The castles of Syria and the beautiful surprises of exploration
Syria, History, 10/30/1998

It is impossible for the stranger to visit Syria's castles without wishing to discover the answers to various questions.

Why first of all were they built in such numbers and on such a scale? What architectural influences were predominant in their construction? How were such vast defensive works ever captured? And lastly, what was the society of which they were the focal points?

The answer to these questions involves consideration of certain aspects of Syria in ancient times. Sheizar and Masiaf castles are two fortresses from the Crusader period, not however primarily connected with the Crusades. Both are accessible from Hama, and though they do not compare in size with the great castles spread all over Syria, their associations and their dramatic situation render them remarkable.

Sheizar stands on the rolling plain that stretches far southward from Aleppo, having on one side the blue line of the coastal mountains and on the other the emptiness of the desert. It is a plain where they rear the best horses in Syria, descended perhaps from the stock of the Seleucid cavalry whose stud farm was situated there, at Apamea.

It is in this treeless, rolling area that Sheizar stands on a bend of the Orontes river. There, as often in its course, the river is sunk well. The castle stands above the river on a long thin rock whose shape acquired it the name of the Cock's Comb. Its importance rested not only in the strength of the position but in the fact that it controlled one of the major fords of the Orontes.

The ancients realized the value of the site, and it is mentioned in the inscriptions of the Pharaoh Totmes III. Though fortified in very early times, the present castle dates mainly from the twelfth century when it was rebuilt after a disastrous earthquake. Its interest is that it gives one a glimpse of what the people on the "other side" were doing.

The stronghold belonged to the princes of the Banu Munqidh family and it is closely associated with Osamah Bin Munqidh, perhaps the most readable and entertaining of the chroniclers of the early crusading period. His memoirs not only reveal the picture of an exceptionally cultivated Muslim gentlemen, but describe the chase, life in the castle, the expeditions against the nearest Frankish stronghold at Apamea and the successful resistance which Sheizar itself put up on more than one occasion against the crusading armies.

Today, though the entrance with its Arabic inscription and the keep to the south are still impressive, the castle emphasizes the disappearance of the arts of war and peace which were so successfully cultivated in Sheizar in Osama's lifetime. It is the old story, so often repeated in Syria, of six hundred years of haphazard neglect and destruction under Mameluke and Turkish rule.

Nevertheless, the castle of Masiaf introduces the traveler to another factor of considerable importance in the history of Crusaders. Masiaf, the neighboring village and the surrounding country are attractive. The road from Hama winds up a small valley. Castle and village were once a compact unit, enclosed in an encircling outer wall.

Though much of the wall remains, the village pays little attention to its stones, bounding pleasantly into orchards and gardens. The general air of cleanliness and well-being, of stone-built houses and mountain activity, provide a striking contrast to the ruins of Sheizar.

Previous Stories:
  Arab navigators and ancient geography   (9/15/1998)
  Collapse of the Umayyad empire   (4/29/1998)
  Arab Golden age and education   (4/8/1998)

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