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Barsbay Tower

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Barsbay Tower
برج السباع
Part of the coastal defense fortifications of Mamluk Tripoli
Barsbay Tower at the turn of the 20th century
Barsbay Tower is located in Lebanon
Barsbay Tower
Barsbay Tower
Coordinates34°27′00″N 35°49′41″E / 34.4498833°N 35.8280396°E / 34.4498833; 35.8280396
TypeFortress
Site information
Open to
the public		yes
ConditionMostly intact
Site history
Built15th century
Built bySultan Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Dīn Barsbāy
MaterialsLimeston, granite

The Barsbay Tower (Arabic: برج برسباي, romanized: Burj Barsbay),[1] also known as Lions Tower (Arabic: برج السباع, romanized: Burj es-Sebaa), is a small Mamluk military fortress located at the far eastern end of the Tripoli harbor in North Lebanon.[1] The tower is dated to the 15th century and is a remarkable example of Mamluk military architecture.[2] It features a distinctive portico with ablaq _an alternating black-and-white ashlar stone stripes technique_ and granite Roman columns that were repurposed and embedded horizontally into the walls to strengthen its structure.

History and construction

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In 1289, the Mamluks achieved their final victory over the Crusaders, who were forced out of Tripoli. Crusader assaults against the coastal regions persisted however, namely from the islands of Cyprus and Rhodes. The Mamluks commissioned the construction of defensive towers along the coastline of Tripoli to counter these naval threats.[3][1][4] Historians estimate that the Lions Tower was built either in the 14th century during the reign of Sultan Barquq, or in the 15th century under Sultan Barsbay.[5] Mamluk historian Ibn Iyas, writing before his death in 1522, affirms that the tower was built by Barsbay while he was the Naib (deputy) of Tripoli in the 15th century.[6][7]

The tower was restored between 1441 and 1442 by Emir Julban, then the Naib of Tripoli, and by Sultan Qaitbay in the late 15th century, who, during his 1477 journey to Syria, inspected and reinforced the northern defenses against the growing Ottoman threat.[2]

Naming

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The tower’s name has been debated, with some attributing it to the Mamluk Sultan Barsbay, who is credited with restoring the structure. Orientalist explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt recorded local accounts that reliefs of two lions once adorned its façade, which he interpreted as representing the Crusader heraldry of Raymond de Saint-Gilles.[8] However, modern scholars recognize that the lion is also a common symbol in Mamluk heraldry.[9] Lebanese historian Umar Tadmuri suggests that Sebaa may be a corruption of Barsbay.[10][11]

Description

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The rectangular tower is constructed with large bossed limestone blocks and comprises two levels. It features a distinctive portico with decorative ablaq-style stonework that combines white and black stone blocks, a style that characterizes Mamluk architecture.[1] The portico of the tower is flanked by two projecting Roman granite column drums, and is accessed today via steps built in recent times. A decorative relief molding frames the portal, and above the door, a rectangular relief frame remains where the heraldic lion carvings, which likely inspired the tower's name, were once displayed but have since been removed.[12] The walls of the tower are reinforced with granite Roman columns that were repurposed and embedded horizontally into the walls.[1] The base of the tower slopes outward, forming a small talus, a defensive feature designed to deflect stone missiles dropped from the machicolations above.[12]

The portico opens directly into the raised ground floor, consisting of a large hall spanning the entire surface of the building.[1][12] The hall has six groin vaults anchored on two central supporting pillars and wall buttresses.[1] Traces of frescoes depicting various Mamluk rulers coats of arms can still be seen on the walls of the hall. Near the west staircase entrance, a circular escutcheon painted in red depicts Sultan Barquq’s emblem of a wine cup.[12]

On the second level, above the main portal, the floor is pierced with five machicolations used to pour fluids on attackers. This level also features two central pillars that support groined vaulting; it features a central hall surrounded by eight rooms. A staircase leads up to the roof, where fragments of the original crenelated parapets and machicolations remain.[12]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Association Patrimoine Tripoli Liban 2021.
  2. ^ a b Jidejian 1980, p. 95.
  3. ^ عبد الهادي 2018, p. 192.
  4. ^ Qattar 1998, p. 514.
  5. ^ Qattar 1998, pp. 514–515, 588.
  6. ^ Qattar 1998, p. 588, footnote 93.
  7. ^ Ibn Iyas 1961, p. 259.
  8. ^ Burckhardt 1822, p. 165.
  9. ^ Rousselot 2021, p. 84.
  10. ^ Qattar 1998, pp. 514–515.
  11. ^ Lortet 1860, p. 172.
  12. ^ a b c d e Jidejian 1980, p. 94.

Sources

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  • Association Patrimoine Tripoli Liban (2021). "Map". Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  • Burckhardt, Johann Ludwig (1822). Travels in Syria and the Holy Land. Murray.
  • Ibn Iyas, Muhammad (1961) [1522]. Mustafa, Mohammed (ed.). بدائع الزهور في وقائع الدهور [Badāʼi al-zuhūr fī waqāʼi al-zuhūr] [Flowers in the Chronicles of the Ages]. Bibliotheca islamica, 5 (in Arabic) (2nd ed.). Franz Steiner Verlag. OCLC 1408745588.
  • Jidejian, Nina (1980). Tripoli Through the Ages. Dar el-Mashreq Publishers. ISBN 978-2-7214-5836-0.
  • Lortet, M. (1860). "La Syrie d'Aujourd'hui". In Charton, Edouard (ed.). Le tour du monde: nouveau journal des voyages (in French). Paris: Libraire de L. Hachette. pp. 161–192.
  • Qattar, Elias (1998). نيابة طرابلس في عهد المماليك، 688 - 922 هـ / 1289 - 1516م [The Province of Tripoli during the Mamluk Era]. منشورات الجامعة اللبنانية 43 (in Arabic). Beirut: Lebanese University Press. OCLC 587781545.
  • Rousselot, Simon (2021). "Political Disruptions and Mamluk Emblematic Evolutions in the Fifteenth Century". In Thiry, Steven; Duerloo, Luc (eds.). Heraldic Hierarchies: Identity, Status and State Intervention in Early Modern Heraldry. Leuven University Press. ISBN 978-94-6270-243-1.
  • عبد الهادي, شريف عبد الحميد محمد (2018). نيابة طرابلس الشام فى عصر سلاطين المماليك (688 –922هـ/ 1289– 1516م) دراســة تاريخـيـة (in Arabic). Alexandria: دار التعليم الجامعي.

Read also

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