Yılankale
| Yılankale | ||
|---|---|---|
 Yılankale from the north |
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| Alternative name (s): | Yılanlı Kale, Yılan Kalesi | |
| Creation time : | 12th to 13th century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone / cuboid | |
| Geographical location | 37 ° 0 '52 " N , 35 ° 44' 52" E | |
| Height: | 175 m | |
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Yılankale (also Yılan Kalesi , Turkish for “snake castle ” , popularly Şahmiran Kalesi after Semiramis or after Şahmaran ) is a medieval castle in the former Kingdom of Lesser Armenia and one of the best preserved castles from the Crusader period in this region. It is located near the place of the same name Yılankale in the district of Ceyhan in the Turkish province of Adanadirectly opposite the ancient ruins on the Sirkeli Höyük. The castle got its name because, according to a Turkish legend, the Snake King lived here.
History of origin
The castle was probably built in the 12th to 13th centuries by the Armenian King Leo II . Later it was used by crusaders. According to legend, the legendary contortionist Meran is its builder, to whom it owes its Turkish name.
investment
Yılankale is a spur castle typical of Armenian castles on a rugged mountain ridge. The core castle has semicircular defense towers up to 15 meters high. This type of tower is also found in other castles in the region such as Lambron and is characteristic of Armenian fortifications (Molin 2001). In particular, the gatehouse of the inner castle is flanked by two such towers. The defense towers are integrated into the curtain wall . A free-standing donjon , however, does not exist.
The entrance to the castle leads via the lowest courtyard of the outer bailey from the southeast side to a middle courtyard and further to the main gate, which is flanked by two fortified towers with horseshoe-shaped floor plans. The core castle contains the ruins of a castle chapel and extensive cisterns . The less fortified outer bailey lies on the same ridge and ends with a round tower at its southern tip.
See also
List of castles and fortresses in Turkey
literature
- Kristian Molin: Unknown crusader castles , Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001 ISBN 978-1852852610 GoogleBooks .
- GR Youngs: Three Cilician Castles . In: Anatolian Studies 15, 1965, pp. 113-134.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Marianne Mehling: Turkey, a Phaidon cultural guide. Phaidon 1989 p. 148 ISBN 9780714825304 online .
- ↑ Katja Zehrfeld, Ali Akpinar: Anatolian Myths - Anatolian Myths: A Fresh Approach to Türkçe . BoD - Books on Demand, 2009, ISBN 3-8370-5943-X , p. 11 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Youngs, p. 125
- ↑ Marianne Mehling (Ed.): Knaurs Culture Guide in Color - Turkey . Droemer-Knaur 1987, p. 148, ISBN 3-426-26293-2 .