page_title: Arsameia
section_title: Yenikale and the Pigeon Castle
hierarchical_section_title: Arsameia / Yenikale and the Pigeon Castle
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Kopf des Antiochos I. von Kommagene im Museum Gaziantep, gefunden in Arsameia am Nymphaios
context_page_description: Arsameia on the Nymphaios is an ancient city located in Old Kâhta in Kâhta district, Adıyaman Province, Turkey. The site is near Kâhtaçay, known in ancient times as Nymphaios. Arsameia was a royal seat of the kingdom of Commagene. It is best known for the Hierothesion of King Mithridates I Kallinikos, built for him by his son and heir Antiochos I.
context_section_description: About two kilometers away, on the other side of the Kahtaçay, lies the fortress of Yenikale ("New Castle"). Here according to the inscription at Site III lay the Palace buildings of the Commagenian rulers. Today one can see a Mameluke castle. In its interior are found building and restoration inscriptions from the sultans Qala'un (1279–90), Al-Ashraf Khalil (1290–93) and al-Nasir Muhammad (1293–1341). An earlier building had already been conquered and destroyed in 1286 by Kara Sonkar, the governor of Aleppo. A path leads from the lower part of the castle on the side of the river to a building known as the "Pigeon Castle", which is positioned under an overhanging ledge of rock. It was used to provide water to the castle, as well as relaying it over a bridge to the Eski Kale. On the top floor is a room set up as a homing pigeon house, with a rectangular hole entry hole and 32 nesting niches. It was still being used for communications as late as the 13th century when the Sultan Qala'un was seeking information about the troop movements of the hostile Ilkhanate before the Second Battle of Homs.
caption: Head of Antiochos from the plateau now in the museum at Gaziantep
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