Masyaf Castle (مصياف)

Location: 60 km West of Hama Map

 

Description of Masyaf Castle

Masyaf Castle is situated in the town of Masyaf (60 km West of Hama) in Hama Governorate of Western Syria. Masyaf Castle became famous as the seat of Order of Assassins who used this stronghold as a base for their operations. Masyaf Castle was badly damaged by Mongol forces who captured the citadel in 1257 and badly damaged its defences. It was retaken shortly thereafter, but it largely lost its strategic importance due to improving military technologies and was abandoned. Fortunately for us Masyaf Castle is located in the desolate Orontes Valley so local peasants didn't get the chance to quarry it for stone. Much of the original structure survives despite centuries of neglect. You can spend a whole day exploring the castle. It is remarkable for its underground structures that remain fairly stable. Keep in mind however that parts of underground cavern might be dangerous due to a danger of cave ins. Don't try to remove stones, look for secret passages or unknown rooms. Although there might be undiscovered spaces in Masyaf Castle risking your life to find them might be foolish and not worth it. Take plenty of fresh water and protect yourself  from the sun. Summer months in Syria are especially hot and thus dangerous for the tourists.

 

Masyaf Castle History and Assassins of Masyaf

First military fortifications on a site of Masyaf Castle date back to the 8th century BC or Aramaic times. Much of the current structure that you see today date back to the Byzantine times. Protection of the inland trade routes was a key to keep an empire afloat so no expanses were spared to erect a line of defensive fortifications. Later additions to the citadel occurred during Ismaili (also known as Seveners, a branch of Shia Islam) occupation in the 12th century after they captured the castle from Sanqur in 1141.

 

Masyaf citadel was used as an important stronghold by Rashid ad-Din Sinan also known as the Old Man of the Mountain. He was the head of a  Syrian wing of the Hashshashin sect. Initially the term that is translated roughly as "smokers of hashish" was a derogatory, but over time it became well known and feared. The term "assassin" comes from the name of this organization.

 

In May 1176 great military leader Saladin (Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb) laid a siege to Masyaf Castle. Master Assassin of the order Umar Ibn- La'Ahad managed to sneak into a center of the enemy camp and finally make his way inside the tent of the Saracen leader. The legend claims that famous Muslim ruler suddenly awoke in his tent and saw a dark figure disappear in the darkness. A body of a dead Arab general laid besides his bed. Loyal body guard probably tried to protect Saladin during his sleep, but paid with his life. A poisoned dagger pinned a note next to his bed. There the Old Man of the Mountain threatened to kill him if he will not lift his siege of the Masyaf Castle. Realizing that the Assassins would simply execute him in his sleep, Saladin told his advisors to make peace with the stubborn defenders under a single condition. He demanded the head of Umar for exchange for peace and captured spy of the Assassins, Ahmad Sofian. Umar Ibn- La'Ahad agreed to give up his life to save his beloved Order. Shihab Al'din executed him, passed the head to Saladin and Saracen army retreated from the walls of Masyaf Castle.

 

New threat came just several years thereafter. An army of Templar knights Crusaders attacked Masyaf Castle in 1189. Little is known about that siege, but it seems that Templar spy managed to make his way into a stronghold. Masyaf Castle fell as a result of a betrayal and one of the Assassin leaders Al Mualim was captured by the Christian troops. Masyaf Castle didn't stay in Crusaders' hand for a long time. Remaining Assassins and their supporters re- grouped and under leadership of Altair Ibn- La'Ahad they re- captured their fortress. Templar knights were either killed or expelled from these lands. Two years later in 1191 they returned under leadership of Robert de Sable. Assassins managed to construct several traps made from logs and timber. Many knights were killed in a failed attack and Robert was forced to retreat from Masyaf Castle again. He died two years later in the Holy Land still fighting as part of the Third Crusade.

 

Between late 12th century and 13th century Masyaf Castle served as the capital of Nizari emirate. In 1260 Masyaf Castle was briefly held by the invading Mongol army, but Mamluks managed to kick them out the same year. In February 1270 Baibars or Baybars, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, added Masyaf to his possession along with surrounding lands. Over time Masyaf Castle lost its strategic military importance and was abandoned. Only in 1830 it was used again as a military fortification serving as a base camp for the Egyptian expedition of Ibrahim Pasha. His soldiers vandalized parts of Masyaf Castle upon their retreat, but the damage was limited. Fortunately for us the regions is not very densely populated so much of the structure is preserved in a fairly good condition.

Building a castle

The castle consists of an internal fortress built on top of the southern, high part of the rocky plateau in a square-like shape, with approximately rectangular towers distributed on its corners with two defensive levels, and in the middle, a heavenly courtyard with a ground level. The upper fort is surrounded by a first wall. The surface of the upper rocky plateau and the upper fort include five rectangular retaining towers. The inner fort is also surrounded by an outer wall surrounding the edges of the rocky plateau, and a number of rectangular towers at two levels high, equipped with small arrow targets. The main entrance to the castle is located in the southwestern corner of the outer castle. It is an Arab-Islamic architectural system consisting of two large halls with a long corridor between them. The entrance is characterized by turning at a right angle from the first main hall to the second hall, which in turn leads to a void, distributing paths into the castle through... There are two roads. The main road heads north to reach a corridor 65 meters long. Parts of this corridor were partially dug into the rock, and it was provided on the western side with a series of arrow targets and towers. At the end of the corridor there is a third large hall that closes the corridor and through it passes into the castle.

The second corridor heads south, passing through a door cut into the rock that allows access to the upper part of the castle via a staircase prepared within the rocky mass. The outer wall of the castle was strengthened by building a number of rectangular and polygonal towers over several stages of time, and their stones varied between large and small stones. Parts of the walls of the old fort were also strengthened and covered with double walls in both the inner and outer castle to keep pace with the development of military architecture during the ages it passed through. . At the end of the twelfth century AD (the period of Sinan Rashid al-Din), the citadel witnessed a new rebuilding that included a number of polygonal towers equipped with five large arrow targets distributed on two defensive levels, especially on the western and northern sides of the citadel, reflecting the military and defensive importance of the citadel, and the faction was occupied and covered. There are a number of important halls between the walls of the inner castle and the outer castle. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, a palace was built in the upper part of the inner castle. It is distinguished by its beautiful gate decorated with an inscription dating back to Kamal al-Dunya wa al-Din al-Hasan ibn Masoud in the year 1226 AD. An advanced door, smaller in size than the first door, was also added to further fortify the main entrance to the citadel, and a fortified area was created in front of it, in which a bathroom was built. It dates back to the middle of the thirteenth century AD, and its use continued until the Tatar invasion in the year 1401 AD. The Mamluks, during the reign of al-Zahir Baybars, carried out a major restoration operation in The entrance to the citadel after its liberation from Mongol control included the construction of a series of defensive terraces on the southern and eastern sides of the citadel. At the end of the eighteenth century AD, the castle became the headquarters of a ruling family of the Nizari Ismailis. The house of Prince Mustafa al-Mulhim was built on the eastern side of the outer castle in the year 1793 AD. Public housing abounded in the castle, and the castle remained occupied with public housing until the arrival of the French Mandate, when a French garrison occupied the castle. For some time, the ring road that currently surrounds the castle was prepared.

 

The castle throughout history

The construction dates back to the year 44 BC to the Roman period, which witnessed the construction of fortifications and military sites to control the main roads of the country. The most famous of them were those placed on the western mountain ranges, as the German archaeologist (Wolfgang Müller-Wiener) mentioned, “The most important of which are Akkar Castle, Al-Khawabi, Al-Qadmus, Al-Minqa, Saladin, and Masyaf Castle,” where Fener states, “The Byzantines found Masyaf Castle existing from the earlier Roman era when they focused their efforts in the Levant, relying on military centers such as castles and forts.”

In the Byzantine era, the presence of castles was strengthened due to the strategy adopted by the Byzantine state after separation from mother Rome, as it headed to strengthen its presence in Asia Minor (Turkey), the Levant, and even Egypt. Therefore, it was interested in castles, and its interest increased in trying to control the Mediterranean Sea in its central parts. The castles were their first concern, as they were built as a military base to secure the crossing roads from the coast to the interior, in addition to providing a transportation network and paths that were important to the Romans and Byzantines, as they secured the road to Tripoli of the Levant, passing through Wadi al-Nasara. And Suleiman Tower and Safita Castle, then to Antioch, passing through Abu Qubais Castle and Harem, and to the Lebanese Bekaa via Akkar Castle, and to Homs via Ba’rin Castle and the Homs Plain, and to Aleppo via Burj Jarjara and Hama, then Maarat al-Numan. These roads and paths were also crossed by commercial caravans, and this gave the castle economic importance in addition to its Its military importance.

Stages of the development of the castle in the Islamic era
In the beginning, the Muslim Arabs did not care about castles, as they had surpassed them with their conquests, and they did not constitute a special importance for their successive states from the Rashidun era and then the Umayyad era. However, in the Abbasid era, after the Caliph “Al-Mu’tasim Billah” in the second century AH, signs of weakness appeared in the Abbasid state, which led to the separation of parts of the body. The state, which directed the heads of states of the sects separated from the Abbasid state to return to the fortified military centers, and interests emerged in castles and their fortifications, as mentioned by historical researcher Michel Labad, who said: After the Arab-Islamic conquest, Masyaf Castle was affiliated with the city of Homs during the Umayyad rule, but it belonged to the Tulunids. In Egypt during the rule of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, and then its importance appeared during the era of the Ikhshidids and Hamdanids, as competitions raged between the ruling powers in the Levant and Egypt, which restored the castle’s strategic importance.

The Hamdanids owned it in 967 AD during the reign of Prince Sayf al-Dawla, and the new Byzantines took control of it in 969 AD under the leadership of Nikephoros Phocas, then it passed to the Fatimids during the time of al-Muizz li-Din Allah, and the Banu Mardas controlled it until 1029 AD, after they established their state in Aleppo, then the Fatimids regained it and followed Then the Banu al-Mundhid, princes of Shaizar, in the year 1081 AD.

The Mongols seized it in the year 1258 AD during their invasion of Syria for some time, and the Ismailis regained it after the victory of the Mamluks led by Qutuz in the Battle of Ain Jalut in the year 1260 AD, then Al-Zahir Baibars received it in the year 1270 AD. The castle underwent several changes during the Mamluk era.

After the Ottoman occupation, an Ottoman garrison occupied it from the second half of the sixteenth century AD, when it became a prosecutor’s office, and a French garrison was established there during the period of the French Mandate from 1920 AD until 1946 AD.

 

Restoration work through the ages

Many of the restorations built by the Romans and Byzantines were intertwined, which came in the Islamic era due to successive earthquakes, and the demolition of the walls that were not based on the rock base on which the castle was originally built. These restorations were in violation of the art of Roman construction, and they varied in their types and methods of construction according to the successive times in which they were built. It is used by the inhabitants of the castle to keep it strong so that they can seek refuge in it from the dangers that come during successive eras.

There are two main parts of the castle that were built during the Roman era and the extension of the Byzantine era:

1- The lower vaults based on the rock base.

2- The external building based on the edge of the rocky outcrop, which contains the external towers connected to the gate, the eastern and western vaults, the corridors, and the wall of the first balcony, of which only the part located opposite the castle gate from the southern side remains, as well as the wall of the second balcony. The castle gate was restored in The seventies of the century.

 

Timetable

In 1141 AD, the Ismailis captured Masyaf from Sanqur, who occupied the palace on behalf of the Banu Munqidh in Shaizar.
On May 22, 1176 AD, Saladin invaded Nizari lands and besieged Masyaf. The siege did not last long, and Saladin concluded a truce with Rashid al-Din Sinan and withdrew his forces from the region.
In 1260 AD, Masyaf and three other castles surrendered to the Mongols.
On September 3, 1260 AD, after the Battle of Ain Jalut, the Ismailis regained four of the fortresses they had lost earlier, as the Nizaris cooperated with the Mamluks and other Muslim rulers in repelling the Mongols.
In February 1270, al-Zahir Baibars took control of Masyaf.
In 1223/1808, al-Nusayr succeeded in killing Mustafa Melhem, the Ismaili emir of Masyaf, and seizing the citadel. The Ismailis later regained ownership of Masyaf through the mediation of the Ottoman authorities.
The community received a blow in the 1830s from an Ottoman expedition led by Ibrahim Pasha who caused extensive damage to Ismaili castles and villages.

 

Recent restoration

The castle was restored by the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in cooperation with the Aga Khan Foundation for Culture and Heritage. Since 2000, the Authority has funded operations to remove tons of rubble from the site, and restoration work was completed in 2005. Rooms, corridors, coins, and ceramics dating back to the 12th century AD were discovered, and followers lived The Ismaili community lived in the citadel until the last century, and the fort is still part of the fabric of the town of Masyaf.

Most of the restoration work was carried out manually, based on traditional methods, and materials similar to what was used in the past were reproduced, and the cement used in restoration work in the 1980s was replaced with original materials.

The residents of the area built houses that extended to the main gate of the castle, and 12 of them were purchased and demolished as part of the project to facilitate tourists’ access to the castle.

The restoration work also revealed that the Assassins sect, led by Rashid al-Din Sinan, known as Sheikh al-Jabal, was residing in the citadel, and showed that the citadel’s defensive system was weak, meaning that the Assassins were not good at building castles despite the citadel’s steadfastness, as the Assassins tried to imitate Crusader forts and Saladin’s fortresses. , but not well.

 

Secret passage

During the restoration process, a tunnel believed to be a secret escape passage, ancient public baths, and a network of canals designed to divert rainwater to cisterns under the castle were discovered. Archaeological finds were also found, consisting of a group of pottery, pots, plates, and jars, some of which were locally produced, and the other part were from outside the region, especially from Raqqa, Hama, and Damascus, as well as a group of glazed vessels that indicate the technology that was available in this region. Samples of glass were also found, with Chinese characters printed on them. This indicates the passage of the Silk Road through the region, and also to the products that came from the East and from Iran in the Middle Ages, especially in the Ayyubid period.

 

Coins

360 coins were found dating back to the pre-Islamic period, the Islamic period, and subsequent eras, from the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, and they represent a group of kings and sultans who ruled Syria, as there are coins dating back to Byzantine emperors from the eleventh century, and these continued to be used. Coins during the period of the rule of the Islamic State by the people in this region during the days of Sultan Nour al-Din Zengi, Saladin al-Ayyubi, and King al-Zahir Ghazi. A group of coins was found representing the Mamluk sultans, and there is a Mongolian penny dating back to the Hulagu period, given that the Mongols occupied the castle several times. years, and there is a group of coins belonging to the Mamluk era in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, then there are coins dating back to the Ottoman period, and also there are two very important coins dating back to the First Crusade at the end of the eleventh century and the beginning of the twelfth century, and one of them was minted in the south of France. There is also a very important coin dating back to the sixteenth century that was minted in Germany. It belongs to one of the important feudal families there, and it indicates the region’s connection through the Ottoman Empire to Europe through trade.