The Historic RABAD Castle of Ajloun: A Pivotal Stronghold in Saladin’s Crusades

Main magnet in Ajloun is the RABAD Castle, which is an outstanding illustration of the 12th century Arab/ Islamic military armature. It was a base for SALADDIN in his crusade to drive the zealots from Jordan in 1189.
73 km north of Amman, and a short trip northwest from Jerash, through a beautiful pine- timber and olive groves, brings you to the city of Ajloun, where Hadrian stayed over the downtime of 129- 30 announcement, and erected himself an bow well outside the city, leaving unbonded its sides for unborn megacity walls to come out to meet it.

The Castle’s Strategic Construction

Then you’ll find the Castle of Ajloun or Qalaat Errabadh( Arabic for” Hilltop Castle”), from which there’s a splendid view westwards into the Jordan Valley. It looks like a Crusader fort, but it was erected by Muslims in 1184- 85 as a military stronghold and buffer to cover the region from overrunning Crusader forces.
It was erected on the orders of the original governor, Ezz Eddin Osama caddy Munqethe, a whoreson of the Ayyubid leader Salahuddin Al- Ayyoubi( Saladin), as a direct retort to the new Latin castle of Belvoir( Kawkab El- Hawa) on the contrary side of the vale between the Tiberias and Besan, and as a base to develop and control the iron mines of Ajloun.

This superb illustration of Arab and Islamic armature was erected as a cube with four square halls and an entrance on the south side dominating a wide stretch of the north Jordan Valley and passages to it. From its hilltop position, the Castle of Ajloun defended the communication routes between south Jordan and Syria, and was one of a chain of castles, which lit lights at night to pass signals from the Euphrates as far as Cairo.

Architectural Design and Defensive Capabilities

Two times after it was completed the fort’s original purpose had formerly been outlasted, for Salahuddin defeated the zealots at the battle of the cornucopias of Hattin in 1189, which marked the morning of the end of their occupation of the Holy Land.
In 1214- 15 the Castle of Ajloun was enlarged by Aybak bin Abdullah, majordomo of the Caliph Al- Muazham Isa; in 1260 it fell to the Mongols, but was latterly rebuilt by the Egyptian Mamluks. No longer demanded for military purposes, it was used as an executive center responsible to Damascus.

Some of the monuments with which the castle was erected have crosses sculpted into them, giving credence to a tradition, reported by a 13th century Arab annalist that” an ancient friary formerly stood on the point, inhabited by a Christian named Ajloun; when the friary fell into ruin, the castle took its place and the name of the monk”.
The castle moment is beautifully saved and is a popular magnet for nonnatives & Jordanians likewise. The structures, halls, chambers, galleries and staircases that form part of the city as well as the beautiful decor that surrounds the hills hard will allure you.