Karak (Kerak) City مدينة الكرك
Karak (Kerak) City
Coordinates: 31°11′0″N 35°42′0″E / 31.18333, 35.7
Country	Jordan
Province	Karak Governorate
Area
- Metro	765 km² (295 sq mi)
Elevation	930 m (3,051 ft)
Population (2003)[1], [2]
- City	21,678
- Metro	68,810 (2,003)
Time zone	GMT +2 (UTC)
- Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)
Area code(s)	+(962)2

This article is about the region and castle in Jordan. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Karak (also Kerak) (الكرك is one of the governorates of Jordan, located south-west of Amman, Jordan's capital Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central Greenwich Mean Time ( GMT) is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London Daylight saving time ( DST A telephone numbering plan is a plan for allocating Telephone number ranges to countries regions areas and exchanges and to non-fixed telephone networks For other meanings of the term Karak, see Karak (disambiguation).

Karak (also Kerak) (Arabic: Al-Kerak الكرك) is a city in Jordan that contains a famous Crusader castle. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents It is the capital city of Karak Governorate. Karak (also Kerak) (الكرك is one of the governorates of Jordan, located south-west of Amman, Jordan's capital

The Karak Castle overlooking the Dead Sea and the West Bank, the foreground is Karak suburbs

Overview

Karak City is the capital and largest city of the Karak Governorate. Karak (also Kerak) (الكرك is one of the governorates of Jordan, located south-west of Amman, Jordan's capital Karak, once a part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, lies 140 km to the south of Amman on the King's Highway. This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian Amman (ɑˈmɑːn sometimes spelled Ammann ( Arabic عمان ʿAmmān) is the Capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom The King’s Highway was a Trade route of vital importance to the ancient Middle East. An ancient Crusader stronghold, it is situated on a hilltop about 1000 meters above sea level and is surrounded on three sides by a valley. Karak commands a magnificent view of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea (יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח, "Sea of Salt"البَحْر المَيّت, "Dead Sea" is a salt lake between A city of about 20,000 people has been built up around the castle and continues to boast a number of restored 19th century Ottoman buildings, restaurants, places to stay, and the like. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The town is built on a triangular plateau, with the castle at its narrow southern tip, but it is undoubtedly Karak Castle which dominates.

History

Al Karak has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age, and was an important city for the Moabites (who called it Qir of Moab). This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Moab (; Greek Μωάβ; Arabic مؤاب, Assyrian Mu'aba, Ma'ba, Ma'ab; Egyptian In the Bible it is called Qer Harreseth, and is identified as having been subject to the Assyrian empire; in 2 Kings 16:9 and Amos 1:5, 9:7, it is mentioned as the place whither the Syrians went before they settled in the regions north of Palestine, and to which Tiglath-pileser sent the prisoners after the conquest of Damascus. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. For other uses see Amos; for the programming language see AMOS (programming language. Tiglath-Pileser may refer to Tiglath-Pileser I, king of Assyria from 1115–1077 BC Tiglath-Pileser II, king of Assyria from 967–935 Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. Evidently it eventually fell under the power of the Nabateans, as the Romans conquered it from them in 105. The Nabataeans ( Arabic: الأنباط, Al-Anbāṭ) were an ancient Semitic people Arabs of southern Jordan, Canaan The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial During the late Hellenistic Period, Al Karak became an important town as was known as Kharkha. Under the Byzantine Empire it was a bishopric—containing the much venerated Church of Nazareth—and remained predominantly Christian under Arab rule. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding

Al Karak's greatest importance was during the Crusader and Ayyubid Periods which were responsible for most of the architectural remains to date. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents The Ayyubid or Ayyoubid Dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origins which ruled Egypt, Syria, Yemen (except for

Al-Karak Castle.

Demographics

Karak City's Metropolitan population is estimated to be 68,800 (2003 estimate). making up 31. 5% of the total population of the Karak Governorate. Most of the population of the city are Muslims, there is also a significant Christian population. In general the percentage of Christians in Karak City is among the highest in Jordan.

Castle

Construction of the Crusader castle began in the 1140s, under Paganus, the butler of King Fulk. Pagan the Butler (Payen le Bouteiller died 1148 was a Crusader lord in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Fulk V (1089/1092 &ndash November 13, 1143) also known as Fulk the Younger, was Count of Anjou from 1109 to 1129 and The Crusaders called it Crac des Moabites or "Kerak in Moab", as it is frequently referred to in history books. (c. f. Krak des Chevaliers, with which this castle is frequently confused. Krak des Chevaliers (kʁak de ʃəval'je transliterated Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military )

Paganus was also Lord of Oultrejordain (Transjordan), and Kerak became the centre of his power, replacing the weaker castle of Montreal to the south. Oultrejordain or Oultrejourdain ( Old French for "beyond the Jordan" was the name used during the Crusades for an extensive and partly undefined Montreal was a Crusader castle on the eastern side of the Arabah, perched on the side of a rocky conical mountain looking out over fruit trees below Because of its position east of the Jordan River, Kerak was able to control Bedouin herders as well as the trade routes from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca. This article is about the Jordan River and its valley in western Asia The Bedouin, (from the Arabic (ar بدوي pl badū) are a desert-dwelling Arab Nomadic pastoralist, or previously Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Mecca ˈmɛkə also spelled Makkah ˈmækə (in full Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Arabic mækːæ(t ælmʊkarˑamæ مكّة المكرمة, literally Honored His successors, his nephew Maurice and Philip of Milly, added towers and protected the north and south sides with two deep rock-cut ditches (the southern ditch also serving as a cistern). Philip of Milly, also known as Philip of Nablus (c 1120 - April 3, 1171) was the seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar The most notable Crusader architectural feature surviving is the north wall, into which are built immense arched halls on two levels. These were used for living quarters and stables, but also served as a fighting gallery overlooking the castle approach and for shelter against missiles from siege engines. A siege engine is a device that is designed to Break or circumvent City walls and other Fortifications in Siege warfare.

In 1176 Raynald of Chatillon gained possession of Kerak after marrying Stephanie of Milly, the widow of Humphrey III of Toron (and daughter-in-law of Humphrey II). Stephanie of Milly (died ca 1197 was Lady of Oultrejordain and an influential figure in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Toron, now Tibnin or Tebnine in Southern Lebanon, was a major Crusader Castle, built in the Lebanon mountains on the road Humphrey II of Toron (1117-1179 was lord of Toron and Constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. From Kerak, Raynald harassed the trade caravans and even attempted an attack on Mecca itself. A camel train is a series of Camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points In 1183 Saladin besieged the castle in response to Raynald's attacks. Salahadin Ayyubi ( Arabic:صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب Kurdish: سه‌لاحه‌دین ئه‌یوبی Selah'edînê Eyubî; c The siege took place during the marriage of Humphrey IV of Toron and Isabella of Jerusalem, and Saladin, after some negotiations and with a chivalrous intent, agreed not to target their chamber while his siege machines attacked the rest of the castle. The Siege of Kerak took place in 1183 with Saladin 's forces attacking and being repelled from the Crusader stronghold Humphrey IV of Toron (c 1166 &ndash before 1197 was the lord of Toron, Kerak, and Oultrejordain in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem Isabella I of Jerusalem (1172 &ndash 1205 was Queen of Jerusalem 1190/1192&ndash1205 Chivalric order Chivalry is a term related to the Medieval institution of Knighthood. The siege was eventually relieved by King Baldwin IV. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1161&ndash 16 March 1185) called the Leper or the Leprous, the son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first

After the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Saladin besieged Kerak again and finally captured it in 1189. The Battle of Hattin (also known as " The Horns of Hattin " because of a nearby extinct Volcano of the same name took place on Saturday July During the siege the defenders were said to have been forced to sell women and children into slavery for food (this is also said to have happened at the siege of Montreal).

An Ottoman cannon in the castle

In AD 1263, the Mamluk ruler, Baybars, enlarged and built a tower on the north-west corner. Baibars, or al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( Arabic ar الملك‭ ‬الظاهر‭ ‬ركن‭ ‬الدين‭ ‬بيبرس‭ ‬البندقداري In AD 1840, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt captured the castle and destroyed much of its fortifications. Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics.

During the Ottoman period, It played an important role due to its strategic location on the crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Greater Syria.

The castle extends over the southern part of the plateau. It is a notable example of Crusader architecture, a mixture of European, Byzantine, and Arab designs. Its walls are strenghthened with rectangular projecting towers, long stone vaulted galleries are lighted only by narrow slits, and a contains a deep moat from the west which completely isolates the site.

In the lower court of the castle, there is Karak Archaeological Museum, which was newly opened in 2004 after renovation work. It introduces local history and archaeology of Karak region- the land of Moab- from the prehistoric period until the Islamic era. History of the Crusader and Muslims at Karak castle and town is introduced in detail.

Cuisine

Al Karak is widely accepted as the capital of Jordan's national dish Mansaf. Mansaf ( Arabic, منسف) is a dish originating from the Bedouin tribes of ancient Palestine (modern day Israel West Bank Gaza and Jordan

Sister cities

• Birmingham, USA

References

External links

• City of Al Karak (Arabic)
• Personal page about Al Karak
• Khirbet Kerak Ware
• A photo tour in and around the castle