Bachtabia Castle

The Castle of Bashtabia or the Castle of Mosul is located in the northeast of the city of Mosul on the right side on the bank of the Tigris River. Very close to the old city and the Great Nuri Mosque.

The castle was established in 745 AD, by Marwan bin Muhammad the Umayyad. The name “Bashtabaya” comes from the Turkish language and means the main castle.

The castle was built using rock and brick, and it rises 75 feet above sea level. The castle of Bashtabia consists of a high tower, a fortress, pediments and underground tunnels connecting the castle to the city.

Bashtabia Castle is one of the most important tourist attractions in the city of Mosul.

It played a key role in preserving the city in the siege of Mosul by Nadir Shah al-Farsi in 1743, as it was the city’s main line of defense. After Nader Shah besieged Mosul with an army of 300,000 fighters. Despite this, he failed to enter the city.

When the Mongols captured the city of Baghdad in 1258, Hulagu sent an army to occupy Mosul, but the Mongol army failed to storm it, and the Bashtabiya Castle had an important roundabout in the defense of the city of Mosul.

The Bashtabiya Castle is one of the most important tourist attractions that remained in the city of Mosul, as it was crowded with tourists until 2003. In 2014, the city of Mosul lost dozens of archaeological sites, and only a number of landmarks remained, including this castle.

At the present time, after the improvement of the security situation in Mosul, a number of foreign tourists began to visit Mosul and learn about its historical landmarks.