Global Arab Network | Najem Citadel - Archaeological Fortress Narrates the Assyrian Civilization

Translate this article to your language:

GANPublications

e-Publications

Add Site to Favorites

Add Page to Favorites

Make Homepage

Share This Page

RSS Feed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |

Najem Citadel - Archaeological Fortress Narrates the Assyrian Civilization

Global Arab Network - - Rami Alshami

Tuesday, 15 September 2009 21:42

Locating on a crossroad of Aleppo-Harran up to Mesopotamia- (Iraq, or Bilad al-Rafidain), Najem Citadel, which lies in the northeast of Manbij in the Syrian Aleppo Governoarte, was an important strategic center in ancient times.

The citadel used to overlook the Euphrates banks surmounting a rocky hill. Pyramid-shaped and rectangular towers of 377 m high above sea level, spreading all over the external wall, can be seen clearly.

"The castle was named after Najem, a boy servant of al-Jin al-Safwani Prince in the 19th century," said Youssef al-Dabiti, a researcher and head of the Syrian side of the Syrian-French archeological expedition working at the site of the fortress.

In the Roman and Byzantine eras, added al-Dabiti, the site was of great importance as a main trade and transport point between Aleppo and other cities in the north of Syria.

The citadel bulk consists of three levels except for al-Zardakhana, a wide moat of 5 m in depth, engraved into rock that surrounds the citadel.

The Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Aleppo is due to restore houses and dwellings discovered on the right bank of the Euphrates river in addition to the construction of a museum specialized in pre-historic eras near the citadel containing all archeological pieces discovered in the region, said Thaer Yerteh, Deputy Director of Antiquities and Museums in Aleppo.

Global Arab Network

Add comment

The opinions of the authors in articles published are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Arab Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Global Arab Network