Overview

Bibliography

Nimrod Fortress, also known as Qal’at as-Subayba, is located on a high ridge in the foothills below Mt. Hermon, overlooking the Hula Valley and the road to Damascus. The castle is the largest and best preserved castle in Israel, but much about the castle remains unknown, due in part to the lack of systematic excavation across the site.

Crusader presence at the castle has been debated, but it is not likely that the Crusaders did any building at the site. All the inscriptions found at the site are in Arabic and the building techniques are characteristic if Arab styles. The builder and early history of the castle are not known. The earliest inscription dates to 1228 and other sources often confuse the Nimrod Fortress with the nearby castle at Banias.

In 1993 and 1998, Moshe Hartal directed excavations at the two western towers of the castle, Towers 9 and 11, for the Israel Antiquities Authority. An inscription in Tower 11 indicates that it was built (rebuilt?) by al-‘Aziz ‘Uthman in 1230. Both towers were built in two phases: an original construction and then an expansion on the outer sides. Additional construction was undertaken by Bilik during the reign of the Mameluke sultan Baybars. The castle encompasses an area of 8 hectares. East to west, it is 420 meters long; the width of the castle (north to south) ranges from 60 to 150 meters. Sixteen towers surround a largely empty inner bailey and a keep at the eastern end. Most of the towers are along the most vulnerable southern side of the castle. The keep itself consists of a series of rooms and towers surrounding an open courtyard.