Çavuştepe

Sardurihinilli, also known as Haykaberd (Armenian: Հայկաբերդ, lit. 'Fortress of Hayk') or Çavuştepe Kalesi, is an ancient Urartian fortified site located on a ridge on the northeastern edge of the village of Çavuştepe in the Gürpınar district of Van Province in eastern Turkey. It is located approximately 25 kilometers southeast of Van along the road leading to the city of Hakkâri, in a valley once known as Hayots Dzor in historic Armenia. It was founded by the Urartian king Sarduri II (r. 764–735) some time during his reign in the 8th century BC and is believed to be identical with the fortress of Sardurihurda mentioned in the same king's cuneiform inscriptions.

In Armenian folklore it is identified with Haykaberd or Haykʻ, the fortress built by Hayk, the legendary founder of the Armenian nation, close to the site where he slew the invading Babylonian king Bel.

Text adapted from “Çavuştepe” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Çavuştepe ranks #2,424 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #42 of the 124 mapped in Turkey. Founded 764, it is older than 96% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 35 atlas entries founded in the 8th century. See how Turkey compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗