In 1842 the Ottomans built a fortress at "Marsat al Zaafran" ("saffron harbour") which became known as "Qasr al Zaafran" ("saffron castle"), and later as Qasr Sert. The fortress was built under sultan Abdülmecid I as part of the restoration of Ottoman control over Tripolitania after the fall of the Karamanli dynasty. It was around this fortification, which was taken over and repaired by the Italians in 1912, that the settlement of Sirte grew up.