Mseilha Fort

The Mseilha Fort stands on the right bank of Al-Jaouz river, to the south-east of Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory; a massive geological formation that cuts through the coast of Lebanon, making it historically difficult for travelers to circumvent.^[2] The fort is located within the municipal area of Hamat, 2.5 km (1.6 mi) northeast of Batroun,^[3] and is strategically located to control the crossing of the Al-Jaouz river and the pathways that climb the valley slopes or bypass the promontory.^[2]

Mseilha, derives from the Arabic word for "fortified place," being a diminutive form of musallaha (Arabic: مسلحة), meaning "fortified".^[3][4] An alternative romanization is: Qal'at al Mouseiliha,^[5] Musayliha,^[2] and Museiliha.^[6]

 

Following the collapse of the Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory in the aftermath of the 551 CE earthquake, the coastal road linking the cities of Batroun, El-Heri and Tripoli was lost, transforming the northern shoreline into a high sea cliff.^[6][7] Consequently, a new road bypassing the promontory from the east was necessary to ensure communication between the coastal cities. Crossing the Nahr el-Jaouz valley, this road turns around Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory to reach the other side at a spot near El-Heri called Bab el-Hawa (meaning the "door of the wind").^[3] During the Crusades, the prominent land mass of Ras ash-Shaq'a held significant strategic value in the defense of the County of Tripoli. It guarded one of the region's most perilous road segments and overlooked the Bay of Heri, a coastal area well-suited for maritime landings. Due to its strategic importance, Ras ash-Shaq'a was designated as a separate lordship, distinct from the nearby fiefs of Nephin (modern Anfe) to the north and Boutron (modern Batroun) to the south.^[8] This territory was granted as a fief to the Constable of Tripoli, and there was likely a direct connection between holding the fortification of the fief and the office of constable.^[9][8]

Twelfth century historian of the First Crusade, Albert of Aix described the strategic position of the defensive fortification that then existed atop the Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory to guard a narrow pass: ^[10]

This mountain, detached from the more distant mountain chain, extends over a vast area of land all the way to the sea. A tower that dominates and controls the route through one of its gates rises at the summit of this mountain. This small structure can hold no more than six men, but these few would be enough to defend the pass against all who live under the sky.^[11]

During the two centuries of Frankish occupation that followed, the Crusader Counts of Tripoli fortified Ras ash-Shaq'a, referring to the estate as "Puy du Connétable" (Hill of the Constable), "Puy Guillaume, and the mountain pass as "Passe Saint-Guillaume", all of which, according to historian Maxime Goepp likely also refer to the Mseilha Fort.^[10] In a 1109 document, Bertrand, Count of Saint-Gilles, gifted the Church of St. Lawrence of Genoa full control over the Castle of the Constabulary (Latin: Castrum Constabularii) Gibellum (modern Jbeil), and one-third of Tripoli's territory.^[a][12] This lordship would be maintained until 1278, with the lords of Le Puy appearing as constables of the County up to that date.^[10] Around 1276, the vicinity of the Puy du Connétable was the site of a battle during the war between Guy II Embriaco of Gibelet and the Knights Templar against Bohemond VII, Count of Tripoli.^[13]

 

The Mseilha Fort is conflated in some sources with the Puy du Connétable,^[10] but the exact location and extent of the latter remains uncertain with historians like Emmanuel-Guillaume Rey (1837-1916),^[14] and Henri Lammens (1862–1937),^[15] suggesting that the Puy likely referred to the estate located north of the promontory in al-Heri,^[b][16][14] or to a previous structure at the location of the Mseilha Fort respectively.^[16] Scholars noted that while the rock on which the fort stands may have served as a military position in ancient times,^[17] the current fort structure does not include any elements from the Crusader era. The construction techniques, cutting methods, stone block sizes, and low arched doors and windows, among other elements, suggest that the current structure was built in the 17th century at the earliest.^[3] Nineteenth-century French historian Ernest Renan could not relate the architectural elements in Mseilha to anything earlier than the Middle Ages.^[6] Paul Deschamps, a 20th-century historian of Crusader architecture, confirmed the lack of any Crusader-era features in the current fort but did not rule out the possibility that it replaced earlier Crusader constructions, as surviving Frankish literature indicates the Crusaders had fortified the strategic pass between Ras ash-Shaq'a and the foothills of Mount Lebanon.^[5][3] Deschamps further posits, that the tower described by Albert of Aix during the march of the First Crusade in 1099 may have been located on the Mseilha rock, a theory echoed by French historians René Grousset and Jean Richard.^[5][18][19]

Modern scholars Davie and Salamé-Sarkis distinguish the Mseilha Fort from the historical Puy du Connétable. According to them, the entire promontory of Ras ash-Shaq'a was known from 1109^[12] to 1282^[20] in Crusader-era texts as Puy du Connétable.^[8] The estate was defended by the Castrum Constabularii, as mentioned in Bertrand of Saint-Gilles' 1109 document,^[12] which likely replaced an earlier tower described by Albert of Aix. According to scholars Davie and Salamé-Sarkis, this tower may have been situated at the summit of Jabal an-Nuriyya, a strategic position on the northern tip of the Ras al Shaq'a promontory, that enabled monitoring of both the mountain pass and the bay of Heri.^[8]

 

French traveler Jean de La Roque (1661–1743) passed near the Mseilha Fort in late 1689 on his route from Tripoli to Batroun. He recorded a local account attributing the fort's construction to Emir Fakhr al-Din II, the Druze former ruler of Lebanon.^[3] Nineteenth century Lebanese scholar Father Mansur Tannus al-Hattuni (1823–1910), recounting events of 1624, noted that Emir Fakhr al-Din II "ordered Sheikh Abu Nadir al-Khazin to construct the Mseilha Fort north of Batroun".^[c][22][3] Hattuni's source, Tannus al-Shidyaq (1794–1861), mentions that the fort was built by Fakhr al-Din II and added in his account of 1631—six years after the fort's construction—that Abu Nadir al-Khazin conducted restoration work on the fort.^[23][3] The year 1624 is accepted as the date of the fort's construction.^[3] Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784–1817), a Swiss traveler who visited the area in the early 19th century and confirmed that Mseilha Fort was of relatively recent origin.^[3] English traveler and clergyman Henry Maundrell (1665–1701), writing in 1697, referred to Mseilha Fort as 'Temseida,' likely a corruption of the local name due to Maundrell's limited familiarity with the language. He described it as a small fort perched upon a steep, perpendicular rock, with walls conforming to the rock's natural shape, commanding the passage into a narrow valley.^[24]

 

The Mseilha Fort was featured on the reverse of the 25 Lebanese Lira banknote issued between 1964 and 1983.^[25] In 2007, restoration works were undertaken to make the site safe for visitors. Funded by USAID, these works are a continuation of a project conducted by SRI International-INMA to rehabilitate the fort, in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture - Directorate General of Antiquities.^[3]

The Mseilha fort is 15 m (49 ft) high,^[26] built on a narrow limestone rocky outcrop.^[27] Its walls range from 1.5 to 2 m (4.9 to 6.6 ft) in thickness, and were built with medium-sized sandstone blocks, although some larger limestone blocks are also present, likely repurposed from older structures.^[27][3] The fort was built in two phases, resulting in two adjoining sections that form a single architectural unit. It is approached through a narrow, steep path on the northern side of the rock, which incorporates steps carved directly into the bedrock. This path leads to a small masonry terrace and a low, rounded-arch doorway. The entrance opens into a narrow, triangular courtyard bordered by a two-bay vaulted building on the southern side, possibly used for storage, with as a cistern in its lower level.^[27] The curtain wall on the southern side rises approximately two meters higher than the northern wall, likely an intentional design to counterbalance the elevated mountain terrain to the south, which offers a natural strategic advantage controlling the entrance of the Nahr el-Jaouz valley.^[27] In the west tower, an archery chamber offers a vantage point with narrow arrow slits. The eastern section of the fort is more elevated and fortified, with a cluster of vaulted rooms surrounding a small inner courtyard. From this courtyard, a staircase leads to an upper level, where each room is similarly equipped with arrow slits for defense. At the easternmost tip, a square tower juts forward.^[27]

• Van Berchem's sketches of the Mseilha Fort (1914)
•  
  The fort as seen from the North
•  
  East view of the fort
•  
  Ground floor plan
•  
  Partial upper floor plan
•  
  Cross section view of the fort
•  
  Main gate of the fort
•  
  West tower

• Museiliha inscription

• Albert of Aix (1824) [c. 1100]. Histoire des croisades [History of the Crusades] (in French). Dépôt central de la librairie (J.-L.-J. Brière).
• Asharq Al-Awsat editorial staff (26 December 2007). "لبنان: قلعة المسيلحة التاريخية رممت لتعود إلى الحياة" [Lebanon: The historic Mseilha Fortress has been restored to life]. Asharq Al-Awsat (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
• Berchem, Max van; Fatio, Edmond (1914). Voyage en Syrie / par Max Van Berchem et [Voyage in Syria] (in French). Impr. de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale. pp. 113–116.
• Davie, Michael F.; Salamé-Sarkis, Hassān (1990). "Le Théouprosopon-Ras Aš-ŠaQ'a (Liban): étude géo-historique" [The Theouprosopon-Ras Ash-Shaq'a (Lebanon): A Geo-Historical Study]. Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph (in French). 51. Beirut: Dar El-Machreq: 2–48.
• Deschamps, Paul (1973). Les châteaux des croisés en Terre-Sainte (PDF) (in French). Vol. III - La défense du comté de Tripoli et de la Principauté d'Antioche. Paris: Paul Geuthner.
• Dussaud, René (1927). "Chapitre II. De Tripoli à Carné. — L'Émésène" [Chapter II. From Tripoli to Carné. - The Emesene]. Topographie historique de la Syrie antique et médiévale [Historical topography of ancient and medieval Syria]. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique (in French). Beyrouth: Presses de l’Ifpo. pp. 75–115. ISBN 978-2-35159-464-3. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
• Goepp, Maxime (2004). "Puy du Connétable". Forteresses d'Orient. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
• Grousset, René (1934). Histoire des Croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem (in French). Vol. 1 - L'anarchie Musulmane et la Monarchie Franque. Plon.
• Grousset, René (1936). Histoire des Croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem (in French). Vol. 3 - La Monarchie Musulmane et l'Anarchie Franque. Plon.
• al-Ḥattūni, Manṣūr Tannūs (1884). نبذة تاريخية فى المقاطعة الكسروانية: تنطوى على مقدمة وثلاثة اقسام / Nabd̲a tārīḫīya fi ʼl-muqāṭaʻa al-Kasrawānīya: tantawi ʻala muqaddima wa-t̲alāt̲at aqsām [Historical Overview of the Kisrawan District: Containing an Introduction and Three Sections] (in Arabic). Beirut: Not specified. OCLC 235991808.
• Khalil, Samir; R.Y. Ebied; Herman G.B. Teule (2004). Studies on the Christian Arabic heritage: in honour of Father Prof. Dr. Samir Khalil Samir S.I. at the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday. Eastern Christian studies. Vol. 5. Peeters Publishers. p. 364. ISBN 978-90-429-1464-3.
• Lammens, Henri (1906). "Notes de Géographie Syrienne". Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph. 1 (1): 239–283. doi:10.3406/mefao.1906.895.
• Lebanese Ministry of Culture (2004). "Ministère de la Culture" (in French). Archived from the original on 2004-11-24. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
• van Leeuwen, Richard (1994). Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon: The Khāzin Sheikhs and the Maronite Church, 1736-1840. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-09978-4.
• Makarem, May (20 October 2007). "Patrimoine - Les travaux de réhabilitation menés par la DGA sont financés par INMA, SRI et USAid Datant du XVIIe siècle, le fortin de Mseilha émerge d'un long sommeil" [Heritage - The rehabilitation work carried out by the DGA is funded by INMA, SRI, and USAID. Dating back to the 17th century, the Mseilha fort emerges from a long slumber]. L'Orient le Jour. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
• Maundrell, Henry (1740) [1703]. A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem at Easter, A.D. 1697. Oxford: A. Peisley.
• Numista (2007). "25 Livres, Lebanon". Numista. Archived from the original on 3 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
• Rey, Emmanuel-Guillaume (1883). Les colonies franques de Syrie aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles (in French).
• Renan, Ernest (1864). Mission de Phénicie Dirigée par M. Ernest Renan [Mission to Phoenicia, directed by Mr. Ernest Renan] (in French). Paris: Imprimerie impériale. OCLC 763570479.
• Richard, Jean (1945), "Chapitre III. Les institutions du comté de Ttripoli", Le comté de Tripoli sous la dynastie toulousaine (1102-1187), Bibliothèque archéologique et historique (in French), Beyrouth: Presses de l'Ifpo, pp. 44–57, ISBN 978-2-35159-537-4, retrieved 2024-10-28
• Richard, Jean (1948). Questions de topographie Tripolitaine [Topographical Studies of Tripoli] (in French). Paris: Geuthner.
• Röhricht, Reinhold (1893). Regesta regni Hierosolymitani (MXCVII-MCCXCI) (in Latin). Libraria Academica Wageriana.
• Al-Shidyāq, Ṭannūs ibn Yūsuf (1859). كتاب اخبار الاعيان في جبل لبنان / Kitāb akhbār al-aʻyān fī Jabal Lubnān [The History of the Notables in Mount Lebanon] (in Arabic). Beirut: Not specified.

•   Media related to Mseilha Fort at Wikimedia Commons