Al-Rusafa ( ''Ruṣāfa'', also spelled ''Rassafah'', ''Rosafah'' or ''Resafi'') is a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n village located in the Masyaf Subdistrict in

Masyaf District Masyaf District ( ') is a district (mantiqah) administratively belonging to Hama Governorate, Syria. At the 2004 Census it had a population of 169,341. Its capital city, administrative centre is the city of Masyaf. Sub-districts The district of ...

, located west of

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

and about 10 kilometers southwest of Masyaf.Willey, 2005, p. 228. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Rusafa had a population of 1,608 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...

.Honigman, p. 791. It is the site of a former

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

Fortress

At the northern edge of the village is the fortress of al-Rusafa, which is situated on a hill 60 meters higher than the village itself. The fortress is largely preserved, although it is mostly covered by trees and vegetation. In the medieval period, it acted as a subsidiary fortress for the main

fortress of Masyaf. At its largest extent, it measures roughly 75 meters by 30 meters and is oval-shaped. The fortress was constructed from stone from local quarries and it consists of three stories. The entrance in the northwestern section of the fortress is guarded by a tower. The outer walls are dominated by galleries and chambers, which presumably played the role of battlements. The lowest floor contains several storage rooms, a number of which were built 20 meters deep into the ground. The middle area of al-Rusafa is marked by the extensive presence of vaulted rooms. Although ruined, the central towers "are still high" according to Peter Willey, an authority on Ismaili castles.

History

Al-Rusafa was taken over by the Nizari Ismailis around 1140 CE along with other fortresses in the vicinity, namely Masyaf, Khawabi, al-Maniqa and Qulay'a. The fortress was rebuilt by the

da'i A da'i (, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam. See also * Dawah * Da'i al-Mutlaq, 'the absolute (unrestricted) missionary' * Hujja * List of converts to Islam The following is a list of notabl ...

'' (chief)

Rashid ad-Din Sinan Rashid al-Din Sinan ( ; 1131/1135 – 1193) also known as the Old Man of the Mountain ( ; ), was an Arab Muslim missionary () who served as the leader of the Nizari Ismaili state and the Order of Assassins from 1162 until his death in 1193. ...

in the 1160s. It is possible that another fortress stood in its place prior to the Ismaili conquest. In May 1271, the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

sultan

Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...

besieged and captured al-Rusafa from the

Ismailis Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept M ...

. In the mid-1960s, al-Rusafa was a small village that contained an old ''khan'' (

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

) in addition to its partially ruined fortress.Boulanger, 1966, p. 349.

Gallery

File:Al-Rusafa, Syria 01.jpg File:Al-Rusafa, Syria 02.jpg File:Al-Rusafa, Syria 03.jpg File:Fortress Al-Rusafa.jpg

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rusafa Populated places in Masyaf District Castles of the Nizari Ismaili state Alawite communities in Syria