The Amanian Gate () or Bahçe Pass (), also known as the Amanus Pass or Amanides Pylae (Ἀμανίδες or Ἀμανικαί Πύλαι 'Amanus Gates'), is a mountain pass located on the border between Osmaniye and

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

provinces in south-central

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 ...

. The pass provides a way through the northern Amanus Mountains (modern

Nur Mountains The Nur Mountains (, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Mount Amanus (), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south-central Turkey. It begins sou ...

), connecting

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

to southern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and northern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It is one of two passes through the Amanus, the other being the Syrian Gate to the south. The Amanian Gate was mentioned in the ancient Nabonidus Chronicle.

The Amanian Gate and the Battle of Issus

The pass played an important role leading to the

Battle of Issus The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on 5 November 333 BC between the League of Corinth, Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III of Persia, Darius III. It was the second g ...

. The Persian army advanced through the Amanic Gate or another nearby pass, coming behind the Macedonian army which turned back to face and defeat the Persian army. The exact Persian strategy remains in dispute. According to Jona Lendering, after a part of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

's army occupied the Syrian Gate, Darius III of Persia decided to lead his army north through the Amanian Gate and place his army between the two Macedonian armies at the town of Issus. However, the Macedonians joined forces before the arrival of Darius, and the outcome was Persian defeat. However, Donald Engels rejects a similar interpretation.Engels, Donald, 1978, ''Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army'', p. 53 fn. 137.

The Amanian Gate, the Mardaites, and the Fortifications

According to some historians, after the

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

of the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

by the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, the Mardaites, Christians following either

Miaphysitism Miaphysitism () is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature ('' physis'', ). It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It differs from the Dyophysitism of ...

Monothelitism Monothelitism, or monotheletism was a theological doctrine in Christianity that was proposed in the 7th century, but was ultimately rejected by the sixth ecumenical council. It held Christ as having only one will and was thus contrary to dyoth ...

, gained a semi-independent status around the Amanus Mountains within the Byzantine-Arab border region. They initially agreed to serve as spies for the Arabs and to guard the Amanian Gate, but their loyalty was intermittent and they often sided with the Byzantines instead. Because of the numerous late antique and medieval fortifications built north of the Belen Pass on established west-to-east routes through the Amanus Mountains, there is some confusion about the location of “the” Amanian Gate. The most likely candidate is just south of the modern Bahçe, which is guarded by the castle of Sarvandikar, built in the 11th and 12th centuries during the period of the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

. To the south other fortresses guarding five separate Amanus passes between Cilicia Pedias and the Syria-to-Maraş highway include: Hasanbeyli, Karafrenk, Çardak, Kozcağız, Mitisin, and Mancılık. Just to the north of Bahçe on a road of considerable antiquity is the Arab fortress of Haruniye (the modern Düziçi), built in the late 8th century and later occupied by the Armenians and the Teutonic Knights.

References

{{Authority control Mountain passes of Turkey Landforms of Osmaniye Province Landforms of Gaziantep Province