Ankara Castle ( tr, Ankara Kalesi) is an historic fortification in the city of
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, constructed in or after the 7th century. The earliest fortification on the site was constructed in the 8th century BC by the
Phrygians
The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people, who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. They were related to the Greeks.
Ancient Greek authors used ...
and rebuilt in 278 BC by the
Galatians Galatians may refer to:
* Galatians (people)
* Epistle to the Galatians, a book of the New Testament
* English translation of the Greek ''Galatai'' or Latin ''Galatae'', ''Galli,'' or ''Gallograeci'' to refer to either the Galatians or the Gauls in ...
. The castle was rebuilt or renovated under the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
,
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
,
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) 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
* Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
, and
Ottoman empires.
History and architecture
The castle is composed of an inner line of walls with closely spaced towers that encloses an area of about 350m by 150m, and an outer line of walls with towers some 40m apart. Both sets of walls were constructed using large quantities of reused masonry. The exact dates of their construction are uncertain, but both postdate the capture and destruction of Ankara by the Persians in, probably, 622 AD (Foss considers that the inner walls may date from the reign of
Constans II; the outer walls are generally believed to have been erected slightly later).
[Clive Foss, ''Late Antique and Byzantine Ankara'' in Dumbarton Oaks Papers Vol. 31 (1977), pp. 70-72.]
Ankara asv2021-10 img30 Kale and Citadel.jpg, Aerial view of Kale (Altındağ
Altındağ is a metropolitan district of Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, part of the city of Ankara. According to the 2000 census, the population of the district is 407,101, of which 400,023 live in the urban center of A ...
) and the Citadel
Ankara asv2021-10 img31 Citadel.jpg, The clock tower and the main gate
Ankara asv2021-10 img28 Citadel.jpg, Dungeon Tower
Ankara Kale 6777.jpg, Ankara Castle Eastern Castle
Ankara asv2021-10 img33 Citadel.jpg, Ak Kale
Ankara asv2021-10 img34 Sultan Alaeddin Mosque.jpg, Sultan Alaeddin Mosque
Ankara asv2021-10 img61 Citadel.jpg, View of the Castle from the Hacı Bayram Mosque
Hacı Bayram Veli Camii is a mosque in old Ankara. Along with Kocatepe Mosque it is one of the best known mosques in Ankara. Hacı Bayram Mosque was built during the Ottoman Empire period. It was named after the Turkish Sufi and poet Hacı Bayra ...
Park
See also
*
History of Ankara
The history of Ankara can be traced back to the Bronze Age Hatti civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites, in the 10th century BC by the Phrygians, and later by the Lydians, Persians, Macedonians, Galatians, Rom ...
References
External links
Ankara Castle (in Turkish)150+ pictures of citadel and views around itMunicipality of Ankara
{{Authority control
Castles in Turkey
Buildings and structures in Ankara
Forts in Turkey
Tourist attractions in Ankara
Byzantine fortifications in Turkey
Altındağ, Ankara