evidence: Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi (Arabic: قصر الحير الشرقي, lit. 'Eastern al-Hayr Palace or the "Eastern Castle"') is a castle (qasr) in the middle of the Syrian Desert. It was built by the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 728-29 CE in an area rich in desert fauna.[1] It was apparently used as a military and hunting outpost.[2] The palace is the counterpart of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, a nearby castle palace built one year earlier.[1] It is one of the so-called desert castles. [...] - ^ Un Château du désert : Qasr al-Hayr ach-Charqi - UNESCO World Heritage Centre Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine - ^ Genequand, Denis (2005). "From 'desert castle' to medieval town: Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi (Syria)". Antiquity. 79: 350–361. - ^ a b c Holod-Tretiak, Renata (1970). "Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi: A Mediaeval Town in Syria". Archaeology. 23 (3): 221–231.