Koz Castle ( Turkish: ''Koz Kalesi''), or Kürşat Castle is a castle in the

Altınözü Altınözü ( ar, الْقُصَيْر, ''el-Kusayr'') is a district in the south-east of Hatay Province of Turkey, on the border between Turkey and Syria. The mayor is Rıfat Sarı ( AKP). History The region which was known as al-Quṣayr, was pa ...

district of the

Hatay Province Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of A ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, built on a small hill where the Kuseyr Creek starts. It was built by the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It exte ...

out of

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

. The castle used to have a gate to the north, but this gate no longer exists and the eastern side of the castle has been leveled, with some original barns left. Some bastions of the castle stand to this day.Koz Kalesi (Kürşat Kalesi)
, Governorate of Hatay, retrieved on 16 August 2014.

History

The formerly known Cursat Castle was first mentioned of in 1133, when taken by

Fulk, King of Jerusalem Fulk ( la, Fulco, french: Foulque or ''Foulques''; c. 1089/1092 – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the count of Anjou (as Fulk V) from 1109 to 1129 and the king of Jerusalem with his wife from 1131 to his death. During ...

. By 1155, the castle came into the possession of the

Latin Patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

Aimery of Limoges Aimery or Aymery of Limoges (died 1196), also ''Aimericus'' in Latin, ''Aimerikos'' in Greek and ''Hemri'' in Armenian, was a Roman Catholic ecclesiarch in Frankish Outremer and the fourth Latin Patriarch of Antioch from c. 1140 until his death. ...

, who used the castle as a sanctuary for himself and his treasures, to be known as 'Castrum Patriarchae' (Patriarch's Castle). In 1180, Aimery excommunicated the

Prince of Antioch Prince of Antioch was the title given during the Middle Ages to Norman rulers of the Principality of Antioch, a region surrounding the city of Antioch, now known as Antakya in Turkey. The Princes originally came from the County of Sicily in S ...

Bohemond III Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer (french: Bohémond le Bambe/le Baube; 1148–1201), was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to 1201. He was the elder son of Constance of Antioch and her first husband, Raymond of ...

, following the orders of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

, for matters in his private life. Bohemond III who was angered by that decision, besieged Cursat until King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem intervened. In 1188, Aimery prevented the troops of the Ayyubid sultan

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt an ...

from attacking Cursat by paying him a sum of money from his treasury. In 1225, the Latin Patriarch of Antioch Rainier of Antioch returned to Italy, leaving

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

in control of the castle of Cursat, where the patriarchal treasury was kept. Later on,

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

had ordered that the entire church tax revenue from

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

should be used for the repair and expansion of Cursat for three years, which enhanced its defenses by 1256. Hence, the castle withstood a siege by Mamluk forces led by

Baibars Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak ...

in 1268. After the fall of Antioch, Cursat was surrounded by Muslim-controlled territory. The

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant ...

of the castle in the name of the patriarch was a knight named Sir William, who endeavored to maintain friendly contact with the neighboring Muslim emirs, especially with the emirs of Soghr and

Bagras Bagras or Baghrās but realistically Bagdas/Bagdans or Bogd·apo, ancient Pagrae ( gr, Πάγραι) ( hy, Պաղրաս, translit=Paġras), is a town and its nearby castle in the İskenderun district of Turkey, in the Amanus Mountains. Strabo's ...

. Baibars refrained from attacking the castle on the condition that William shared his income with his Muslim neighbors. Later on, William became a monk and left the management of the castle to his father Bastard. On April 13, 1275, the latter was caught in a Mamluk ambush, then imprisoned in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. The castle was later besieged, and finally surrendered on November 14, 1275.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Castles in Turkey Forts in Turkey Ruined castles in Turkey Castles in Hatay Province Archaeological sites in Hatay Province