| Aqaba Fortress | |
|---|---|
| Aqaba, Jordan | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Fortifiedcaravanserai, later military fort |
| Controlled by | Mamluk Sultanate;Ottoman Empire;Arab Revolt |
| Location | |
  Aqaba Fortress | |
| Coordinates | 29°31′18″N35°00′07″E / 29.521756°N 35.00203°E /29.521756; 35.00203 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 16th century |
| Materials | Stone |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Aqaba (1917) |
TheAqaba Castle orAqaba Fort (Arabic:قلعة العقبة,romanized: Qalʿat al-ʿAqaba), also known as theMamluk Castle ofAqaba, Jordan, is aMamluk andOttoman fortifiedcaravanserai on the pilgrimage route toMecca andMedina which, in its current form, dates back mainly to the 16th century. In the century preceding theFirst World War, it was used to a larger degree as a military stronghold.
In July 1917, the fortress was witness to a victory in theBattle of Aqaba as part of theArab Revolt, when this heavily defended Ottoman stronghold fell to an Arab camel charge.Lawrence of Arabia rode triumphantly from here toCairo to report the good news toGeneral Allenby. Theport of Aqaba became a major supply base for the advancing Arab Revolt.[1]
The fort is located next to theAqaba Flagpole, which carries the flag of the Arab revolt against the Ottomans. A building adjacent to the fort, which in 1917 served asSharif Hussein's residence, now houses theAqaba Archaeological Museum.
The Early Muslim fortified city of Ayla (present-day Aqaba) was already in a dilapidated state in 1116, when KingBaldwin I of Jerusalem reached it forcing its inhabitants to flee by ship to a nearby island.[2] TheCrusaders left a garrison behind in a small fort, which they either built themselves, or more likely, according to archaeologist Donald Whitcomb, inherited from theAyyubids.[2] Whichever the case, no 12th-century material could be identified during excavations anywhere at Aqaba, and Whitcomb's assumption is that it has been completely razed when the Mamluks built their own fort at the same location.[2]
The Mamluk fort was built 1 kilometre south of Early Muslim Ayla andDenys Pringle credited in 1997 the first structure to SultanAl-Nasir Muhammad (c. 1320).[3] However, the still standing building is dated mainly to two construction phases, based on two inscriptions from the gatehouse: one runs the length of the vaulted room inside the gate and praises Mamluk sultanAl-Ashraf Qansuh Al-Ghuri (r. 1501–1516),[3] and the second belongs to a medallion set above the first and is dedicated to Ottoman sultanMurad III who undertook substantial work in 1587.[4][5]
The fortified structure was initially built as akhan (inn or caravanserai) for Muslim pilgrims from Egypt performingHajj.[4] In 1841 itcame under Egyptian control and work was done to strengthen it as a military position, with the mission to protect the same pilgrimage route.[4]
Archaeological investigations in the western part of the structure indicates at least seven stages of occupation.[4] From theUmayyad period, mainly irrigation installations were found.[4] This was followed by a first khan dated to the 13th century, which had the same basic alignment as the later castle.[4] Thirdly, a 14th or 15th-century khan was built, whose footprint corresponds generally to the current building.[4] The last two stages correspond to the work mentioned in the two 16th-century inscriptions, one from the late Mamluk and the other from the early Ottoman period.[4] The formerly polygonal towers facing eastwards were given a round shape after 1828.[4] Shelling during World War I brought down the west wall and the northwest tower, and in commemoration of the 1917 Arab victory, the oldmachicolation protecting the entrance is decorated by a panel bearing the coat-of-arms of theHashemites.[4]
| Major castles |  | |
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| Desert castles | ||
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