!!!Shoubak Castle

Photos by Sergey Shandin and Stas Sedov,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

20 June 2018

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

In Jordan, 35 kilometres away from the well-known town of Petra there is
another impressive monument — Shoubak Castle. Its history is strongly
connected to the Crusades.

[{Image src='01_Shoubak Castle.jpg' caption='Shoubak Castle, Jordan\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='565'}]

Soon after capturing Jerusalem in 1099, the Crusaders continued
expanding their possessions in the sacred areas. The first ruler of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem was Baudouin I who set off for conquering the
territory of Transjordan (at that time, the vast area to the east of
Jordan) in 1115. To strengthen his position, he founded a castle on the
top of a mountain. According to legends, the king personally
participated in the process of building, so the first fortifications
that were created within 18 days were named Montreal (Mont-Royal) — the
King's mountain. The other name, Shoubak, was given later referring to
the nearby town.

[{Image src='02_Shoubak Castle.jpg' caption='Shoubak Castle, Jordan\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

Its unique high elevation on a 1,330 meters high mountain provided the
castle with a very strategically advantageous position and made it
possible to tax traders and pilgrims going from Syria to the Arabian
Peninsula. The owners were changing, but the tax had been charged till
the moment when the Crusaders fell to the troops of the Arabian military
commander Salah al-Din who fought against them. In 1187, he captured
Jerusalem and later he took possession of Shoubak.

[{Image src='03_Shoubak Castle.jpg' caption='Shoubak Castle, Jordan\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='641'}]

It was a truly legendary event: despite the imbalance of forces and use
of siege engines, Salah al-Din was unable to even approach the castle on
a hill. But after almost two years of siege, the fortress finally
capitulated in May 1189. The defenders of the castle were in a such
dramatic situation that they were said to have sold their wives and
children for food, and to have gone blind from "lack of salt".

[{Image src='04_Shoubak Castle.jpg' caption='Shoubak Castle, Jordan\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='566'}]

Later the castle was seized by the Mamluks and completely rebuilt. Not
so much of the initial construction had been left after these
renovations: now you can witness an ancient church and a chapel. Just
behind the fortifying wall, there are 375 steps leading inside the hill
to the spring of fresh water, and the walls here are decorated with the
still remained Arabic scripts.

[{Image src='05_Shoubak Castle.jpg' caption='Shoubak Castle, Jordan\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

\\ \\
[13 panoramas of Shoubak Castle|Geography/Asia/Jordan/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Shoubak_Castle]

[{SET customtitle='Shoubak Castle (AP)'}]












[{Metadata Suchbegriff=' ' Kontrolle='Nein'}]