| Places to visit in Tripoli-Lebanon :
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Citadel of Tripoli (Crusader Castle of Saint-Gilles) -
Kalaa The citadel of
Tripoli was built by Esendernir al-Kurji, governor of Tripoli, in 1308 (A.H.707) on the
emplacement of the castle of Saint-Gilles.This Mamluk emir was also responsible for
several works of public utility in the city such as a public bath and a large market
place. When the Mont Pèlerin quarter was set ablaze by the Mamluks in 1289,
the castle of Saint-Gilles suffered from the holocaust and stood abandoned on the hilltop
for the next eighteen years. It was essential to have an adequate stronghold in Tripoli
for the sultan’s troops, temporarily garrisoned in Hisnal-Akrád,as the distance was
too great in case of enemy attack. The governor therefore chose the emplacement of the
gutted Crusader castle on the hill, incorporating what he could in his citadel, and made
use of Roman column shafts and other building material he found nearby. Many of the
interior walls, ramps and terraces of the citadel seen today were built in his time.
Abou’l Fidá and Ibn al-Wardi record that, among the important events which took
place in the year A.H 746 (1345), was the promulgation of a military decree which was set
up by order of the Mamluk Sultan al-Kamil Sha’bân in the citadels of Aleppo,
Tripoli, Hisn al-Akrâd and other fortified places.The decree, put over the second
entrance way of the citadel of Tripoli, is by far the best preserved. Apparently
this sultan, who lived a life of luxury and debauch, was in constant need of extra
revenues. In order to fill his depleted treasury, he imposed a heavy registration tax upon
all feudal land concessions and appropriations. This tax was unpopular and was obviously
going to stir up discontent among his subjects. To forestall any uprising and gain the
support of his troops, upon whom his power was based he issued this military decree. It
was the custom that a Mamluk soldier, under contract for a specified number of years,
received an annual gratuity which amounted to slightly over eleven days extra pay. If the
soldier died before the end of his contract, the sultan had the right to claim the extra
sum of money which had accumulated during the soldier’s years of service.
Sha’bán abandoned his rights to this claim, once and for all, hoping thus to enlist
the support of his troops.
In 1516 Syria and Egypt
fell to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. His son and successor Suleiman I, called the
Magnificent (1520-1566), soon after his accession made an inspection tour of his
newly-conquered lands. He gathered about him in Damascus all his provincial governors and
on this occasion took the decision to rebuild the great citadel of Tripoli . Over
the entrance portal, the sultan commemorated this important restoration work with an
inscription: "In the name of Allah, it has been decreed by the royal sultan’s
order, al Malik al-Muzuffar Sultan Suleiman Shah, son of Sultan Selim Shah, may his orders
never cease to be obeyed by the emirs, that this blessed citadel be restored so as to be a
fortified stronghold for all time. Its construction was completed in the blessed month of
Sha’bân of the year 927 (July 1521)
In the years that
followed, various Ottoman governors of Tripoli did restoration work on the citadel to suit
their needs and with time the medieval crenelated battlements were destroyed in order to
open sally ports for cannons. Very little of the original Crusader structure has survived
until this day. The graves of a number of nameless Frankish knights, here and there, are
the only bits of evidence today evocative of their presence on the heights of
Tripoli’s "Pilgrim’s Mountain" many centuries ago.
Historical References |
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