Zerzevan Castle ( ), also known as Samachi Castle, is a ruined

Eastern Roman 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

castle, a former important military base, in

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province (; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. Its area is 15,101 km2, and its population is 1,804,880 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Diyarbakır. The Kurdish majority province ...

, southeastern Turkey. Archaeological excavations at the site revealed the existence of underground structures, among them a temple of

Mithraism Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman Empire, Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian peoples, Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mit ...

, a mystery religion. The castle was used as a civilian settlement between the 1890s and the 1960s. The site is partly open to tourism.

Etymology

Some travellers mention the name of this place as "Kasr Zerzaua" in 18th century while Evliya Celebi, an Ottoman traveller who lived in 17th century mentions in his Seyahatname (volume IV) about this place as "Zerzivan Valley" while travelling from Diyarbakir to

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

. The name of Zerzevan derives from Kurdish word of "zêr" (gold) and it "is the changed form of Zerzaua mentioned by the travellers and it is the name given to the settlement while the village" was located in the same place. Zêr in Kurdish is Gold and Zîv is Silver (Gold and Silver), castle of gold and silver.

Location

Zerzevan Castle was built in the 4th century by the

Eastern Roman 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

as a military base on the ancient trade route between

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, it is ...

and

. It was in use until the 7th century. The castle is situated on the top of a -high rocky hill next to Demirölçek village about southeast of Çınar town in

on the highway D.950 to Mardin. It is located about from Diyarbakır.

Archaeological works

The first archaeological excavations took place in the summer months of 2014. The works were initially carried out by a team of 35 led by an archaeologist from

Dicle University Dicle University (, ) is a public university located in Diyarbakır, Turkey, and one of the largest higher education institution. Vocational schools are located in Ergani, Çermik, Çüngüş, Bismil, and Silvan, Turkey, Silvan History Dicle Uni ...

, under the supervision of the

Diyarbakır Archaeological Museum Diyarbakır Archaeological Museum is an archaeological museum in Diyarbakır, 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 So ...

. In 2015, the size of the team working at the site increased to 60. In 2020, archaeologists found the entrance of the castle. In 2021, archaeologists discovered a flute with six holes and a bronze ring with a key which was used to open a chest. Both items dated back to the 4th and 5th centuries AD.

History

The castle was an Eastern Roman military base and a strategic

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

settlement, dominating the entire valley and controlling the ancient road between

Amida Amida can mean : Places and jurisdictions * Amida (Mesopotamia), now Diyarbakır, an ancient city in Asian Turkey; it is (nominal) seat of: ** The Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida ** The Latin titular Metropolitan see of Amida of the Ro ...

(now Diyarbakır) and

Dara Dara is a given name in several languages. Dara, Daraa, or DARA may also refer to: Geography Africa * Dar'a, region in northern Ethiopia * Dara (woreda), region in southern Ethiopia Asia * Dara (Mesopotamia), an archeological site in Mard ...

(now Mardin). The castle played a key role due to its location on the easternmost border protecting the Roman Empire. It marked the intersection and coalescence of the cultures in the west and the east. The place was known as Samachi in

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

. It was the site of heavy fighting between 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 ...

and the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

. Jewelry found in the castle also indicates that the civilian population and military personnel resided together, with soldiers living alongside their family members. It was large enough to sustain a population of around one thousand. Restoration and reconstruction works, which took place during the reigns of

Eastern Roman emperors The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Anastasius I Dicorus Anastasius I Dicorus (; – 9 July 518) was Roman emperor from 491 to 518. A career civil servant, he came to the throne at the age of 61 after being chosen by Ariadne, the wife of his predecessor, Zeno. His reign was characterized by refor ...

(r. 491–518) and

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(r. 527–565), saw the castle develop into its final state prior to its ruin. The castle was most likely in use until 639 with the arrival of

Arab Muslims Arab Muslims () are the Arabs who adhere to Islam. They are the largest subdivision of the Arab people and the largest ethnic group among Muslims globally, followed by Bengalis and Punjabis. Likewise, they comprise the majority of the population ...

in the beginning of the

Arab–Byzantine wars The Arab–Byzantine wars or Muslim–Byzantine wars were a series of wars from the 7th to 11th centuries between multiple Arab dynasties and the Byzantine Empire. The Muslim Arab Caliphates conquered large parts of the Christian Byzantine empir ...

Castle

The castle stretches over an area of . The castle contains structures both above and below ground. Its ruined walls are long and high, and it has a -high

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

. Inside the castle, there are ruins in a wide area and a rock-

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

. In the north of the castle, which is at a lower elevation, residences and streets were erected while in the south public buildings were constructed on the higher terrain. A church building facing east-west remains one of the most well-conserved public buildings. Other public buildings include the palace, administrative building, baths, cereal storage,

arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, and 54

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

s. Military and medical material, jewelry, ornaments, and bronze coins were also found during the excavations. In 2016, a subterranean church and secret passageways were discovered. The discovered underground secret passageway was not in use for about 3,000 years and the subterranean church was closed around 1,500 years ago. A

Mithraic Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion focused on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras was link ...

underground temple and a subterranean sanctuary, able to hold 400 people, were also unearthed. In 2017, four more underground locations were discovered, where further excavation works are necessary to unearth them.

Mithras Temple

The Mithraeum is one of the best-preserved structures of the castle. The 35 m² structure carved into the main rock is 7 m long, 5 m wide, and 2.5 m high. On the eastern wall, there are columns carved into the rock, a large niche in the middle flanked by two smaller ones. The flaming crown, one of the symbols of

, is carved on the eastern wall. Right in front of the left-hand small niche there is a carved pool on the ground. Some inscriptions and symbols are visible at the entrance gate of the structure.Zerzevan Castle and Mithraeum
Retrieved 2023-09-29.

Use as civilian settlement

A new settlement was created within the castle once again in the 1890s, when a family moved into the castle. As the population grew to over 30 households, the residents ultimately abandoned the castle in the 1960s, descended to a place about from the castle, and founded a village under the name Zerzevan. This village is called Demirölçek today.

Gallery - Views of Zerzevan Castle

File:Zerzevan Kalesi 1.jpg File:Zerzevan Kalesi 2.jpg File:Zerzevan Kalesi 4.jpg File:Zerzevan Kalesi 5.jpg

References

External links

* {{Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey Byzantine fortifications in Turkey 4th-century fortifications Ruined castles in Turkey Archaeological sites in Southeastern Anatolia Buildings and structures in Diyarbakır Province Çınar, Diyarbakır Tourist attractions in Diyarbakır Province World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Mithraea