Bourzey castle

Bourzey castle
Shathah Subdistrict, Syria
A gateway to the main Bourzey Castle
Bourzey castle
Coordinates	35°39′29″N 36°15′39″E / 35.65806°N 36.26083°E / 35.65806; 36.26083
Type	Castle
Site information
Condition	Ruins

Bourzey

era in 11th century. Architecturally it has triangle shape, the western façade is 175 m, the eastern is 50 m. The southern and eastern façades are adjacent to deep gorges, but the western façade is the least steep. There is 21 towers and a small church on the surface.

History

From the Seleucid era, the castle's hill played a role under the ancient name "Lysias" to secure the connection between the cities of Laodicea and Apamea. In 65 BC, Roman general, Pompey, controlled the region. Later on, the Byzantines built the castle on the hill. In 948/9, the commander Abu al-Hagar controlled the castle on behalf of the emir of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla.

In 975, the Byzantine Emperor,

, and it was called "Rochefort".

On August 23, 1188, Saladin took the castle after a three-day siege in his campaign after the Battle of Hattin, from Sibylla [Wikidata], the third wife of Bohemond III.

Structure

After Byzantine rule the castle passed to

came later to fortify the southern towers. However, based on comparisons in construction technology and style, it can be determined that the systems that still exist today were built by the crusaders in the first phase of castle construction (1100–1140).

The castle has several arrow bastions, underground rooms, water reservoirs. The road to the castle ends at the western slope. One needs climbing the mountain (~100 m) to reach the castle.

Notes

Sources

• Official site of Hama governorate - Syria

External links

• Pictures