Qal'at ar-Rum
Encyclopedia
Qalat (fortress)
The word qalat is Persian for 'fortified place.' It frequently occurs in place names. Qalats can range from castles like Rumkale to the mud-brick compound common throughout southwest Asia, particularly in tribal areas with pre-modern building practices....
on the river Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, 50 km west of Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
. It is called Hromkla in Kurdish, Rumkale in Turkish, Հռոմկլա (Hromkla) in Armenian,; the name means "Roman Castle (by extension also Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
)" in all cases.
Its strategic location was already known to the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, although the present structure is largely Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
and Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in origin, with extensive rebuilding following the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
conquest. After the Byzantine withdrawal from the region in the later eleventh century, it was held by Armenian princes until it was absorbed into the Frankish county of Edessa in the years following the First Crusade, and when it was known as 'Ranculat'. From 1151 until 1292 Hromkla served as the seat of the supreme head (catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
) of the Armenian church. In 1292 it was captured by the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
following a protracted siege, when it was officially renamed 'Qal'at al-Muslimin', a name which, however, seems not to have stuck.
The fortress, now situated across a peninsula created by the reservoir of Birecik Dam
Birecik Dam
The Birecik Dam, one of the 21 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project of Turkey, is located on the Euphrates River downstream of Atatürk Dam and upstream of Birecik town west of Province of Şanlıurfa in the southeastern region of Turkey. It was purposed for irrigation and energy production...
and within the administrative boundaries of Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
's Halfeti
Halfeti
Halfeti is a small farming district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, 120 km from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population 33,467 .Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at Birecik...
district, is currently accessible by boat either from the neighboring site of Zeugma or from the town of Halfeti
Halfeti
Halfeti is a small farming district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, 120 km from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population 33,467 .Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at Birecik...
. As of September 2011, it was not possible to land at the site; there seems to be extensive (re)building under way inside the fortress and on the external walls, and this seems to be being undertaken in an unsympathetic way. Much of the surrounding work of the fortress, along with local villages and farmland, has been flooded; it is not clear how much of the entrance way up from the western side remains undamaged by the rising waters.
External links
Qalat (fortress)
The word qalat is Persian for 'fortified place.' It frequently occurs in place names. Qalats can range from castles like Rumkale to the mud-brick compound common throughout southwest Asia, particularly in tribal areas with pre-modern building practices....
on the river Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, 50 km west of Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
. It is called Hromkla in Kurdish, Rumkale in Turkish, Հռոմկլա (Hromkla) in Armenian,; the name means "Roman Castle (by extension also Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
)" in all cases.
Its strategic location was already known to the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, although the present structure is largely Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
and Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in origin, with extensive rebuilding following the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
conquest. After the Byzantine withdrawal from the region in the later eleventh century, it was held by Armenian princes until it was absorbed into the Frankish county of Edessa in the years following the First Crusade, and when it was known as 'Ranculat'. From 1151 until 1292 Hromkla served as the seat of the supreme head (catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
) of the Armenian church. In 1292 it was captured by the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
following a protracted siege, when it was officially renamed 'Qal'at al-Muslimin', a name which, however, seems not to have stuck.
The fortress, now situated across a peninsula created by the reservoir of Birecik Dam
Birecik Dam
The Birecik Dam, one of the 21 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project of Turkey, is located on the Euphrates River downstream of Atatürk Dam and upstream of Birecik town west of Province of Şanlıurfa in the southeastern region of Turkey. It was purposed for irrigation and energy production...
and within the administrative boundaries of Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
's Halfeti
Halfeti
Halfeti is a small farming district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, 120 km from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population 33,467 .Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at Birecik...
district, is currently accessible by boat either from the neighboring site of Zeugma or from the town of Halfeti
Halfeti
Halfeti is a small farming district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, 120 km from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population 33,467 .Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at Birecik...
. As of September 2011, it was not possible to land at the site; there seems to be extensive (re)building under way inside the fortress and on the external walls, and this seems to be being undertaken in an unsympathetic way. Much of the surrounding work of the fortress, along with local villages and farmland, has been flooded; it is not clear how much of the entrance way up from the western side remains undamaged by the rising waters.
External links
Qalat (fortress)
The word qalat is Persian for 'fortified place.' It frequently occurs in place names. Qalats can range from castles like Rumkale to the mud-brick compound common throughout southwest Asia, particularly in tribal areas with pre-modern building practices....
on the river Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, 50 km west of Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
. It is called Hromkla in Kurdish, Rumkale in Turkish, Հռոմկլա (Hromkla) in Armenian,; the name means "Roman Castle (by extension also Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
)" in all cases.
Its strategic location was already known to the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, although the present structure is largely Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
and Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in origin, with extensive rebuilding following the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
conquest. After the Byzantine withdrawal from the region in the later eleventh century, it was held by Armenian princes until it was absorbed into the Frankish county of Edessa in the years following the First Crusade, and when it was known as 'Ranculat'. From 1151 until 1292 Hromkla served as the seat of the supreme head (catholicos
Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases is borne by the designated head of an autonomous church, in which case the holder might have other titles such as Patriarch...
) of the Armenian church. In 1292 it was captured by the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
following a protracted siege, when it was officially renamed 'Qal'at al-Muslimin', a name which, however, seems not to have stuck.
The fortress, now situated across a peninsula created by the reservoir of Birecik Dam
Birecik Dam
The Birecik Dam, one of the 21 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project of Turkey, is located on the Euphrates River downstream of Atatürk Dam and upstream of Birecik town west of Province of Şanlıurfa in the southeastern region of Turkey. It was purposed for irrigation and energy production...
and within the administrative boundaries of Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
's Halfeti
Halfeti
Halfeti is a small farming district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, 120 km from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population 33,467 .Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at Birecik...
district, is currently accessible by boat either from the neighboring site of Zeugma or from the town of Halfeti
Halfeti
Halfeti is a small farming district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, 120 km from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population 33,467 .Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at Birecik...
. As of September 2011, it was not possible to land at the site; there seems to be extensive (re)building under way inside the fortress and on the external walls, and this seems to be being undertaken in an unsympathetic way. Much of the surrounding work of the fortress, along with local villages and farmland, has been flooded; it is not clear how much of the entrance way up from the western side remains undamaged by the rising waters.
External links
