Editing Cave of the Patriarchs (section)

===Arab period===
In 614, the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanid Persians]] conquered the area and destroyed the castle, leaving only ruins; but in 637, the area came under the control of the Arab Muslims and the building was reconstructed as a roofed mosque.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ws4uAQAAIAAJ |title=This is Israel: pictorial guide & souvenir |first=Sylvia |last=Mann |date=1 January 1983 |publisher=Palphot Ltd. |isbn=9789652800008 |via=Google Books |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110234536/https://books.google.com/books?id=ws4uAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=10 January 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Muslims permitted the building of two small synagogues at the site.<ref name ="Roth">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tBwrJjiElr4C&q=Cave+of+the+Patriarchs+synagogue&pg=PA98 |title=Daily Life of the Jews in the Middle Ages |author=Norman Roth |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2005 |page=98 |isbn=978-0313328657 |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225071211/https://books.google.com/books?id=tBwrJjiElr4C&q=Cave+of+the+Patriarchs+synagogue&pg=PA98 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 10th century, an entrance was pierced through the north-eastern wall, some way above the external ground level, and steps from the north and from the east were built up to it (one set of steps for entering, the other for leaving).<ref name=BAR/> A building known as the ''qal'ah'' (قلعة i.e. ''castle'') was also constructed near the middle of the southwestern side. Its purpose is unknown but one historic account claims that it marked the spot where Joseph was buried (see [[Joseph's Tomb]]), the area having been excavated by a Muslim [[caliph]], under the influence of a local tradition regarding Joseph's tomb.<ref name=BAR/> Some archaeologists believe that the original entrance to Herod's structure was in the location of the ''qal'ah'' and that the northeastern entrance was created so that the kalah could be built by the former entrance.<ref name=BAR/>