Kyzkalesi

According to the reports of Strabo , in ancient times, the island of Krambus (Krambus), located near the coast of Korikos , used Mediterranean pirates as their base ^{[1] [2]} . The first fortifications on the island were built by Byzantines, probably under Emperor Alexey I Comnenus , who conquered Korikos around 1099 and began transforming it into a fortress city ^{[3] [4] [5]} . According to Anna Komnina , in 1104 her father sent the eunuch Eustache Kiminian at the head of the fleet with the mission to strengthen Corycos, which at that time lay in ruins, in order to protect it from the possible attack of the crusader Boehmind of Antioch , who broke off alliance with the empire ^{[6] [1 ] [7]} . After that, in the restored and fortified Korikos there was a Byzantine garrison led by Stratig Strabo ^[5] .

The ruler of Cilicia Armenia, Kostandin I (d. 1102/3), managed to briefly join Korikos and Krambus to his principality, but in 1137 they were finally returned under the rule of Byzantium. In 1163, Prince Toros II again included Korikos and Krambus in Cilician Armenia ^{[8] [9] [10]} . The fortress of Krambus was restored and fortified in the 12th century simultaneously with the Coricossian fortress ^[11] , most likely when Korikos and Krambus had already come under the rule of the Cilicia kingdom ^[5] .

According to the studies of C. Foss and D. Winfield, the construction of a complex of two fortresses in Korikos dates back to the 9th century, when the Arab threat forced the Byzantines to strengthen Korikos even more, the original land fortress of which was supposedly erected in the 5th – 6th centuries. According to them, during the events about which Anna Komnina narrated, only the repair of the fortresses of the 9th century was carried out. Robert Edwards, who relied, among other things, on Arab original sources, on the contrary, refers to the construction of the Korikos fortress complex to the 12th century. The first mention of the sea fortress on Krambus among Arab authors is contained in the work of al-Idrisi , dating from 1154. ^[12] It is obvious, however, that the construction of the castle on the island of Krambus was completed in 1199 , since the inscription found on the castle’s walls dated this year states that the fortress was built (and in fact completed or restored) by King Levon I ^{[13] [2]} .

It was probably from this time that the fortress on the island of Krambus and Korikos were part of a separate feudal holding, vassal to the king of Cilicia Armenia. There is evidence that "Baron Korikos" Simon attended the coronation of Prince Levon Rubenid king of Cilicia on January 6, 1198/1999 ^[5] . Korikos became a transit point for pilgrims on their way from Constantinople to the Holy Land . In 1191, King of France Philip II Augustus returned to his homeland from Crusades through Korikos ^[14] . There are inscriptions on the walls of the Kizkalesi fortress that mention the Cilician kings of Levon II (dated 1206) and Hetum I (dated 1251) ^[4] .

In 1267, Korikos and Krambus enter the Mediterranean trade system of the Republic of Genoa , probably as transshipment points, and since 1275 they have been involved in saffron trade with Mamluk Egypt . After the death of the last prince of Korikos Oshin II in 1329, the castles fell to the domain of King Levon IV ^{[9] [10]} .

At the beginning of the 14th century , the military threat from the Turkish Beyles of Anatolia increased significantly in the eastern Mediterranean. Especially dangerous for Korikos were Bei Karaman , whose possessions were located north of Korikos. By 1359, Korikos was cut off by the Turks from the rest of the territory of the Cilicia kingdom. Under pressure from the Karamanids, the Armenian population of Korikos appealed for help to the King of Cyprus . In 1360 - 1361, the King of Cyprus Pierre I de Lusignan took Korikos together with the island fortress under his protection, after which they were part of the Kingdom of Cyprus until 1448 ^{[9] [15] [4]} .

In March 1367, the fortress together with Korikos under the command of the constable Jean de Lusignan successfully withstood the siege of the Karamanid troops ^[16] , but in 1448 the island fortress and Korikos were captured by Karaman Ibrahim Bey II . In the years 1473-1474 Korikos and Krambus became part of the Ottoman Empire. Since then, the fortress of Kizkalesi no longer emerged from the rule of the Turkish state. In July 1482, Chehzade Jem , defeated by his brother Bayazet II , took refuge here for a short time before fleeing to Rhodes ^{[9] [10] [1]} .

The fortress is located on a small island, in ancient times bearing the name Krambus , or Krambus , two hundred - six hundred meters (depending on what part of the coast) from the coast in the harbor of the ancient city of Korikos , which is currently part of the Turkish resort town of Kyzkalesi . The modern area of ​​the island is about 15 thousand m²; most of the island is occupied by a polygonal fortress structure in terms of, consisting of eight wall-connected towers of triangular, quadrangular and circular shape. The diameter of the walls is 192 meters. The main bastion is located on the eastern end of the fortress and consists of three floors ^{[1] [2] [13] [17]} .

According to local tradition, the sea fortress was originally connected to the coast of Korikos by some isthmus, as evidenced by nautical charts, clearly showing the ridge of the upper seabed, extending from a small protrusion of the coastline towards the island. However, it was not known for certain whether this ridge was once the southern limit of the vast Korikos harbor and whether the island of Crumbus was connected to the land ^{[1] [7]} .

The entrance to the fortress is in its northern part. From the inside, along the western wall of the fortress, there is a well-preserved covered stone gallery, in which there is another access to the sea. Archaeological investigations carried out by the Mersinsky Museum, revealed the previously existing complex structure of the internal structures of the fortress, which included, among other things, the repeatedly rebuilt chapel, workshops and water storage tanks. The floors of the chapel and some other buildings were decorated with partially preserved mosaics ^{[2] [18]} .

• Alan, Hakan. Turkey - Istanbul: ASBOOK, 2010. - P. 138. - ISBN 978-975-01147-8-6 .
• Bliznyuk S.V. The Kings of Cyprus in the era of the Crusades. - SPb. : Aletheia, 2014. - 264 p. - (Historical book). - ISBN 978-5-91419-947-7 .
• Boase, Thomas Sherrer Ross ... [et al.] The king of Armenia / Edited by TSR Boase. - Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press Ltd., 1978. - 206 p. - ISBN 7073 0145 9.
• MERSİN: Ören Yerleri, Kaleleri, Müzeleri . - İstanbul: Mersin Valiliği, 2009. - p. 134-1141. - ISBN 975-585-787-9 . Archived copy from September 11, 2016 on Wayback Machine
• Vann, Robert L. Some observations on Byzantine Harbors in Isauria // Byzantine Timetable : journal. - M .: Science , 1998. - T. 55 (80). Part 2 . - p . 78-85 . - ISBN 5-02-009586-9 .

• "Paradise", "Hell" and other sights of Kizkalesi (Neopr.) . Internet edition "MK-Turkey" . Joint project of the publishing house "Moskovsky Komsomolets" and LLC "KPLK" (November 27, 2012). The appeal date is August 29, 2016.
• Kizkalesi Castle (English) . Castles.nl (2016). The appeal date is August 29, 2016.
• Erdemli (tour.) . Mersinkulturturizm.gov.tr . Mersin İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü (2015). The appeal date is August 29, 2016.
• Özkan, Şahin. Kızkalesi Söylencesi (Tour.) . Yumuktepe (2016). The appeal date is August 29, 2016.