Citadel of Aleppo The Citadel of Aleppo ( ) 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 has taken 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 . 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 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 ( 8 - 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 . Roman and Byzantine . After the Romans deposed the Seleucid dynasty in 64 BC , the citadel hill continued to have religious significance . Emperor Julian , in his 363 AD visit to Aleppo noted " I stayed there for a day , visited the acropolis , offered a white bull to Zeus according to imperial customs , and held a short talk with the town council about worshipping the gods . " 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 Islam dominations . 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 – 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 restored 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 and width of . At the top this ellipse measures by with the height of this slanting foundation measuring . 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 deep and 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 . Today , the citadel is a tourist attraction and a site of archaeological digs and studies . The amphitheater is often used for musical concerts or cultural events . In August 2012 , during the Battle of Aleppo of the Syrian civil war , the external gate of the citadel was damaged after being shelled during a clash between the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian Army to gain control over the citadel . Internal sites . There are many structural remains inside the citadel . Many notable sites include : Entrance block . The enormous stone bridge constructed by Sultan Ghazi over the moat led to an imposing bent entrance complex . Would - be assailants to the castle would have to take over six turns up a vaulted entrance ramp , over which were machicolation s for pouring hot liquids on attackers from the mezzanine above . Secret passageways wind through the complex , and the main passages are decorated with figurative reliefs . The Ayyubid block is topped by the Mamluk " Throne Hall " , a hall where Mamluk sultans entertained large audiences and held official functions . Ayyubid Palace and Hammam . Ghazi ' s " palace of glory " burned down on his wedding night , but it was later rebuilt and today stands as one of the most important and impressive monuments in the citadel crown . The Ayyubids were not the first to build a palace on the citadel . Today , numerous architectural details remain from the Ayyubid period , including an entrance portal with muqarnas , or honeycomb vaulting , and a courtyard on the four - iwan system , with tiling . Laid out in traditional medieval Islamic style , the palace hammam has three sections . The first was used for dressing , undressing , and resting . The second was an unheated but warmer room , and this was followed by a hot room , and a steam room equipped with alcoves . Hot and cold water was piped through to the hammam with earthenware pipes . Satura , Hellenistic Well , and underground passages . The construction in the citadel was not confined to above - ground . Several wells penetrate down to 125 m ( 410 ft ) below the surface of the crown . Underground passageways connect to the advance towers and possibly under the moat to the city .