Historians supposes that the castle has been built to defend the city against Arabic and pirate rushes in the early 7th century. In the Lusignan rule, the castle has been restored completely and thus it provided the city to resist Genoese attacks until 1489. During the Genoese administration, two new towers have been constructed into consideration of strong Ottoman artillery.
However the castle was captured by Ottomans in 1570. There are tombs of famaous commanders and governors inside the castle which consists of the guards' room, the big hall, lots of dungeons,courtyard and many rooms that have been used for various purposes during Lusignan and Genoese period. Besides, inside the castle, there is a museum which houses the oldest revealed wreck.
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