Meydancık Castle ( tr, Meydancık Kale) is a castle ruin in Mersin Province, Turkey. The original name was Kirshu and the name of the ruin during Ottoman times was Beydili Kale.

Geography

The castle is located at , south of Gülnar. It is on a hill at the west of the road between Gülnar and Aydıncık. Visitors can reach the castle either from Gülnar by an road or from Aydıncık by a road. From

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

the total distance (via Gülnar) is about .

History

After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, Anatolia experienced a period of turmoil. Many small states emerged, one of which was Pirandu in South Anatolia, which was established by the Luwian people at the west of the Göksu River around the 7th century BC. The capital of Pirandu was Kirshu. However, in the 6th century BC, Kirshu was sacked by the Babylon Emperor Neriglissar. After Babylon was defeated by the Persians, Kirshu came under Achaemenid rule and after the Achaemenid Empire was defeated by Alexander III of Macedon, Kirshu was incorporated within the realm of the

Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic ...

of Egypt and later that of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

The fortification

The plan of the fortification is roughly rectangular, with the longer dimension oriented along a north–south axis. The total area is 750 x 150 m² (2460 x 490 ft²) In the fortification the military units were at the north side of the hill and the only entrance to the castle was via the gate at the northeast corner. The palace was in the middle. A public treasure consisting of 5215 coins from various

Hellenistic states In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in History of the Mediterranean region, Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as sig ...

has been unearthed in the palace. These coins are now exhibited in

Silifke Museum Silifke Museum is in Silifke district of Mersin Province, Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula ...

. Another important find was a stamp of Muwatalli II,Ministry of Culture and Tourism Mersin
/ref> which was surprising because Hittites inhabited the area long before the establishment of Pirundu. At the southern end, there is a wide wellhole, the function of which is debatable. It might either be a cistern or an altar or may even be a secret passage. At the present, excavations down to give no clue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meydancik Castle Forts in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Ruined castles in Turkey Castles in Mersin Province Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey