- Type
- Ruin
- Coordinates
- 37.2708°, 37.8379°
History
The stronghold on a steep spur where the Merzimen stream meets the Euphrates guarded a river crossing as early as antiquity. The Armenians called it Hromkla, and the Turks Rumkale, the Castle of the Romans. Around 1150 the Armenian Catholicos Gregory III bought it from the widow of Count Joscelin II of Edessa and moved the seat of the Armenian Church here. His successors resided at the fortress, among them the poet and theologian Nerses Shnorhali, and in the 13th century the illuminator Toros Roslin worked here. In 1292, after a long siege, the Mamluks of Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil took the fortress and carried off the Catholicos as a prisoner.
What to see
Ruined walls, towers and gates run along a rocky ridge high above the Euphrates, now flooded by the Birecik Dam. Remains of a monastery, a church and a mosque survive, along with cisterns and a deep rock-cut well reached by steps. The most popular approach is by boat from the small town of Halfeti, and the view of the rock and walls from below is as striking as the view from the top.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1477613
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