Zerzevan Castle ( ku, Qesra Zêrzevan, Zîrzevan tr, Zerzevan Kalesi arm, Զերզեվանի ամրոց), also known as Samachi Castle, is a ruined Eastern Roman castle, a former important military base, in Diyarbakır Province, southeastern Turkey. Archaeological excavations at the site revealed the existence of underground structures, among them a temple of

Mithraism Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...

, a mystery religion. The castle was used as a civilian settlement between the 1890s and the 1960s. The site is partly open to tourism.

Etymology

Some travellers mention the name of this place as "Kasr Zerzaua" in 18th century while Evliya Celebi, an Ottoman traveller who lived in 17th century mentions in his Seyahatname (volume IV) about this place as "Zerzivan Valley" while travelling from Diyarbakir to

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

. The name of Zerzevan derives from Kurdish word of "zêr" (gold) and it "is the changed form of Zerzaua mentioned by the travellers and it is the name given to the settlement while the village" was located in the same place.

Location

Zerzevan Castle was built in the 4th century by the Eastern Roman Empire as a military base on the ancient trade route between Diyarbakır and

. It was in use until the 7th century. The castle is situated on the top of a -high rocky hill next to Demirölçek village about southeast of Çınar town in Diyarbakır Province on the highway to Mardin. It is located about from Diyarbakır.

Archaeological works

The first archaeological excavations took place in the summer months of 2014. The works were initially carried out by a team of 35 led by an archaeologist from

Dicle University Dicle University ( tr, Dicle Üniversitesi, ku, Zanîngeha Dîcleyê) is a public university located in Diyarbakır, Turkey, and one of the largest higher education institution. Vocational schools are located in Ergani, Çermik, Çüngüş, B ...

, under the supervision of the Diyarbakır Archaeological Museum. In 2015, the size of the team working at the site increased to 60. It is expected that excavation works will continue for around 30 more years. In 2020, archaeologists found the entrance of the castle. In 2021, archaeologists discovered a flute with six holes and a bronze ring with a key which was used to open a chest. Both items dated back to the 4th and 5th centuries AD.Ancient flute reveals interest in music
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Castle

The castle stretches over an area of . The castle contains structures both above and below ground. Its ruined walls are long and high, and it has a -high watchtower. Inside the castle, there are ruins in a wide area and a rock-

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

. In the north of the castle, which is at a lower elevation, residences and streets were erected while in the south public buildings were constructed on the higher terrain. A church building facing east-west remains one of the most well-conserved public buildings. Other public buildings include the palace, administrative building, baths, cereal storage,

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, and 54

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

s. Military and medical material, jewelry, ornaments, and bronze coins were also found during the excavations. In 2016, a subterranean church and secret passageways were discovered. The discovered underground secret passageway was not in use for about 3,000 years and the subterranean church was closed around 1,500 years ago. A

Mithraic Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...

underground temple and a subterranean sanctuary, able to hold 400 people, were also unearthed. The underground temple remnants of the mystery religion attracted more than 20,000 tourists in just one week according to reports by officials. In 2017, four more underground locations were discovered, where further excavation works are necessary to unearth them. The castle was an Eastern Roman military base and a strategic

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

settlement, dominating the entire valley and controlling the ancient road between Amida (now Diyarbakır) and Dara (now Mardin). The castle played a key role due to its location on the easternmost border protecting the Roman Empire. It marked the intersection and coalescence of the cultures in the west and the east. The place was known as Samachi in classical antiquity. It was the site of heavy fighting between the Byzantine Empire and the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

. Jewelry found in the castle also indicates that the civilian population and military personnel resided together, with soldiers living alongside their family members. It was large enough to sustain a population of around one thousand. Restoration and reconstruction works, which took place during the reigns of

Eastern Roman emperors This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Anastasius I Dicorus Anastasius I Dicorus ( grc-gre, Ἀναστάσιος, Anastásios; – 9 July 518) was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by t ...

(r. 491–518) and Justinian I (r. 527–565), saw the castle develop into its final state prior to its ruin. The castle was most likely in use until 639 with the arrival of

Arab Muslims Arab Muslims ( ar, العرب المسلمون) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Arabs. Arab Muslims greatly outnumber other ethnoreligious groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab Mu ...

in the beginning of the

Arab–Byzantine wars The Arab–Byzantine wars were a series of wars between a number of Muslim Arab dynasties and the Byzantine Empire between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. Conflict started during the initial Muslim conquests, under the expansionist Rashidun an ...

Use as civilian settlement

A new settlement was created within the castle once again in the 1890s, when a family moved into the castle. As the population grew to over 30 households, the residents ultimately abandoned the castle in the 1960s, descended to a place about from the castle, and founded a village under the name Zerzevan. This village is called Demirölçek today.

References

External links

Gallery

File:Zerzevan Kalesi (havadan, 2016).jpg, Aerial view of castle File:Zerzevan Kalesi 1.jpg, A view of Zerzevan Castle File:Zerzevan Kalesi 2.jpg, A view of Zerzevan Castle File:Zerzevan Kalesi 4.jpg, A view from Zerzevan Castle File:Zerzevan Kalesi 5.jpg, A view from Zerzevan Castle {{Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey Byzantine fortifications in Turkey 4th-century fortifications Ruined castles in Turkey Archaeological sites in Southeastern Anatolia Buildings and structures in Diyarbakır Province Çınar, Diyarbakır Tourist attractions in Diyarbakır Province World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey