Bani_Qahtan_Castle

Bani Qahtan Castle

Bani Qahtan Castle

Add article description

Bani Qahtan castle (Arabic: قلعة بني قحطان) is found in the Syrian Coastal Mountains, about 40 km from Latakia city.

Quick Facts Coordinates, Type ...

History

The castle which was known as Bikisrail,[1] was controlled by Byzantine doux of Antioch, Niketas of Mistheia, in 1032.[2] It was later captured by Crusaders led by Tancred in 1111.[3] The castle was later mentioned as being a stronghold in the hands of Nizari Ismaili in 1131, who surrendered it to Saladin in 1188.

Structure

The castle is totally damaged and not much remained from it, as its ruins are dated back to the 12th century. It is reached by car road through Baniyas-Jableh road from west. External walls are well preserved, which contain the whole massive of the castle. The castle is situated on a high mountain, accessible only from the south through a narrow piece of land.

References

  1. [1]
    France 2002, p. 91
  2. [2]
    Theotokis & Meško 2020, p. 256.
  3. [3]
    "Qalaat Bani Qahtan". Monuments of Syria. 1 January 2014.

Bibliography

  • France, John (2002), Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300, Routledge, ISBN 9781135365066
  • Theotokis, Georgios; Meško, Marek (2020). War in Eleventh-Century Byzantium. Routledge. ISBN 9780429576881.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Bani_Qahtan_Castle, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.