For all the damage it has sustained throughout its long history, the Citadel of Damascus remains in a remarkable state of preservation. This is more so in the fortifications facing south and east, within the walls of the Old City. Its north and west defenses on the other hand were not as lucky, exposed as the had been to periodic bombardment from would be besiegers.
The fortress had retained its military primacy until the eighteenth century, as testified by Chevalier d'Arvieux in 1660 and again by Maundrell in 1698. It suffered bombardment by the troops of the Egyptian Mameluke Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab in 1771 to be restored almost immediately afterward.
Starting with the 19th century, neglect and abuse combined to rob the Citadel of its erstwhile glory. Quite a bit of the damage was inflicted near the end of Ottoman rule, as could be verified from the difference between the photos taken by Oppenheim in 1899 and those of Herzfeld in 1914. Not only was the Citadel suffocated with newly constructed marketplaces to the east, south, and west; Its venerable stones were also raided to be recycled in new projects, the same way its medieval builders ravaged the building blocks of the Temple of Jupiter. Mr. Cathcart King visited the edifice in 1942 and 1943, shortly before it endured fresh damage during the Syrian uprising against the moribund French Mandate.
Attached as is an old view (first half of the twentieth century) from west to east of the topmost part of Tower 4 with the Omayyad Mosque in the background (for the exact location see the map attached to the following link). This is the loftiest of the Citadel's twelve towers and is still in a very good condition.. It was constructed under the Ayyubid sultan al-Malik al-Adil in the beginning in the 13th century CE.
http://bornindamascus.blogspot.com/2018/04/blog-post_14.html
The fortress had retained its military primacy until the eighteenth century, as testified by Chevalier d'Arvieux in 1660 and again by Maundrell in 1698. It suffered bombardment by the troops of the Egyptian Mameluke Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab in 1771 to be restored almost immediately afterward.
Starting with the 19th century, neglect and abuse combined to rob the Citadel of its erstwhile glory. Quite a bit of the damage was inflicted near the end of Ottoman rule, as could be verified from the difference between the photos taken by Oppenheim in 1899 and those of Herzfeld in 1914. Not only was the Citadel suffocated with newly constructed marketplaces to the east, south, and west; Its venerable stones were also raided to be recycled in new projects, the same way its medieval builders ravaged the building blocks of the Temple of Jupiter. Mr. Cathcart King visited the edifice in 1942 and 1943, shortly before it endured fresh damage during the Syrian uprising against the moribund French Mandate.
Attached as is an old view (first half of the twentieth century) from west to east of the topmost part of Tower 4 with the Omayyad Mosque in the background (for the exact location see the map attached to the following link). This is the loftiest of the Citadel's twelve towers and is still in a very good condition.. It was constructed under the Ayyubid sultan al-Malik al-Adil in the beginning in the 13th century CE.
The Defences of the Citadel of Damascus; a Great Mohammedan Fortress of the Time of the Crusades
D. J. Cathcart King
Archaeologica, Volume XCIV, 1951
ReplyDeleteقلعة دمشق في النصف الأوّل من القرن العشرين. لقطة من الغرب إلى الشرق للقسم الأعلى من البرج الرابع الواقع في الجدار الجنوبي للحصن ويبدو فيها الجامع الأموي في الخلفيّة. هذا البرج هو الأكثر ارتفاعاً من أبراج القلعة الإثني عشر وحالته لا تزال جيّدة جدّاً ويعود إلى مطلع القرن الثالث عشر للميلاد وعهد الملك العادل. لحقت أضرار كثيرة بالقلعة عبر الزمن وقسم لا بأس به من هذه الأضرار يعود لأواخر العهد العثماني عندما استعملت حجارتها لبناء عمائر حديثة (تماماً كما استعمل بناة القلعة في العصور الوسطى أحجار معبد جوبيتر). تشهد على هذه الأضرار الأخيرة الفارق بين الصور التي التقطها أوبنهايم
.عام ١٨٩٩ وبين صور هرزفلد عام ١٩١٤. يمكن الرجوع للرابط الملحق وخريطته لتحديد موقع البرج
The Defences of the Citadel of Damascus; a Great Mohammedan Fortress of the Time of the Crusades
D. J. Cathcart King
Archaeologica, Volume XCIV, 1951
http://bornindamascus.blogspot.com/2018/04/blog-post_17.html