Rhabdion ( gr, Ῥάβδιον, translit=Rhábdion) was a

Late Antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

fortress of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

, located on the

Tur Abdin Tur Abdin ( syr, ܛܽܘܪ ܥܰܒ݂ܕܺܝܢ or ܛܘܼܪ ܥܲܒ݂ܕܝܼܢ, Ṭūr ʿAḇdīn) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the bor ...

plateau to the northeast of

Nisibis Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...

on the border with the Sasanian Empire. It is now identified with Hatem Tai, a fortification () in south-eastern

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

. It was probably built, along with Amida (

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

) and

Cepha Hasankeyf ( ar, حصن كيفا, translit=Ḥiṣn Kayfa‘, ku, Heskîf, hy, Հասանքեյֆ, translit=, el, Κιφας, translit=Kifas, lat, Cepha, syr, ܚܣܢܐ ܕܟܐܦܐ, Ḥesno d-Kifo) is a town and district located along the Ti ...

(

Hasankeyf Hasankeyf ( ar, حصن كيفا, translit=Ḥiṣn Kayfa‘, ku, Heskîf, hy, Հասանքեյֆ, translit=, el, Κιφας, translit=Kifas, lat, Cepha, syr, ܚܣܢܐ ܕܟܐܦܐ, Ḥesno d-Kifo) is a town and district located along the Ti ...

), by the emperor

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...

(). After the cession by the emperor

Jovian Jovian is the adjectival form of Jupiter and may refer to: * Jovian (emperor) (Flavius Iovianus Augustus), Roman emperor (363–364 AD) * Jovians and Herculians, Roman imperial guard corps * Jovian (lemur), a Coquerel's sifaka known for ''Zoboomaf ...

() of the five Transtigritine provinces and some border forts to the Sasanian Empire under

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest ...

() as a result of the Persians' victory in

Julian's Persian War Julian's Persian expedition was the last military undertaking of the Roman emperor Julian which began in March 363. It was a war against the Sasanian Empire which was ruled by Shapur II. Aiming for the Sasanian winter capital Ctesiphon, Julian ...

, Rhabdion became the easternmost Roman frontier outpost, perhaps even ''de facto'' exclave in Persian territory, since the only road to it appears to have been from the south, passing across the plain by the Persian-controlled city of

. The Hatem Tai ''kalesi'' was visited in the early 1860s by

John George Taylor John George Taylor (active 1851–1861; also known as J E Taylor and J G Taylor) was a British official of the Foreign Office, and also an important early archaeologist investigating the antiquities of the Middle East. He was one of the first ar ...

, then British consul in Diyarbakır, who sketched its outline in his ''Travels in Kurdistan'' (''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society'', Vol. 35, 1865). At the time, the Hatem Tai ''kalesi'' was identified with another ancient fortress known from the history of the

Roman–Persian Wars The Roman–Persian Wars, also known as the Roman–Iranian Wars, were a series of conflicts between states of the Greco-Roman world and two successive Iranian empires: the Parthian and the Sasanian. Battles between the Parthian Empire and the ...

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

Sisauranon Sisauranon, Sisauronon ( gr, Σισαυράνων), Sisaurana, or Sarbane was a Sasanian fortress city in the province of Arbayistan, located to the east of Nisibis at the edge of the north Syrian plain. It was situated near the border with the By ...

. The ''kalesi'' may have given its name to the region of

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control Byzantine fortifications in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Roman–Persian Wars Byzantine sites in Turkey Mesopotamia (Roman province)