Yılankale ( Turkish for "Castle of the Snakes" or "Snake Castle") is a late 12th–13th century Armenian castle in

Adana Province Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...

of Turkey. It is known in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

as Levonkla ( "Levon's fortress") after its possible founder—King Leo (Levon) I the Magnificent (r. 1198/9–1219) of the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

. Medieval Armenian names attached to the site are Kovara and Vaner. A

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles ...

, Yılankale is located on a rocky hill overlooking the east bank of the Ceyhan River, and the Bronze and Iron Age site of Sirkeli Höyük, six kilometers west of the town of

Ceyhan Ceyhan () is a city and a district in the Adana Province, in southern Turkey, east of Adana. With a population of over 157,000, it is the largest district of the province, outside the city of Adana. Ceyhan is the transportation hub for Middle Eas ...

. The building is locally known as the home of

Shahmaran Shahmaran ( Persian: شاهماران Şahmaran, lit. 'Shah (king) of the Snakes'; Kurdish: Şahmaran/Şamaran, Turkish: ''Şahmeran'', Tatar: Şahmara or Zilant, Зилант or Aq Yılan, Chuvash: Вĕреçĕлен, lit. 'Fire snake'), ...

, a mythical creature half woman and half snake. The walls, as well as the numerous horseshoe-shaped towers and vaulted chambers, are built with beautifully cut rusticated masonry and are carefully adapted to the coiling outcrop of limestone to create three baileys. The archaeological and historical assessment of this castle published in 1987 (with a scaled plan) describes each unit in detail. In the upper bailey is an Armenian chapel with its apse and north wall preserved. The assumption that the relief of a seated king with two rampant lions in the gatehouse door depicts King Levon I (confirming the conclusion that he was the castle's early 13th-c. founder), was convincingly challenged by both iconographic and archaeological evidence, which shows that the relief portrays either Kings Het'um I (1226–70) or Het'um II (1289–1307). The castle was abandoned during the reign of the

Ramadanids The Ramadanid Emirate (Modern Turkish: ''Ramazanoğulları Beyliği'') was an autonomous administration and a ''de facto'' independent emirate that existed from 1352 to 1608 in Cilicia, taking over the rule of the region from the Armenian Kingdo ...

in the mid-14th century. It has been described as the "most perfectly preserved Armenian castle" of the

Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...

(

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

) region. The castle is open to the public and was renovated in summer of 2014.

Gallery

File:Yilankale by drone.jpg, Drone view of the castle

References

External links

A gallery of photographs of Yilan castle

Carefully documented photographic survey, description and plan of Yılan Castle

Drone footage of the castle from July 2022
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yilankale Armenian castles Castles in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey Buildings and structures in Adana Province Ceyhan

Gallery

See also

References

External links