Ajlun
(Ar Rabad Castle)
This huge
fortress was built by Izz Al Din Usama, a
commander and nephew of Salah ad-Din
al-Ayyubi ( Saladin ), in AD 1184-1185.
The fortress is considered one of the very
few built to protect the country against
Crusader attacks from
Karak
Castle
in the south and Bisan
in the west.
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The fortress dominated a wide stretch of the
northern Jordan Valley, controlled the three
main passages that led to it (Wadi
Kufranjah, Wadi Rajeb and Wadi al-Yabes),
and protected the communication routes
between south
Jordan
and
Syria.
It is also surrounded by a lot of natural
wildlife and is a protected nature reserve
as well.
It was built to contain the progress of the
Latin Kingdom of Transjordan and as a retort
to the castle of Belvoir on the Lake of
Tiberius. Another major objective of the
fortress was to protect the development and
control of the iron mines of Ajlun.
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