439a. Zarqā, az- | الزرقاء

az-Zarqā‘ Governorate

Ḥājj fort, Qaṣr Shebīb

JADIS no. 2516002

MEGA no. 7404

Coordinates: 32°03'48.4"N 36°04'56.3"E

32.063453, 36.082303

Plan: Square.

Measurements:

Exterior: 13.73 x 13.73 m (Petersen 2012).

Interior: unknown.

Building Materials: local brown limestone, in part reused from an older Roman building at the spot.

Construction details: The building is a solidly built, square structure ...with an entrance in the middle of the north side. The walls are made of large limestone blocks, usually about 0.45 m high and 0.4-1 m long. It is probable that many of the stones were robbed from an earlier Roman structure.... Most of the blocks have rusticated centers within a smooth border, approximately (0.07 m) around the edge. The average height of the fort is 8 m above current ground level. The top of the fort has triangular crenellations on three sides, composed of stone blocks set at an angle of 45° (these appear to be later additions to the original structure). On the south-west and east sides are traces of blocked up arrow slits, 25 cm wide and 1.05 m high. Each arrow slit is situated approximately 0.6 m (i.e. one course) above the present ground level. The North face of the fort is the most interesting, besides containing the entrance it has two small lancet windows, which provide light to the interior staircase. These windows are of a simple construction, formed by a gap/slit between two blocks and arch shape cut into the stone above (Petersen 2012).

Preservation: intact, recently restored.

Inscriptions: A Latin inscription dated AD 253/9 was embedded into a wall of Qaṣr Shebīb (Savignac 1905). It was republished by the Princeton University Archaeological Expedition in the early 1900s (PPUAES; Kennedy 2000); the text makes reference to a late Roman fortress. As already stated by R. Savignac, it seems likely that this inscription had been reused as a spoil.

Above the central point of the arch of the entrance door is a single recessed limestone block, which almost certainly once contained an inscription, lost today.

Dates: By its name, Qaṣr Shebīb is probably linked to ‘Amīr Shebīb al-‘Uqayli al-Tubbai, who ruled the area of Balqā’ between 966 and 968 AD. As Petersen (2012) stated the years of his reign seems to be too early as a construction date of the qaṣr. It is probable that it belonged as a signal tower to a defensive system established by the Mamluk Sultan Baybars (i.e. in the 1270s) to protect the area from Mongol attacks. Other forts of this time had been constructed in that time as, for instance, the small castles of Saffuriya and al-Braij in Palestine, the latter one in 1266 AD and similar to the Zerqā’ fort. Despite older construction material such as stone blocks and the Roman inscription had been used, the features of the Zerqa’ castle clearly point to a medieval origin (Petersen 2012, 61).

Traveler Reports: “The fort, however, is not explicitly mentioned as Qasr Shebib in written sources until 1563 (97l H), when it appears as the name of a stop in the itinerary of Mustapha Pasha... The fort was used as a hiding place in 1611-13 by‘Ali, son of Fakhr al-Din al Ma'ani, when he was being pursued by the Sardiya tribe acting under orders from the al-Hafiz, the governor of Damascus.... Evliya Çelebi visited the fort in 1672 and described it as a square building, made of fine masonry, built by Nur al-Din al-Shahid. Çelebi also noted that the signature of the architect could be seen on the outside of the building. Burckhardt (1822, 1854) describes the fort as being located in a low wadi and states that it was manned by an 'Aga’ from the Ehteim [Bedouin] tribe who camp in tents around the fort (Burckhardt 1822, appendix III, 657). In 1875 Doughty also visited Zarka as part of the Hajj caravan, he describes the fort as follows: ‘a gunshot from the road stands a great old tower, Kellat ez Zerqa. This stronghold in the wilderness is, by tradition from the times before Muhammad; the building is massy and not ruined. This is none of the Hajj forts, and is now seldom a night lodging for nomads and shelter for the Bedouin folds. Here says the tradition was the residence of an ancient hero Shebib ibn Tubbai' (Doughty 1979, 51). Another description of the fort is provided by Selah Merrill (first published in 1881) who refers to the building as, ‘Kulat Zarqa’. Merrill 's description states that ‘there is a fine view from the top of it [the castle] over the Hauran plain and mountains including Salachad’. This description corresponds with the view from the building today, known as Qasr Shebib, although modem buildings partially obscure the view. Merrill actually stayed at the fort and describes how, besides chatting with the people of the castle, he ‘went through the nearly endless ceremony of drinking coffee’. He observes that the building is kept in good repair 'as it is needed by the pilgrims to Mecca'. As well as its function as a Hajj station, Merrill notes that the fort was also used by local people as a place to store grain. He states ‘we noticed great quantities of barley and flour stored in boxes and bags. They told us that it belonged to the Bedawin. As no one dare touch it it is perfectly safe. This castle is their bank’ The fort was staffed by a keeper and his family, and was occasionally visited by soldiers (Merrill 1883).” (Petersen 2012). A report by R. Savignac (1905, quoted in Provincia Arabia II) is worth to be added here: “Cette forteresse qui sert actuellement de magasin et quelque fois même de refuge aux pèlerins de la Mecque pourrait bien être antérieure aux Arabes. Les soubassements paraissent d’époque romaine. Il y a avait sans doute là sur le sommet une sorte de tour de garde destinée à surveiller les abords du poste de Gadda, situé dix minutes plus bas, sur le versant d’une colline du Zerqâ (= el-Hadid). Le monument est de dimensions restreintes; il mesure quinze pas de longs sur un largeur égale, mais les murs n’ont guère moins de trois mêtres d’épaisseur. Sur la façade, à l’intérieur du mur, est ménagé un escalier conduisant à la terrasse. C’est dans cet escalier, au-dessus de l’avant-dernière porte, que se trouve un fragment de linteau brisé á droite et éncastré dans le mur à gauche, sur lequel on remarque trois lignes de écriture très endommagées et dont la lecture est encore rendu plus difficile par des restes de crépissage et un épaisse couche de fumée. Le nom proper du légat parait avoir été martelé à dessin. D’après le gardien du château,‘Omân, dont la famille est préposée à cet important office depuis plus de 140 ans, il y aurait dans un autre coin un second texte chaché sous le crépissage. Naturellement nous n’avons pu obtenir de le voir.”

Bibliography: Provincia Arabia II, 336; PPUAES, III, A.2, 16-17 ill. 12; Kennedy 2000, 86-88, fig. 10.11; Rawadiyah 2007, II 235; Petersen 2012, 58-61 plates 21-22; Shqour 2016, 157-167; Shqour 2019, 335-345.