Muslim Fortresses in the Levant: Between Crusaders and Mongols (113 page)

Secret passages

Secret passages were not a novelty, although the scale and the building technique displayed at
are indeed unique. A grand secret passage was built at the side of Bīlīk’s tower, using stones of remarkable size. According to the sources a subterranean passage was also built at Safad, though to date there is no archaeological evidence.

Moats

In general moats were only cleaned out, as Ibn
account states. We are told that Safad had its moat widened and Karak’s moat possibly had alterations made to it, but these were exceptions.

Curtain walls

The most outstanding feature in Mamluk military architecture is their treatment of curtain walls. While the Franks saw the walls as the most important part of the defense,
³⁰⁵
the Mamluk treatment of curtain walls resembled that of their Ayyubid predecessors. Curtain walls did not play a crucial role in the defense and when fortresses were repaired or rebuilt the walls received little attention. The Mamluks never returned to build walls in the fashion and dimensions of early thirteenth-century Frankish fortifications. The only evidence e have that walls were heightened is that provided by Ibn
.
³⁰⁶

Archers’ galleries

One way of enhancing firepower without adding monumental towers was by building long galleries. This can be seen at
,
, parts of
and the western gallery at Karak. Strictly speaking, archers’ galleries can not be regarded as innovations. Nevertheless, the one built at
which displays machicolations and arrow slits crowded together is to some extent an unusual arrangement.

Table 4.2
Towers added and renewed in Mamluk fortresses
¹