| Silifke Castle | |
|---|---|
| Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey | |
 | |
  Silifke Castle | |
| Coordinates | 36°22′35″N33°54′56″E / 36.37639°N 33.91556°E |
| Type | Fortress |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Large sections of walls are still standing. |
| Site history | |
| Built by | Byzantine Empire |
| Demolished | Partially |
Silifke Castle (Turkish : Silifke kalesi) is a medieval castle in Turkey.
The castle is in Silifke district of Mersin Province. It is situated to the west of Silifke city center, to the south of Göksu River (Calydanus of the antiquity) and to the north of the Turkish state highway D.715. Although its altitude is only 160 metres (520 ft) with respect to sea level, it is dominant over Silifke plains and the southern section of Göksu valley. [1]
Silifke (Roman: Seleucia; Byzantine: kastron Seleukeias; Arab: Salûqiya; Armenian: Selefkia or Selewkia; Frankish: Le Selef) was an important city in antiquity. Founded by and named after Seleucus I Nicator (359 BC-281 BC), one of the Diadochi who served as an infantry general under Alexander the Great. Few traces of the 3rd-century-B.C. settlement survive. There are fragments of a late Roman theater, necropolis, bath, 2nd-century temple, as well as a 5th-century Byzantines cistern. The 1st-century-A.D. stone bridge built during the reign of Emperor Vespasian was replaced in the 1870s. In the late 7th century, to counter Arab invasions, the Byzantines fortified the acropolis, which is situated above the Calycadnus River. The site had a weapons factory and was the administrative center for the coastal theme. [2] In the late-1180s the Rubenid Baron Leo II, who became a decade later Leo I, King of Armenian Cilicia, captured the town and fortress. In exchange for money and cavalry support King Leo granted the castle in 1210 to the Knights Hospitaller who were to defend the western border of his kingdom from the Seljuk Turks. According to a survey published in 1987, most of the present castle is a Crusader construction. [2] On the death of King Leo in 1219 his daughter and designated heiress Zapēl, (also known as Isabella, Queen of Armenian Cilicia), was contracted to marry Philip, the son of Bohemond IV of Antioch. After various disputes with the Armenian barons Philip died by poison in 1226. Zapēl and her mother took refuge in Silifke. When the Armenian army arrived, the Franks surrendered the castle. A fragmentary Armenian inscription in the castle may record its repair or enlargement in 1236. [3] In 1248 the castle may have briefly had a Frankish commander, named Guiscard.
The castle has an oval-shaped plan. The length from west to east is about 250 meters (820 ft) and the width is about 75 meters (246 ft). [2] It is surrounded by a dry moat. According to the 17th-century Turkish traveler, Evliya Çelebi, there were 23 towers, 60 houses and a mosque in the castle. [4] Presently, 10 towers survive, many of which have surviving vaulted ceilings. An equal number of finely crafted under-crofts are preserved, some with pointed vaults. Most of the exterior facing stones consist of well-drafted ashlar blocks. A formal survey of the castle was conducted in 1979. [5]
Cilicia is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilicia plain. The region includes the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, along with parts of Hatay and Antalya.
The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m.
Corycus was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi, Mersin Province, Turkey.
Lampron is a castle near the town of Çamlıyayla in Mersin Province, Turkey. While part of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the Middle Ages, the castle was known as Lampron and was the ancestral home of the Armenian Hethumid princes. Situated in the Taurus Mountains, the fortress guarded passes to Tarsus and the Cilician Gates.
Silifke is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, 80 km (50 mi) west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova.
Mersin Province, formerly İçel Province, is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezitli, Toroslar and Yenişehir. Next largest is Tarsus, the birthplace of Paul the Apostle. The province is considered to be a part of the geographical, economical and cultural region of Çukurova, which covers the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay.
Bagras or Baghrās, ancient Pagrae, is a town and its nearby castle in the İskenderun district of Turkey, in the Amanus Mountains.
Feke is a small city and a district in Adana Province of Turkey, 122 km from the city of Adana, 620m above sea-level, a small town on attractive forested mountainside. The current mayor is Ahmet Sel (MHP).
Constantine of Baberon was a powerful Armenian noble of the Het‛umid family. He was the son of Vassag and the father of King Het‛um I, who ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1270. Constantine played a pivotal role in placing his son on the throne by engineering the murder of Philip, the husband of Isabella, Queen of Armenia. He tricked Philip's father, Bohemond IV of Antioch, to search for his son at Amouda rather than at Sis, where he was being tortured and poisoned. He then took his army to the gates of Silifke Castle, forced its Frankish lords to surrender Isabella, and arranged the marriage, making his son the first Het‛umid ruler of the Armenian Kingdom.
Gülek is a town in Mersin Province, Turkey.
Limonlu is a small town in Mersin Province, Turkey.
Sis was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The massive fortified complex is just to the southwest of the modern Turkish town of Kozan in Adana Province.
Çandır Castle the medieval Armenian site of Paperon, is a fortification in Mersin Province, Turkey.
Kızkalesi is an island castle situated on a small island in Mersin Province of Turkey.
Karakabaklı is an archaeological site in Mersin Province, Turkey.
Kilise Tepe is a mound in Mersin Province, Turkey, just west of the Göksu River, lying 20 kilometers from Mut and 145 kilometers from Mersin. It was initially known as Maltepe which is actually the name of a site on the other bank of the river about four kilometers to the west. The original name of the mound is not known and Kilise Tepe in Turkish means "church-hill" referring to a church ruin. The site is thought to have been part of the land of Tarḫuntašša, formed when Muwatalli II moved the Hittite capital.
Tece Castle is a ruined castle in Mersin Province, southern Turkey.
Kuzucubelen Castle is a castle ruin in Mersin Province, Turkey.
Gülek Castle is a medieval castle in Mersin Province, Turkey.
Evciler Castle, also called as Kızılbağ Castle, and Evcili Castle is a small medieval castle in Mersin Province, Turkey.
