Historic · Çınar, Diyarbakır
Zerzevan Castle
A Roman frontier garrison with structures above and below ground, on the UNESCO Tentative List.
- History
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Zerzevan Castle stands on the Diyarbakır-Mardin highway in Çınar district; the settlement's history goes back to the Assyrian period, while the fortress's main military structures date to the 3rd century CE, under the Severan dynasty. Within an area enclosed by 1,200 metres of walls, above-ground structures such as watchtowers, a church, an administration building and a rock altar stand alongside an extensive underground city with cisterns, an underground church, a shelter and a Mithras temple. The castle and its Mithras temple are on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.