Desert Castles of Jordan

The Umayyad Desert Castles, of which the Desert Castles of Jordan represent a prominent part, are fortified palaces or castles in what used to be the Umayyad province of Bilad ash-Sham. Most Umayyad "desert castles" are scattered over the arid regions of eastern Jordan, with several more in Syria, Israel and the West Bank (Palestine).

The castles were built roughly between 660 and 750, under the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty who had made Damascus their new capital in 661; after 750 the capital moved to the newly-built Baghdad, and some of the buildings were never completed. The Umayyads erected a number of characteristic palaces, known in Arabic as qusur (pl.)/qasr (sing.), some in the cities and some along important roads, of which some are in the desert. The term "Desert Castle" is thus not ideal, since it artificially separates similar qusur according to their location. Jordan possesses at least one urban Umayyad qasr on the Citadel Hill of Amman, while several qusur are located in Syria, the West Bank and Israel, either in cities (Jerusalem, Ramla), 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). The "desert castles" proper, i.e. isolated qusur built in arid regions, are chiefly located on the ancient trade routes connecting Damascus with Medina and Kufa.

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