Then and Now

In the topographical introduction to his biographical dictionary of people connected with the city of Aleppo, the seventh/thirteenth century north Syrian writer Kamāl al-Dīn ‘Umar b. Aḥmad Ibn al-‘Adīm includes a brief gazetteer entry on the castle of al-Rāwandān (present-day Revanda Kalesi), situated north of Aleppo on the way to ‘Ayn Tāb (modern Gaziantep): “It is a small castle on the top of a high hill, isolated in its situation. Neither mangonels nor arrows can reach it. At the foot of the hill there is a small settlement ( rabaḍ ). It is one of the strongest castles, and most favoured spots. A valley runs north and west of the castle, making for a fosse. It contains a permanent river.”

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