In northwestern Jordan, between Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea, stands the imposing medieval castle of Ajloun, perched on a hill more than a thousand metres above sea level. The fortress was built at the behest of Saladin (1138-1193), founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and sultan of Syria and Egypt, to counter the presence of Christian armies in the Near East. The Crusaders had conquered Jerusalem in 1099, annexing a vast area of the Levant and hinterland, from the Sinai Desert to the Litani River in Lebanon, to the Latin Kingdom. After three quarters of a century of Christian rule, Saladin aimed to reconquer those territories. To achieve this, he ordered the construction of several castles in locations that would allow him to control the area militarily. These strongholds enabled him to gather troops for battle and prepare them for the siege of enemy strongholds.
In particular, Ajloun Castle was strategically located on the road between Damascus and Jerusalem, atop Mount Jabal ‘Auf. This road, travelled by pilgrims, soldiers and wealthy merchant caravans, was the region’s main artery towards Egypt. From Ajloun’s heights, it was possible to advance towards Jerusalem while simultaneously exercising territorial control for defensive purposes. The fortification enabled the monitoring of enemy movements and prevented their expansion east of northern Jordan. Not far away, on the other side of the river and between Lake Tiberias and Beisan, the Crusaders had another important outpost: the fortress of Belvoir. In 1168 the Knights Hospitaller started the construction of this fortress. Ajloun Castle also ensured the protection of the precious iron mines located further south. These mines were essential for producing weapons and had to be kept out of Christian hands.
The construction of Ajloun Castle
Saladin entrusted the construction of the fortress to Izz al-Din Usama, a commander and architect1. He built the initial structure on Jabal ‘Auf mountain, comprising four corner towers connected by walls, between 1184 and 11852. Ajloun Castle underwent several expansions in subsequent years. Following the Mamluk conquest of the region in 1211, the governor Aybak ibn Abdullah erected two more towers to reinforce the eastern façade of the castle. An Arabic inscription carved on a stone block in 1214 records that he also added a large fortified structure on the southern side.
“In the name of God. This blessed tower was built by Aybak Ibn Abdullah, Master of the Greatest House, in the month of the Hijri year 611”.
Between 1250 and 1259, al-Nasir Yusuf, the King of Aleppo and Damascus, ordered a series of minor interventions. These included lengthening the loopholes and opening some windows. Sultan Baybars finally undertook a major renovation of the castle out of necessity. The ruler of Egypt and Syria had to repair the damage caused by the Mongol invasion of 1260, when part of the defensive walls were demolished. Baybars rebuilt the northwestern tower and equipped the fortress with powerful catapults loaded with stone ammunition.
The architecture of Ajloun Castle
The Ajloun Fortress is partly carved directly into the rock. It is inaccessible only from the south side, where the hill ends in a sheer drop. It is surrounded by a moat, which was filled with water during sieges3 and is about fifteen metres deep. The castle comprises two large rectangular buildings side by side, connected by two covered courtyards and vaulted corridors.
The entrance gate, which once had a drawbridge, is located near the tower in the southeast corner. Upon passing through the entrance, one traverses a narrow L-shaped corridor, covered by a barrel vault and equipped with twenty-one steps, which leads to a double internal opening. In the Middle Ages, this passageway had a heavy metal portcullis. This could be lowered quickly to prevent enemy access. There were also side slits and openings for pouring boiling oil. The castle’s outer walls, still well preserved, feature walkways, battlements and defensive balconies.
The fortress rises over three levels and comprises numerous rooms, used as dormitories for soldiers, storage rooms and stables. Ten of these rooms contain one of the most important architectural features of a Medieval castle: a well. This structure ensured a steady water supply in the event of a siege. The castle had an ingenious system of cisterns that conveyed water to various parts of the building.
The Byzantine monastery
The first nucleus of the Ajloun fortress, built by Izz al-Din Usama on behalf of Saladin, incorporated the ruins of a Byzantine monastery, of which some elements of the original church still remain. In this building, located at the top of the castle, we can see parts of the nave and presbytery, including the mosaic floor. The mosaic floor of the nave features a depiction of bread and two fish. This is a reference to the Gospel episode in which Christ multiplies these foods to feed a large crowd5. In the mosaic of the presbytery, raised by two steps and separated from the nave by an iconostasis, of which only a few traces remain, there is a Greek inscription, a dedication to a deacon named Aryano.
Military castle and palace
The Aybak Tower, erected to the southeast of the fortress to reinforce that side, housed soldiers’ dormitories on its lower floor. The second floor contained a mosque, and the top floor served as a palace, housing the governor’s reception rooms.
Ajloun Castle was used for military purposes until the Ottoman era, when it housed around fifty soldiers. Walking through its narrow, labyrinthine vaulted corridors, you feel as if you have stepped back in time, hearing the distant voices of commanders and sentries, and travellers who came from afar to find refuge in the shadow of its mighty towers.
Samuele Corrente Naso
Note
- W. Müller-Wiener, Castles during the Crusades, Dar Al-Fikr, Damasco, 1984. ↩︎
- M. Osman, Military fortifications and tools of combat in the Ayyubid era in Egypt and the Levant during the Crusades, Arab World House, Il Cairo, 1982. ↩︎
- S. Almomani, Islamic castles in Jordan, the Ayyubid-Mamluk period, Library of University of Jordan, Amman, 1985. ↩︎
- A. Walmsley, The Middle Islamic and Crusader Periods, In R. Adams, Jordan: an archaeological reader, Equinox, 2008. ↩︎
- John 6:1-14; Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:12-17. ↩︎
