Rumkale

Rumkale
Rumkale
Rumkale, Gaziantep, Turkey
	The Rumkale Fortress
	Rumkale
Coordinates	37°16′19″N 37°50′17″E / 37.27194°N 37.83806°E
Type	Fortress

Rumkale (lit. 'Roman Castle'; Armenian: Հռոմկլա, romanized: Hromgla^[1]), also known as Urumgala,^[2] is a fortress on the Euphrates, located in the province of Gaziantep and 50 km west of Şanlıurfa.

Its strategic location was already known to the Assyrians, although the present structure is largely Hellenistic and Roman in origin. It is said that John, an apostle of Jesus, lived in Rumkale during Roman times.^[3] The site was occupied by various Byzantine and Armenian warlords during the Middle Ages. During the 12th century, it also became the seat of an Armenian bishop. In 1179, a synod took place in Rumkale, attempting a compromise between the Greeks and the Armenians. From 1203 to 1293, it served as the residence of the Catholicos of the Armenian Church.^[4] In 1293, it was captured by the Mamluks of Egypt following a protracted siege who then named it Qal'at al-Muslimin.

Access

The fortress, now situated across a peninsula created by the reservoir of Birecik Dam and within the administrative boundaries of Gaziantep's Nizip district, is currently accessible by boat either from the neighboring site of Zeugma or from the town of Halfeti. As of March 2017, it was not possible to land at the site; extensive (re)building is underway inside the fortress and on the external walls.^{[citation needed]}