Kyinda

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Kyinda (also Quinda ) is the ancient name of a castle fortress that is said to have been in Cilicia . To date, however, the location of Kyinda could not be proven beyond doubt.

The Diadoch treasure

According to ancient tradition, the treasure of Alexander the Great (also known as the Diadoch treasure ) is said to have been kept in Kyinda , as reported by historians Strabo ( Geographika 14,5,10) and Diodorus , among others . According to tradition, the Diadoch ruler Seleukos I , founder of the Seleucid dynasty, brought large parts of his wealth to the castle of Kyinda after Alexander's death. Later, the state reserves of the Seleucids are said to have been hoarded in Kyinda , as they were not safe in the Seleucid capital Antioch on the Orontes . The fact that Alexander was immeasurably wealthy by the standards of the time and that the Kyinda treasure castle actually existed is hardly ever questioned scientifically today, especially since the Diadochi, the direct successors of Alexander, were extremely wealthy rulers who, among other things, distinguished themselves through numerous magnificent buildings and Fortifications immortalized in ancient cities. Numerous traditions indicate that Alexander's successors grabbed the treasure several times and fought for possession. According to Plutarch, Eumenes holed himself up in the mountains of Cilicia while fleeing from Antigonus I Monophthalmos in order to " take 500 talents from the treasure of Kyinda " and use them to pay his soldiers. According to Diodorus, Antigonus later made use of silver with 10,000 talents. According to today's terms, a billion dollar treasure, which must have consisted of tons of precious metal, jewelry and precious stones. When Antigonus' son defected to Seleucus I, he is said to have taken 12,000 talents from the treasure.

Archaeological research

Kyinda, in particular the remains of the Alexander treasure and the state treasure of the Seleucids, believed to be there, is still being searched for today, but also for the tomb of Seleucus in which some of the treasures are believed to be and which has still not been found. Meanwhile, the fortress of Karasis , in the eastern foothills of the Taurus Mountains , is considered a likely location. There, in 1994, the remains of a castle complex, some of which were still huge, consisting of an upper and a lower castle, were discovered at a very high altitude. It was not until ten years later that the systematic investigation of the facility began with the participation of the German Archaeological Institute . Occasionally the masonry rises up to 15 meters and it is amazing how such a large castle complex has remained almost undiscovered and unnoticed by science for centuries. To this day, however, it has not yet been completely clarified which castle complex it could be on the almost 1000 meter high ridge, because there are no indications that give the complex a name. However, a relief of an elephant was found in the castle fortress, which corroborates the suspicion that it is a Seleucid complex, since the elephant was the heraldic animal of Seleukos I and his successors and the war elephants were the dreaded weapon of the Seleucids. Above all, however, there is also a puzzling question about who or what this huge castle fortress protected, since - from a purely strategic point of view - it was built in a very remote and difficult-to-reach place and, on the other hand, it was significantly oversized.

literature

  • Mustafa H. Sayar: A newly discovered Seleucid mountain fortress in the East Kilikian Taurus. In: Ancient World . 26, 1995, pp. 279-282. ISSN  0003-570X
  • Karasis. In: DAI Istanbul. 4, 2006, pp. 14-15. ( PDF ).
  • Jean-Christoph Caron: The treasure of Alexander. In: Adventure archeology . 2006.1, p. 58 ff. ISSN  1612-9954

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