Author
Harput Gate and Mardin Gate: Ahmed bin Jamil Al-Ameedi; The High Wall: Ibrahim bin Jaafar; Seven Brothers Tower: Yahya bin Ibrahim Al-Sharafi; Goat zodiac sign: Nasser bin Habib; Melekshah Tower: Abu Al-Nasr Mahmoud bin Abdul-Walid.
Author Original
بوابة هاربوت وبوابة ماردين أحمد بن جميل العميدي؛ الجدار العالي إبراهيم بن جعفر؛ برج الأخوة السبعة يحيى بن إبراهيم الشرفي؛ برج الماعز ناصر بن حبيب؛ برج ملكشاه أبو النصر محمود بن عبد الوليد
Publication Date
Harput Gate: 297/910; Mardin Gate: 297/910; Malikshah Tower: 464-485 / 1072-1092; Urfa Gate: 579 / 1183; High wall: 605 / 1209; Tower of the Seven Brothers: 596-619/1200-1222
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;tr;Mon01;2;ar
Library Location
Diyarbakir, Türkiye
Date
Harput Gate: 297/910; Mardin Gate: 297/910; Malikshah Tower: 464-485 / 1072-1092; Urfa Gate: 579 / 1183; High wall: 605 / 1209; Tower of the Seven Brothers: 596-619/1200-1222
Notes
The city was known in ancient times as Amida, Kara Amed, and took its new name in 1938. It is the largest city in southeastern Anatolia. It was founded on a 650-meter-high plateau on the right bank of the upper Tigris River. The city is surrounded by walls on all sides, and covers an area of 1,700 meters from east to west, and 1,300 meters from north to south. The total length of the city walls is 5 km. The walls were built on steep rocks on the eastern side, and are surrounded on the other sides by water ditches about 6 meters deep and 15 meters wide, which are now filled with dirt. The height of the main wall ranges between 8 and 12 meters and its width is between 4 and 5 metres. The walls are reinforced by 78 towers. There is a gate in each of the four main directions: the Tigris Gate or New Gate from the east, the Harput Gate or Mountain from the north, the Urfa Gate or Anatolia from the west, and the Mardin Gate or Bab al-Tal from the south. The inner fortress, the main site of the city, includes an additional hidden gate, the 'secret gate', leading to the bank of the Tigris River. With the exception of the Al-Hosn Mosque, it is known that the buildings that were located within the inner fortress, such as the Artuqi Palace and the Iwan of Muhammad Pasha, no longer exist now. It is known that there are three huge towers to which decoration was added during the Turkish era, and most of their parts have remained in good condition until today, and they deserve attention. The high wall between the Urfa and Mardin gates takes a semicircular shape. The upper and lower sections of the inscription, engraved on its front, show two double-headed eagles, two lions with human heads, and two bulls. As for the Tower of the Seven Brothers, it resembles a high wall in terms of design style and facade decorations. The carved inscription on its outer surface is also decorated with a two-headed eagle and two lion images. As for the Goat Tower, erected near the Mardin Gate, it remained unadorned, with an inscription written in Arabic in Kufic script. In addition to the towers, the four main gates, open to the city, are decorated with symbols indicating power and influence, such as double-headed dragons, hunting knights, lions, and scenes of battles between lions and bulls. Most of the fort’s walls are built of stone cut from black basalt with limestone edges here and there.
Sample Text
Ertan Daş “Dyarbakir Castle” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;tr;Mon01;2;ar
