Qasr Shebib
Qasr Shebib is one of the Ottoman Hajj Forts located in Jordan. Originally built during the Ottoman Empire’s control over the region, this fort stands on a spur between two wadis – Wadi Zarqa and its tributary, Wadi Huweijir. Today, the structure is well-preserved and is jointly maintained by the Department of Antiquities and the Ministry of Education.
The fort is a square structure with sides measuring 14 meters. The walls are made of large limestone blocks, some of which were likely taken from a pre-existing Roman structure. The blocks are approximately 0.5 meters high and 0.5-1 meter long. The walls have rusticated centers surrounded by a smooth border. The fort’s height is about 8 meters above the current ground level, and the top of the fort has triangular crenellations on three sides, which appear to be later additions to the original structure.
On the southwest and east sides of the fort, there are traces of blocked-up arrow slits, each approximately 25 centimeters wide and 1 meter high. These arrow slits are situated about 0.5 meters above the current ground level. The North Face of the fort is particularly interesting as it contains the entrance and two small lancet windows that provide light to the interior staircase. These windows are of simple construction, formed by a gap or slit between two blocks with an arch shape cut into the stone above.
The entrance to the fort is located on the middle of the north side and is composed of a large, pointed arch recess measuring 3.5 meters high by 1.8 meters wide. Within this recess, there is an arched doorway that is 2 meters high and 1.8 meters wide, similar in shape to the recess. The larger arch of the recess is built out of two courses of finely cut ashlars. The fort’s strategic position and sturdy construction make it a notable example of Ottoman military architecture in the region.
According to a Latin inscription dated AD 253/9 found embedded into the wall of Qasr Shebib by the Princeton Expedition in the early 1900s, the first structure built on this site was likely a Roman fort. The area of Wadi Zarqa is associated with the pre-Islamic Himyarite ruler, Shebib Tubbai, by the 13th-century writer Yaqut, and it is likely that the name of the fort is derived from this association.
However, the current building, Qasr Shebib, is certainly of Medieval origin. Although the site was not specifically mentioned in Medieval Arabic sources, it was a well-known stopping point for caravans during the Mamluk period. Zarka first appears in Ottoman sources in 1519 in connection with a confrontation between the Ottoman pilgrims and the Mafarija tribe, which ended peacefully. The fort, however, is not explicitly mentioned as Qasr Shebib in written sources until 1563, when it appears as the name of a stop in the itinerary of Mustapha Pasha.
Peake Pasha recorded, citing an oral source, that the fort was used as a hiding place in 1611–13 by Ali, son of Fakhr al-Din al Ma‘ani, when he was being pursued by the Sardiya tribe acting under orders from the al-Hafiz, the governor of Damascus.
In 1709, Murtada ibn Alawan stopped at Zarqa 20 hours after leaving Mafraq and before moving on to Qatrana. He describes it as a dirty and difficult stopping place that appeared to be deserted. Seventy years later, in 1779, Mehmed Edib arrived at Ayn Zarka, which he described as an abandoned settlement with flowing water and a fort. In 1812, the fort at Zarqa was used as a base for Ottoman forces engaged in a conflict with the Bani Sakher.
Following the Egyptian occupation in the 1820s, Ayn al-Zarka was inspected by the officers of Muhammad Ali Pasha, who noted the large quantities of fresh flowing water in the wadi. The officers also made a note of the fort, which was in a ruinous condition and scheduled for repairs. In 1899, the fort was restored by the Ottoman authorities to protect the area from Bedouin raiders and serve as a nucleus for settlement. In 1903, 36 Chechen families from the Caucasus were settled around the fort.
