The Nimrod Fortress (Arabic: Kalat al-Subeiba; Hebrew: Qalaat Namrud), is an ancient fortress situated in the northern Golan Heights, on a ridge rising some 800 metres (2600 feet) above sea level. It is named after the biblical hero Nimrod (Genesis 10:8-9):
- "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord."
According to local tradition Nimrod dwelt on this ridge. It is probably because the locals, from the 16th century onward, upon seeing the great ruins of the keep, believed that only a great hunter-king such as Nimrod could have built it.
The fortress overlooks the deep, narrow valley separating Mt. Hermon from the Golan Heights and the road linking the Galilee with Damascus.
The fortress was founded in the Middle Ages, probably by the Crusaders, to defend the city of Banias in the valley below against Muslim incursions. After capturing it, the Muslim rulers of Damascus rebuilt it to defend their border against the Crusaders.
During the 12th—13th centuries, it changed hands several times, but it was maintained and strengthened mainly by the Muslims.
The entire fortress complex is is 420 metres (1350 feet) in length and 150 metres (500 feet) in width, and is built of large, carefully squared stones. Along the walls are numerous rectangular and semi-circular towers, roofed with pointed cross-arches.
Overlooking the high, eastern edge of the fortress stood a large keep, measuring 65 by 45 metres (200 by 150 feet) and protected by massive rectangular towers.
At the end of the 13th century, following the Muslim conquest of the port city of Acre and the end of Crusader rule in the Holy Land, the fortress lost strategic value and fell into disrepair.
