Karasis (fortress)

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The ancient fortress of Karasis is located on the isolated ridge of Mount Karasis, rising up to a good 1000 m, in the foothills of the eastern Taurus Mountains in the historical region of Cilicia , on the northern edge of Çukurova near Kozan in the province of Adana ( Turkey ). It was only discovered in 1994 by the epigraphist Mustafa H. Sayar , who had been pointed out to the mighty ruins on the mountain top by locals from the surrounding villages. The complex consisting of an upper and a lower castle was probably built in the 2nd century BC. Built by the Macedonian Seleucids . Both the actual name of the fortress and its purpose are unclear. A treasure castle named Kyinda in the Taurus Mountains is mentioned in ancient writings , but so far there is no evidence that the fortress of Karasis is this complex.

View of the alleged memory of the fortress on the ridge.

Archaeological research

The inaccessible high fortress was examined from 2003 to 2005 by the DAI Istanbul from the architectural point of view, without excavations being carried out. In connection with the television series Schliemanns Erben des ZDF, the entire castle festival could be explored from the air with the help of a Russian helicopter. The huge structures, which thanks to the aerial observation could be reconstructed on the computer in the meantime, include a huge stone hall, which turned out to be a storage building. The rooms were well ventilated, so that today it is assumed that it was a granary. The entire system, well supplied with spring water, could obviously withstand a siege for months. The emblem of an elephant, which was discovered in relief on one of the towers, clearly indicates the Seleucids, who also put this animal on their coins. The archaeologists therefore coined the unofficial name elephant castle . The extremely inaccessible complex with its extremely strong defenses is believed to belong to the time after Antiochus III. when the empire had peaked and was increasingly on the defensive.

Fortress tower with elephant relief above the lintel.

An almost perfectly preserved catapult tower in the lower castle also proves the defensive-military character of the fortress, which apparently did not serve to control the surrounding area, as it was too remote for this. Compared to the well-known other Hellenistic fortress architecture, this is a very unusual building in terms of scope, layout and equipment. In addition to the large warehouse or magazine, there are also representative rooms, one of which was particularly well protected by heavy walls and panels. It could have served as some sort of vault. In the entire area surrounding this towering spur, no Seleucid settlement was found to be protected. The few ceramic finds that have been evaluated so far indicate that the fortress was built around 100 BC. Was still occupied. Nevertheless, it remains a mystery who or what this military installation should one day secure. It has been suggested on various occasions that it should protect the Seleucid state treasure, but so far there is no evidence to support this assumption.

The Karasis Fortress today

The fortress has not yet been developed for tourism. The ascent over the pathless rock is very steep, arduous and not without danger; the paths that were laid out as part of the 2003 investigations have overgrown again. It is therefore urgently advisable to be guided by locals from the surrounding villages, as otherwise it is easy to get lost in the thick undergrowth.

literature

  • Martin Bachmann: Demonstration of power and cultural impulse. The fortress on the Karasis. In: Felix Pirson, Ulrike Wulf-Rheidt (eds.): Exchange and inspiration. Cultural contacts as an impulse for architectural innovation. Colloquium from April 28-30, 2006 in Berlin on the occasion of Adolf Hoffmann's 65th birthday, DiskAB 9 Mainz 2008, pp. 67–81, ISBN 978-3-8053-3925-4
  • Martin Bachmann: Roof over a stone "fruit box". The Karasis storage facility. In: Alexander von Kienlin (Hrsg.): Wooden structures of antiquity. International conference March 30 - April 1, 2007 in Munich, BYZAS 11 Istanbul 2011, pp. 171–181, ISBN 978-605-5607-47-0
  • Jean-Christoph Caron: The treasure of Alexander. In: Adventure Archeology 1/2006, p. 58ff. ISSN  1612-9954
  • Timm Radt: Structural peculiarities in the Hellenistic fortifications of Cilicia. In: Martin Bachmann (ed.): Construction technology in ancient and pre-ancient Asia Minor. International Conference 13.-16. June 2007 in Istanbul, BYZAS 9 Istanbul 2009, pp. 269–294, ISBN 978-975-8072-23-1
  • Timm Radt: Fliehburg, fortress, residence? The ruins on the Karasis. In: Janet Lorentzen, Felix Pirson. Peter Schneider, Ulrike Wulf-Rheidt (Ed.): Current research on the construction, function and semantics of ancient city fortifications, Colloquium 9./10. February 2007 in Istanbul, BYZAS 10 Istanbul 2010, pp. 195–217, ISBN 978-605-5607-05-0
  • Timm Radt: The ruins on Mount Karasis in Cilicia. In: Anna Kouremenos, Sujatha Chandrasekaran, Roberto Rossi (eds.): From Pella to Gandhara. Hybridization and Identity in the Art and Architecture of the Hellenistic East. Oxford 2011, pp. 49-64, ISBN 978-1-4073-0779-4
  • Mustafa H. Sayar: A newly discovered Seleucid mountain fortress in the East Kilikian Taurus. In: Antike Welt 26, 1995, pp. 279–282. ISSN  0003-570X

Web links

Coordinates: 37 ° 33 '8 "  N , 35 ° 51' 57"  E