Tell Khalid
Tell Khalid or Tall Khalid (also known as Tilhalit in Turkish and Trialeth in Latin) is an archaeological mound in Gaziantep Province, Turkey. It is situated along the eastern or upper bank of the Sajur River and immediately east of the village of Asmacik. At the summit of the mound are the remains of a medieval castle. During the 12th century, the castle was contested at times by the Crusaders, Zengids and Ayyubids..
Tilhalit | |
 .svg.png){kind=icon} Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Tall Khalid, Tall Halid |
|---|---|
| Location | Gaziantep Province, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 36°46′03″N 37°38′19″E |
| Type | Medieval castle |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruins |
Location
Tell Khalid is situated in Turkey (just north of the Syrian border) at the head of the Sajur River, a tributary of the Euphrates.[1] It is approximately 80 kilometers (50 mi) northeast of Aleppo in Syria.[2] In the late 19th century, it was described as a "remarkable and chiefly artificial" tell (mound), shaped like a "truncated cone".[3] Its base measured 90 by 60 meters (300 ft × 200 ft) and its height was 53 meters (174 ft) above sea level.[3] The Turkish village of Asmacik is located just west of the mound.
History
On 29 November 1114, an earthquake devastated Tell Khalid, along with numerous other places across the region of Aleppo.[1] It was damaged in another earthquake in October–December 1138.[4] In the autumn or winter of 1150, it was captured by the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din from the County of Edessa, a Crusader state, which was entirely conquered by the Zengids and other Muslim powers by July 1151.[5] On 17 May 1183, Saladin, a former emir of Nur ad-Din, turned Ayyubid sultan, captured Tell Bashir as part of his general movement to capture Aleppo, which he besieged four days later, from the Zengids.[2] Saladin's brother, Buri, had already been besieging Tell Khalid, but its town and fortress surrendered without fighting upon Saladin's arrival there.[2] It was thereafter bestowed to Badr ad-Din Dildirim al-Yaruqi, the Turkmen lord of nearby Tell Bashir and ally of Saladin.[2] He continued to hold Tell Bashir well after the death of Saladin, and into the 12th century during the latter's son az-Zahir Ghazi's rule over the Emirate of Aleppo, which included Tell Bashir.[6] By 1218, it was firmly in the possession of az-Zahir Ghazi's son and successor, al-Aziz Muhammad.[7] There is scant information about Tell Khalid in the historical record after the Ayyubid era.
References
- Ambraseys 2004, p. 741.
- Lyons 1982, p. 195.
- Chesney 1850, p. 419.
- Ambraseys 2004, p. 744.
- Setton 1969, p. 517.
- Humphreys 1977, p. 82.
- Khoury 1996, p. 56.
Bibliography
- Ambraseys, Nicholas N. (April–June 2004). "The 12th Century Seismic Paroxysm in the Middle East: A Historical Perspective". Annals of Geophysics. Istituto nazionale di geofisica. 47 (2–3): 733–758.
- Chesney, Francis Rawdon (1850). The Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans. p. 419.
- Humphreys, Stephen (1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-263-7.
- Khoury, Nuha Samir (1996). Aleppo and its Historian Kamāl al-Dīn ibn al-ʻAdīm: A Historiographical Examination of bughyat al-Ṭalab fī Taʾrīkh Ḥalab. University of Michigan.
- Lyons, M. C.; Jackson, D. E. P. (1982). Saladin: the Politics of the Holy War. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-31739-9.
- Setton, Kenneth S. (1969) [1955]. Baldwin, Marshall W. (ed.). A History of the Crusades: The First Hundred Years (Second ed.). The University of Wisconsin Press.