqqa, Syria
Date
First half of the fifth century - middle of the seventh / first half of the eleventh century - middle of the thirteenth century
Notes
The site gained great strategic importance during the 5th/11th century as an important crossing point on the Euphrates River, although it had been occupied since the Byzantine period. The owner of the site was a person named Ja'bar bin Sabiq al-Qushayri, who died in 464/1072 AH, and it was later named after him: Ja'bar Castle. Between 458 / 1065 and 564 / 1169, Ja'bar remained under the rule of the Uqaylid, a local tribe that was subordinate to the Seljuk princes of Aleppo, while maintaining important alliance relations with the Crusader states that were emerging in the west. The emergence of the atabeg Imad al-Din Zengi, the ruler of Mosul, was a turning point in the advance of the Crusaders, and after his death, his lands were divided between his two sons, Saif al-Dinghazi, who kept Mosul, and Nur al-Din Mahmud, who ruled Aleppo. Nur ad-Din took Jabar from the hands of the Uqaylid in 564/1168, and made the citadel an extension of the Aleppo Emirate. In 593 / 1193, the site passed to Al-Adil, Saladin's brother, who ruled the Jazira, and from that moment it became an eastward-facing fortress protecting the Ayyubid lands from their Zengid opponents in Mosul. In 657/8-1259, the castle was largely destroyed by the Mongols led by Hulagu, and was left without construction. The castle extends 320 m from north to south and 70 m from east to west. It is surrounded by two towers equipped with archers, and they were provided with more than 35 prominent towers of semicircular, semi-octagonal and rectangular shapes. The entrance, located in the southwest corner, is surmounted by a small arch protected by two towers. Immediately above the entrance rises a large building covered with a vault and with well-preserved brick decoration. A minaret rises on a 5-meter-high base in the center of the citadel, and on the upper part is an inscription band mentioning Nur al-Din, surrounded by two bands of cross-shaped figures topped with serrated moldings. Above the inscription band at the top of the minaret are four arched windows linked by a single row of pearl-shaped decorative patterns alternating with diamonds formed by different brick arrangements. The round shape of the minaret body breaks the relationship with the traditional square shape in Syria, as in the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo and the Great Mosque in Maarat al-Numan near Aleppo, while this round shape dominates in Iran, which indicates the Eastern influence on architecture in the region, which is confirmed by the building materials, i.e. bricks that are usually used in Iraq and Iran. The history of the site is not completely clear, as it is known that Nur al-Din ordered major restoration work after the earthquakes of 553/1157 and 565/ 1170, and in addition to the minaret and mosque that he ordered to be built, he was most likely the one who ordered the fortified walls.
Sample Text
Verena Daiber "Ja'bar Castle" in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;sy;Mon01;38;ar
