HASANKEYF KAZILARI
Authors: ERDAL Zekai 
Published: November 2023

Hasankeyf is a historical settlement area 37 km from Batman city center. Because of thousands of houses formed by carving rocks, it is called “Haskefo” or “Hısn-ı Keyfa” in Syriac and Arabic meaning “City of Caves” or “Rocks City”. The names of “Cepha” (Kefa) and “Hısn-ı Keyfa” in the historical sources have turned into “Hasankeyf” in the last period of the Ottomans. The early middle ages, were conquered in 640 at the time of the second Caliph Umar. During the Islamic period, Hasankeyf was under the administration of the Umayyads, Abbasids, Hamdanis and Mervans, respectively. Sökmen, the son of Artuq, who was the commander of Seljuki Sultan Alparslan, established a state called “Hısn-ı Keyfa Artuqids” in 1101. Hasankeyf became the capital of the “Hısn-ı Keyfa” and “Amida” (Diyarbakır) principals of the Artuqids for 130 years. In 1232, the ruler of the Ayyubids al-Meliku’l Kâmil conquered the city and put an end to the dominance of the Artuqids. With the looting and destruction of the Mongolian invasion in 1260, Hasankeyf was greatly damaged irreversibly. After the Mongolian invasion, the Ayyubids continued their existence as depending on them. Having been under Akkoyunlu rule for a short time (1461-1482), the ruling of Hasankeyf, captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Hasankeyf was ruled as a township and sanjak center connected to Diyarbakır Government (Beylerbeyi) in the Ottoman state system. In the sources, Hasankeyf is a wealthy city of 1,700 dwellings, of which 9500 inhabitants lived in the late 16th century. Cave-type houses carved by humans takes the first place, and these structures which make Hasankeyf famous are believed to be up to 4500. These first settlements were carved into rock masses at an average height of 135 meters starting from the edge of the Tigris River. This section, which is called as “Upper City” and “Kalebaşı”, has been transformed into Citadel with its fortified walls and splendid doors suitable for its natural structure in the periods of Artuqids and Ayyubids. It was reorganized and settled in the Ottoman period and used until 1970’s. The first entrance gate and the main palace of the Great Palace are from the Roman era. The monuments of the Artuqid State, which brought the second identity to the city, are also in ruins. Dicle-Hasankeyf Bridge which is the largest and widest archway bridge in the Middle Ages, the two madrasas in the group of constructions called, “Zeynel Bey Social Complex” which was discovered by the excavations of 2004-2005, some parts of the Great Palace, water systems extending to the pavilions in the Salahiye Gardens and to the castle. Hasankeyf’s recent view has been formed by the monuments belonging to the Ayyubid period. Sultan Süleyman Mosque (1407), Er- Rızk Mosque (1409), Kızlar (Eyyubi) Mosque, Yamaç Complex, Small Palace, part of the Grand Palace, three castle gates and Imam Abdullah Tomb and Zawiyah are among these monuments. The tomb made for Zeynel Bey (1473?), the son of Akkoyunlu Uzun Hasan, is the only example of its kind in Anatolia and it is the symbol of Hasankeyf. Koç Mosque and mosque with brick minaret in the Mardinike Social Complex indicate the Great Seljuk architecture. During the Ottoman period, a madrasa and a caravanserai were added to the Zeynel Bey Social Complex, the foundation structures that had been built before were restored and a bazaar and covered bazaar were constructed with a mosque in the Lower City. For more detailed information, please refer to the Extended Abstract at the end of the text