Cursat
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| Alternative name (s): | Castrum Patriarchae Kozkalesi Kurşat Kalesi |
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| Creation time : | before 1133 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Kozkalesi | |
| Geographical location | 36 ° 5 '46 " N , 36 ° 12' 3" E | |
| Height: | 380 m | |
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Cursat or Kürschat ( Arabic قلعة الذو, DMG Qalaat al-Zau , also Qalaat Qoseir , al-Qusair , Qusayir , le Coursaut or Castrum Patriarchae ) is a crusader castle in Kozkalesi in what is now Turkey in the Hatay province . The castle then belonged to the Principality of Antioch and is located about 10 km south of Antioch .
history
The castle is first mentioned in the chronicles in 1133, when King Fulk of Jerusalem , who was then reigning over the Principality of Antioch, conquered the castle. Later, around 1155, the castle came into the possession of the Latin Patriarch of Antioch , Aimerich von Limoges , who used the castle as a safe treasury and who also brought himself to safety here if necessary. So in 1183, when the patriarch gave the prince of Antioch Bohemond III. excommunicated and then withstood a siege by Bohemond in Cursat until King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem intervened arbitrarily. Since 1155 the castle has been called Castrum Patriarchae (Latin for "Patriarch's Castle").
In 1188 Aimerich prevented the troops of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin from attacking Cursat by paying him a sum of money from his treasury. When the region of Antioch repeatedly became the target of Turkish invasions, the fortifications of the castle were massively expanded in 1256. Pope Innocent IV had previously ordered that the entire church tax revenue from Antioch and Cyprus should be used for the repair and expansion of Cursat for three years. The thus amplified Castle then gave a first siege by the troops of Mamelukes -Sultans Baybars 1267/68 was, then, however, who moved to Antioch, besieged, conquered and largely destroyed. After the fall of Antioch, Cursat was surrounded by Muslim-controlled territory. The castellan of the castle on behalf of the patriarch was a knight named Wilhelm (Guillaume), who endeavored to maintain friendly contact with the neighboring Muslim emirs (and possibly informed them about the plans of the Christians), in particular with the emirs of Soghr and Baghras , who at Baibars put in a good word for him. The Sultan refrained from attacking the castle on the condition that Wilhelm shared his income with his Muslim neighbors. After he had obtained this protection, Wilhelm became a monk and left the supervision of the castle to his father Bastard . The latter was less skilled than his son and fell out with the emirs of Soghr and Baghras. On April 13, 1275, he was caught in a Mamluk ambush, captured and imprisoned in Damascus . The castle was then besieged, and due to lack of supplies, the garrison finally surrendered on November 14, 1275 for free withdrawal.
investment
Like many crusader castles in the region, Cursat was built on a natural hill. Surrounded by steep slopes, the castle bordered a hill only on the southwest side. On this side, the castle was protected by a deep artificial moat, in a manner typical of crusader castles, and was particularly strongly fortified. The ring wall and the rectangular tower that have been preserved to this day date from the 12th century, the two large round towers were added in 1256.
literature
- Hugh Kennedy: Crusader Castles. Cambridge University Press, 1994.
- Kristian Molin: Unknown crusader castles. Continuum International Publishing, New York 2001. p. 296
- Thomas Biller, Timm Radt: Kürsat - an unexplored castle from the time of the crusaders. Istanbuler Mitteilungen 59, 2009. German Archaeological Institute, Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, Tübingen 2009, ISSN 0341-9142 . ( online )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Bernard Hamilton: The Leper King and His Heirs. Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 2000. p. 165
- ↑ See Christopher Marshall: Warfare in the Latin East, 1192-1291. Cambridge University Press, 1994. p. 112
- ↑ a b See Kennedy, p. 84
- ↑ Cf. Jaroslav Folda: Crusader art in the Holy Land: from the Third Crusade to the fall of Acre, 1187–1291. Cambridge University Press, 2005. p. 377