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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology

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Posted at Nov 28/2006 11:09PM:
Maggie: technically meaning "castle" or "palace", the term eventually came to be a catch-all phrase for any long-standing structure that wasn't located within the walls of a city. During the Umayyad period, they tended to be built in the Syrian steppe for various reasons, including: 1) the rulers had a personal affection for the desert (ie. from their origins), and it also followed a pre-existing pattern where the rulers did not rule from classically defined cities 2) provided proximity to the tribes that continued to support them 3) allowed them to put money and resources into establishing agricultural enterprises 4) allowed them to establish Syria as a basis of support and to begin to demonstrate their "mark"; the castles acted as Umayyad period monumentality

Structurally, the general form was one or two enclosures separated from one another (usually one small and one large that acted as a proto-urban site). The enclosures were square, courtyarded, and divided into smaller regions. Also found with many qusur are "hayr", a non-defensive wall primarily for water retenion and garden enclosure. However, within the heading there is obviously great variation: Qasr Kharana for example, is interpreted to be more like a weigh-station or fortress because of its lack of decoration, while the qasr at Balis is believed to have more palacial elements, and because of its industrial and agricultural features and its proximity to a small urban settlement, it is seen to demonstrate a developing relationship between the ruling elites and the imperial subjects.