Location: 25 km from Jeser Alshghur Map
Found: 11th century
Bourzey Castle also known locally as Mirza Castle is located 25 km from Jeser Alshghur in Syria. The fortress was found in the 11th century on top of a strategic hill at elevation of 450 meters overlooking Ghab valley below. Bourzey Castle was one of the last attempts by the Byzantines to secure the area for themselves. Eventually they lost these lands along with a line of fortifications to the Arabs. Ayyubids added several towers to defend their lands from their former masters. Later Bourzey Castle was transferred to the Mamelouks reconstructed damaged military fortifications and added their own, Southern Tower this stronghold. Eventually this citadel was abandoned due to changing military tactics and inventions. The castle was abandoned, but due to its remoteness it wasn't completely quarried for stone. Many of underground chambers still can be accessed by the visitors. Keep in mind, though, that this is a very old structure. It might be slippery and cave ins are always a possibility. Explore underground structures at your own risk.
It is located northwest of the Jurin district of the Hama Governorate. It is administratively affiliated with the Hama Governorate, but it is archaeologically registered in the records of the Latakia Department of Antiquities, and it is 18 km away from the town of Shatah, located in the Al-Ghab Plain.
The history of this castle dates back to the Byzantine period in the
eleventh century AD, and it extends over an area of 40 dunums. There are
12 watchtowers and a long wall. It was demolished in some parts due to
earthquakes and natural factors, and several civilizations succeeded it.
The Crusaders seized it, and then Saladin liberated it in 1188 AD. Then
the Arabs added several new fortifications and buildings to it.
It was mentioned by Ibn al-Atheer
Ibn al-Atheer mentioned it in the
seventh part of his complete book on history, where he talked about its
conquest at the hands of Saladin under the title “The Conquest of
Barziyah”: “This fortress cannot be fought from the north or south at
all, because no one can climb its mountain from these two sides.” As for
the eastern side, it is possible to climb from it, but for a non-fighter
due to its height and difficulty. As for the western side, the valley
enclosed by its mountain has risen to a great height there, almost to
the point of the citadel, such that stone catapults and arrows can reach
it... so the Muslims descended on it and set catapults on it... etc.”
It was mentioned by Yaqut Al-Hamawi
Yaqut al-Hamwi mentioned it
in Mu’jam al-Buldan as: “a fortress near the Levantine coast on the tip
of a high mountain, with its invulnerability set as a proverb in all the
Frankish countries, surrounded by valleys on all its sides.”
It has the shape of a trapezoid, its largest base on the west is 175 meters wide, its smallest base on the east is 50 meters wide, and its height from east to west is 275 meters long. It consists of two fortresses, an inner, upper and outer, lower, surrounded by walls supported by towers on all sides. On the northern and eastern sides, it is surrounded by a sloping valley that protects it from intrusion from these two sides. As for the west, the valley is lower and easier to climb, so it was reinforced with towers. As for Bab The outer castle is a high arch, and the outer walls were built of white limestone, and the space between the inner castle and the outer walls to the east is where there are a number of different sized water tanks dug into the rock.
The entrance to the castle is located on the western side, and it is the weakest point in the nature of the mountain that supports the castle, as it can be reached more easily than others by passing between the first and second towers, then turning right to enter the castle through the second tower. This entrance has been changed, modified, and modifications were made to it when Conducting restorations on this castle.
It was built of white limestone. It is huge, with large and
well-worked stones on the western and southern sides, and thin on the
northern side, depending on the possibility of intrusion from every
direction. These walls between towers 2 and 3 were provided with 4
archery targets protecting the western side to increase the defense
capabilities between these towers.
There are two types of towers:
external towers linked to the walls and internal towers linked to the
interior castle structure.
They are huge towers that protect the walls from the west, two small towers that were used in building the external walls, and towers (6-7-8) that protect the southern side. As for the east, there is a huge tower (11), which is a watchtower overlooking the Al-Ghab Plain. As for the towers on the north side, they are small towers linked to the thin wall due to the lack of necessity of protecting this side due to the rugged slope and the role of watchdog is sufficient.
The interior of the castle is made up of huge towers with a strong
structure made of massive and worked stone, the foundations of which are
based on a solid rock base that has often been dug to increase the
height.
Inner castle
It is the northwestern part of the castle
and is surrounded by internal walls and towers from the south. It
consists of two levels, a lower level containing a huge number of water
tanks dug into the rock and equipped with a sloping roof to cover them,
and a higher section whose edges were carved into the rock in an upright
shape and a great height. As for the distance between... The inner
castle and the outer walls from the east contain a large number of water
tanks of different sizes, dug into the rock and equipped with a sloping
roof.