Ayn al-Habis (),
[Nicolle (1988), p. 113] also known by its
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
names Cave de Sueth (
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
, ),
[Pringle (2006), p. 233] Cava de Suet (Medieval Latin), or Habis Jaldak (Classical Arabic), is a 12th century cave castle built into the southern cliffs of the Yarmouk River gorge in modern-day Jordan.
[Devais (2013)] It was located at the edge of the
Terre de Suète[Pringle (2006), p. 233] region (al-Sawad, "the black" in Arabic).
[Nicolle (1988), p. 113]
History
The fortress was established by 1109 among the ruins of a Byzantine monastic
laura.
[Pringle (1997), p. 18 (Oct 2021: page not accessible on Google Books)] Hugh Kennedy accepts
Ibn al-Qalanisi
Abū Yaʿlā Ḥamzah ibn al-Asad ibn al-Qalānisī (; c. 1071 – 18 March 1160) was an Arab politician and chronicler in 12th-century Damascus.
Biography
Abu Ya'la ('father of Ya'la'), whose surname was al-Qalanisi ('the Hatter'), descended fro ...
's description of the destruction by
Toghtekin
Zahir al-Din Toghtekin or Tughtekin (Modern ; Arabicised epithet: ''Zahir ad-Din Tughtikin''; died February 12, 1128), also spelled Tughtegin, was a Turkoman military leader, who was ''emir'' of Damascus from 1104 to 1128. He was the founder ...
,
atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...
of
Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, of the
Castle of al-Al in the western
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
in 1105, whose remains are yet to be identified, and presents the Crusader presence at the Cave de Sueth as the "more circumspect" position adopted after the loss of that advanced outpost.
In 1109, a truce was declared between
Baldwin I and Toghtekin, and the surrounding area, Terre de Suète, was supposed to be ruled as a
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
by Jerusalem and Damascus. Nevertheless, the castle was attacked by Toghtekin in 1111, killing its Frankish garrison, but was retaken by the Franks two years later. The Muslims captured the castle in 1118 only to lose it in the campaign of
Baldwin II that resulted in capture of the entire Yarmouk valley.
Nur ad-Din besieged Cave de Sueth in 1158, but retreated with the approach of
Baldwin III.
[Baldwin & Setton (eds; 1969), pp. 522, 542] In 1182 the castle was captured by
Farrukh Shah
Al-Malik al-Mansur Izz ad-Din Abu Sa'id Farrukhshah Dawud was the Kurds, Kurdish List of Ayyubid rulers#Emirs of Ba'albek, Ayyubid Emir of Baalbek between 1179 and 1182 and ''Na'ib'' (Viceroy) of Damascus.
Biography
Farrukh Shah was the son of ...
, the nephew of
Saladin
Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...
, only to return to Frankish control later that year,
[ where it remained until shortly before the conquests of Saladin in 1187.
]
References
Bibliography
* Also a
Wisconsin U. Library
*
*
* Kennedy, Hugh (2001). ''Crusader Castles''. Cambridge University Press, pp. 40, 52-53.
*
**
**
* Nicolle, David (1988)
"Ain al-Habis: The Cave de Sueth"
''Archéologie médiévale'' 18, pp. 113-140. Full article online at persee.fr, with plans, photos, and William of Tyre's description of the second siege of 1182.
* Oct 2021: page not accessible on Google Books.
* Oct 2021: no access via Google Books.
*
{{coord, 32, 43, 11, N, 35, 50, 14, E, display=title
Castles and fortifications of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Archaeological sites in Jordan
Principality of Galilee