A trip into the heart of ancient civilizations
Syria, History, 12/30/1998

Syria is regarded by historians as the very heart of the Arab Islamic world. It witnessed Arab Islamic civilizations that flourished through successive ages. Fruitful interaction had been carried out between them producing remarkable, distinctive civilizations.

These civilizations' achievements are manifested in various fields: sciences, culture, art, literature, philosophy and architecture.

Ancient civilization started in Syria, as a matter of fact, long before Islam. The inhabitants of Syria had their own special conventions and culture. When Islam came, it introduced a new ideology and new concepts. It adopted the traditions that suit it and discarded inferior and immoral ones.

Muslim conquerors who came to acquaint the inhabitants with the new religion settled in the country. They mixed with the native people, disseminating their culture, knowledge and conventions. All inhabitants, whether they were Muslim or Christian, had participated with the new Muslim conquerors in establishing the remarkable Arab Islamic art.

This distinctive art is manifest in various fields. There are many monuments in Syria which should be studied as traces of ancient and Arab Islamic civilizations. Shaizar castle is one such site. It is situated on a mount connected with the country's hills which overlook the Ghab valley. The castle was built on the site of an ancient palace dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks.

Historians affirm that the site of the old palace was used to put up the Acropolis of the Greek city. Muslim Arab conquerors entered Shaizar in 638 AD after their conquest of Homs and Hama cities under the leadership of Obeida Bin al-Jarrah. The castle was ruled by the Arabs for a long period. But due to the importance of its geographical location, the castle was the target of foreign rulers' conquests.

The Byzantine attacked it frequently and were able to rule it for various periods. At that time, it was ruled by the Fatimids. The Romans had occupied the castle for a while and they remained its masters till 1087 AD. At that date, Shaizar fell in the hands of Abu al-Hassan Ali Bin Munkiz, who was the founder of al-Munkiz state, which included the castle. He was called Sadeed al-Mulk.

Though the state was tiny, it was powerful. It resisted the successive invasions of the Ismaelite Bin Kuleib in Aleppo and those of the Byzantine.

At the beginning of the Crusades, the Crusaders occupied Apamea city, which is very near Shaizar. Al-Munkiz, the governor of Shaizar, assaulted Apamea frequently, defending the Arab homeland against its enemies. The Crusaders were forced to establish a guard on the mount facing Shaizar. Their task was to oversee the inhabitants and transmit information about their military moves.

The fortified location of Shaizar in the middle of the mountains, its strong fortress, in addition to the firm dominance of its rulers, al-Munkiz, saved the castle from falling. The Arab Munkiz family had dominated Shaizar for a very long time during which it had never been ruled by foreigners. It remained firm and stable until it was shaken by a deadly catastrophe. When the al-Munkiz family were gathered to attend an annual banquet, an earthquake devastated the castle walls, destroying them all, except Osama Bin al-Munkiz who was rescued.

After the catastrophe, the Ismaelites tried to inhabit Shaizar. Later on, Noureddine al-Ayoubi, the governor of Damascus, reconstructed it and appointed Majd al-Daye as its governor. The castle, unfortunately, was destroyed once again in 1170 when it was hit by another earthquake, which destroyed most of the structures that had been put up by Noureddine al-Ayoubi.

The castle remained in the hands of the Ayoubid princes, who dominated it successively. It became, later on, part of the Memluke Kingdom. Later it was ruled by the Turks as part of the Ottoman Empire.

Previous Stories:
  Aleppo: An ancient city molded by a history of commerce   (12/2/1998)
  The castles of Syria and the beautiful surprises of exploration   (10/30/1998)
  New archaeological finds in Raqqa   (12/23/1997)

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