Hasbaya Castle

Hasbaya, Lebanon, Lebanon

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Hasbaya Castle, also known as the Serail or Shehabi Citadel of Hasbaya, is a large medieval fortress in the town of Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, perched on a hill overlooking the Hasbani River and the surrounding valley.

The site is thought to incorporate even older foundations, possibly Roman or Arab, but its clear history begins with the Crusaders, who first held it before the powerful Chehab (Shehabi) emirs captured it in the late 12th century and transformed it into a vast fortified residence.

The citadel forms the heart of a wider Chehabi compound of medieval houses and a mosque around a central square, and over the following centuries it was repeatedly damaged and rebuilt in various conflicts, including during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon at the end of the 20th century.

The structure has three floors above ground and three below, with dozens of rooms, decorative wall paintings in the main chamber, and a stone lion emblem of the Chehab family on each side of the arched entrance, and while it is still partially inhabited by descendants of the family and not fully open to the public, it stands as a striking symbol of Hasbaya’s long‑standing political and dynastic importance.