Author
A document in the Jerusalem Sharia Court Register No. (2:6) dated 12 Rabi’ al-Thani 938 / 23 November 1531 mentions the names of three architects who participated in the process of restoring a wall in the citadel during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. They are: Al-Muallem Muhammad bin Al-Hamwi, Al-Muallem Muhammad bin Mansour Al-Hamawi, and Al-Muallem Hussein bin Nimr Al-Maqdisi.
Author Original
تذكر وثيقة في سجل محكمة القدس الشرعية رقم بتاريخ ربيع الثاني تشرين ثاني أسماء ثلاثة معمارين شاركوا في عملية ترميم جدار في القلعة في عهد السلطان سليمان القانوني، وهم المعلم محمد بن الحموي، والمعلم محمد بن منصور الحموي، والمعلم حسين بن نمر المقدسي
Publication Date
The castle dates back to the 8th/14th and 10th/16th centuries, and contains earlier ruins dating back to the 1st century BC. M and 6/12
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;29;ar
Library Location
The citadel is located in the middle of the western wall of the Jerusalem Wall, where the citadel forms part of this wall, and to the south of the Hebron Gate - one of the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem
Date
The castle dates back to the 8th/14th and 10th/16th centuries, and contains earlier ruins dating back to the 1st century BC. M and 6/12
Notes
The castle contains a huge outer wall, a moat, five towers, a main eastern entrance, several open courtyards, two mosques, and a minaret. The castle took its current form in the Ottoman era, but this was the result of architectural development that began simple in the Greek and Roman eras and developed to its current status. The castle and its main tower (the Tower of David) were demolished in the year 637 / 1239 in the Ayyubid era to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Crusaders. There were efforts to rebuild the citadel by Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun in the year 710 / 1310-1311, followed by a project to completely rebuild the citadel during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the year 938 / 1531. This project included integrating the citadel with the wall, and was the first major construction project carried out by the Ottomans in the city. The Citadel of Jerusalem is considered one of the important landmarks in the city, as it is connected to the wall of the Old City. It is included among the important buildings of Jerusalem, such as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Resurrection, and the Buraq Wall. The traveler Awliya Çelebi described the castle when he visited Jerusalem in 1059/1649, and in his description he showed the importance of the castle in the Ottoman era. In addition to being the first place restored by the Ottoman authority in Jerusalem, it was the residence of the Janissary army. The castle had independent defenses and independent administration from the rest of the city, and it was also the seat of the Ottoman governor of the city. The layout of the castle is an irregular rectangle in shape, as three of its sides are close to straight, while the southern side is zigzag, following the line of the ancient fortifications and the topography of the site, which slopes towards the south. The castle is surrounded by an outer curtain wall built of huge stones, especially those found in the foundations and lower courses. The lower stones and the stones of most of the towers are impeccable, while the stones of the upper courses, especially the Mamluk and Ottoman ones, are refined and smaller in size than the stones of the lower courses. The castle is protected by five large towers, four of which stand at the four corners of the castle, while the fifth is located in the middle of the eastern wall, in the middle of an open courtyard. The castle is surrounded by a moat that runs around its walls, but it is clearly visible on the northern and eastern sides inside the walled city. The interior of the castle can be accessed through a main eastern entrance consisting of two sections or doors: the first is the outer one, which has a double staircase, meaning that access to the staircase is possible from two sides (north and south). This door was placed inside a recessed apse crowned by a pointed arch. On the front of this contract there is an inscription dating the renovation of the castle’s construction in the year 938 / 1531-1532, on the orders of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and listing a number of Sultan Suleiman’s titles. This external entrance is separated from the internal entrance to the castle by a fixed wooden bridge, which was placed instead of the moving bridge that previously bridged the moat and the front fort (the advanced fort). On the left (south) side of this bridge, there is an open-air summer mosque bearing the insignia of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and it occupies the southern part of the fort area. In the northern part of the fort area there is an open external corridor that leads to the inner entrance of the fort. This entrance was placed in an internal apse protected by a mazaghil, and connected to the entrance is a guard room with terraces on the southern and western walls. The outer walls of the castle and its towers, in addition to the advanced fort, are distinguished by the presence of many Mamluk and Ottoman military architectural elements, such as openings for throwing arrows, observation holes, and open or serrated balconies.
Sample Text
Yusuf al-Natsheh “Jerusalem Citadel” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;29;ar
