Desert castles

What is known in English as a "desert castle" is known in Arabic as qaṣr (singular), quṣur being the plural.Khouri, R.G., The Desert Castles: A Brief Guide to the Antiquities. Al Kutba, 1988. pp 4-5 However, qasr is a widely-used Arabic word for palace, castle or fortress, so only a few of the buildings called quṣur are "desert castles".

{{Location map+ |Jordan |width=400 |float=right |caption=Locations of desert castles in Jordan |places=

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat=31.813333 |long= 36.602222 |label=Qusayr 'Amra | label_size= 75|position=right}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat=31.8802 |long= 36.8275 |label=Qasr Azraq |label_size= 80 |position=right}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat=32.065278 |long= 36.366389 |label=Qasr Hallabat |label_size= 80 |position=right}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat= 31.728889 |long= 36.462778 |label=Qasr Kharanah |label_size= 75 |position=bottom}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat= 31.815556 |long= 36.094167 |label=al-Muwaqqar |label_size= 80 |position=top}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat= 31.746944 |long= 35.935556 |label=al-Qastal |label_size= 80 |position=left}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat= 32.0929 |long= 36.328 |label=Hammam al-Sarah | label_size= 75 |position=top}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat= 31.7375 |long= 36.010278 |label=Qasr Mshatta |label_size= 75 |position=bottom}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat= 31.325556 |long= 36.570833 |label=Qasr Tuba |position=bottom}}

{{location map~ |Jordan |lat= 30.762100 |long= 36.679328 |label=Qasr Bayir |position=bottom}}

}}

The Umayyads erected several characteristic palaces, some in the cities but mostly in the semi-arid regions, and some along important trading routes. The castles were built roughly between 660 and 750 under the Umayyad Caliphate, which had made Damascus, now in Syria, their capital in 661. After the Abbasid revolution of 750, the capital moved to the newly-built Baghdad, and some of the buildings were never completed.

After the Limes Arabicus was abandoned by the Roman Empire, many of the castra continued to be in use.Michaela Konrad: Roman military fortifications along the Eastern desert frontier. Settlement continuities and change in North Syria fourth–eighth centuries A.D. In: Bart and Motz 2009, pp. 433–453 This continuity was subject to archaeological investigations in the fort of Qasr al-Hallabat, which at different times served as a Roman castrum, Christian cenobitic monastery, and finally as an Umayyad qasr.Ignacio Arche (2009): Hallabat: Castellum, coenobium, praetorium, qaṣr. The construction of a palatine architecture under the Umayyads I. In: Bartl and Moaz, 2009, pp. 153–182

Most of the desert palaces were abandoned after the Umayyads fell from power in 750, leaving many projects uncompleted, and others were left to decay.

The typical desert castle is a compound of various buildings including a substantial main residence along with other buildings such as a hammam (bath-house), storage areas and other agrarian structures (walled areas for animals, dedicated buildings for processing produce such as olive oil), and possibly a mosque, all within a large enclosure.Genequand. D., “Ummayid Castles: The Shift from Late Antique Military Architecture to Early Islamic Palatial Building” in: Hugh N.Kennedy (ed), Muslim Military Architecture in Greater Syria: From the Coming of Islam to the Ottoman Period, Brill, 2006, pp 3 -13 Desert castles are typically situated near a wadi or seasonal water course.Bartl, K., “Water management in Desert Regions: Early Islamic Qasr Mushash,” in: Stephen McPhillips and Paul D. Wordsworth (eds), Landscapes of the Islamic World: Archaeology, History, and Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016, pp 50-52 The inner part of the main residence typically consists of two-storeys, arranged around a central courtyard. The main residence is often richly ornamented with mosaics, frescoes and stucco reliefs.Meinecke, K., “The Encyclopedic Illustration of a New Empire: Graeco-Roman-Byzantine and Sassian Models on thed Façade of the Qasr al-Mshatta,” In: Stine Birk, Troels Myrup Kristensen, Birte Poulsen (eds), Using Images in Late Antiquity, Oxbow Books, 30 Apr 2014, pp 283-300

With a few exceptions, the desert castles conform to a common template consisting of a square structure similar to Roman castraNomad Politics and the Residences of Abulmalik and Walid I, in Fred M. Donner (ed), The Articulation of Early Islamic State Structures, Oxon, Routledge, 2017 as their main building, typically boasting an elaborate entrance.Ettinghausen, R., Grabar, O. and Jenkins, M., [https://books.google.com/books?id=l1uWZAzN_VcC&pg=PA37 Islamic Art and Architecture] p 650{{dubious|Edition not indicated. Online available is 2nd ed., and p.650 doesn't contain such data. Mess!|date=October 2020}} The interior rooms of the main structure were ornately decorated with floor-mosaics and wall paintings featuring designs that exhibit both eastern and western influences.Petersen, A., [https://books.google.com/books?id=hcebK67IRhkC&pg=PA1 Dictionary of Islamic Architecture], Routledge, 2002, p. 296 {{ISBN|978-0-203-20387-3}} Some of the desert castles, for example Qasr Hallabat or Qasr Burqu', are rebuilt from remains of earlier Roman or Ghassanid structures; others are new constructions.

The function and use of the buildings are today not entirely clear, and scholarship has suggested that they might have served a variety of defensive, agricultural, residential, recreational and commercial purposes. The earliest researchers, such as Musil and Lammens, suggest that desert castles were primarily used for recreational purposes: to escape bad air associated with city living to escape epidemic outbreaks; to indulge hedonic pleasures or for use as hunting lodges.Genequand. D., “Ummayid Castles: The Shift from Late Antique Military Architecture to Early Islamic Palatial Building” in: Hugh N.Kennedy (ed),Muslim Military Architecture in Greater Syria: From the Coming of Islam to the Ottoman Period, Brill, 2006, pp 3 -13; The Articulation of Early Islamic State Structures, Routledge, 2012; Genequant, D., “Desert castles, Umayyad,” in: The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Wiley, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah12066.pub2; The Lineaments of Islam: Studies in Honor of Fred McGraw Donner, BRILL, 2012, p. 430 Yet other scholars, investigating the geographic distribution of desert castles, note that they are principally situated along the Silk Road or pilgrimage routes and may have operated as a type of caravanserai.The Lineaments of Islam: Studies in Honor of Fred McGraw Donner'', BRILL, 2012, p. 430

Archaeologists have investigated the role of these desert castles, with the traditional view that they served as country estates or hunting lodges for the use of aristocratic families during the winter season. However, recent scholarship has suggested a much greater diversity of roles, including as agricultural estates or military forts. The complex at Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi in Syria, for example, sits within a vast agricultural estate and the buildings include structures associated with the production of olive oil.Shaw, I. and Jameson, E. (eds), A Dictionary of Archaeology, John Wiley, 2008, p. 487

According to a hypothesis developed by Jean Sauvaget, the Umayyad quṣūr played a role in the systematic agricultural colonisation of the uninhabited frontier areas, and, as such, continue the colonisation strategy of earlier Christian monks and the Ghassanids.Jean Sauvaget (1939): Remarques sur les monuments omeyyades. Chateaux de Syrie. I. Journal Asiatique, pp. 1–59 The Umayyads, however, increasingly oriented their political strategy towards a model of client politics, of mutual interdependence and support.Donald Whitcomb (1995): Islam and the socio-cultural transition of Palestine - Early Islamic period (638–1099 C.E.) In: T. E. Levy (Ed.): The archeology of society in the Holy Land. London, Leicester University Press, pp. 488–501 After the Umayyad conquest, the quṣūr lost their original function and were either abandoned or continued to serve as local market places and meeting points until the 10th century.

Given the variety observed in the archaeological record, it is unlikely that one single theory can explain the range of purposes of all the buildings. These functions include fortresses, meeting places for Bedouins (between themselves or with the Umayyad governor), {{transliteration|ar|badiyas}} (retreats for the nobles) or caravanserais. A proliferation of desert castles appeared around the same time as the number of caravans increased substantially.Jordan: Annual, Volume 36, Dāʼirat al-Āthār al-ʻĀmmah, 1992, p. 317 (translated from French) Many seem to have been surrounded by natural or man-made oases and to have served as country estates or hunting lodges, given that hunting was a favoured pastime for the aristocracy.Meyers, E.M. (ed.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, Volume 5, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 241{{dubious|Only snippets available online, but probably p.271, not 241. Material here poorly edited, wrong citations => different, online searchable source are a necessity!|date=October 2020}}

The generic term "desert castle" is not ideal, since it artificially separates similar quṣur according to their location. Jordan possesses at least one urban Umayyad qaṣr: the Amman Citadel. While the majority of quṣur are located in Jordan, examples can also be found in Syria, the West Bank and Israel, either in cities (Jerusalem), in relatively green areas (al-Sinnabra, Khirbat al-Minya), or indeed in the desert (Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi and Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi, Jabal Sais, Hisham's Palace).Teller, M., Jordan, Rough Guides, 2002 p. 200 The more isolated "desert castles" built in arid regions are chiefly located on the ancient trade routes connecting Damascus with Medina and Kufa or adjacent to a natural oasis. Their location along major routes and next to the very scarce water sources seems to indicate that they enabled the Umayyads to control the roads militarily, monitor and tax the seasonal movement of people and their livestock, and not least, impress travellers and local tribes with lavish displays of monumental architecture, baths and ponds in the middle of an arid landscape.[http://www.gis.club/sites/default/files/Thesis_final.pdf The spatial analysis of a historical phenomenon: using GIS to demonstrate the strategic placement of the Umayyad "desert palaces"]. Mahmoud Bashir Abdallah Alhasanat, M. Sc. thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2009

The castles represent some of the most impressive examples of early Islamic art and Islamic architecture,{{Citation needed|date=April 2024|reason=A value statement like this should ideally be verified by reliable sources.}} and some are notable for including many figurative frescos and reliefs depicting people and animals, less frequently found in later Islamic art on such a large and public scale. Many elements of the desert palaces are on display in museums in Amman, in Jerusalem's Rockefeller Museum (decorations from Hisham's Palace) and the Pergamon Museum of Berlin (the Mshatta Facade).

Partial alphabetical list by main name (without Qasr, Khan, etc.) andwithout article (al-, etc.):

File:Karta_DesertCastles.PNG

• Qasr Ain es-Sil,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_ain_es-sil.php Qasr Ain es-Sil] at Archiqoo, with satellite view. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. an Umayyad farming estate with an attached bathing complex in the Azraq oasis, east of Amman
• Qusayr 'Amra,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_amra.php Qasr Amra] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. a "desert castle" about {{convert|85|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Amman, important for frescos
• Qasr al-'Azraq, a "desert castle" about {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Amman[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_azraq.php Qasr Azraq] at Archiqoo, with satellite view. Accessed 2 Apr 2024.
• Qasr Bayir constructed in AD 743 by Al-Walid II{{cite web |title=Qasr Bayir |url=http://thesacredcity.ca/bayir.html |website=The Sacred City |access-date=30 November 2021}}
• Qasr Burqu',[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_el_burqu.php Qasr el Burqu] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. a preexisting structure converted into a qasr by Al-Walid I, about {{convert|200|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Amman
• Qasr al-Hallabat, a "desert castle" about {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of Amman.[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_hammam_as_sarah.php Qasr Hammam As Sarah] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024.
• Hammam al-Sarah aka as-Sarkh, the bath complex of Qasr al-Hallabat, about {{convert|55|km|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of Amman
• Humayma,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/humayma.php Qasr al Humayma] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. site with a qasr where the Abbasid family resided while plotting their rebellion against the Umayyad caliphs, ousting them in 750
• Qasr Kharana, a "desert castle" about {{convert|65|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Amman[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_kharana.php Qasr Kharana] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024.
• Qasr Mshatta,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_al-mshatta.php Qasr Al-Mshatta] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. a "desert castle" about {{convert|35|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Amman; a large part of its facade is on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin
• Qasr al-Mushash,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_mshash.php Qasr Mshash] at Archiqoo, with satellite view. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. qasr on the historical caravan route between Amman and Azraq via Qusayr 'Amra, some 20 km east of Muwaqqar{{cite book |last= Bartl |first= Karin |chapter= Water management in desert regions: Early Islamic Qasr Mushash |page= 50-68 [see p. 63] |editor-last1= McPhillips |editor-first1= Stephen |editor-last2= Wordsworth |editor-first2= Paul D. |title= Landscapes of the Islamic World: Archaeology, History, and Ethnography, Part I: Hydroeconomies: managing and living with water. |publisher= University of Pennsylvania Press |year= 2016 |isbn= 9780812292763 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GaspDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 |access-date=2 November 2020}}
• Qasr al-Muwaqqar,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_al-muwaqqar.php Qasr Al-Muwaqqar] at Archiqoo, with satellite view. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. a "desert castle" {{convert|23.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Amman on the caravan route to Azraq
• Qasr al-Qastal, a "desert castle" about {{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Amman[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_al-qastal.php Qasr Al-Qastal] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024.
• Qasr at-Tuba,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/qasr_tuba.php Qasr Tuba] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. a "desert castle" about {{convert|95|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of Amman
• The Umayyad Palace, a qasr on the Citadel Hill of Amman[https://archiqoo.com/locations/umayyad_palace_amman.php Umayyad Palace, Amman] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024.
• Umm al-Walid,[https://archiqoo.com/locations/umm_al-walid.php Umm Al-Walid] at Archiqoo, with satellite view and photo. Accessed 2 Apr 2024. site of 3 Umayyad qusur with a mosque and an agricultural settlement near Madaba{{cite book |last1= Bujard |first1= Jacques |last2= Genequand |first2= Denis |last3= Trillen |first3= Wilfried |chapter= Umm al-Walid et Khan az-Zabib, deux établissements omeyyades en limite du désert jordanien |language= fr |pages= 189–218 |title= Conquête de la steppe et appropriation des terres sur les marges arides du Croissant fertile |publisher= Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux |location= Lyon |series= Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen |volume= 36 |year= 2001 |chapter-url= https://www.persee.fr/doc/mom_1274-6525_2001_thm_36_1_1172 |access-date= 2 March 2024 }} Concise but comprehensive article with plans and reconstructions.
• Khan az-Zabib, site of two Umayyad qusur with a mosque and a pastoral village, 25 km southeast of Umm al-Walid

• Al-Bakhra (ancient Avatha) near Palmyra with particularly large mosque; possibly more than a qasr{{cite journal |last= Genequand |first= Denis |title= Al-Bakhra (Avatha), from the Tetrarchic Fort to the Umayyad Castle |publisher=Council for British Research in the Levant |journal= Levant |issue= 36 |year= 2004 |volume= 36 |pages= 225–242 [237–38] |doi= 10.1179/lev.2004.36.1.225 |quote= The palatial residence in Dumayr, of which the date and history are still uncertain (Byzantine or early Islamic) |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233644468 |access-date= 8 March 2021}}
• Khirbat al-Bayda', well-built qasr in the Hauran, probably Umayyad but possibly Ghassanid{{cite book |last= Hoyland |first= Robert |chapter= Two New Arabic Inscriptions: Arabian Castles and Christianity in the Umayyad Period |page= 327-337 [330] |editor-last1= Nehmé |editor-first1= Laïla |editor-last2= Al-Jallad |editor-first2= Ahmad |title= To the Madbar and Back Again: Studies in the languages, archaeology, and cultures of Arabia dedicated to Michael C.A. Macdonald |publisher= BRILL |series= Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics |year= 2017 |quote= It is difficult to make a convincing case for a Ghassanid owner, since we have no residential buildings that can be confidently ascribed to a Ghassanid or any Arab tribal leader from the pre-Islamic period, whereas we have numerous examples of Umayyad palatial residences (Genequand 2003). [Referring to the "rather fine castle" at Khirbat al-Bayda', modern southern Syria] |isbn= 9789004357617 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0IJ1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA330 |access-date= 8 March 2021}} (see [http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=ExternalInterface&module=collection&objectId=625938&bt=europeanaapi 1895 photo] by Burchardt).
• Al-Dumayr, site of a qasr possibly dating to the Byzantine period, maybe built by the Ghassanids, but possibly Umayyad
• Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, a "desert castle" in the Syrian Desert
• Qasr al-Hayr ash-Sharqi, a large "desert castle" in the Syrian Desert of a "different and higher status", described as a madinah or semi-urban settlement.Jacobson, David M. (1985-86). [https://www.academia.edu/40146442/Upper_Herodium_A_Fortress_or_a_Chateau "Upper Herodium: A Fortress or a Château?"] In Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 5, pp.56-68 [63-64]. Accessed 31 March 2024 via academia.edu.
• Qudaym, site of a qasr with a mosque inside its courtyard, northern Palmyrene, or Palmyra regionGenequand, Denis (2009). [https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/1321 Économie de production, affirmation du pouvoir et dolce vita : aspects de la politique de l’eau sous les Omeyyades au Bilad al-Sham]. {{doi|10.4000/books.ifpo.1321}}. In: Mohamed Al-Dbiyat, Michel Mouton, [https://books.openedition.org/ifpo/1053 Stratégies d'acquisition de l'eau et société au Moyen-Orient depuis l'Antiquité]. New edition [online]. Beyrouth: Presses de l’Ifpo. {{ISBN|978-2-35159-285-4}}. {{doi|10.4000/books.ifpo.1053}}. Accessed 2 Apr 2024.
• Resafa, city with vast qusur built by Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743), of a "different and higher status" than the Umayyad castles
• Jabal Sais or Jabal Says, a "desert castle" in Syria north of Azraq

• Hisham's Palace, in Arabic Qasr Hisham or Khirbet el-Mafjar, a "desert castle" on the West Bank near Jericho, Palestine
• Jerusalem, the four probably Umayyad qusur clustered around the southwest corner of the Temple Mount/Haram ash-Sharif
• Qasr al-Minya, a qasr on the Sea of Galilee, Israel
• Al-Sinnabra, a qasr on the Sea of Galilee, Israel

• Anjar, an Umayyad palace-city built by Caliph al-Walid I

• Ukhaidir is a double exception: it was built in 775 by an Abbasid prince, Isa ibn Musa (c. 721–783/4), and is the only qasr outside the region of greater Syria.

File:Qasr Kharana in Jordan.jpg|Qasr Kharana, Jordan

File:Qasr Al-Azraq.jpg|Qasr al-Azraq, Jordan

File:Qasr Amra.jpg|Quseir Amra, Jordan

File:Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi.jpg|Qasr al-Hayr ash-Sharqi, Syria

File:Ruïnes van Qasr Al Hair, Bestanddeelnr 255-6064.jpg|Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, Syria (1950)

File:Arabischer Mosaizist um 735 001.jpg|Khirbat al-Mafjar, "Hisham's Palace", Jericho: floor mosaic in bathhouse

File:Horvat Minya, Israel 17.jpg|Qasr al-Minya, Israel

File:Anjar, Lebanon, Umayyad city.jpg|Anjar, Umayyad city with qasr, Lebanon

• Islamic architecture
• Umayyad architecture
• List of castles in Jordan
• Painting of the Six Kings

{{Reflist}}

• Kennedy, David; and Riley, Derrick (2012; first edition: 1990). [https://books.google.com/books?id=I1ORAgAAQBAJ Rome's Desert Frontier from the Air], Routledge, pp. 8–91 provide a comprehensive list of castles, forts, mosques and other major edifices.

• [http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism5.html Jordanian authority for tourism about the Desert castles]
• [http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/desertcastles.html About the Desert castles]
• [https://www.academia.edu/8476257/HiHistorical_Significance_of_Strategic_Location_of_Umayyad_Desert_Palaces Shahid Kabir et al., Historical Significance of Strategic Location of Umayyad Desert Palaces, Universiti Sains Malaysia 2010]

{{Umayyad Desert Castles}}

{{Umayyad Caliphate topics}}

Category:Castles in Jordan

Category:Umayyad architecture

Category:Tourism in Jordan