Pertek Castle ( tr, Pertek Kalesi) is a castle in the

Pertek Pertek (from hy, Բերդակ, translit=Berdak, ku, Pêrteg) is a city seat of Pertek District in Tunceli Province, Turkey. It had a population of 6,365 in 2021 and is populated by Kurds and Turks. The mayor is Ruhan Alan from the Republican P ...

district of the

Tunceli Province Tunceli Province ( tr, Tunceli ili, ku, Parêzgeha Dêrsimê, Zazaki: ), formerly Dersim Province, is located in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The least densely-populated province in Turkey, it was originally named ''Dersim Province' ...

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 ...

. Its origins probably lie in the

Kingdom of Urartu Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of V ...

. According to the Italian archaeologist Roberto Dan, the castle exhibits characteristics of

Urartu Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Va ...

rock processing and was built for the control of nearby mines, especially copper mines. The name comes from the Armenian word (''Berdak'') in the

local dialect Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administra ...

, a diminutive of (''berd'', “fortress”). The current structure was built in the 11th century by the

Seljukid The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

Mengujekids

beys Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

. Under the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

it was restored and rebuilt, probably in the 16th century, at the same time as the Sungur Bey Mosque and Çelebi Ağa Mosque in Pertek. Originally, the castle overlooked Old Pertek. In 1974, the surrounding area was flooded by the

Keban Dam The Keban Dam ( tr, Keban Barajı) is a hydroelectric dam on the Euphrates, located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. The dam is the first and uppermost of several large-scale dams to be built on the Euphrates by Turkey. Although the Keban Dam ...

, leaving the castle on an island five kilometers away from the northern shore of the new artificial lake. It is close to the boundary of the

Elazığ Province Elazığ Province ( tr, ; Zazaki: Suke Xarpêt; ku, Parêzgeha Xarpêtê) is a province of Turkey with its seat in the city of Elazığ. The province had a population of 568,753 in 2014. The population of the province was 569,616 in 2000 and ...

. The castle's walls are completely made of natural stone blocks. In the southern walls, clinker and blue tiles were also used.Sehenswürdigkeiten und Sehenswertes in Tunceli
/ref> There is an entrance in the northwest, and cisterns along with two defensive walls in the castle. According to

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

, the castle hosted a sculpture of an eagle. Below the castle, the Baysungur Mosque and the Çelebi Ali Mosque, built by Baysungur, the bey of Pertek, were located.

References

{{Castles in Turkey Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century Castles in Turkey Buildings and structures in Tunceli Province