Van Fortress: Difference between revisions
JacktheBrown (talk | contribs) Added spaces Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
|||
(5 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Massive stone fortification in Turkey}} |
{{Short description|Massive stone fortification in Turkey}} |
||
{{Infobox |
{{Infobox military installation |
||
| name = Van Fortress |
| name = Van Fortress |
||
| partof = |
| partof = |
||
Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
}} |
}} |
||
The '''Fortress of Van''' ([[Armenian language|Armenian]]: Վանի Բերդ, also known as '''Van Citadel'''; {{ |
The '''Fortress of Van''' ([[Armenian language|Armenian]]: Վանի Բերդ, also known as '''Van Citadel'''; {{langx|ku|'''Kela Wanê'''}}; {{langx|tr|'''Van Kalesi'''}}) is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of [[Urartu]] during the 9th to 7th centuries BC, and is the largest example of its kind. It overlooks the ruins of [[Tushpa]], the ancient Urartian capital during the 9th century, which was centered upon the steep-sided bluff where the fortress now sits. A number of similar fortifications were built throughout the Urartian kingdom, usually cut into hillsides and outcrops in places where modern-day [[Armenia]], [[Turkey]] and [[Iran]] meet. Successive groups such as the Medes, Achaemenids, Armenians, Parthians, Romans, Sassanid Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Seljuks, Safavids, Afsharids, Ottomans and Russians each controlled the fortress at one time or another. The ancient fortress is located just west of [[Van, Turkey|Van]] and east of [[Lake Van]] in the [[Van Province]] of [[Turkey]]. |
||
[[Silva Tipple New Lake]] led an American expedition to the ruins in 1938-40.<ref> |
[[Silva Tipple New Lake]] led an American expedition to the ruins in 1938-40.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHXhAAAAMAAJ&q=tipple |title=Who was who in America |date=1943 |publisher=Marquis-Who's Who |isbn=978-0-8379-0205-0 |language=en}}</ref> Most of the finds and field records from this were lost in the sinking of the [[SS Athenia (1922)|S.S. Athenia]] in 1940. |
||
The lower parts of the walls of Van Citadel were constructed of unmortared basalt, while the rest was built from mud bricks. |
The lower parts of the walls of Van Citadel were constructed of unmortared basalt, while the rest was built from mud bricks. |
||
Such fortresses were used for regional control, rather than as a defense against foreign armies. The ruins of this fortress sit outside the modern city of [[Van, Turkey|Van]], where they support walls built in the [[medieval]] era.<ref>The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World</ref>{{full citation needed|date=October 2019}} |
Such fortresses were used for regional control, rather than as a defense against foreign armies. The ruins of this fortress sit outside the modern city of [[Van, Turkey|Van]], where they support walls built in the [[medieval]] era.<ref>The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World</ref>{{full citation needed|date=October 2019}} |
||
Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
== Gallery == |
== Gallery == |
||
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160"> |
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160"> |
||
Van castle, Turkey.jpg|Citadel with the ruins of the city of Tushpa below |
Van castle, Turkey.jpg|Citadel with the ruins of the city of Tushpa below |
||
Van kalesi.jpg|Van Fortress |
Van kalesi.jpg|Van Fortress |
||
TushpaMain02.jpg|The walls of the fortress (Russian Archeological Society, 1916) |
TushpaMain02.jpg|The walls of the fortress (Russian Archeological Society, 1916) |
||
Sarduri annals 1915.jpg|Annals of Sarduri (1915) |
Sarduri annals 1915.jpg|Annals of Sarduri (1915) |
||
Tushpa Stairs01.jpg|Stairs at the fortress |
Tushpa Stairs01.jpg|Stairs at the fortress |
||
Xerxes Cuneiform Van.JPG|[[Xerxes I's inscription at Van|Xerxes I's inscription near the Van Citadel]] |
Xerxes Cuneiform Van.JPG|[[Xerxes I's inscription at Van|Xerxes I's inscription near the Van Citadel]] |
||
</gallery> |
</gallery> |
||
Line 60: | Line 60: | ||
== External links == |
== External links == |
||
{{Commons category|Van Fortress}} |
|||
* [https://www.livius.org/aa-ac/achaemenians/XV.html Cuneiform Inscription at Van] |
* [https://www.livius.org/aa-ac/achaemenians/XV.html Cuneiform Inscription at Van] |
||
* [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/vankalesi Extensive picture site of the Kale area and the old town] |
* [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/vankalesi Extensive picture site of the Kale area and the old town] |
||
{{Van, Turkey}} |
{{Van, Turkey}} |
||
{{Urartian cities}} |
{{Urartian cities}} |
||
Line 67: | Line 69: | ||
{{Castles in Turkey}} |
{{Castles in Turkey}} |
||
{{Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey}} |
{{Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey}} |
||
{{Authority control}} |
|||
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Eastern Anatolia]] |
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Eastern Anatolia]] |
||
[[Category:Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire]] |
[[Category:Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire]] |
||
[[Category:Castles in Turkey]] |
[[Category:Castles in Turkey]] |
||
[[Category:Van, Turkey]] |
[[Category:Military history of Van, Turkey]] |
||
[[Category:Urartian cities]] |
[[Category:Urartian cities]] |
||
[[Category:Castles in Van Province]] |
[[Category:Castles in Van Province]] |
Latest revision as of 18:16, 31 October 2024
Van Fortress | |
---|---|
Van, Turkey | |
Coordinates | 38°30′09″N 43°20′24″E / 38.50250°N 43.34000°E |
Type | Fortress |
Site information | |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Large sections of walls are still standing. |
Site history | |
Built | 8th and 7th centuries BC |
Materials | Unmortared basalt (lower walls) and mud-bricks |
Demolished | Partially |
The Fortress of Van (Armenian: Վանի Բերդ, also known as Van Citadel; Kurdish: Kela Wanê; Turkish: Van Kalesi) is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC, and is the largest example of its kind. It overlooks the ruins of Tushpa, the ancient Urartian capital during the 9th century, which was centered upon the steep-sided bluff where the fortress now sits. A number of similar fortifications were built throughout the Urartian kingdom, usually cut into hillsides and outcrops in places where modern-day Armenia, Turkey and Iran meet. Successive groups such as the Medes, Achaemenids, Armenians, Parthians, Romans, Sassanid Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Seljuks, Safavids, Afsharids, Ottomans and Russians each controlled the fortress at one time or another. The ancient fortress is located just west of Van and east of Lake Van in the Van Province of Turkey.
Silva Tipple New Lake led an American expedition to the ruins in 1938-40.[1] Most of the finds and field records from this were lost in the sinking of the S.S. Athenia in 1940.
The lower parts of the walls of Van Citadel were constructed of unmortared basalt, while the rest was built from mud bricks.
Such fortresses were used for regional control, rather than as a defense against foreign armies. The ruins of this fortress sit outside the modern city of Van, where they support walls built in the medieval era.[2][full citation needed]
The "Royal Stable"
[edit]At the Van Citadel, there is a "royal stable" (Siršini) of the dimensions of 20 m length, 9 m width and 2,5 m height, carved in rock. Oxen and sheep were held here to be sacrificed for the Urartian gods, according to the inscriptions discovered at the location.[3]
Achaemenid inscription
[edit]A stereotyped trilingual inscription of Xerxes the Great from the 5th century BC is inscribed upon a smoothed section of the rock face, some 20 meters (60 feet) above the ground near the fortress. The niche was originally carved out by Xerxes' father, King Darius, but left the surface blank. The inscription survives in near perfect condition and is divided into three columns of 27 lines written in (from left to right) Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian.
Gallery
[edit]-
Citadel with the ruins of the city of Tushpa below
-
Van Fortress
-
The walls of the fortress (Russian Archeological Society, 1916)
-
Annals of Sarduri (1915)
-
Stairs at the fortress
References
[edit]- ^ Who was who in America. Marquis-Who's Who. 1943. ISBN 978-0-8379-0205-0.
- ^ The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World
- ^ Çiftçi, Ali (2017). The Socio-Economic Organisation of the Urartian Kingdom. Brill. pp. 113–114. ISBN 9789004347588.