Fortress of Babylon

This guide to the Fortress of Babylon in Cairo centers on the Roman stronghold's last stand in the year 640, when an Arab army under Amr ibn al-As laid siege to its thick round towers and Byzantine garrison. It follows the weeks of stalemate at the walls and moats before a small company of fighters under a warrior named Zubayr attempted something the siege alone could not achieve. It also traces what later generations built directly onto the fortress's surviving towers, including a church suspended over Roman stone. Look up at the tower beside you to see the wall itself.