Margat

Margat
قلعة المرقب
NearBaniyas,Syria
Margat, a Crusader castle in Northern Syria
Margat
Coordinates	35.151111°N 35.949167°E/35.151111; 35.949167
Type	Concentric castle
Site information
Owner	Al-Markabi Family
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Ruin, under renovation
Site history
Built	1062
Materials	Basalt

Margat,also known asMarqab(Arabic:قلعة المرقب,romanized:Qalʻat al-Marqab,lit. 'Castle of the Watchtower'), is acastlenearBaniyas,Syria,which was aCrusaderfortress and one of the major strongholds of theKnights Hospitaller.It is located around 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from theMediterraneancoast and approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Baniyas. The castle remained in a poor state of preservation until 2007 when some reconstruction and renovation began.

Fortress

History

Margat is located on a hill formed by an extinct volcano high about 360 metres (1,180 ft) above sea level on the road betweenTripoliandLatakia,overlooking theMediterranean Sea.

According to Arab sources, the site of Margat Castle was first fortified in 1062 by Muslimswho continued to hold it within the ChristianPrincipality of Antiochin the aftermath of theFirst Crusade.When the Principality was defeated at theBattle of Harranin 1104, theByzantine Empiretook advantage of their weakness and captured Margatfrom the Muslims. A few years later it was captured byTancred, Prince of Galilee,regent of Antioch, and became part of the Principality.

In the 1170s, it was controlled byRainald II Masoirof Antioch as avassalof thecount of Tripoli.The fortress was so large that it had its own household officials and a number ofrear-vassals.Rainald II's son Bertrand sold it to the Hospitallers in 1186 as it was too expensive for the Mazoir family to maintain. After some rebuilding and expansion by the Hospitallers it became their headquarters in Syria. Under Hospitaller control, its fourteen towers were thought to be impregnable.

In 1188,Saladinmarched on Margat having leftKrak des Chevaliersin search of easier prey. According toAbu'l-Fida,"Recognising that Maqab was impregnable and that he had no hope of capturing it, he passed on to Jabala".It was one of the few remaining territories left in Christian hands after Saladin's conquests.

By the beginning of the 13th century the Hospitallers controlled the surrounding land and roads and made a large profit from travellers and pilgrims passing through.Isaac Comnenus of Cypruswas imprisoned there afterRichard I of EnglandcapturedCyprusfrom him during theThird Crusade.The bishop of nearby Valenia also used Margat as his headquarters after around 1240. Margat was second in size and power only to the other Hospitaller fortress to the south, Krak des Chevaliers.

Aerial photograph of Margat, taken in the 1930s

In September 1281, the Hospitallers of Margat dispatched a contingent of troops to support theMongolinvasion of Syria, which theMamluksultan of EgyptQalawunsuccessfully prevented after defeating the coalition atHoms.To punish the Hospitallers, Qalawun clandestinely raised an army inDamascusandbesieged Margaton 17 April 1285. After a 38-day siege during whichsappersand miners managed to dig several tunnels underneath the fortress's walls, a mine destroyed asalientof the southernmost wall. The defenders panicked and on discovering the numerous tunnels around the fortress, surrendered to the Mamluk commander Fakhr al-Din Mukri on 23 May, with Qalwun entering Margat two days later. The siege was witnessed by eleven-year-oldAbu'l Fidaand his father, theAyyubidgovernor ofHama.Qalawun allowed the Hospitallers to leave with everything they could carry. Rather than destroy Margat as he did with other fortresses, he repaired its defences and placed a strong garrison there due to its strategic value.

The North West view from the castle. Photograph byAnthony F. Kersting.

Marqat, known asMarqabby the Muslims, became a district of the Mamluk province of Tripoli with maintenance of the area financed by the sultan. Intrepid travellerIbn Battutavisited the fortress and noted that a suburb was built outside of it for foreigners, who were not allowed entry into the fortress. The district governor based at the Marqab fortress held the military rank of "Emir of 20 Mamluks." He was charged with defending the coast, particularly from threats from the island ofCyprus,and maintaining the guard towers and observation posts. During theBurji Mamlukperiod, Margat was well known in the region for containing an imperial prison with many high-profile inmates. The 15th-century Muslim historian Khalil al-Zahiri noted that Marqab fortress was among the most important sites of Tripoli province. Marqab was "clearly impregnable and controls a territory containing numerous villages."

During theOttoman era,Margat became the administrative center of akaza( "district" ) of the same name, which contained threenahiyas( "subdistricts" ) — Margat,QadmusandKhawabi.In the 1890s there was a total of 393 localities with a collective population of 39,671, of whom 21,121 wereAlawites.The chief agricultural products were olives, onions, tobacco and silk, which were largely marketed toBeirut-based merchants. The fortress served as the residence of thekaymakam( "military governor" ) of the district until 1884 when the seat was transferred toBaniyas.

The last known owner of the castle was Al-Markabi family ( “Al-Marqabi” ) where the name was based on the castle.In 2023, the castle was damaged during theFebruary earthquake.

Architecture

Castles in Europe provided lordly accommodation for their owners and acted as centres of administration. In the Levant the need for defence was paramount and this was reflected in castle design. Historian Hugh Kennedy suggests that "The castle scientifically designed as a fighting machine surely reached its apogee in great buildings like Margat and Crac des Chevaliers."Like theKrak des Chevaliers,Margat is a largespur castlewith many typical elements of aconcentric castle.It has abent entranceleading through the base of a gate tower. A notable feature of the inner defences is a large circular tower, sometimes referred to as adonjon(though it should not be confused with a centralkeep). Unlike the Krak Des Chevaliers, Margat has a large outer ward, giving it a larger total area.

Village of al-Marqab

Al-Marqab المرقب
Village
Al-Marqab
Coordinates:35°9′29″N35°57′20″E
Country	Syria
Governorate	Tartus
District	Baniyas
Subdistrict	Baniyas
Population (2004)
• Total	2,618
Time zone	UTC+2(EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3(EEST)

The village of al-Marqab (Arabic:المرقب) is located just north of the castle, straddling the road leading north to the coastal city ofBaniyas.Nearby localities besides Baniyas, includeTalinto the east,Osaibahto the southeast withBasatin al-Assadandal-Baydato the south. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS), al-Marqab had a population of 2,618 as of the 2004 census.Its inhabitants are predominantlySunni Muslims.Together, al-Marqab, Basatin al-Assad and al-Bayda form a mostly Sunni Muslim-inhabited enclave in an area largely populated by members of theAlawitecommunity.

A suburb has existed outside the fortress since at least the late 12th century, during Crusader rule. During this period, its chief exports weresumac,wine,must,almonds, figs and pottery. In 1325 North African geographerIbn Batutavisited the suburb. In 1938 al-Marqab stood near the foot of the fortress and was among five Sunni Muslim villages in the area, which also contained several Alawite,Greek Orthodox,Greek CatholicandMaronitevillages. In 1945, at the end of theFrench Mandate,al-Marqab had a population of 832. Starting in 1968, it experienced significant prosperity due to the construction of theIraq Petroleum Companypipeline and petroleum port at Baniyas.

See also

• List of Crusader castles

Sources

• Kennedy, Hugh (1994),Crusader Castles,Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-42068-7
• W. P. Heinrichs, ed. (1989), "Al-Markab",E. J. Brill's The Encyclopaedia of Islam,vol. 4, BRILL,ISBN9789004090828

Further reading

• Folda, Jaroslav; French, Pamela; Coupel, Pierre (1982), "Crusader Frescoes at Crac des Chevaliers and Marqab Castle",Dumbarton Oaks Papers,36,Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University: 177–210,doi:10.2307/1291467,JSTOR1291467
• Rey, Guillaume (1871),Etudes sur les monuments de l'architecture militaire des Croisés en Syrie et dans l'ile de Chypre(in French), Paris: Impr. nationale

External links

• Tour through castle
• Syria TimesArchived2017-12-01 at theWayback Machine
• Photos of al-Marqabat theAmerican Center of Research