Anavarza (Anazarbus) and Castle
Anavarza Kalesi · Anazarbus · Anavarza Castle · Caesarea ad Anazarbum
Hellenistic to medieval (c.100 BCE–1375 CE)·Cappadocian → Roman → Byzantine → Armenian → Mamluk·🇹🇷 Adana Province, Cilicia, Turkey
About
About Anavarza (Anazarbus) and Castle
Mighty late-Roman to Armenian fortress capping a 150 m limestone ridge over the ruined Cilician capital. Below, Anazarbus preserves a 1.5 km double wall with 20 bastions, four gateways, theatre, stadium (Cilicia’s only), and the Triumphal Arch of victory. Dioscurides wrote De Materia Medica here while serving the logistics base for the Euphrates frontier; the city was metropolis of Cilicia Secunda (526 CE earthquake level). The upper castle has three wards with Armenian curtain walls, rock-cut cisterns and the apse of the Church of the Apostles converted to a mosque. View from Dilekkaya’s modern village reveals Roman grid still visible in crop marks.
Why it mattersCapital of Cilicia Secunda and Armenian Cilicia; best-preserved stadium-city pair with Anazarbus theatre.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Dioscurides herb garden location within city?
- 02Exact Armenian palace hall?
Theories
- 01Stadium built for Cilician Games honoring Septimius Severus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- City founded Hellenistic (Tarcondimotus c.67 BCE), walls Diocletian–Justinian
- Period
- Hellenistic to medieval (c.100 BCE–1375 CE)
- Culture
- Cappadocian → Roman → Byzantine → Armenian → Mamluk
- Builders
- King Tarcondimotus, Romans, Byzantines, Armenian Rubenids
- Purpose
- Frontier metropolis and later Armenian capital of Cilicia
- Abandoned
- 1375 CE (Mamluk sack)
- Rediscovered
- 1835 Ainsworth; 2013 Adana Museum comprehensive survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
67 BCE
Tarcondimotus builds hill fortress
526 CE
Earthquake destroys city; Justinian rebuilds
1137
Armenian King Leo I makes capital
On the ground
Structures & features
37.2542° N · 35.8997° E · 180 m · 2 mapped features
Triumphal Arch
archTriple-bayed Roman victory arch on valley approach
37.2550° N · 35.8980° ECastle Upper Ward and Apostles Church
castleTop ward with Armenian walls and church apse
37.2548° N · 35.9010° E
Gallery