Ankara Castle
Panoramic view of Ankara Castle
Ankara Castle is located in Ankara
Ankara Castle
Location within Ankara
Ankara Castle is located in Turkey
Ankara Castle
Ankara Castle (Turkey)
Established8th century BC
LocationAltındağ, Ankara, Turkey
Coordinates39°56′30″N 32°51′54″E / 39.94167°N 32.86500°E / 39.94167; 32.86500
TypeCastle
OwnerPhrygia (8th century BC)
Galatia (278 BC)
Roman Empire (25 BC)
Byzantine Empire (4th century)
Seljuq Turks (1071)
Ottoman Empire (1356)
Turkey (1923)
Websitewww.ankarakalesi.com

Ankara Castle (Turkish: Ankara Kalesi) is a historic fortification in the city of Ankara, Turkey, constructed in or after the 7th century. The earliest fortification on the site was constructed in the 8th century BC by the Phrygians and rebuilt in 278 BC by the Galatians. The castle was rebuilt or renovated under the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman empires.

History and architecture

The castle is composed of an inner line of walls with closely spaced towers that encloses an area of about 350m by 150m, and an outer line of walls with towers some 40m apart. Both sets of walls were constructed using large quantities of reused masonry. The exact dates of their construction are uncertain, but both postdate the capture and destruction of Ankara by the Persians in, probably, 622 AD (Foss considers that the inner walls may date from the reign of Constans II; the outer walls are generally believed to have been erected slightly later).[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Clive Foss, Late Antique and Byzantine Ankara in Dumbarton Oaks Papers Vol. 31 (1977), pp. 70-72.
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