Ancient City of Aleppo :-
Located at the crossroads of several trade routes from the 2nd millennium B.C., Aleppo was ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes and Ottomans. The 13th-century citadel, 12th-century Great Masjid / Mosque and various 17th-century madrasas, palaces, caravanserais and hammams all form part of the city's cohesive, unique urban fabric, now threatened by overpopulation.
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
Located at the crossroads of several trade routes since the 2nd millennium B.C., Aleppo was ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Akkadians, Greeks, Romans, Umayyads, Ayyubids, Mameluks and Ottomans who left their stamp on the city. The Citadel, the 12th-century Great Mosque and various 16th and 17th-centuries madrasas, residences, khans and public baths, all form part of the city's cohesive, unique urban fabric.
The monumental Citadel of Aleppo, rising above the suqs, mosques and madrasas of the old walled city, is testament to Arab military might from the 12th to the 14th centuries. With evidence of past occupation by civilizations dating back to the 10th century B.C., the citadel contains the remains of mosques, palace and bath buildings.
The walled city that grew up around the citadel bears evidence of the early Graeco-Roman street layout and contains remnants of 6th century Christian buildings, medieval walls and gates, mosques and madrasas relating to the Ayyubid and Mameluke development of the city, and later mosques and palaces of the Ottoman period.
Outside the walls, the Bab al-Faraj quarter to the North-West, the Jdeide area to the north and other areas to the south and west, contemporary with these periods of occupation of the walled city contain important religious buildings and residences. Fundamental changes to parts of the city took place in the 30 years before inscription, including the destruction of buildings, and the development of tall new buildings and widened roads.
Nonetheless the surviving ensemble of major buildings as well as the coherence of the urban character of the suqs and residential streets and lanes all contribute to the Outstanding Universal Value.
Criterion (iii) :
The old city of Aleppo reflects the rich and diverse cultures of its successive occupants. Many periods of history have left their influence in the architectural fabric of the city. Remains of Hittite, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Ayyubid structures and elements are incorporated in the massive surviving Citadel.
The diverse mixture of buildings including the Great Mosque founded under the Umayyads and rebuilt in the 12th century; the 12th century Madrasa Halawiye, which incorporates remains of Aleppo's Christian cathedral, together with other mosques and madrasas, suqs and khans represents an exceptional reflection of the social, cultural and economic aspects of what was once one of the richest cities of all humanity.
Criterion (iv) :
Aleppo is an outstanding example of an Ayyubid 12th century city with its military fortifications constructed as its focal point following the success of Salah El-Din against the Crusaders. The encircling ditch and defensive wall above a massive, sloping, stone-faced glacis, and the great gateway with its machicolations comprise a major ensemble of military architecture at the height of Arab dominance.
Works of the 13th-14th centuries including the great towers and the stone entry bridge reinforce the architectural quality of this ensemble. Surrounding the citadel within the city are numerous mosques from the same period including the Madrasah al Firdows, constructed by Daifa Khatoun in 1235.
Integrity (2009)
The boundary of the property follows the line of the walls of the old city and three extra-muros areas: North, Northeast and East suburbs. Some attributes exist beyond the boundary and need protection by a buffer zone.
Although the Citadel still dominates the city, the eight storey hotel development in the Bab al-Faraj area has had a detrimental impact on its visual integrity, as have other interventions before inscription.
The remaining coherence of the urban fabric needs to be respected and the vulnerabilities of fabric and archaeological remains, though lack of conservation, need to be addressed on an on-going basis.
Authenticity (2009)
Since inscription, the layout of the old city in relation to the dominant Citadel has remained basically unchanged. Conservation efforts within the old city have largely preserved the attributes of the Oustanding Universal Value. However the setting is distinctly vulnerable due to the lack of control mechanisms in the planning administration, including the absence of a buffer zone.
The historic and traditional handicraft and commercial activities continue as a vital component of the city sustaining its traditional urban life.
Protection and management requirements (2009)
The property is protected by the Antiquities Law administered by the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM).
In 1992,
the Project for the Rehabilitation of Old Aleppo was set up under the Municipality of Aleppo in cooperation with international agencies.
In 1999, the Directorate of the Old City was established under the Municipality of Aleppo to guide the rehabilitation of the old city with three departments covering studies and planning; permits and monitoring, and implementation and maintenance. A comprehensive plan for the evolution of the city is being prepared by the Old City Directorate office.
The city's development is being considered under the 'Programme for Sustainable Urban Development in Syria' (UDP), a joint undertaking between international agencies, the Syrian Ministry for Local Administration and Environment, and several other Syrian partner institutions.
The programme promotes capacities for sustainable urban management and development at the national and municipal level, and includes further support to the rehabilitation of the Old City.
There is an on-going need to foster traditional approaches to conservation, restoration, repair and maintenance of building fabric.
There is also a need for an overall conservation management plan to include planning rules for heights and density of new developments in specific neighborhoods, and for policies for the protection of archaeological remains uncovered during infrastructure and development works. There is also a need for an approved buffer zone with appropriate planning constraints.
Citadel of Aleppo
The Citadel of Aleppo (Arabic: قلعة حلب) is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Subsequently occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines,
Ayyubids and Mamluks, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period. An extensive conservation work took place in the 2000s by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in collaboration with Aleppo Archeological Society. Dominating the city, the Citadel is part of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.The Citadel has received significant damage in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
History
The recently discovered temple of the ancient storm-god Hadad dates use of the hill to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, as referenced in cuneiform texts from Ebla and Mari.The city became the capital of Yamhad and was known as the "City of Hadad".The temple remained in use from the 24th century BC to at least the 9th century BC, as evidenced by reliefs discovered at it during excavations by German archaeologist Kay Kohlmeyer.
The prophet Abraham is said to have milked his sheep on the citadel hill. After the decline of the Neo-Hittite state centred in Aleppo, the Assyrians dominated the area (8th–4th century BC), followed by the Neo-Babylonians and the Persians (539–333).
Seleucid
After Aleppo was taken by the armies of Alexander the Great, Aleppo was ruled by Seleucus I Nicator, who undertook the revival of the city under the name Beroia. Medieval Arab historians say that the history of the citadel as a fortified acropolis began under Nikator. In some areas of the citadel there are up to two meters of remains of Hellenistic settlement. A colonnaded street led up to the citadel hill from the west, where the south area of Aleppo still retains the Hellenistic grid street plan.[10]
Roman and Byzantine
After the Romans deposed the Seleucid dynasty in 64 BC, the cita Very few physical remains have been found from the Roman age in the Citadel.
The Roman Empire was divided into two parts in 395. Aleppo was in the eastern half, Byzantium. During the clashes with the Sassanian king Khosrau II in the 7th century, the population of Aleppo is said to have taken refuge in the Citadel because the city wall was in a deplorable state. Currently, very few remains from the Byzantine period have been found on the Citadel Hill. The two mosques inside the Citadel are known to be converted from churches originally built by the Byzantines.
Early Islamic period
Muslim troops captured Aleppo in 636 AD. Written sources document repairs being made on the citadel after a major earthquake. Little is known about the citadel in the period of early Islam, except that Aleppo was a frontier town on the edges of the Ummayad and Abbasid empires.
Sayf al-Dawla, a Hamdanid prince, conquered the city in 944, and it subsequently rose to a political and economic renaissance. The Hamdanids built a reputedly splendid palace on the banks of the river, but moved to the Citadel after Byzantine troops attacked in 962. A period of instability followed the Hamdanid rule, marked by Byzantine and Beduin attacks, a short-term rule by the Egyptian-based Fatimids. The Mirdasids were said to have converted the two churches into mosques.
Zengid and Ayyubid
The citadel rose to the peak of its importance in the period during and after the Crusader presence in the Near East. Zengid ruler Imad ad-Din Zengi, followed by his son Nur ad-Din (ruled 1147–1174) successfully unified Aleppo and Damascus and held back the Crusaders from their repeated assaults on the cities. Several famous crusaders were imprisoned in the citadel, among them Count of Edessa, Joscelin II, who died there, Raynald of Châtillon, and the King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II, who was held for two years. In addition to his many works in both Aleppo and Damascus, Nur ad-Din rebuilt the Aleppo city walls and fortified the citadel. Arab sources report that he also made several other improvements, such as a high, brick-walled entrance ramp, a palace, and a racecourse likely covered with grass. Nur ad-Din additionally restored or rebuilt the two mosque and donated an elaborate wooden mihrab (prayer niche) to the Mosque of Abraham. The mihrab disappeared during the French Mandate.
Saladin's son al-Zahir al-Ghazi ruled Aleppo between 1193 and 1215. During this time the citadel went through major reconstruction, fortification and addition of new structures that create the complex of the Citadel in its current form today. Sultan Ghazi strengthened the walls, smoothed the surface of the outcrop and covered sections of the slope at the entrance area with stone cladding. The depth of the moat was increased, connected with water canals and spanned by a tall bridge-cum-viaduct, which today still serves as the entrance into the Citadel. \
During the first decade of the thirteenth century the citadel evolved into a palatial city that included functions ranging from residential (palaces and baths), religious (mosque and shrines), military installations (arsenal, training ground, defence towers and the entrance block) and supporting elements (water cisterns and granaries). The most prominent renovation is the entrance block rebuilt in 1213. Sultan Ghazi also had the two mosques on the Citadel restored, and expanded the city walls to include the southern and eastern suburbs, making the citadel the centre of the fortifications, rather than alongside the wall.
Mongol and Mamluk
The citadel was damaged by the Mongol invasion of 1260 and again destroyed by the invasion led by the Transoxian leader Timur which swept through Aleppo in 1400–1401.
In 1415 the Mamluk governor of Aleppo, prince Sayf al-Din Jakam, was authorized to rebuild the citadel, which by then stood at the centre of a significant trading city of between 50,000–100,000 inhabitants. Sayf al-Din's additions included two new advance towers on the north and south slopes of the citadel, and the new Mamluk palace built on top of the higher of the two entrance towers. The Ayyubid palace was almost completely abandoned during this period. The Mamluk period also administered restoration and preservation projects on the Citadel. The final Mamluk sultan, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri, replaced the flat ceiling of the Throne Hall with 9 domes.
Ottoman
During the Ottoman period, the military role of the citadel as a defense fortress slowly diminished as the city began to grow outside the city walls and was taking its form as a commercial metropolis. The Citadel was still used as a barracks for Ottoman soldiers, although it is not known exactly how many were stationed there. An anonymous Venetian traveler mentions some 2000 people living in the Citadel in 1556. In 1679, the French consul d’Arvieux reports 1400 people there, 350 of whom were Janissaries, the elite military corps in the service of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Süleyman ordered a restoration of the citadel in 1521.
Aleppo and the citadel were heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1822. After the earthquake only soldiers lived in the citadel. The Ottoman Governor of the time, Ibrahim Pasha, used stones from destroyed buildings in the citadel to build a barracks in the north of the crown. It was later restored under the rule of Sultan Abdülmecid in 1850–51. A windmill, also on the northern edge of the crown, was probably built around the same time.
French Mandate
Soldiers continued to be stationed in the citadel during the French Mandate (1920–45). The French began archaeological excavations and extensive restoration work in the 1930s, particularly on the perimeter wall. The Mamluk Throne Hall was also completely restored during this time and given a new flat roof decorated in 19th-century Damascene style. A modern amphitheater was constructed on a section of an unexcavated surface of the citadel in 1980 to hold events and concerts.
Modern day
The Citadel in its present form today, is situated on a mound which has an elliptical base with a length of 450 metres (1,480 feet) and width of 325 metres (1,066 feet). At the top this ellipse measures 285 metres (935 feet) by 160 metres (520 feet) with the height of this slanting foundation measuring 50 metres (160 feet). In the past, the entire mound was covered with large blocks of gleaming limestone, some of which still remain today.
The mound is surrounded by a 22 metres (72 feet) deep and 30 metres (98 feet) wide moat, dating from the 12th century. Notable is the fortified gateway, accessible though an arched bridge. This feature was an addition from the Mamluk government in the 16th century. A succession of five right-angle turns and three large gates (with carved figures) leads to the main inner castle entrance. Particularly interesting in the interior are the Weapons' Hall, the Byzantine Hall and the Throne Hall, with a restored decorated ceiling. Prior to the Syrian civil war, the citadel was a tourist attraction and a site of archaeological digs and studies. The amphitheater was often used for musical concerts or cultural events.
Address: Aleppo, Old city, around Citadel, Syria
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