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Toprakkale (District Municipality, Turkey)

Flag of Toprakkale - Image by Tomislav Šipek, 18 September 2013

Presentation of Toprakkale
Flag of Toprakkale

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Presentation of Toprakkale

The municipality of Toprakkale (16,791 inhabitants in 2012, 9,677 in the town proper; 12,530 ha) is located 10 km west of Osmaniye.

Ivan Sache, 13 March 2016

Flag of Toprakkale

The flag of Toprakkale (photo) is white with the municipality's emblem in the middle. "Belediyesi" means "Municipality".
The emblem of the municipality features the citadel that dominates the town.

Quoting the Castles.nl website:

Toprakkale is situated on a large, 65 m high, somewhat symmetrical mound consisting of an outcrop of dark basalt and the accumulated debris of many periods of human habitation, probably dating back as early as the 2nd millennium B.C. The mound, next to the Kara Suyu stream, gives a commanding view into the junction of five major roads; the roads to Osmaniye, Iskenderun and Kadirli and two roads to Adana. From this location the castle has clear intervisibility with the castles of Tumlu, Anavarza, Amuda, Bodrum and Çardak.
The castle was first mentioned as T'il during the First Crusade at the end of the 11th century. In 1137 it was taken by the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos during a campaign through Cilicia. The Armenian Baron Thoros II captured and garrisoned the castle in 1151. In May 1154 the Byzantine emperor invited Masud I, the Sultan of Konya, to attack Toprakkale, but the sultan failed to dislodge the Armenian garrison which was assisted by Frankish knights. It was recaptured by Byzantine troops under the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos four years later.
Sometime before 1170 it again came under Armenian control. In 1185 Toprakkale Castle was ceded to the Principality of Antioch as ransom for the return of Baron Ruben. Bohemond III, Prince of Antioch, became the castle's new lord. Within nine years it was back in Armenian hands. In the first part of the 13th century the castle was known as Thila and considered an impressive fortified complex also known as the Royal Black Castle.
In 1266 the Mamluks successfully laid siege to Toprakkale Castle and dislodged the Armenian troops. On a number of occasions thereafter it was reoccupied by the Armenians, until it became a permanent Mamluk possession in 1337. The Mamluks are credited with the second major building period, giving the castle its present appearance. The Egyptians held it until 1491 when the Ottomans secured control of Cilicia. Thereafter it was used as a barracks and abandoned.

Tomislav Šipek & Ivan Sache, 13 March 2016