The Ayyubid Reception Hall
This sumptuous hall was the heart of the Ayyubid palace. Saladin or his brother Al-Adil built it between 1190 and 1212, drawing inspiration from the 9th century palaces of the Caliphs in Samarra, Iraq.
It features a central chamber with two opposite niches, known as Iwans, one reserved for the Sultan to the north and the other for guests, as well as two double halls with tripartite access, situated to the east and west.
The Ayyubid reception hall of Shobak is comparable in size to those of Aleppo and Cairo and served as an architectural model for the palace of Kerak.
A significant carved lintel in the Museum, with mixed Christian and Islamic decorations, a sign of religious tolerance, was part of the architectural decoration of this palace.
Want to know more?
To learn more about this type of palace—designed to combine both public and private functions—and, in particular, about the unique features of the one at Shobak:
- Brown, Robin M.. “Palaces in Middle Islamic Transjordan: Reflections of the Royal Tradition of Bilad ash-Sham.” Studies on the History and Archaeology of Jordan 12 (2016): 543-560.
- Nucciotti Michele, and Lorenzo Fragai. “Ayyubid Reception Halls in Southern Jordan: Towards a ‘Light Archaeology’ of Political Powers.” Studies in History and Archaeology of Jordan 13 (2019): 489-501.
- Rugiadi, Martina. “The Ayyubid Palace at Shawbak.” In Da Petra a Shawbak. Archeologia di una frontiera. Catalogo della Mostra, edited by Guido Vannini, and Michele Nucciotti, 120-121. Firenze: Giunti, 2009.
- Rugiadi, Martina. “Il complesso di ricevimento del palazzo ayyubide di Shawbak.”. Vicino Oriente 16 (2012): 201-225.
- Fragai, Lorenzo. New research perspectives on the Mamluk Qa'a at Kerark Castle: building archaeology and historical contextualization. Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 6(2): 187-208.
The identification of a specific construction technique in the masonry of the audience hall enabled archaeologists to recognize the “signature” of the builders who worked on the castle before the arrival of Al-Muʿazzam ʿĪsā.
- Nucciotti, Michele, and Elisa Pruno. “Great and Little Traditions in medieval Petra and Shawbak: contextualizing local building industry and pottery production in cc. 12-13.” Archeologia Medievale 43 (2016): 309-320.
Last update
14.04.2025