<< Our Photo Pages >> Al Karak castle - Hillfort in Jordan
Submitted by enkidu41 on Monday, 27 September 2010 Page Views: 7562
DigsSite Name: Al Karak castle Alternative Name: Al Kerak, Qir Moab,Qir-hareseth,KharkhaCountry: Jordan Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Al-Karak
Latitude: 31.180916N Longitude: 35.701707E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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I have visited· I would like to visit
XIII saw from a distance on 1st Mar 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 3 Access: 5
mrcrow visited on 1st Jan 0000 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3 Ambience: 3.5 Access: 5
The site has been inhabited from at least the Iron Age (from c.1400 BC) and was an important city for the Moabites and the Nabateans. Situated on a clifftop 1000 metres above sea-level and surrounded on 3 sides by a valley it is ideally placed to control the trade routes from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca. In the Bible it is called Qer Harreseth (Kir-haraseth) and its doom was prophesied by Isaiah (16:7).
More from motist: Al Karak has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age, and was an important city for the Moabites (who called it Qir of Moab). In the Bible it is called Qer Harreseth, and is identified as having been subject to the Assyrian empire; in the Book of Kings (16:9) and Book of Amos (1:5, 9:7), it is mentioned as the place whither the Syrians went before they settled in the regions north of Palestine, and to which Tiglath-Pileser III sent the prisoners after the conquest of Damascus. Evidently it eventually fell under the power of the Nabateans. The Romans (with support from the Ghassanids or Ghassasinah الغساسنة) conquered it from them in 105 AD. During the late Hellenistic Period, Al Karak became an important town as was known as Kharkha. Under the Byzantine Empire it was a bishopric seat, housing the much venerated Church of Nazareth, and remained predominantly Christian under Arab rule.
Al Karak's greatest importance was during the Crusader and Ayyubid periods which were responsible for most of the architectural remains to date.
In the mid-9th century bce, Mesha, king of Moab, was attacked by the combined forces of Israel, Judah, and Edom for his failure to pay tribute. The siege of the ancient Moabite stronghold of Qir-hareseth and the forces’ subsequent withdrawal after Mesha offered his heir as a burnt offering on the city wall is vividly described in the Old Testament (2 Kings 3). Isaiah and Jeremiah, in their prophecies of doom for Moab, also mention the city (Isaiah 15, 16; Jeremiah 48). In the 7th century bce the Moabite cities were destroyed by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, and later they were gradually repopulated by desert peoples, likely the Nabataeans. The natural fortress has evidence of settlement throughout postbiblical times; in the 3rd century ce it was known to the geographer Ptolemy as Characmoba. Subsequently settled by the Byzantines, who had a bishopric there, it is represented as a walled city on the Madabā mosaic map, thought to be the oldest surviving map of Palestine and the neighbouring territories (6th century ce).
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Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.