The citadel stands on a limestone mound about 164 feet (50 m) high, with an elliptical base of roughly 1,480 by 1,070 feet (450 by 325 m). The hill was used from the mid-3rd millennium BC, including a temple of the storm-god Hadad. Nur ad-Din fortified it from 1147, but the article credits the Ayyubid ruler al-Zahir Ghazi, between 1193 and 1215, with its present form, including the deeper moat, the stone bridge and the rebuilt entrance block of 1213.
The moat is about 72 feet (22 m) deep. The bridge leads to a bent entrance with a vaulted ramp, and the fortified gateway is described as a 16th-century Mamluk addition. Qansuh al-Ghawri replaced the Throne Hall's flat ceiling with nine domes, though the French restoration gave it a flat roof.
Shelling damaged the gate in 2012 and a tunnel bomb caused damage in 2015. The 2023 earthquake affected the southern tower, and the citadel reopened on February 17, 2024.
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