Nimrod Fortress is one of the most impressive sites of the Golan Heights. Seated at the foot of Mt. Hermon, overlooking the Hula Valley, this fortress is named after the Biblical hunter who alleged sat at the summit of this mountain plucked water from the Banias stream. The fortress occupies a strategic location controlling an important road to Damascus and overlooking the city of Banias.
The castle's exact date of construction is in dispute. Some allege that the fortress was constructed in 1129 by rulers of Damascus. However, more recent scholarship indicates that the fortress was built under the rule of Al-Malik al-Aziz Othman in the 13th century in order to protect the route connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean Sea from the Sixth Crusade. It was enlarged and renovated by the Mamluk sultan Baybars, occupied by the Mongols, and used as a prison for rebels. The fortress passed hands between many occupying forces for many centuries, including the Crusaders and the Muslims, and was at one point settled by the extremist Shi'ite sect called the Assassins. It finally fell into ruin after an earthquake in the 18th century.
The castle's exact date of construction is in dispute. Some allege that the fortress was constructed in 1129 by rulers of Damascus. However, more recent scholarship indicates that the fortress was built under the rule of Al-Malik al-Aziz Othman in the 13th century in order to protect the route connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean Sea from the Sixth Crusade. It was enlarged and renovated by the Mamluk sultan Baybars, occupied by the Mongols, and used as a prison for rebels. The fortress passed hands between many occupying forces for many centuries, including the Crusaders and the Muslims, and was at one point settled by the extremist Shi'ite sect called the Assassins. It finally fell into ruin after an earthquake in the 18th century.
Just outside the fortress walls.
The fortress entrance.
An archstone displaced during the earthquake.
Fortress dedication.
View of the Hula Valley.
Exposed cistern.
Fortress wall.
The timeline of the wall's construction can be read in the stones. The larger, more carefully polished stones in the lower part of the wall can be identified as constructed in times of peace, whereas the smaller stones hastily constructed identify the rush of times of war.
Golan flowers.
The elusive hyrax.
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