Citadel of Aleppo

The Citadel of Aleppo rises on a large elliptical mound at the center of the old city of Aleppo in northern Syria, a hilltop that has carried fortifications since at least the third millennium BC, though nearly all of its present structure dates from a major rebuilding ordered by the Ayyubid ruler al-Zahir Ghazi in the early thirteenth century. Its steep, glacis-covered mound, deep surrounding moat and single fortified stone bridge leading to a heavily defended gate tower were designed to make direct assault effectively impossible, and the fortress went on to serve successive Mamluk and Ottoman garrisons over the following centuries. Aleppo's old city, the citadel included, forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1986, and it was placed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger in 2013 after the citadel and its surrounding neighborhoods suffered serious damage during the Syrian civil war. A further earthquake in February 2023 caused additional damage to sections of its historic walls and towers.