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| Boundless Vista around Kerak Castle |
A Military Engineering Marvel
Kerak Castle, Jordan
Kerak Castle is an ancient
ruin on a mountain top with the charming city below. It is situated 950 m/1,000 m above sea level. It is positioned on
the famous and ancient King’s Highway. It is 47.3 km away from Dead Sea. The castle
is located in Al-Karak city which is 140 km from Amman. It takes about two
hours by road. Al-Karak is an ancient city and has been inhabited since the Iron Age.
It is mentioned in the Bible as Qer Harreseth or Kir of Moab. Al-Karak is the
capital city of the Karak Governorate. The
drivable distance to the nearest city, Madaba,
is one and a half hours.
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| A View of Al-Karak City from Kerak Castle |
History
Kerak castle’s main function was “to protect the
assets of Crusader states in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.”(Wikipedia). Kerak
is the largest crusader castle in Levant. Construction began in 1140 under
Pagan the Butler, Lord of Oultrejordain in the kingdom of Jerusalem. Kerak
Castle became Pagan’s seat of power in 1142. It also became the center of rule
because of its strategic importance. Since
it is located east of the Dead Sea, the rulers of Kerak Castle were able to regulate
Bedouin herders and trade routes. The castle controlled the caravan route between Damascus and Egypt and the pilgrim
route between Damascus and Mecca. It is located on a tactically important point,
in the center between Shoubak Castle (Montreal Castle) and Jerusalem.
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| Arched Entrances Amidst Ruins of the Castle |
The crusaders harassed the camel trains and even attempted to attack Mecca itself. Sultan Saladin of Ayyubid dynasty besieged Kerak several times to avenge such attacks. S’ad-Al-Din, Saladin’s nephew conquered the castle in 1188 . Ultimately the castle fell not due to the Muslim army but due to lack of food because the Muslim army cut off supplies to the castle. The castle was in the crusaders’ hands for 46 years.
Under the Ayyubid Dynasty, Kerak first served as an
Administrative center for all the regions of Jordan. Later the royal treasury
was located there. In 1263, Mamluk Sultan, Baybars captured Kerak Castle. It
remained an important administrative center and also a military base. In 1840
,Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt seized it and destroyed a substantial part of its battlements
.During the Ottoman Empire, Kerak Castle again became a military base because
of its strategic location on the crossroads between the Arabian peninsula
,Egypt and Greater Syria.
The castle was
in use from 1142 AD to 1917 AD.
Military
Architecture
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| Kerak Castle and Al-Karak City Photo: Daniel Case,en.wikipedia.org |
Kerak Castle is a good example of a Spur
Castle because it fulfills the features of Spur Castles. It is defended on 3
sides by steep hillsides and it has notable
defensive features such as inaccessible location, walls and towers.
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| Castle's Stone Fortification |
It is built on top of a mountain, at the edge of a triangular plateau. Since the castle is surrounded on all 3 sides by steep hills, all the battles took place on one side of the castle. Steep slopes are covered by Glacis (artificial slope) which is a special feature of military engineering.
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| Kerak Castle's East Flank and the Glacis Photo: Dosseman, commons, Wikimedia, org |
The deep valleys around it acted as natural
fosses (moats).Still, artificial moats were constructed to prevent the castle from being attacked by
siege engines.
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| A Dry Moat Photo: Dosseman,en.wikipedia.org |
Kerak Castle is a good example of Giri /Parvat Durg or Hill Fort found in India. Such forts were considered to be the best among all kinds of forts. Kerak Castle effectively served its purpose of being a stronghold to royalty and citizens, as well as play a crucial part for war and defense. The soldiers shot down the intruders who climbed up the glacis. It was an easy job for them because the intruders were easily spotted as there were no forests or even shrubs to camouflage them ;or projecting cliffs to conceal or shelter them from the onslaught from above.
Hence the attackers used siege engines which included
giant mechanical crossbow, mobile or stationary multi-storied towers , massive
catapults, enormous wooden logs etc. Those were used to break fortress walls and heavy wooden gates.
The moats were mainly neck ditches, i.e. they did not fully surround the castle
but only protected that part which was not protected by natural boundaries.
The castle is separated from the town by a moat . This is the modern entrance for tourists and it now has a metal footbridge through which visitors enter the castle. This is the moat that Sultan Saladin tried to fill up during a siege.
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| Modern Metal Footbridge Over the Medieval Moat Photo: Berthold Werner,commons.wikimedia.org |
Description of Kerak Castle
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| Kerak Castle's West Flank with the Lower Court and Upper court Photo: Dosseman ,en.wikipedia.org |
The area of Kerak Castle is expansive. The castle has an upper
court and a lower court. The Crusader architectural features are immense arched
halls built on two levels. They were used as living quarters and stables.
The castle entrance opens to a huge, wide and lengthy corridor bordered by arched columns. The
columns served as shelter against missiles from siege engines.
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| Endless Passageway Bordered By Arches |
There are some narrow lanes along the exterior of the
castle which probably served as moats. The guide told us that there was one
stone embedded somewhere in the whole
structure which was the support for the whole castle. Only the architect
and the king knew about its location and if that stone was removed or tampered
with, the whole erection would fall down.
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| Kerak Castle, Interior Photo: Dennis Jarvis,commons.wikimedia.org |
The illustrations in the castle are crude. There is an ancient
bathing place. In 1227, the Sultan of Damascus Al-Muazzam ’Isa commissioned the
construction of a tunnel that ran from the castle into the town.
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| Illustration over a Bathing Place |
In this castle resided Reynald-de-Chatillon (also
known as Arnat)who was one of the worst enemies of the Muslims during the
Crusades. One of his beloved pastimes was to throw prisoners from the castle
walls into the rocks below. So the location height of the castle can easily be
imagined. Sultan Saladin had sworn that he would execute Reynald himself.
Eventually, in 1187, the Muslims defeated the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin
and Reynald was taken prisoner. True to his word, Sultan Saladin beheaded him.
After the fall of Kerak Castle, Montreal Castle had
to surrender as well.
The castle is constructed of stone and the boundary wall erected by the Crusaders is built with rough-shaped volcanic stones. Later the Muslims
used limestone to expand and rebuild the castle because it was easily available
in nearby quarries. The domes, vaults ,columns, arches, niches and colonettes
reflect Byzantine and Islamic features of architecture.
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| A Portion of the Wall Built with Volcanic Rocks |
Terrorist Attack
On December 18,2016, a terrorist attack took place at
Kerak Castle in which 14 people were killed and 34 were injured, the majority being Jordanian security forces and
local civilians. Among the dead was a Canadian tourist and all the five gunmen.
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| Inside Kerak Castle Photo: Steven C. Price, commons wikimedia.org |
The attack started in the afternoon and ended by
midnight. Many tourists were in the castle when the violence started and
they were trapped inside due to the terrorist attack. But none of the tourists were
taken hostage because the attackers were not even aware of their presence. That
was because the tourists hid in different parts of the castle. This speaks
volumes about the architecture of the castle. It is like entering a dark maze
full of labyrinthine corridors, stone steps leading underground , endless,
columned, passageways and dark stone vaults. Some tunneled hallways are quite dark so that a torch would come in handy.
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| Steps to a Chamber Photo: Steven C. Price commons.wikimedia.org |
Jordan and
Coffee
From the ramparts of the fort we could see an Amusement
Park down below in Al-Karak city. In the park there was a huge, decorative coffee pot. It is
a symbol of Jordanian hospitality. That means every
guest who visits a Jordanian’s house will be offered coffee . In fact, our guide
told us how coffee played an important part in fixing a marriage. Generally
marriages in Jordan are arranged but if the girl and boy choose of their own
they must marry with the blessings of their parents. A typical scene would be
like this: a group of people from the groom’s side would go to the prospective
bride’s house to talk. Out of this group only two would go inside: the
immediate relative of the groom, mostly
the father of the groom and another sagacious head who could talk prudently.
The rest would wait outside. Coffee would be served to the two important guests but they would keep the coffee cups down. If the negotiations went off
well , only then would they drink coffee
and the others waiting outside would be called in. Otherwise, they would walk
away.
The view from the ramparts of Kerak Castle is wonderful. Opposite the castle, on the other side of the road are ant-hill colored hills, with caves embedded within them.
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| The Amusement Park in the Island and Caves embedded in the Hill |
