Banyas Castle in occupied Syrian Golan: a historical fortress in the face of occupation

Damascus, SANA- Archaeological sites in occupied Syrian Golan summarize the epics and heroics witnessed throughout different eras, one of them is Banyas Castle or the Nimrod, popularly known as al-Sabiba, which is considered as one of the most important archaeological sites in the Levant.

Researcher Ahmad Mahmoud al-Hassan told SANA that the castle is distinguished by an important strategic location and it is situated at the top of a steep mountain in the northeastern part of the city of Banas, and rises about 300 meters above sea level, pointing out that Muslims built it in the 7th century of hijra.

The Nimrod Castle or Banyas, as it was called by some ancient historians, is also called al-Sabiba after the word of “Sabbah”, which means the horse stall on which the castle  is situated.

The castle includes huge vertical slopes on three fronts, which makes it immune . it extends about 550 meters and does not exceed 30 meters in width, similar to the figure of No. 8, as it is narrow in the middle and widen at both ends, and its maximum width on the east side is 165 meters, on the west is 115 meters and in the middle is 65 meters.

Banyas Castle, like the rest of archaeological sites in the occupied Syrian Golan, stands in the face of the Israeli occupation, which attempts to steal history and antiquities, turning a blind eye to all international decisions that protect antiquities from theft, tampering or vandalism.

Nisreen Othman/ Mazen Eyon

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