Eğirdir Castle is a castle in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It is in

Eğirdir Eğirdir is a town in Isparta Province in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Eğirdir District.

ilçe The Provinces of Turkey, 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the Ottoman Empire and in the early Turkish Republic, the corresponding unit was the ''qadaa, kaza''. Most provinces bear the s ...

(district) of

Isparta Province Isparta Province () is a province in southwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Afyon to the northwest, Burdur to the southwest, Antalya to the south, and Konya to the east. Its area is 8,946 km2, and its population is 445,325 (2022). The p ...

. Located at is on an isthmus of Eğirdir Lake. There is no written account of the construction date of the castle. According to local tradition it may be as old as the Lydian Kingdom (BC 6-7 centuries) Eğirdir Municipality page
/ref> But judging from the masonry it was constructed or reconstructed during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

or the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

eras. In the early 14th century Eğirdir was the capital of the

Anatolian beylik Anatolian or anatolica may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the region Anatolia * Ancient Anatolians, Anatolians, ancient Indo-European peoples who spoke the Anatolian languages * Anatolian High School, a type of Turkish educational in ...

Hamidids Hamidids or Hamed dynasty ( Modern Turkish: ''Hamidoğulları'' or ''Hamidoğulları Beyliği'') also known as the Beylik of Hamid, was one of the 14th century Turkish Anatolian beyliks that emerged as a consequence of the decline of the Sultana ...

. According to the inscription of the castle, it was restored by

Dündar of Hamidoğlu Dündar is a Turkish masculine given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Dündar Ali Osman, heir of Bayezid Osman and future 45th Head of the Imperial House of Osman * Dündar Bey (1210-1298), uncle of sultan Os ...

in 1307. However, during the campaign of

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

in 1402, it was partially ruined. During the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

era the castle was a small military post. The castle was primarily built against the attacks from the lake and it is only about high. Because of the urban settlement on the ruins, the size of the original castle is not known Article by Kenan Bilici Art History periodical
/ref> But the area of the inner castle is about .

References

{{Castles in Turkey History of Isparta Province Eğirdir District Castles in Turkey