| Mseilha Fort | |
|---|---|
| Native name قلعة المسيلحة (Arabic) | |
 The Mseilha Fort with the Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory in the background | |
| Location | Hamat, Caza of Batroun, Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 34°16′26″N35°41′23″E / 34.2738°N 35.6898°E /34.2738; 35.6898 |
| Built | c. 1624 |
| Built for | Fakhr al-Din II |
| Governing body | Directorate General of Antiquities[1] |
  Location of Mseilha Fort in Lebanon | |
TheMseilha Fort (Arabic:قلعة المسيلحة,romanized: Qal'at al-Msaylḥa) is a historic fortification located inNorthern Lebanon, strategically positioned on the right bank of the Al-Jaouz River, inHamat, approximately 2.5 kilometers northeast of the city ofBatroun inNorth Lebanon. The fort's location enabled it to oversee key passages through the valley and control the ancient pathways circumventing the coastalRas ash-Shaq'a promontory, a significant geological formation along the Lebanese coast that historically posed challenges to travelers.
The nameMseilha originates from the Arabic term for "fortified place", a diminutive ofmusallaha (Arabic:مسلحة), meaning "fortified." Constructed on alimestone rock formation, the current structure dates back to the 17th century, likely commissioned byEmir Fakhr al-Din II. It lacksCrusader-era architectural elements, though historical records suggest the site may have been fortified during the Crusades. The existing fort, a product of traditional sandstone masonry, consists of two main sections, fortified walls up to two meters thick, a triangularcourtyard, and defensivearrowslits, with adaptive design suited to the surrounding terrain.
The Mseilha Fort is conflated in some sources with the Puy du Connétable, amedieval Crusader estate and fortification that defended the nearby Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory. However, architectural and historical evidence suggests that these were distinct structures, with Mseilha constructed in theOttoman period, likely on or near the site of the earlier Crusader fortifications. The Mseilha Fort was featured on the 1964 25Lebanese Lira banknote.
The Mseilha Fort stands on the right bank ofAl-Jaouz river, to the south-east ofRas ash-Shaq'a promontory; a massive geological formation that cuts through the coast of Lebanon, making it historically difficult for travelers to circumvent.[2] The fort is located within the municipal area ofHamat, 2.5 km (1.6 mi) northeast ofBatroun,[3] and is strategically located to control the crossing of the Al-Jaouz river and the pathways that climb the valley slopes or bypass the promontory.[2]
The name of the Mseilha Fort has been recorded in various forms over time, often influenced by the accounts of western travelers. The French archaeologistRené Dussaud noted thatAntoine-Alphonse Montfort, a French painter, was the first traveler to record the correct name of the fort, spelling it asMseïla.[4] The 17th-century English traveler and clergymanHenry Maundrell referred to it asTemseida, likely a corruption due to his limited familiarity with theArabic language.[5] Other travelers frequently misinterpreted or misspelled the name; the Swedish travel and orientalistJakob Berggren referred to the fort asQal’at Mezaibeha,[6] followingJohann Ludwig Burckhardt, a Swiss traveler, who wroteKalaat Meszabeha,[7] likely due to a misreading of his travel notes.[4] Similarly, the German explorerUlrich Jasper Seetzen's manuscript was, according to Dussaud, misread by his editors, resulting inKalat Inszelha.[8][4] The first documented use of the nameMseilha is attributed to Dussaud in his 1897 publication,Voyage en Syrie.[9] Later, Swiss historianMax von Berchem, writing in 1914, used the formEl-Musailiha, further contributing to the variations in the fort's recorded name.[10]Mseilha, derives from the Arabic word for "fortified place," being a diminutive form ofmusallaha (Arabic:مسلحة), meaning "fortified".[3][10] Other modern alternative romanizations includeQal'at al Mouseiliha,[11]Musayliha,[2] andMuseiliha.[12]
Following the collapse of theRas ash-Shaq'a promontory in the aftermath of the551 CE earthquake,[13] the coastal road linking the cities of Batroun, El-Heri and Tripoli was lost, transforming the northern shoreline into a high sea cliff.[12][14] Consequently, a new road bypassing the promontory from the east was necessary to ensure communication between the coastal cities. Crossing the Nahr el-Jaouz valley, this road turns around Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory to reach the other side at a spot near El-Heri called Bab el-Hawa (meaning the "door of the wind").[3]
Duringthe Crusades, the prominent land mass of Ras ash-Shaq'a held significant strategic value in the defense of theCounty of Tripoli. It guarded one of the region's most perilous road segments and overlooked the Bay of Heri, a coastal area well-suited formaritime landings. Due to its strategic importance, Ras ash-Shaq'a was designated as a separatelordship, distinct from the nearbyfiefs ofNephin (modernAnfe) to the north and Boutron (modern Batroun) to the south.[15] This territory was granted as a fief to theConstable of Tripoli, and there was likely a direct connection between holding the fortification of the fief and the office of constable.[16][15]Twelfth century historian of theFirst Crusade,Albert of Aix described the strategic position of the defensive fortification that then existed atop the Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory to guard a narrow pass:[17]
This mountain, detached from the more distant mountain chain, extends over a vast area of land all the way to the sea. A tower that dominates and controls the route through one of its gates rises at the summit of this mountain. This small structure can hold no more than six men, but these few would be enough to defend the pass against all who live under the sky.[18]
During the two centuries of Frankish occupation that followed, the CrusaderCounts of Tripoli fortified Ras ash-Shaq'a, referring to the estate as "Puy du Connétable" (Hill of the Constable), "Puy Guillaume, and the mountain pass as "Passe Saint-Guillaume", all of which, according to historian Maxime Goepp likely also refer to the Mseilha Fort.[17] In a 1109 document,Bertrand, Count of Saint-Gilles, gifted theChurch of St. Lawrence of Genoa full control over the Castle of the Constabulary (Latin:Castrum Constabularii)Gibellum (modern Jbeil), and one-third of Tripoli's territory.[a][19] This lordship would be maintained until 1278, with the lords of Le Puy appearing as constables of the County up to that date.[17] Around 1276, the vicinity of the Puy du Connétable was the site of a battle during the war betweenGuy II Embriaco ofGibelet and theKnights Templar againstBohemond VII, Count of Tripoli.[20]
The Mseilha Fort is conflated in some sources with the Puy du Connétable,[17] but the exact location and extent of the latter remains uncertain with historians likeEmmanuel-Guillaume Rey,[21] andHenri Lammens,[22] suggesting that the Puy likely referred to the estate located north of the promontory in al-Heri,[b][23][21] or to a previous structure at the location of the Mseilha Fort respectively.[23] Scholars noted that while the rock on which the fort stands may have served as a military position in ancient times,[24] the current fort structure does not include any elements from the Crusader era. The construction techniques, cutting methods, stone block sizes, and lowarched doors and windows, among other elements, suggest that the current structure was built in the 17th century at the earliest.[3] The nineteenth-century French historianErnest Renan could not relate the architectural elements in Mseilha to anything earlier than theMiddle Ages.[12]Paul Deschamps, a 20th-century historian of Crusader architecture, confirmed the lack of any Crusader-era features in the current fort but did not rule out the possibility that it replaced earlier Crusader constructions, as surviving Frankish literature indicates the Crusaders had fortified the strategic pass between Ras ash-Shaq'a and the foothills ofMount Lebanon.[11][3] Deschamps further posits, that the tower described by Albert of Aix during the march of theFirst Crusade in 1099 may have been located on the Mseilha rock, a theory echoed by French historiansRené Grousset andJean Richard.[11][25][26]
Modern scholars Davie and Salamé-Sarkis distinguish the Mseilha Fort from the historical Puy du Connétable. According to them, the entire promontory of Ras ash-Shaq'a was known from 1109[19] to 1282[27] in Crusader-era texts asPuy du Connétable.[15] The estate was defended by theCastrum Constabularii, as mentioned in Bertrand of Saint-Gilles' 1109 document,[19] which likely replaced an earlier tower described by Albert of Aix. According to scholars Davie and Salamé-Sarkis, this tower may have been situated at the summit ofJabal an-Nuriyya, a strategic position on the northern tip of the Ras al Shaq'a promontory, that enabled monitoring of both the mountain pass and the bay of Heri.[15]
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French travelerJean de La Roque passed near the Mseilha Fort in late 1689 on his route from Tripoli to Batroun. He recorded a local account attributing the fort's construction toEmir Fakhr al-Din II, theDruze former ruler of Lebanon.[3] Nineteenth century Lebanese scholar FatherMansur Tannus al-Hattuni, recounting events of 1624, noted that Emir Fakhr al-Din II "ordered SheikhAbu Nadir al-Khazin to construct the Mseilha Fort north of Batroun".[c][29][3] Hattuni's source,Tannus al-Shidyaq, mentions that the fort was built by Fakhr al-Din II and added in his account of 1631—six years after the fort's construction—that Abu Nadir al-Khazin conducted restoration work on the fort.[30][3] The year 1624 is accepted as the date of the fort's construction.[3] Burckhardt,[d] who visited the area in the early 19th century and confirmed that Mseilha Fort was of relatively recent origin.[3] Maundrell, writing in 1697, described it as a small fort perched upon a steep, perpendicular rock, with walls conforming to the rock's natural shape, commanding the passage into a narrow valley.[5]
Antoine-Alphonse Montfort took part in an expedition between 1837 and 1838 to visit Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, and kept a detailed travel diary, which is now part of the collection of theBibliothèque nationale de France. He sketched landscapes, historical sites, and fortifications, among which the Mseilha Fort.[e][4] Max Van Berchem and the Swiss architectEdmond Fatio, conducted the first comprehensive archaeological study of the site and documented their observations in their 1914 publication,Voyage en Syrie.[31][4] The Mseilha Fort was featured on the reverse of the 25Lebanese Lira banknote issued between 1964 and 1983.[32] In 2007, restoration works were undertaken to make the site safe for visitors. Funded byUSAID, these works are a continuation of a project conducted bySRI International-INMA to rehabilitate the fort, in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture - Directorate General of Antiquities.[3]
| External 3D model | |
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 3D model of Mseilha Fort, linked from Sketchfab.[33] |
The Mseilha fort is 15 m (49 ft) high,[34] built on a narrow limestone rocky outcrop.[35] Its walls range from 1.5 to 2 m (4.9 to 6.6 ft) in thickness, and were built with medium-sized sandstone blocks, although some larger limestone blocks are also present, likely repurposed from older structures.[35][3] The fort was built in two phases, resulting in two adjoining sections that form a single architectural unit. It is approached through a narrow, steep path on the northern side of the rock, which incorporates steps carved directly into thebedrock. This path leads to a smallmasonry terrace and a low,rounded-arch doorway. The entrance opens into a narrow, triangularcourtyard bordered by a two-bayvaulted building on the southern side, possibly used for storage, with as acistern in its lower level.[35] Thecurtain wall on the southern side rises approximately two meters higher than the northern wall, likely an intentional design to counterbalance the elevated mountain terrain to the south, which offers a natural strategic advantage controlling the entrance of the Nahr el-Jaouz valley.[35] In the west tower, an archery chamber offers a vantage point with narrow arrow slits. The eastern section of the fort is more elevated and fortified, with a cluster of vaulted rooms surrounding a small inner courtyard. From this courtyard, a staircase leads to an upper level, where each room is similarly equipped with arrow slits for defense. At the easternmost tip, a square tower juts forward.[35]
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1109, June 26, indiction II. — Bertrand, Count of Saint-Gilles, in the presence of Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem, grants to the Church of St. Lawrence of Genoa, through the hands of William Embriaco, Oberto Ussumaris, Ingo Pedegola, Ansald Caput de Burgo, the entirety of Gibellum with its appurtenances, the Castle of the Constabulary, and also a third part of Tripoli from one sea up to another, as defined by the king's standard. Furthermore, it is promised to protect the islands of the city itself and the port, as well as their commerce and freedoms.[19]
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Media related toMseilha Fort at Wikimedia Commons | ||
Also See:Castles in Lebanon | ||
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