Jabal Sais جبل سايس | |
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General information | |
Town or city | Rif Dimashq |
Country | Syria |
Coordinates | 33°18′11″N 37°21′34″E / 33.303116°N 37.359575°E |
Technical details | |
Material | adobe |
Jabal Sais (Arabic: جبل سايس also known as Qasr Says is a Umayyad desert fortification or former palace in Syria which was built 707-715 AD. The fortification sits near an extinct volcano.[1] Jabal Says is mountain peak next to the fortification which sits 621 meters above sea level.[2]
Built from 707-715 AD and located in the Syrian Desert.[3] The location was dependent on the seasonal supply of water which pooled next to the volcano crater. The palace is now just a vestige.[4] The settlement at Jabal Says has existed since 528 AD.[5] According to the historian Jere L. Bacharach, al-Walid I built Jabal Says, likely as a Bedouin summer encampment between his base of operations in al-Qaryatayn and another of his desert forts, Qasr Burqu'.[6]
The site contains a famous inscription known as the Jebel Usays inscription composed either in 528 or 532/3 AD. It describes the Jafnid leader Al-Harith ibn Jabalah with the leader al-malik, corresponding to how the title is spelt in Syriac texts from the time.[7][8]