Babylon Fortress History and Facts
By going back with the history to twenty centuries ago, specifically in the middle of the second century AD, a brilliant fortress ( Babylon Fortress ) had been illuminated by candles, to reflect a magical light that catches the eye of everyone crossing the Nile, so it called “the palace of candles.” While the walls of this fortress wrapped around the governor’s palace and the houses of the Roman soldiers in a wonderful view. That was how the Babylon Fortress in that time.
The Roman Emperor Trajan ordered to build a Fortress to secure the Roman military, and it constituted the first line of defense from the side of the eastern gate of Egypt, and he had chosen this point especially to sit his Fortress in the middle location of Egypt.
So that it connects the tribal side with its seaside, which would facilitate the Romans’ control of putting down any revolts against them from the south or the north, as it formed an impregnable fortress against the enemies, and a tower to monitor any attack.
Construction of the Babylon Fortress
Some historians believe that the construction of the Babylon Fortress dates back to a historical period more than nineteen centuries earlier than that of the Roman Emperor Trajan, and that it dates back to the reign of King Senusret III, one of the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty, who ruled during the period from 1878 to 1839 BC.
After defeating the kingdoms of the First Babylonian dynasty, he captured many of them and brought them to Egypt with the aim of enslaving them, but they rebelled and built an impregnable fortress to defend themselves in the area in which they were staying, and since then it has been called Babylon, and we have only one document, which is a painting was found in the godmother buried in Abydos.
Babylon Fortress From Inside
The total area of the fort reaches about half a kilometre , although the area of the fortress built by Trajan is close to sixty acres or about 252 thousand square meters, it was built with stones that were seized from the ancient Egyptian temples near it, and when they did not find enough stones, they completed it with small red bricks. That is how in Babylon Fortress, you will feel the soul of pharaohs.
( Babylon Fortress )
Inside this great Egyptian castle, you will realize how it played a strategic role to defend Egypt, as a result of its area that extending from the current Ain Shams region to Qasr al-Shama.
When seeing what is included in this large area as a number of small villages, churches and monasteries, which together were called “Egypt,” which is considered an Aramaic word meaning borders, while the lands of Egypt it was called “Shams or Kim” meaning red soil, you will listen to a lot of stories, as each inch narrate a history.
Among them is a legend that says that inside the fort is a cave that the Holy Family resorted to during the return journey from Deir al-Muharraq in Asyut to Jerusalem.
( Babylon Fortress )
When entering the Babylon Fortress from the tribal gate, you will find two large towers. On the tower of the tribal part, the Hanging Church was built, and on the second tower was the entrance to the Tribal Museum, which is the Church of Saint George for the Greek Royal Orthodox.
The Hanging Church
It is distinguished by the basilica style consisting of 3 wings and a structure divided into three parts, which are the main nave and two small wings, including eight columns on each side of the church. Many patriarchs from the 11th and 12th centuries were buried in this church, and many priests and bishops’ trials were held there.
