Aleppo's other battle line

More than 800 years after Saladin fought back the Crusaders, the ancient Citadel of Aleppo is once again the scene of conflict, writes Kim Sengupta 

 The Assyrians and Babylonians used a fortress in this place, with its command of the plains beyond. Alexander the Great captured it on his way to Persia; one of his generals enlarging the settlement which later became Aleppo. Byzantine and Sassanian emperors fought endless battles over the city and citadel for its strategic position and rich hinterland. Saladin, the great general, planned many of his campaigns against the Crusaders from here; Baldwin II, one of the Christian kings of Jerusalem, was imprisoned in the castle. Aleppo was subsequently put to the sword by Genghis Khan's Mongols and the Tartars of Tamerlaine.

The citadel is now once more a battleground.

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Aleppo's other battle line - Middle East - World - The Independent: