Barsbay Tower

The Barsbay Tower (Arabic: برج برسباي, romanized: Burj Barsbay), also known as Lions Tower (Arabic: برج السباع, romanized: Burj es-Sibaa), is a small Mamluk military fortress located at the far eastern end of the Tripoli harbor in North Lebanon. Constructed during a period marked by ongoing conflicts with Crusader forces and later the rising Ottoman Empire, the tower was part of a defensive network aimed at protecting the coastal city of Tripoli from naval threats and is a remarkable example of Mamluk military architecture.^[1]

Quick Facts Coordinates, Type ...

Barsbay Tower
برج السباع
Part of the coastal defense fortifications of Mamluk Tripoli
Barsbay Tower at the turn of the 20th century
Barsbay Tower
Coordinates	34.4498833°N 35.8280396°E / 34.4498833; 35.8280396
Type	Fortress
Site information
Open to the public	yes
Condition	Mostly intact
Site history
Built	15th century
Built by	Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Dīn Barsbāy
Materials	Limestone, granite, wood

Close

The tower features a distinctive portico with ablaq _an alternating black-and-white ashlar stone stripes technique_ and incorporates repurposed granite Roman columns embedded horizontally into its walls for structural reinforcement. Barsbay Tower's defensive architecture includes a sloping base, forming a small talus, which is a defensive design intended to deflect projectiles, and arrowslits. In addition to its military significance, Barsbay Tower embodies a blend of functionality and Mamluk esthetics, with decorative relief moldings and remnants of heraldic symbols that hint at the structure's patrons.

The Barsbay Tower is located three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the center of Tripoli, on the coast, at the far eastern end of the Port of Tripoli in North Lebanon.^[2][3]

In 1289, the Mamluks achieved their final victory over the Crusaders, who were forced out of Tripoli. Crusader assaults against the coastal regions persisted, namely from the islands of Cyprus and Rhodes. The Mamluks commissioned the construction of defensive towers along the coastline of Tripoli to counter these naval threats.^[4][3][5] Historians estimate that the Lions Tower was built either in the 14th century during the reign of Sultan Barquq, or in the 15th century under Sultan Barsbay.^[6] Mamluk historian Ibn Iyas, writing before his death in 1522, affirms that the tower was built by Barsbay while he was the Naib (deputy) of Tripoli in the 15th century.^[7][8]

The tower was restored between 1441 and 1442 by Emir Julban, then the Naib of Tripoli, and by Sultan Qaitbay in the late 15th century, who, during his 1477 journey to Syria, inspected and reinforced the northern defenses against the growing Ottoman threat.^[1] According to official Ottoman records, six of the Mamluk towers were still in use in the seventeenth century, each housing a military garrison, during that period, the Barsbay Tower was manned by thirteen guards (al-mustahfizan).^[9][10] On 22 June 1893, during a training maneuver off the coast of Tripoli facing the Barsbay Tower, the British Mediterranean fleet ships Victoria and Camperdown collided, resulting in the Victoria sinking. The fleet included the Dreadnought, Nile, Camperdown, Victoria, Inflexible, and seven other vessels, which had initially anchored in Beirut on a courtesy visit before sailing to Tripoli.^[11]

The tower’s name has been debated, with some attributing it to the Mamluk Sultan Barsbay, who is credited with restoring the structure.^[3] Orientalist explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt recorded local accounts suggesting that reliefs of two lions once adorned its façade, which he interpreted as representing the Crusader heraldry of Raymond de Saint-Gilles.^[12][13] This interpretation was later picked up by orientalist Max van Berchem,^[14] and French historian Jean Sauvaget.^[15] The name has remained in use until this day. Modern scholars recognize that the lion is also a common symbol in Mamluk heraldry.^[16] Lebanese historian Umar Tadmuri affirms that Burj es-Sibaa is a corruption of Barsbay.^[17][18]

The rectangular tower measures 28.5 m (94 ft) long by 20.5 m (67 ft) wide,^[2] and is constructed with large bossed limestone blocks and comprises two levels. It features a distinctive portico with decorative ablaq-style stonework that combines white and black stone blocks, a style that characterizes Mamluk architecture.^[3] The portico of the tower is flanked by two projecting Roman granite column drums, and is accessed today via steps built in recent times. A decorative relief molding frames the portal, and above the door, a rectangular relief frame remains where the heraldic lion carvings, which likely inspired the tower's name, were once displayed but have since been removed.^[19] The walls of the tower are reinforced with granite Roman columns that were repurposed and embedded horizontally into the walls.^[3] All four exterior walls of the tower are punctuated with arrowslits, providing defensive positions for archers to shoot at approaching enemies while remaining shielded behind the stone fortifications.^[20] The base of the tower slopes outward, forming a small talus, a defensive feature designed to deflect stone missiles dropped from the machicolations above.^[19] The portico opens directly into the raised ground floor, consisting of a large hall spanning the entire surface of the building.^[3][19] The hall has six groin vaults anchored on two central supporting pillars and wall buttresses.^[3] In the center of the room, situated between the two large pillars, lies the opening of a cistern designed to collect rainwater. The water, which gathered on the terrace, was directed into the cistern through ceramic channels.^[2] Traces of paint and frescoes were discovered on the interior walls of the hall, including remnants of an inscribed band and five escutcheons featuring Mamluk coats of arms. Some of these escutcheons were in black, while others displayed vibrant colors. These coats of arms are composite in nature, with the most prominent symbol being the stemmed bowl of the cup-bearer, the emblem of Sultan Barquq.^[19][2] A staircase set inside the façade wall leads to the second level, and opens onto a small room that must have served religious purposes due to the presence of a mihrab, and a large room whose walls are inset with eight deep and spacious niches with barrel vaults.^[19][2] Above the main portal, the floor is pierced with five machicolations used to pour fluids on attackers. A staircase leads up to the terrace roof, where fragments of the original crenelated parapets that ran along the perimeter of the tower and a few machicolations remain.^[19][2]

The Lion Tower shares significant similarities with the courtyard built by Sultan Qaitbay over the entrance of the Aleppo Citadel. These structures align with the Mamluk sultan’s defense strategy against the Ottomans. French historian Jean Sauvaget notes that the Lion Tower, with its impressive mass and design, resembles the grand fortresses of Lebanon more than the smaller coastal towers. Its monumental scale and numerous decorative features, carefully arranged with balance and symmetry, align it more with religious or civil architecture than strictly utilitarian military buildings.^[15]