Roman Castellum of Qasr Bashir
Qasr Bashir is an extremely well preserved Roman fortress that lies in the Jordanian desert. Unlike many Roman remains, Qasr Bashir is exceptionally well preserved, having never been re-built by later civilizations.
Qasr Bshir belongs to the chain of forts and watchtowers that is known as the Limes Arabicus and was meant to protect the province of Arabia against roaming desert nomads. They were not extremely dangerous or exceptionally violent, but their dromedaries made them swift, and if trouble arose, they could pillage large parts of the Roman countryside. The Limes Arabicus had to counter this threat, and Mobene was one of the fortifications.
Built at the beginning of the fourth Century AD and known as Mobene, the walls of Qasr Bashir still stand intact, at a height of up to 20 feet in places, while the main entrance remains to this day. The huge corner towers still rise up two stories from the ground.
It is likely that Qasr Bashir was originally home to an auxiliary cavalry unit, charged with defending the Roman frontier and keeping the peace in the surrounding area.
The courtyard, which has two cisterns, is on all sides surrounded by rooms, twenty-three in number, which have been identified as stables. There was a second story, where the soldiers must have slept. The roof of these barracks reached the same height as the rampart walk, creating a really wide fighting platform. One room, opposite the main gate, may have been the headquarters, some kind of sanctuary, or both.
Because each of the twenty-three stables was used by three horses, and because a cavalry unit of frontier soldiers appears to have numbered between 120 and 150 men.
- Images: @APAAME. Reconstruction from Campbell DB, Roman Auxiliary forts 27 BC - AD 378. Fortress Series 83. Osprey Military Publishing, 2009. P. 58.
