As many birds have flown over this land and have witnessed the historical events, many historical monuments exist that have become tourist attractions and historical evidence to prove the ancient history of this land. we are not far from this land and we can visit the tourist attractions as long as the Euphrates River. Now we go near the Euphrates River and over the highest peak of "Najm" Castle we will stand and together we will open its historical gates and begin to know them.
The historical and old castle of Najm was built during the Roman era. It overlooks the Euphrates River on the east of "Minbj" city. This castle has witnessed several historical periods and it has passed over various eras. Najm Castle is 115 kilometers away from the east of "Halab" city and 37 kilometers away from "Kobane" city. Najm Castle is located over a high hill that overlooks the surrounding area.
Since this castle is near the Euphrates River, agriculture and farming are highly developed here. The castle is made in a square shape and it is made over rocks that face the Euphrates riverbanks. This castle is 95 meters long and 60 meters wide; it is also 50 meters higher than the surrounding plain and 68 meters over the Euphrates level. The total height of this castle is 377 meters.
Since this place has always been a strategic and rich area thus it has been invaded constantly, so the castle was built very high, making it hard to reach. The wall around the castle resembles the walls that used to be built during "Salahaddin Ayubi's" era i.e., it is built with black bricks, and a stone ditch as deep as 7 meters and 8 to 9 meters wide has been dug around it.
The main gate of this castle is built on the east of the castle and two high towers are on each side of the gate in order to make it easier to go inside the castle's rooms. A part of the castle's walls is made of bricks and another part of it is made of black rocks. During the reign of Salahaddin Ayubi, some Arabic carvings were carved over the castle's gate but they are not clear now. The castle is built with three floors. There are hidden weapons, resisting towers, and military equipment in the basement. There are some corridors in the basement that rumor has it they reach the bottom of the Euphrates River. There are also bathrooms, and water tanks in the next corridor. On the above floor, there are main halls and mosques.
In the same handwriting, two lines have been written: "It was built during our Wali, Sultan Shah Al Zahir from 605 to 612".
Historians provide no proven evidence to clarify who built this castle because it had been occupied several times, however, it is assumed that the Ayubis might have built this castle.
The inside parts of the castle had been built by "Nur Al din Zangi" 1146 to 1174 AD who was Halab's ruler and Shah Al Zahir Ghazi son of Salahaddin Ayubi in 1208 to 1215 AD.
After an earthquake that happened in the northern parts of Syria, most of the castle's walls were destroyed. Thus, Nur Al din Zangi rebuilt the collapsed walls of the castle in a square-shaped form that was 95 meters long from the north to the south of the castle and 64 meters wide. Later, his son, Shah Al Aziz Ghayas Al din Mohammad, and his grandson, Shah Al Nasir father of Al Muzaffar Yusof II, the castle was repaired.
The general architecture of the castle resembles Roman architecture. However, Islamic architecture has been applied in its repaired parts, especially, in the resisting towers around the castle.
In the historical texts and documents, the name of a city near the castle has been mentioned but nowadays no such city has remained. Najm Castle is one of the largest historical castles in Syria. Many powers such as the Byzantines, Babylon, Ayubi, Saljukki, Mamalik, and Zangi have occupied it. This castle was where the armies used to gather. There was also a gate on the west of the castle facing Minbaj City so, it is also known as Minbaj Castle.
