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

Altınözü Altınözü (, ''el-Kusayr'') is a municipality and district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 392 km2, and its population is 60,344 (2022). It is in the south-east of Hatay Province, on the border between Turkey and Syria. The mayor is R ...

district of the

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

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 ...

, 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 Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and History of Syria#Medieval era, Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of ...

out of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

. 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 of Anjou (, or ''Foulques''; – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the king of Jerusalem from 1131 until 1143 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Melisende. Previously, he was the count of Anjou as Fulk V from 1109 ...

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

Latin Patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

Aimery of Limoges Aimery or Aymery of Limoges (died 1196), also ''Aimericus'' in Latin, ''Aimerikos'' in Greek language, Greek and ''Hemri'' in Armenian language, Armenian, was a Roman Catholic ecclesiarch in Crusader States, Frankish Outremer and the fourth Latin ...

, 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 Normans, 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 Sicil ...

Bohemond III Bohemond III of Antioch, also known as Bohemond the Child or the Stammerer (; 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 Poitiers. Bohemond ascended to th ...

, following the orders of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), 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 Papal election, ...

, for matters in his private life. Bohemond III who was angered by that decision, besieged Cursat until

King Baldwin IV Baldwin IV (1161–1185), known as the Leper King, was the king of Jerusalem from 1174 until his death in 1185. He was admired by historians and his contemporaries for his dedication to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the face of his debilitating ...

of Jerusalem intervened. In 1188, Aimery prevented the troops of the Ayyubid sultan

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

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 name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

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

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent 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 universities of Parma and Bolo ...

had ordered that the entire church tax revenue from

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

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 (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...

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

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

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, ancient Pagrae (; ), is a town and its nearby castle in the İskenderun district of Turkey, in the Amanus Mountains. Strabo's ''Geographica'' mentions it as being on the borders of Gindarus, "a natural stronghold" leading to ...

. 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 Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. 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 Crusader castles

History

See also

References

Bibliography