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Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi is an early Islamic palace in the
Syrian desert, 97 km north-east of Palmyra. English names: Eastern al-Hayr
Palace, Eastern Castle
Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi Facts
The remains of the palace were excavated between 1964 and 1972 and consists
of an outer enclosure with sluice gates and surrounding an area of about 7 sq. km, two square
fortified enclosures with regular half-round towers, as well as a bath, a minaret and a
mud-brick settlement.
The Lesser Enclosure is finely built of ashlar masonry and brick, with rooms
on two storeys around a court. It resembles the typical fortified residence erected in the
Syrian desert by the Umayyad caliphs but lacks the fine decoration typical of these
buildings.
The Greater Enclosure is built of ashlar masonry and mud-brick and comprises
an arcaded court surrounded by seven courtyard houses, an industrial unit and a mosque. The
bathhouse lies between the two enclosures and has a columned hall and a three-room suite
similar to that at Qusayr Amra.
Grabar interpreted the Greater Enclosure as a ‘city’ in the sense of a small
artificial urban settlement and the Lesser Enclosure as a caravanserai.
An alternative view would see both as part of a single settlement, the
houses and mosque of the Greater Enclosure added at a later date to the princely residence of
the Lesser Enclosure, to form a unit parallel to that found at Anjar and the citadel at
Amman.
After abandonment in the 9th century both enclosures were reoccupied in the
12th and 13th centuries as a caravan stop on the route from central Syria to the Euphrates
River. The square stone minaret dates from this reoccupation, as does a large quantity of fine
pottery and other finds.
Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi Map
Aproximate Geographical Coordinates: Long: 35.18333, Lat: 39.15. See bellow
the location on the map:
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