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The castle is the most important vestige of the Muslim civilization that is preserved in the center of Marbella and is inserted in the urban fabric of what has been called Centro Historical. It is referred to as the “Wooden Castle” when its history began to be of interest at the end of the 19th century. XVIII in the work of “Marbella Conjectures” of Pedro Vázquez Clavel, to say that said work is treated as a fable.

This name would be justified by the existence of some ponds or ponds whose function would be to store logs in a Phoenician factory complex. Once the revolts that began in the 9th century were quelled, Abd al-Rahman III ordered build, in the middle of the 10th century, a series of fortresses with the aim of preventing future uprisings, controlling the territory and, in the case of the coastal ones, also as a prevention of possible North African attacks. The Marbella fortress was built Well, with a double purpose: to control the territory and serve as surveillance and coastal defense.

In its construction we find a mixture of materials and construction methods. Roman capitals can be seen embedded in one of the towers and other materials such as ashlars from the caliphal work, Roman pieces in the elevation of renovated towers.

All these findings place different dates of construction but the majority supports that the works found coincide in their caliphal trace, without going into assessing the assumption of a previous construction. The caliphal fortresses also played a propaganda role as a symbol of pacification and urban attraction in the face of rural dispersion.

Its walls were marked with ten towers (maybe eleven), of which we know some of the names with which the Christian conquerors designated them:

• Bell Tower-Drawbridge Tower Located at the confluence of Portada-Solano-Escuela streets.
• Torre del Homenaje-Torre del Chorrón Located in the center of Portada Street.
• Cube Tower-Santa María Tower Located at the confluence of Portada and Arte streets. A curved front is attached to this Tower with a pyroballistic intention.
• White Tower At the confluence of Plaza de la Iglesia and Carmen Street.
• Clock Tower Located on Carmen Street.
• Puerta del Hierro Tower At the confluence of Virgen de los Dolores-Ortiz de Molinillos streets.

The main accesses were through Calle Carmen or Cuesta del Castillo, a curved entrance that connected the fortress with the medina. A second access, closed in the 16th century, corresponded to the Puerta de Santa Catalina.

After the capitulation of the municipality, on June 11, 1485, the fortress will serve as a for control of the area; until reaching the year 1492, the end of the war, when its functions will be to guard the coast, undergoing light repair works. Due to the distance that separates the castle from the beach and the use of artillery, from the 18th century onwards it ceased to have strategic value, entering a period of decline. In the year 1735, the a project for its restoration.

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We can date the beginning of the construction of the castle to approximately the 10th century (caliph period) and its expansion in the 10th century. XIV (Nasrid period). Construction materials from a nearby Roman building were reused, as witnessed (on Trinidad Street) by the presence of three Ionic capitals, used as simple stones.

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