[1] The castle was built around 1120 by Saif al-Mulk ibn Amrun,[2] and was sold to the Isma'ilis 1138 by his son Musa.

[3] Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the Arab leader of the Isma'ili sect in Syria, used this castle initially as his base and hermitage.

[4] In 1197 the Regent of Jerusalem, Henry II, Count of Champagne, visited the castle to secure an alliance with Sinan's successor.

[1][8][9] The castle was finally destroyed in 1816 by Mustafa Agha Barbar, the Ottoman governor of Tripoli.

[1] The only entrance to the castle runs along a narrow path halfway down the steep northern slope.