Şebinkarahisar Castle () is a fortification in

Şebinkarahisar Şebinkarahisar is a town in Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of northeastern Turkey. It is the administrative seat of Şebinkarahisar District.

Giresun Province Giresun Province (Greek language, Greek : Κερασούντα, ; ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Trabzon Province, Trabzon to the east, Gümüşhane Province, Gümüşhane to the ...

, northern Turkey. Şebinkarahisar Castle is located atop of a -high hill named Hacikayası southeast of

Şebinkarahisar Şebinkarahisar is a town in Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of northeastern Turkey. It is the administrative seat of Şebinkarahisar District.

town in

, northern Turkey. It is assumed that the castle existed during the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus in modern-day Turkey, and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty of Persian origin, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...

before the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

period. Some parts of the castle walls in the north and southeast show traces of extensive repairs carried out during the reign of Roman emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(). Most of the castle walls were built during the

Anatolian beylik Anatolian or anatolica may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the region Anatolia * Ancient Anatolians, Anatolians, ancient Indo-European peoples who spoke the Anatolian languages * Anatolian High School, a type of Turkish educational in ...

of Mengujekids. It is stated that Ruler Fahreddin Behram Shah (1162-1225) made important additions to the castle in 1184. An inscription from the Mengujekids period featuring a relief of

double-headed eagle The double-headed eagle is an Iconology, iconographic symbol originating in the Bronze Age. The earliest predecessors of the symbol can be found in Mycenaean Greece and in the Ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamian and Hittite Empire#icon ...

, originally situated over the castle gate, was removed in 1896 and stolen It was later found, and sent to the Governor of

Sivas Province Sivas Province () is a province of Turkey. It is located in the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Its area is 28,164 km2 (the second largest province after Konya), and its population is 634,924 (2022). Its adjacent prov ...

. The castle consists of two intertwined parts, the outer castle and the inner castle. The pointed-arched castle entrance, called the Seljuk Gate, is accessed through a staircase, and is flanked by two semicircular towers. About northeast of it, there exists another entrance, known as from the

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

period, which was apparently walled up and closed later. The oval-shaped large bastion located to the northwest of the outer castle is referred to as "Kızlar Kalesi" (literally: The Girls Castle) in the sources. On the order of Behram Shah, his son Muzafferiddin Mehmed built an inner castle in an irregular rectangular plan on the highest part of the rock and an octagonal palace tower. Stonemasonry signs from the 13th century are found at the gate of the inner castle and on the walls of the palace tower structure. The castle was destroyed during the suppresiion of the rebellions of

Şehzade Murad ''Şehzade'' () is the Ottoman form of the Persian title '' Shahzadeh'', and refers to the male descendants of an Ottoman sovereign in the male line. This title is equivalent to " prince of the blood imperial" in English. Origin ''Şehzade'' d ...

in 1515,

Abaza Mehmed Pasha Abaza Mehmed Pasha (, ); 1576 – August 23, 1634) was a statesman and military commander of the Ottoman Empire, the namesake of the Abaza rebellion. He was the beylerbey of the Bosnia Eyalet in 1628–1631. He was executed by sultan Murat IV in ...

in 1622 and Armenian

Shabin-Karahisar uprising The Shabin-Karahisar uprising (June 2–30, 1915) was a resistance effort by the Armenian militia of the Hunchaks of the Giresun Province against Ottoman troops during the Armenian genocide. They had resisted the Ottoman onslaught for the durat ...

in 1915. It was restorated and repaired many times during the Ottoma era. The current walls and entrance of the castle belong to the

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

and Ottoman periods. There are many large and small rock-carved cisterns inside the castle. The most important of these is the water tunnel called "Kırk Badal" (literally: Forty Steps). According to the travelogue ''

Seyahatnâme ''Seyahatname'' () is the name of a literary form and tradition whose examples can be found throughout centuries in the Middle Ages around the Islamic world, starting with the Arab travellers of the Umayyad period. In a more specific sense, the ...

'' of

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

(1611–1682), there were seventy houses inside the castle, many cisterns, wheat warehouses and the Küçük Fatih Mosque. It is stated that most of these structures were standing until the Armenian rebellion of 1915. There are traces of rock-carved graves in the eastern direction of the castle that might date back to pre-Turkic period.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebinkarahisar Castle Castles in Turkey Buildings and structures in Giresun Province Tourist attractions in Giresun Province Şebinkarahisar District