Having climbed up its hill twice in a half year (March and September 2008) I took so many pictures of the castle that I integrated them into a separate gallery. The Kozan gallery itself shows the town proper. The Kozan Castle was built by the Assyrians according to the Adana brochure. Of strategic importance, it was later taken by Abbasids in the 9th century. In the 11th century the Seljuk took ov
er, next came the crusaders and the Armenians. From another source some of the history seems slightly different. This indicates Kozan town lies on the place of the antique Sisium. This Hellinistic-Roman name continued to be used during the Middle Ages, when the Byzantine stronghold of Sis was built (according to what is mentioned above one should say: rebuilt, since this is the same castle). This source does not mention Seljuk possession, but names the Armenian Thoros II (1145-1169) as the conqueror (with the help of Prince Raymond of Antioch) of this and several other castles (like Anavarza), taking them directly from the Byzantines. In 1152 his position was strengthened when he was victorious against the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus. After in 1199 Leon I Rubenian was crowned king in the Tarsus cathedral, Sis became the place of residence of the rulers of Armenia Minor. Much later, in 1374, Leon Y de Lusignan and his wife Marguerite of Soissons were crowned in the Sofia Cathedral in Sis. Already in 1375 the Mameluks conquered the town, extending their already strong grip on the region. previous page
