Turbessel

Turbessel (Syriac: Tel Bshir‎, Arabic: Tell Bāshir‎ or Tel-Basheir, Armenian: Թլպաշար, romanized: Tʿlpašar, Turkish: Tilbeşar or Tilbaşar Kalesi) is a fortress and Bronze Age tumulus in south-eastern Turkey, near the village of Gündoğan in the district of Oğuzeli, within Gaziantep Province.

History

Bronze Age

The site was occupied at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC through the end of the 17th century BC, after which it was abandoned.[1] It was located 50 km west of Carchemish.

Early Bronze

By 2600 BC (EBIIIA) the site was about 56 hectares. It had burials showing the emergence of an elite class.

By 2450 BC (EBIIIB) it was a planned city.

First Intermediate Period

In the EBIV, the city saw heavy destruction, but it was never abandoned.

Middle Bronze

In the MBI, the city was rebuilt in a smaller scale. In the MBII, the city saw major construction work.

Byzantine Period

While the site had been occupied since the Bronze Age, the fort gained importance during the Byzantine Empire and came under control of local Armenian lords in the late 11th century.[2] Baldwin I conquered the city in the winter of 1097, and it subsequently became a part of the County of Edessa.[3] It was one of the main strongholds of Frankish counts such as Joscelin I.[4] After the fall of Edessa to Zengi, it became the principal city of what remained of the County until it was eventually sold to the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus in 1150. It fell to Nur ed-Din's Muslims within the year.

References
  1. Kepinski 2010, p. 303.
  2. le Strange 1890, p. 542.
  3. Runciman 1951, p. 203.
  4. Chahan de Cirbied 1813, p. 320.

Sources
  • Chahan de Cirbied, Jacques (1813), "Notice de deux Manuscrits Arméniens, de la Bibliothèque impériale, n.os 95 et 99, contentant l'histoire écrit par Mathieu Eretz, et Extrait relatif à l'histoire de la première croisade" [Notice of two Armenian manuscripts from the Bibliothèque Impériale, numbers 95 and 99, containing the history recorded by Matthew Eretz, and an extract relating to the history of the First Crusade], Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale et autres bibliothèques [Notices and extracts of manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale and other libraries] (in French), 9, pp. 275–364
  • le Strange, Guy (1890), Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, p. 542
  • Runciman, Steven (1951). "Armenian Interlude". A History of the Crusades I: The First Crusade. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-141-98550-3.

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