Amouda

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Amouda from south

Amouda (also Amudah, Amutay, today Turkish Hemite Kalesi ) is a small Armenian ruined castle in the village Gökçedam (formerly Hemite ) in the central district of the Turkish province of Osmaniye.

Geographical Location

The Amouda castle is located in the east of the village Gökçedam on a rocky cone, about 40 meters from the plane rises, about 300 meters northwest of the River Ceyhan. The area was part of the Cilician Plain. At this point in the Çukurova plain leading from the north via the Antitaurus to Syria streets crossed in ancient times those who joined Cilicia with eastern Anatolia. The importance of this intersection shows the nearby Hittite rock relief on the banks of Ceyhan.

History

The builders of the fortress are not known. It was conquered in 1145 by Thoros II, who ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. 1211/12 on suitable Leo II the castle during a visit Hermann von Salza the Teutonic Knights, who extended them further. 1266 Amouda was conquered and plundered by the Mamluk sultan Baybars I. below.