Rahbeh Castle (Qala’at Rahbeh) Qala'at Malek ibn Tauk

Rahbeh Castle

 

Location: 40 km South of Deir Ezzor Map

Constructed: 9th century

 

Description of Rahbeh Castle or Qala’at Rahbeh

Rahbeh Castle or Qala’at Rahbeh is a medieval stronghold situated 40 km South of Deir Ezzor in Syria. Rahbeh Castle or Qala’at Rahbeh was erected in the 9th century AD. First fortifications date back to the Abbassids. Defenses were further increased under orders of Nur Al Din. This strategic hill was an important site in the defenses of the Euphrates river. However the garrison of the Rahbeh Castle was wiped out by the Mongols in the middle of the 13th century. Walls and towers were abandoned and over subsequent centuries it fell in disrepair. The site was excavated and reconstructed by the French- Syrian archaeological mission in 1978.

 

Location and name

The ancient city of Al-Rahba is located on the right bank of the Euphrates, between Deir ez-Zor in the north and Al-Salihiyah in the south. The city of Al-Rahba is called Rahbat Al-Sham or Rahbat Malik Ibn Tawk, where Al-Rahba Castle is located. Arab narratives mention that this city was known as Fardhat Na’am or Al-Fardha. It is said to be an ancient city.

 

History of Al Rahba

Al Rahba Fort is one of the most important and oldest cities in the world.

Al-Rahba Castle was established by Malik bin Tawq bin Attab Al-Taghlibi during the Caliphate of Al-Ma’mun, and so it was named after him. When he died in 260 AD - 874 AD, he was succeeded as ruler of Al-Rahba (the city and the castle) by his son Ahmed bin Malik, who was expelled from it by Ibn Abi Al-Sarraj, the owner of Al-Anbar and the Euphrates Road in the year 218 AH - 833 AD. Abu Taher Al-Qurmati captured Al-Rahba in 212 - 827 AD.

During the reign of Nasser al-Dawla al-Hamdani, Juman al-Taghlabi rebelled in al-Rahba, and the two matters entered into a conflict between them, and then the matter ended with his expulsion. After the death of Nasser al-Dawla in 358 AH - 969 AD, the dispute intensified between his sons: Hamdan, Abu al-Barakat, and Abu Taghlib over monopolization of the city of al-Rahba. Finally, Al-Rahba fell into the hands of Abu Taghlib, who rebuilt its walls. Then it was lost in the year 368 - 978 AD, and moved to the possession of Adud al-Dawla al-Buwaihi. Then Baha al-Din was chosen in the year 381 AH - 992 AD as governor of al-Rahba, in accordance with the wishes of its people. It soon passed into the hands of Abu Ali bin Thamal Al-Khafaji, who killed its governor, Issa bin Khalat Al-Uqaili.

A man from the people of Medina called Ibn Mahkan was able to gain independence under the rule of Al-Rahba, with the help of Saleh Al-Mardassi at first, but then Ibn Mahkan betrayed him in order to monopolize the rule of Al-Rahba. He fled to Al-Rahba between the years 447-450 AH / 1055 AD - 1058 AD Arslan Al-Basaysri to join Al-Mustansir, the Fatimid Caliph. After him, Thimal bin Saleh, who later became the ruler of Aleppo, took control of it. Although his cousin Mahmoud expelled him from Aleppo in 458 - 1065 AD, he remained the one who had the upper hand in Al-Rahba, and it was followed at that time by: Al-Khanuqa, Qarqisya, Douira.

In the year 479 - 1087 AD, the king of Shah Al-Rahba and the lands he transferred to Muhammad bin Sharaf al-Dawla. In the year 489 AH - 1069 AD, Karbo Qa Al-Hilli seized the city and plundered it. After his death in 497 AH - 1103 AD, it passed into the hands of Kaymaz, one of Alp Arslan’s commanders, then into the hands of Turk Hasan, then the Sultan of Damascus snatched it from him, and its rule was implemented by Muhammad bin Al-Sabbak Al-Shaybani.

Then this city was treacherously seized by the commander of Imad ad-Din Zengi, in 501 AH - 1107 AD. After him, Izz al-Din bin al-Barsuqi took control of it in the year 521 AD - 1127 AD. Shortly before his death, his successors fought over the rule of al-Rahba, so the city was transferred to the younger brother, Izz al-Din, and Jawali ruled on his behalf. Qutb al-Din Ould Zengi occupied the city of al-Rahba in 544 AD - 1150 AD.

On the second, August 12, 1157, earthquakes destroyed the cities of Al-Rahba, Hama, and other cities. The Khafajah tribe returned to Rahbat al-Sham, followed by government soldiers. There, some nomadic tribes strengthened their support and were able to disperse the enemy. Nur al-Din granted al-Rahba on the Euphrates and Homs on the Orontes to Asad al-Din Shirkuh ibn Ahmad ibn Shadi al-Duwayni, the uncle of Saladin al-Ayyubi, in the year 559 AH - 1164 AD. Saladin entrusted the rule of Al-Rahba to a commander named Yusuf bin Al-Mallah. Shirkuh built the new Rahba, three miles from the Rahbat of Tawq bin Malik. Al-Rahba Al-Jadidah remained under the rule of the Shirkuh family for a century, and during the reign of this family it became an important station for caravans between the Levant and Iraq. Baybars was appointed governor of Al-Rahba in 663 AH - 1264 AD.

The governor of Al-Rahba, Sunqur Al-Ashqar Al-Dimashqi, who rebelled against Sultan Qalawun in 678 AH - 1279 AD, fled and took refuge with Prince Isa, and from there he asked for Abaqa’s protection. The Mongols, led by Kharbanda, besieged the city of Al-Rahba and its citadel in 712 AH - 1312 AD, and their siege of it failed due to the impregnability of the walls of Al-Rahba Citadel. He left behind the cannons with which he was besieging the citadel and the city, so the defenders seized them and moved them inside the citadel. It is reported that in the year 732 AH - 1331 AD, the Euphrates River flooded the country around Al-Rahba.

Attempt to enter the Mongols
The Mongol commander Kharbanda besieged it in the year 712 AH - 1312 AD, but the siege failed, due to its great immunity. He despaired of this and left it, abandoning the cannons he had brought. The defenders of the castle took advantage of these cannons. Because of the strength and grandeur of the castle, and the precision of its construction,