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31-609: Al-Haffah is surrounded by mountains and located 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) west of the Sahyun Castle (or Citadel of Salah al-Din), a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The town is built on a narrow and forested ridgeline with an elevation of between 350 meters (1,150 ft) and 400 meters (1,300 ft) above sea level, overlooking the coastal plain of Latakia and the northern part of the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range . This positioning historically allowed it to dominate

62-661: A fertile and rather populous Muslim district, Sahyun". He noted that it had approximately 2,000 inhabitants, of whom most were Muslims and about 150 were Greek Orthodox Christians . In 1919 al-Haffah was part of the uprising against the French occupation of Syria led by Umar al-Bitar in the Sahyun region, part of the wider Hananu Revolt across northwestern Syria, and in alliance with the Alawite Revolt led by Saleh al-Ali . Syria came under French Mandatory rule in 1923. In 1924, al-Haffah

93-478: A wall across the east side of the ridge. The walls created an irregular enclosure and were studded with flanking towers. Adjacent to the fortification, at the eastern end of the ridge was a settlement. One of the most magnificent features of the fortress is the 28 m deep ditch, which was cut into living rock . The creation of the ditch has been attributed to the Byzantines. This ditch, which runs 156 meters along

124-471: Is close to the town of al-Haffah . The traditional name of the site is Ṣahyūn , the Arabic equivalent of Zion . This, according to historian Hugh N. Kennedy , is why it has now been given the more politically correct title of Qalʿat Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn , meaning "Saladin's Castle". The Byzantines referred to it as Sigon and their Frankish successors called it Saône . The site has been fortified since at least

155-570: The Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes captured the site and it remained under Byzantine control until around 1108. Early in the 12th century the Franks assumed control of the site and it was part of the newly formed Crusader state of the Principality of Antioch . The Crusaders undertook an extensive building programme, giving the castle much of its current appearance. In 1188 it fell to

186-460: The Castle of Saladin ( Arabic : قلعة صلاح الدين , romanized :  Qal'at Salah al-Din ), is a medieval castle in northwestern Syria . It is located 7 km east of Al-Haffah town and 30 km east of the city of Latakia , in high mountainous terrain on a ridge between two deep ravines and surrounded by forest , the site has been fortified since at least the mid 10th century. In 975

217-621: The Principality of Antioch , one of the four Crusader states established after the First Crusade . The lords of Sahyun were among the most powerful in Antioch. The first lord of Sahyun was probably Robert the Leper , who is recorded in control of it since at least 1119. Sahyun remained in his family until 1188. It was most likely Robert or his son, William of Zardana , who built the Crusader castle around

248-607: The Mamluks until at least the late 14th century. The emir of Hama , Abu'l-Fida (r. 1273–1331), noted that a town was established adjacent to Sahyun. In later decades, however, Sahyun was abandoned. After the Ottoman conquest in Syria, Sahyun became an Ottoman fortress. A 16th century Chinese text's description of a "city with two walls" between Tartus and Aleppo seems to match the citadel Sahyun. In early 20th century, T. E. Lawrence visited

279-523: The Sunni notables of al-Haffah owned much of the mostly Alawite countryside villages, whose inhabitants were sharecroppers ; while these villages benefited from the redistribution of the notables' lands, old resentments and persistent sectarian tensions deterred many Alawite villagers from visiting al-Haffah, except for administrative matters or visits to the weekly souk. By 1994 or 1997, the Christian proportion of

310-525: The Syrian Civil War without any significant damage. In 2023, one of the fortified towers was destroyed during the February earthquake . Sahyun was built on a ridge some 700 metres (2,300 ft) long between two deep gorges. It guarded the route between Latakia and the city of Antioch. The spur on which the castle is built is connected to a plateau in the east. The Byzantines defended the site by building

341-449: The castle's west, and the inhabitants sought refuge in the castle. The castle and town were supposed to be separated by a ditch, however at the north end the digging remained unfinished. Exploiting this, Az-Zahir successfully stormed the castle walls. The inner courtyard was overrun and the garrison retreated to the donjon or keep. Before the day ended they agreed terms with their attackers and were allowed to ransom themselves. Though Sahyun

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372-457: The castle, and describe it as "the most sensational thing in castle building I have ever seen." The citadel was made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO , along with Krak des Chevaliers , in 2006. During the Syrian uprising which began in 2011 UNESCO voiced concerns that the conflict might lead to the damage of important cultural sites such as Citadel of Salah Ed-Din. As of 2016 the castle survived

403-409: The castle: Saladin established himself with his siege engines on the plateau opposite the castle's east side while his son was set up facing the north of the castle's lower enclosure. Stones weighing between 50 and 300 kilograms (110 and 660 lb) hurled at the castle for two days, causing significant damage. On 29 July, the order to attack was given. Az-Zahir assaulted the castle town adjoining

434-456: The command of Turuntay to establish a siege at Sahyun. Turuntay sent a message to Sunqur, saying that if he surrendered the sultan would pardon him; Sunqur refused and so the siege began. It soon became apparent that Sunqur's men could not hold the castle, and so in April he surrendered. Afterward, Sahyun was made part of the province of Tripoli . The castle remained significant and prosperous under

465-504: The ditch. This keep has walls of 5 m thick and it covers an area of nearly 24 m . Further on to the north is the gate where the drawbridge used to be. Also evident are the Byzantine citadel, located at the center of the fortress, another large cistern, the Crusader tea house, and a Crusader church adjoining one of two Byzantine chapels. As for the Arab additions to the fortress, they include

496-454: The east side, is 14 to 20 meters wide and has a lonely 28 m high needle to support the drawbridge. The entrance to the castle is through an entrance on the south side of the fortress. On the right of the entrance is a tower, a bastion built by the Crusaders. There is another a few meters further. There is a cistern for water storage and some stables just next to a massive keep that overlooks

527-454: The forces of Saladin after a three-day siege. The castle was again besieged in 1287, this time both defender and belligerent were Mamluks. In 2006, the castles of Qal'at Salah El-Din and Krak des Chevaliers were recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . The site is owned by the Syrian government. The castle is located roughly 25 kilometers (16 mi) northeast of Latakia . The castle

558-412: The geography of the region, specifically the deep ravines which cut through east-west, hinders al-Haffah's potential, as many of its nahiya (subdistrict) towns, like Kinsabba , Muzayraa and Ayn al-Tineh , connect more easily with the city of Latakia , bypassing al-Haffah. Social differences also contribute to the weak commercial influence of al-Haffah on its district. Before the agrarian reforms,

589-547: The influence of al-Haffah which lost a significant part of its traditional hinterland (al-Haffah District lost the Fakhura area, about 20% of the district's territory, to Qardaha District as well as Shatha , which became part of the Hama Governorate ). According to the anthropologist Fabrice Balanche , these factors explain the weak average annual population growth of 2% of al-Haffah between 1970 and 1981. Balanche also notes that

620-420: The medieval period, it lacks archaeological remains, as building activity in its immediate vicinity from as early as Byzantine rule was concentrated in the formidable Sahyun Castle, which is located on a more defensible site. The local geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned al-Haffah in the early 13th century, during Ayyubid rule, noting that it was a district to the west of Aleppo comprising many villages and

651-502: The mid-10th century, and its first known occupant was a dependent of the Aleppo -based Hamdanid emir, Sayf al-Dawla . The Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes captured Sahyun in 975 from its Hamdanid ruler, and it remained under Byzantine control until around 1108 when the Crusaders took control of Latakia, at which point it is likely they also took possession of Sahyun. It was part of

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682-545: The population had declined to 10%. Al-Haffah's commercial influence is presently limited to the mostly Sunni Muslim villages in its immediate vicinity, and it is economically dependent on the city of Latakia, with which it has more socioeconomic ties than with the localities in its district. During the Syrian civil war , on 5 June 2012, al-Haffah was captured by rebels from the Free Syrian Army , leading to eight days of heavy fighting and government shelling that ended when

713-586: The previous Byzantine fortifications. Most of what is evident today was built at this time. The fortress was notable as being one of the few which were not entrusted to the major military orders of the Hospitaller and the Templars . On 27 July 1188, the Ayyubid sultan Saladin and his son, az-Zahir Ghazi , arrived at Sahyun with an army and laid siege to the castle. The Muslim forces adopted two positions outside

744-683: The producer of a fabric called Haffiyyah . The Sunni Muslim inhabitants of the Sahyun area generally descend from the Turkmen and Kurdish tribesmen settled in the mountain forts by the Mamluk sultan Baybars and his successors to better control the road between Aleppo and the coastal plain. In 1860 al-Haffah was visited by the American missionary R. J. Dodds of the Reformed Presbyterian Church . Dodds described it as "a beautiful village ... in

775-399: The rebels withdrew from the city. After government forces restored control over the city, UN observers reported severe damage in al-Haffah, with several homes, shops and government buildings, such as the post office, burnt and the hospital destroyed. The observers noted that the city appeared to have been deserted. Sahyun Castle Sahyun Castle ( Arabic : قلعة صهيون ), also known as

806-521: The surrounding countryside. Due to this placement and the surrounding terrain, the town has developed as a strip of built-up area along the Latakia– Slinfah road, surrounded by orchards. The homes and buildings, many two or three stories high, are clustered together with no open space in the town center. The Sahyun Castle was conquered by the Ayyubids in 1188. Although al-Haffah has been attested since

837-533: The town's landowning notables, the bulk of whom eventually relocated to Latakia, especially its Saliba neighborhood, or Damascus , though often keeping their homes in al-Haffah as summerhouses. The widening of the governorate capitals' power, in this case the Latakia Governorate , on the one hand, and the creation of new districts in the countryside in 1967–1970, in this case the Qardaha District , weakened

868-400: The typical characteristics of a city, namely government offices for religious and civil affairs and a gendarmerie battalion for policing the district. Further, it hosted the chief souk (market) of its mountainous district and its elites drew in the land rents of the surrounding countryside and dominated its trade network. The Agrarian Reform Laws of the 1960s diminished the rent incomes of

899-401: Was a strong castle, it fell in just three days. Kennedy speculates that, despite being well-provisioned, the fortress may have surrendered been because its garrison was not large enough or possessed siege engines. Saladin granted Sahyun and Bourzey to one of his emirs , Mankawar (also known as "Mankurus ibn Khumartigin"). The pair descended through the latter's heirs until 1272 when Sahyun

930-420: Was given to the Mamluk sultan Baibars . Some time in the 1280s, the dissident Mamluk emir Sunqur al-Ashqar used the castle for refuge from Sultan Qalawun . Under Sunqur, the castle became the administrative center of a small semi-independent emirate. In late 1286 and early 1287, Qalawun set out to repress his rivals which including curtailing Sunqur's independence. To this end the sultan sent an army under

961-629: Was promoted as the capital of the Sahyun mantiqah (district), which had formerly been the nearby town of Babanna . During this period, Sunni Muslims constituted 71% of the town's population, Christians 28% and Alawites 1%. Through the 1950s, al-Haffah's influence extended north to Jabal al-Akrad , south to the Mahalibeh area and east to part of the Ghab Plain . In 1960, al-Haffah had a population of 2,750, of which 85% were Sunni Muslims and 15% were Christians. Although relatively small in size, it contained

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