The site was fortified since at least the mid-10th century. The Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes captured it in 975, and it stayed Byzantine until about 1108. The Byzantines built a wall across the east side of the ridge with flanking towers and a central citadel.
Most of the visible castle dates to the Crusader period, likely built by Robert the Leper or his son William of Zardana. Saladin took it in 1188 after a siege. Qalawun's reign brought a mosque, and a palace was added later.
The castle sits on a ridge about 2,300 feet (700 m) long between two deep gorges. A ditch cut into living rock on the east side is 512 feet (156 m) long and 46 to 66 feet (14 to 20 m) wide, and the article attributes it to the Byzantines. A rock needle 92 feet (28 m) high supported the drawbridge. One tower fell in the February 2023 earthquake.
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