<< Our Photo Pages >> Shobak Castle - Hillfort in Jordan
Submitted by motist on Sunday, 19 September 2010 Page Views: 7467
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Shobak Castle Alternative Name: Krak de MontrealCountry: Jordan Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Al-Shobak
Latitude: 30.531449N Longitude: 35.560819E
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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XIII visited on 1st Mar 2014 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 5
The castle was built in 1115 by Baldwin I of Jerusalem during his expedition to the area (during which he captured Aqaba on the Red Sea in 1116). Originally called 'Krak de Montreal' or 'Mons Regalis', it was named in honour of the king's own contribution to its construction (Mont Royal).
It was strategically located on a hill on the plain of Edom, along the pilgrimage and caravan routes from Syria to Arabia. This allowed Baldwin to control the commerce of the area, as pilgrims and merchants needed permission to travel past it. It was surrounded by relatively fertile land, and two cisterns were carved into the hill, with a long, steep staircase leading to springs within the hill itself.
It remained property of the royal family of the Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1142, when it became part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain. At the same time the centre of the Lordship was moved to Kerak, a stronger fortress to the north of Montreal. Along with Kerak, the castle owed sixty knights to the kingdom. It was held by Philip de Milly, and then passed to Raynald of Châtillon when he married Stephanie de Milly. Raynald used the castle to attack the rich caravans that had previously been allowed to pass unharmed; he also built ships there, then transported them overland to the Red Sea, planning to attack Mecca itself. This was intolerable to the Ayyubid sultan Saladin, who invaded the kingdom in 1187. After capturing Jerusalem, later in the year he besieged Montreal; during the siege the defenders are said to have sold their wives and children for food, and to have gone blind from "lack of salt." Because of the hill Saladin was unable to use siege engines, but after almost two years the castle finally fell to his troops in May 1189. (The defenders' families were returned to them.)The Mameluks later captured and rebuilt it.
The Shobak area is charged with the magic of Southern Jordan, its valleys meandering through an unspoiled landscape with sites of undiscovered mystery and charm. Located at the pointed tip of a fertile crescent, where the land of Arabia begins, this is a terrain of vivid contrasts - a Mediterranean-like landscape dissolving into the desert.
The castle commands an imposing position over a desolate landscape, but is in a poor state of repair. Little is left standing but the outer walls, the keep and a dungeon, carved with intricate inscriptions in Arabic. Restoration work on the castle is still under progress.
more about Crusader castles see link below
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
2.1km SSW 210° Al-Shobak Dolmen* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
8.3km ENE 69° East of Dana Nature Reserve* Ancient Village or Settlement
10.2km WNW 281° Small Wadi Malaqa Petroglyph* Carving
10.3km W 277° Wadi Malaqa Petroglyphs* Carving
12.6km NNW 328° Wadi Feinan* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
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15.7km NE 36° Big Circle J3 Misc. Earthwork
15.8km NE 52° Khirbat Dabur* Ancient Village or Settlement
17.6km SSE 167° Big Circle J6 Misc. Earthwork
20.3km SSW 211° Siq al-Barid-Little Petra* Ancient Village or Settlement
20.5km NW 324° Khirbat en-Nahas* Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
20.9km SSW 211° Beidha* Ancient Village or Settlement
22.7km S 174° Big Circle J5 Misc. Earthwork
24.2km N 10° Botzrah* Ancient Village or Settlement
24.6km SSW 211° Jabal Fatouma Dolmen* Burial Chamber or Dolmen
25.2km SSW 207° Petra, Nabataean Town* Ancient Village or Settlement
27.9km N 3° Sel'a* Hillfort
29.5km ENE 63° Big Circle J4 Misc. Earthwork
36.8km SW 219° Wadi Masoudah - David Roberts Rock* Rock Cut Tomb
38.7km W 265° lower wadi 'Ashosh* Ancient Temple
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43.2km WSW 242° Kipat 'Eshet rock shelter* Ancient Village or Settlement
43.8km WSW 252° Ramat Tsofar early Islamic settlement* Ancient Village or Settlement
44.0km NNE 18° Khirbat Al-Dharieh* Ancient Temple
44.5km WNW 292° Wadi Marzeba Crenellation Line* Ancient Temple
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