History of Harput

Urartian Period: There is a consensus that Harput Castle was first built by the Urartians. However, there are different opinions about the century in which the castle was built. According to İshak Sunguroğlu, it is thought to have been built during the reign of King Menuas (785-810 BC) (Sunguroğlu, 1958:260). According to Veli Sevin, it was established as a new provincial center by Sarduri II (760-730 BC). They built the castle to open up to the West, control the Hittite and Aramaic principalities, and fight against the Assyrian Empire. During surface surveys and excavations conducted throughout the castle, structures with rockwork, cisterns, and red-polished ceramics belonging to the Urartian Period were unearthed (Sevin, 2011:17-18). A total of 3 rock-cut cisterns were unearthed, including 1 closed cistern (used as a dungeon during the Artuqids) and 2 open-air cisterns from the Urartian Period.

Urartu Type Foundation Beds; There are also Urartian type stone foundation beds with a staircase-like appearance carved into the rock on the southeastern skirt of the castle. The 1.5 to 3 m thick rampart foundation beds here are similar to the foundation beds in the God Haldi Temple in Van/Toprakkale (Köroğlu, 1996:16)/(Photo.1). In addition, a seal from the Urartian Period was found during the excavations carried out in D-7/Site-3 in the 2018 excavation season.

 

Urartian Cistern (Closed) and Dungeon; The cistern, which was carved into the rock during the Urartian period, was unearthed during excavations in 2009. The cistern, which was first used for water storage when it was built, was converted into a dungeon in the Middle Ages. The cistern, which is understood to have had three construction phases, is 66 m long and 33 m deep. There are 112 steps down to the cistern. There are 3 reservoirs at the end of the cistern (Sevin, 2011:219-228). The last study on this place was conducted in 2016, and during this process, one of the ventilations carved into the rock was unearthed (Aytaç, 2018b:321-322). During the cleaning work carried out in 2017, it was determined that there were 128 steps. On September 13, 1122, during a war with the Franks in the village of Taftil in the province of Urfa, Belek Gazi ambushed the Count of Urfa, Joscelin de Courtenay, and the Signor of Birecik, Galeran de Pusiet, in a swamp near Suruç, and captured them, along with 25 or 60 of his knights. When ransom negotiations for their release failed to yield results, the prisoners were chained and thrown into a dungeon in Harput Castle. The Christians mourned and were grieved. The Crusaders took action in 1123 under the leadership of the Frankish King of Jerusalem, Baudouin II, in order to avenge this humiliating situation for them and to destroy the Artuqids, who had fallen into a vacuum of authority after the death of Ilgazi. However, he was captured by Belek’s soldiers and taken to Harput Castle like the other prisoners. This event, known as the Turuş Square Battle, was met with joy and pride in the Islamic world and Belek was given the title of “Gazi”. The King of Jerusalem, Baudouin II and his cousins ​​were rescued from the dungeon they were imprisoned in with the help of the Armenians. In addition, during the reign of Murat IV, important Safavid commanders who were taken prisoner after the Baghdad Campaign were kept in Harput Castle and from there they were sent to Istanbul (Uzun, 2013:759). Most probably, the commanders in question were held captive in this dungeon (Photo.2).

Open Air Cisterns, Open Air Cistern in the Workshops Area; The facility, carved into the rock in the north-south direction in the Workshops Zone, is approximately 2 m wide, 8.70 m long and 3.90 m deep. Two circular depressions were carved at the north and south ends. Slots were made on the side of the cistern walls for opening and closing. It is understood that this structure was filled in and put out of use in later periods. Excavations in this cistern were carried out between 2005 and 2009 by Prof. Dr. It was completed during the time of Veli Sevin (Sevin,2009:217-218)/(Photo.3).

View from the open-air cistern in the District     

Open Air Cistern in Trench F-2: During the excavations carried out between 2015-2016; It was unearthed in trench F-2 in the area called Region 5 (Orta Mahalle). The diameter of this conical cistern is 5.00 m, its height is 3.55 m, and its mouth diameter is 1.00 m. This water facility carved into the rock dates back to the Urartian Period. A shaft pit with a diameter of 80 cm and a depth of 25 cm was identified at the base of the cistern. This pit was most likely built for the accumulation of mud sediments in the water collected into the cistern. In addition, the presence of a channel coming from trench F at the upper part of the cistern was detected and it is thought that this place was blinded due to the fact that a lot of garbage material was found in the cistern during the excavations (Photo 4).

Roman Period:
            B.C. III. Around the 16th century BC, the Harput region was under Roman military and political influence. There was no actual land occupation until 69. B.C. In 69, the Roman commander Lucullus defeated the Armenian King Tigran and captured the Kingdom of Sophane (Danık, 2001:7). Later, Harput fell into the hands of the Parthians, Armenia (Anonymous, 1970:80) and the Sassanids at regular intervals. Finally, the Roman emperor Valens captured Harput from the Sassanids once again in 379 and annexed it to Rome (Danık, 2001:8).

            During the excavations carried out in the Artuklu Mosque in Harput Inner Castle between 2005 and 2009, the discovery of a Roman Imperial Age Bronze coin and the discovery of bright red polished pottery pieces described as "Eastern Sigillata A" type prove the existence of the Roman Period in the castle. . In addition, during the excavations carried out between 2014 and 2017, bright red polished pottery sherds described as "Eastern Sigillata A" type (Photo.5) and a brick fragment with animal paws (Photo.6); During the archaeological excavations carried out for restoration in 2017, the discovery of a Late Roman Period coin (Photo.7), (IV century AD) shows the existence of the Roman Period in the castle (Aytaç,2017a:191-210).

Byzantine Period:
            During the Byzantine Period, Harput probably became the most important base in the region and played an important role during the Byzantine-Iranian struggles (Sevin, 2011:25). The Byzantines dominated Harput twice in different periods of time. The first of these started with Emperor Justinian (August 1, 527/November 1, 565 A.D.) and continued in A.D. VII. It lasted until the middle of the century; The second is M.S. From the tenth century to the tenth century. It continued until the end of the century (Ardıçoğlu,1997:40). In the first phase of domination, Harput was ruled by Byzantium IV. It was included in the borders of Armenia State (Sunguroğlu,1958:88).

            One of the examples of immovable cultural assets within the castle that we can date to the Byzantine Period is the Belek Bastion. We can date the tower to this period due to the cross relief on the southwest wall of the lower floor of the tower (Photo.8-9). Ertuğrul Danık also dates the lower floor of the bastion to the Byzantine Period (Danık, 2001:30). In addition, ruins of city walls and wall fragments made of Khorasan mortar and mud mortar, as well as traces of structures decorated with glass mosaics, were found. The brick arched structure found at the entrance of the Artuklu Cistern during the 2009 excavations was also dated to this period (Sevin,2011:25).

During the excavations carried out throughout the castle, ceramics for daily use, metal (cross necklace and weight) and bone objects (Photo 10-11) (such as hair pins, game pieces) and coins were unearthed. Most of the mentioned works date back to the 11th century, when Byzantine rule was intense. It belongs to the century (Aytaç,2017c:140-153).

In 2017, within the scope of the 2nd Stage Restoration Project in Harput Citadel, excavations were carried out to determine the foundation elevation near the southern city wall. During the studies, extensive findings belonging to the Byzantine Period layer were encountered, and finds such as jugs with rosette motifs, grinding stones and mortars were unearthed in a 25 cm deep semicircular pool just above the ground (Photo 13). Three coins were recovered from the layer containing the finds. As a result of the examinations made on these coins, it was determined that the coins belonged to the Byzantine Period.

Sassanid Period:
            II. During the reign of Shapur (309-379), the Sassanids put an end to the rule of the Parthians in Iran and dominated the surroundings of Harput. However, this domination did not last long and it fell into the hands of the Romans again. VII. In the century, especially during the time of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (610-641), the struggle for Harput with the Sassanids continued intensely (Anonymous, 1982:2474-2582). Both sides dominated Harput at regular intervals. In the same century, Islamic armies rising from the Arabian Peninsula began to threaten Byzantium and the Sassanids. With the Battle of Nihavend in 642, Hz. Ömer eliminated the Sassanids (Fayda, 2014:193). As a result of the excavations we carried out in the castle, no movable or immovable cultural assets from the Sassanid Period were found.

Umayyad and Abbasid Period:
During this period, the Byzantine Empire, which was weakened enough to pay taxes to the Sassanids, was helpless against the Islamic armies. Shortly after, the new caliph Hz. Muaviye, who headed to the region by the order of Osman, subjugated the local authorities living around Harput (Sunguroğlu, 1958:93).

Harput, which remained in the hands of the Umayyad State founded by Muawiyah after the Caliph's Period, came under Byzantine control again in 685. However, VIII. Harput, which came under Umayyad rule again in the first half of the century, was included in the Byzantine Empire again in 752 AD. The Abbasids, who ended the Umayyad Dynasty in 750 AD, took Harput from the Byzantines in 756 AD (Danık, 2001:8). It fell into Byzantine hands again in 838 AD. In 861 A.D., the entire region was taken under Abbasid control (Sunguroğlu,1958:94). In the same years (M.934-35), Harput and the surrounding regions were taken by Hamdanoğlu Nasrıuddevle, the Al-Jazeera governor of the Abbasids. He left the management of the places he captured to his brother Seyfüddevle. However, this administration was short-lived, and in 938 AD, Harput fell into Byzantine hands again (Çelik and Yıldırım, 2013:545-560). As a result of the excavations, District 1 (Sarayönü) D-4 trench was drilled, M.S. VII.-VIII. A coin dating back to the 19th century was seized. We think that this coin may belong to the Umayyad or Abbasid period (Photo 14).

Çubukoğulları Period:
In 1085 AD, Çubuk Bey conquered Harput and its surroundings, which were under the control of Philaretos, the translator and commander of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Komnenos (4 April 1081-15 August 1118) (Ardıçoğlu,1997:49;Bezer,1997:67- 92).After the death of Çubuk Bey and his successor Mehmed Bey, in Harput The Çubukoğulları Period (1085-1115) ended. Harput remained under the rule of Çubukoğulları for about 25 years (Sunguroğlu,1958:102).

No finds belonging to the Çubukoğulları period were found during the excavations carried out inside the castle. However, in the sources, the bastion located in the west of the castle and adjacent to the second entrance gate is called Çubuk Bey bastion. Although the sign has nothing to do with the Çubukoğulları Period, it was given this name because he was the person who started the Turkish Period in Harput (Danık, 2001:30)/(Photo.15).

Artuqid Period:
Since 1115, Belek, the grandson of Artuk Bey, began to rule in Harput. Thus, the first Artuqid Principality was established here (Ardıçoğlu,1966:18;Ataoğlu,1992:53-57). Traces of Artuqids can be seen frequently inside the castle. It is possible to date the Artuklu Palace, Artuklu Cistern, Artuklu Mosque, Belek Bastion, Fahreddin Karaaslan Bastion, Nizameddin Ibrahim Bastion, İmameddin Ebubekir Bastion and the lower part of the Kızlar Bastion to this period (Danık, 2001:27-33). In addition, finds such as glazed and unglazed ceramic pieces (Photo 16), coins (Photo 17) and medallions from this period for daily use were unearthed during the excavations (Aytaç, 2018a: 317-328). 

Photo.17: View from the front and back of the Artuqid Period (AD 1180) coin

            Artuklu Cistern: Harput Castle was famous for its dungeons during the Artukid Period. This cistern, dating back to the Artuqid period, was mainly used to collect rainwater. There is a water reservoir with a diameter of 2 m at the bottom of the building, which can be accessed by 52 steps carved into the rock. Its average width is 2.30 m, and its height reaches up to 11 m where the vaulted space is located. It is thought that the cistern was illuminated by oil lamps. The part of the excavations related to the cistern was completed in 2015 (Photo 18). Artuklu Mosque; XI. or XII. It is thought to have been built in the 6th century BC, during the reign of Çubukoğulları or Artukoğulları. Some of the walls, two cut stone columns and the altar have survived from the building to the present day. It has a rectangular plan with dimensions of 15.50x8.50 m, extending in the east-west direction. It is thought that the deep and dark room at the entrance was used as an ordeal. There are settlement layers dating back to the Byzantine and Roman periods on the floor of the building. The entrance to the mosque is from the west via a 3-step staircase. There is a single row of seating to the south of the stone-paved entrance (Photo 19). According to some historical sources, it is stated that the mosque was built without a minaret, and according to some sources, it was built with a minaret. In fact, some sources state that there was another small mosque and its previously existing minaret was later demolished. About the mosque III. A record from the reign of Murat was found: Seli village was governed with an annual income of 1416 kuruş from the jizya. While describing the castle on page 170 of the 1986 edition of his book Seyahatname, Evliya Çelebi says, "There is an old mosque with a single minaret." Immediately afterwards, when talking about the mosques of the city, he begins by saying, "The İç Kale Mosque has no minaret." The mosque, which survived with a single column until the 1950s, was buried underground and gradually forgotten after this date. As a result of the excavations; The mosque was built right above the Byzantine building levels and has a history dating back to the Artuqid period. It was used for repairs and renovations during the Ottoman period. Under this religious architecture, Byzantine and Roman Imperial ruins are arranged in 3 regular building levels. The fact that the Kale Mosque main plan scheme has a broken axis and is developed transversely suggests that it has a relationship with the temples of the Artuqid Period.

Artuqid Palace; It was built at the northern end of the castle, at a point overlooking Harput and the castle. There are 4 iwans in total, including 1 larger main iwan in the middle of the palace, 2 iwans on the left of the main iwan, and 1 iwan on the right. A second iwan with prominent vaults was identified on the lower floor of the iwans of the palace, which was built with southwest and northeast extensions (Photo 20). This shows that this palace had two or more floors. The plaster (Photo.21) and tile decoration pieces found during the excavations in front of the palace are important as they show the existence of a public building from the Seljuk Period. During the studies carried out in front of the Artuklu Palace between 2014 and 2017, places such as residences, latrines, water channels, glass production workshops, ceramic kilns, streets and bathrooms were unearthed. In the upper codes, structures with mud mortar, rubble stone walls and mud plaster were seen, which we date to the Late Ottoman Period. In the lower codes, there is a 1 m wide, smooth cut stone based wall structure from the early periods.  During the studies carried out in the trenches of Region I (Sarayönü), coins, glazed and unglazed ceramics, glass bracelet pieces, many arrowheads, pipe pieces, porcelain pieces, beads, various metal objects, belonging to military uniforms, belonging to the Byzantine, Artuqid, Seljuk and Ottoman periods were found. Ranks and buttons, daily use items, grinding stones, catapult stones of various sizes were found. Ibn Bibi, in his work titled El Evamirü'l-Ala'iye Fi'l Ummuri'l-Ala'iye (Selçukname);  The Melik of Harput stated that he invited the Meliks of Damascus to dinner. He reported that while the lamb was roasting in the tandoor in the palace kitchen for the guests, a catapult stone hit the tandoor. The place that Ibn Bibi mentioned as a kitchen was defined as a palace by Ertuğrul Danık.

Belek Bastion; The bastion, whose lower layers belong to the Byzantine period, is called by this name because the 2nd and 3rd floors were built during the Belek Bey period. Belek Bastion, also known as the "Artuklu Mansion" in some sources, is a 5-storey building and its height is approximately 30 m. It is seen that the ground floor of the building, which has survived to the present day in a partially ruined state, is covered with an oval-shaped dome. There is a luminous lantern in the middle of the dome, and malakari decorations on its skirts and tromps. The building has 4 beveled loophole windows, which are thought to have been used for shooting arrows. During the excavations, three building layers belonging to the Byzantine, Artuqid and Ottoman periods were identified (Photo 22).Fahreddin Karaaslan Zodiac Sign; Fahreddin Karaaslan Bastion, located on the western city walls, is dated to the Artuqid Period due to its construction material. It is an irregular five-sided (octagonal) bastion (Danık, 2001:34). During the excavations carried out for restoration in 2017-2018, it was seen that the bastion had two floors. There are a total of 15 loophole windows, 7 on the lower floor and 8 on the upper floor. Arrowheads, glazed and unglazed ceramics, and coins from the Artuqid Period were found inside the bastion (Photo 23).

Anatolian Seljuk State Period:
The Anatolian Seljuk army, which came to Harput in 1234, started the attack with 18 catapults that it set up around the castle by the order of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad (İbni Bibi, I, 1996:441).  When the Meliki of Harput, who could not stand this situation any longer, and the Meliks of Damascus, who took refuge in the castle, surrendered, the castle came under the protection of the Anatolian Seljuks. Thus, the reign of the Artuqid State in Harput ends. In the Battle of Kösedağ, fought between the Mongols and the Anatolian Seljuk State in 1243, the Anatolian Seljuks lost the war.

In the excavations carried out between 2014 and 2017; Plaster pieces, tile pieces (Photo 27), ceramic pieces with human and animal figures made with the scraping technique (sigrafitto) (Photo 28) belonging to this period were unearthed. Also coins from this period were found.

Ilkhanid State Period:
While the Mongols were oppressing Anatolia, in 1256, Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, founded the Ilkhanid State centered in Tabriz, under the condition of being subordinate to the Great Khagan. The Ilkhanid State now had a say in the Anatolian region, and therefore in Harput and its surroundings. The Harput region must have been taken over by the Ilkhanid State in 1339, during the reign of ruler Satı Bek. Because during this period, the Ilkhanids were further fragmented and weakened, and the lands they dominated continued to be lost. The absence of Harput minted coins of the Ilkhanid rulers after Satı Bek in the available sources also supports this situation (Anonymous, 1992:216). Coins from the Ilkhanid Period were seized during the excavations (Photo 29).

Eretna, Dulkadiroğulları and Mamluk Period:
The other authority that ruled Harput after the Ilkhanid State was the Eretna Principality, which counted the Mamluks as its subjects, and there are coins minted in Harput (Damalı, 2001: 235). It is not yet known when this principality captured Harput; However, Halil Bey, the ruler of Dulkadir Principality, one of the principalities that came to life on its territory after the collapse of the Anatolian Seljuk State, took Harput from Mehmet Bey, son of Eretna, in 1364, despite the opposition of the Mamluk governor of the city, Alaeddin Melikshahi.

Harput, which remained in the hands of the Mamluks until 1377, was again taken over by Dulkadirli Halil Bey. Halil Bey, who did not hesitate to fight against the Mamluks to whom he was subject, became a trouble for the Mamluks and was killed in 1386 due to his brother İbrahim Bey, who was the Harput ruler of the Dulkadir Principality at that time, due to his obedience to the Mamluks (Uzunçarşılı, 1988:170). As a result of the work done in the Harput Inner Castle, the Mamluks were killed. coin belonging to it was found. In addition, there are 3 bastions as immovable cultural assets belonging to this principality.

Akkoyunlu Period:
In May 1429, Akkoyunlu Kara Yülük Osman Bey defeated the Dulkadır Principality and captured Harput. Harput, which fell into the hands of the Dulkadır people again shortly after this date, was annexed to the Mamluks in 1439 (Yinanç, 1989:48,55). The Mamluks must have given the administration of Harput to the Dulkadır Principality on the condition that it remained loyal to them again, because in September 1465, Uzun Hasan (Hasan Bahadır) took Harput from the Dulkadır Bey, Melik Aslan, and gave it to the Akkoyunlu (Tihrani, 2001:238,239).

Uzun Hasan had the castle repaired for the defense of the city. Additionally, it is mentioned that he had a mansion built for his mother and wife on the Kurey side (Sunguroğlu,1958:154). Uzun Hasan's mother, Saray Hatun, also had a mosque named after her, which was originally made of wood (Güzel,2017:47). Also, Aslanlı Burç It is also dated to this period (Danık, 2001:34).

As a result of the excavations, coins dating back to the Akkoyunlu Period were discovered. Akkoyunlus generally used the Bayındır Tribe stamp on their coins, indicating that the Oghuzs belonged to the Bayındır Tribe (see Kaşgarlı Mahmut, 1985:56).

Safavid Period:
Harput was conquered by Shah Ismail in 1507, taking advantage of the negligence of the Ottoman and Mamluk states (Ünal, 1989:23). The Safavids ended the Akkoyunlu rule in Harput, which lasted approximately 42 years. Shah Ismail went to the Ottoman sultan of the period, Sultan II., to move to the Dulkadırlı region. He received permission from Bayezid (Yinanç, 1989:94). After destroying the town of Dulkadırlı, he headed towards Harput, which was in the hands of the Akkoyunlus, who were in their weakest period, and became the ruler of this region until the Ottoman conquest in 1516 (9 years). As a result of the excavations, a coin belonging to the Safavids was found.

Ottoman Period:
Although the Safavid ruler Shah Ismail was defeated by Yavuz Sultan Selim in the Battle of Çaldıran (August 23, 1514), Harput and some Eastern Anatolian administrations (Ergani, Mardin, Hısn Keyfa) have not been conquered yet (Artuk, 1976:415-420). Harput Castle, which was besieged by Çerkez Hüseyin Bey, who set out to conquer Harput, and Karaçinoğlu Ahmed Bey, the ruler of Kemah, who came to help him, surrendered on the 3rd day of the siege (Sadettin, 1979:262). Thus, Harput was included in the Ottoman territory in 1516, approximately 2 years after the Battle of Chaldiran. Harput came under Ottoman rule in the 19th century. It was administered as a sanjak of Diyarbakır Province until the end of the century (Ünal, 1989:33).

In 1552, Suleiman the Magnificent III. During the Iran campaign, he gathered the army in Harput. In 1635 and 1638, IV. Murad visited Harput 3 times due to the Revan and Baghdad campaigns. He stayed in this region for a while, prepared for the expedition and established his headquarters (Danık, 2001:15). XVIII. In the century, due to the undisciplined attitude of the Janissary Corps and their bad treatment of the people, the people reported the situation to the sultan, and the order was read to the relevant people and calm was tried to be achieved (Andreasyan, 1964:89; Anonim, 1982: 2474-2582). During the reign of Mahmud, in 1834, Reşid Mehmet Pasha was appointed governor of Sivas, Diyarbakır and Harput. After a while, he made Harput his headquarters. The pasha, who resided here for about 6 months, realized that Harput was now on out-of-the-way roads and decided to move the army headquarters to Mezra (Elazığ) (Karakaş, 1999:129-154).

During the reign of Ahmet İzzet Pasha, who was appointed as the governor of Harput after 1863, all of Harput, with its official and private institutions, was moved to the newly established city of Mamur'et-ül Aziz (the city built by Aziz) on the plain named after Sultan Abdülaziz, with the Provincial Yearbook published in 1867 ( Aksın,1999:71-72). Although it was said as Elaziz among the people because it was a difficult word to pronounce, this discourse was replaced by Elazığ over time. In 1871, it was separated from Diyarbakır Province and continued as a province from 1877 until today. According to the record in 1523, it was its kethüda under the command of 1 dizdar. (deputy commander), müstahfızan (castle guards) and azeban (castle servants) was doing. The garrison consisted of 42 guards and 42 servants. In a record dated 1579, it is complained that the number of Harput Castle soldiers, although supposed to be 120, decreased to 58 soldiers and that these were not enough to protect the castle. In the first census conducted in 1518, the name of Kale District was not recorded. However, based on the information provided in the sharia registry records, in the 17th century. It has been claimed that a neighborhood was established in the castle in the 19th century and its residents formed a guard group responsible for protecting the castle. It is reported that after Evliya Çelebi's visit in 1649, there were about 1000 earth-roofed houses, an old mosque, water cisterns, grain warehouses, ammunition depots and about a thousand houses. The name of Kale District is mentioned for the first time in documents dated 1710-1712. In the Harput Court Registry dated 1821, the number of households was given as 29. In a census in the 1830s, the number of households increased to 47, but in the Mamuret'ül Aziz yearbook dated 1885, it decreased to 15-20. XIX. This decrease in the number of households at the end of the century must be a clear result of the residents starting to move to the newly founded city of Mamuret'ül Aziz (Elazığ). 

During the excavations carried out in the castle, a mosque, workshops (such as glass production, blacksmiths), shops, commercial buildings, residences, latrines, warehouses and small stone-paved Ottoman street texture belonging to the Ottoman Period were identified. Structures such as a podium (Aytaç,2017b:568), a bench, a single and double stone hearth on the wall, a niche (taka), a tandoor (Aytaç,2017c:317-328) and a wheel were unearthed inside the spaces (Photo.35).

The spaces were built with one or two floors. They are built adjacent to each other as residences and consist of 2 or 3 spaces. The entrances to some venues were subsequently closed. Three building layers belonging to the Ottoman Period have been identified. 1st building floor; The wall was either mud mortared, rubble stone walls, mud plastered and whitewashed; The walls of the 2nd building level extend in the same direction as the ones above and have the same features as the ones above. In the 3 building levels, rubble stone foundations are often placed on a wooden beam grid. The existence of high stone foundations and adobe walls dating back to the pre-Ottoman period have been identified. In the works, glazed and unglazed ceramic pieces, coins (Photo 36), glass bracelet pieces, beads, arrowheads, bone comb and ornamental needle, Turkish cups, European porcelain, pipe pieces (Photo 37-38), pendants and various diary items. Usable materials were found.

As a result, the relief called Harput Relief, which was found during the afforestation works carried out in the Kurey Hill location to the east of Harput Castle in 2016, dates back to B.C. Dating it to 2000-1850, it shows that the Harput settlement is older than known so far. Thus, it was understood that there was a settlement in this area in the Middle Bronze Age before the castle. The first settlement in Harput Castle dates back to B.C. VIII. It started from the Urartian Period in the century and continued until the early 1900s, the last period of the Ottomans. Many civilizations that settled in Harput and the castle during this time period left behind many movable and immovable cultural assets that help us to have information about the historical development process of the castle. In the castle, there are city walls, bastions, cisterns, residences, workshops, commercial establishments, etc. Architectural structures have survived to this day as immovable cultural assets.  Some of these architectural structures were damaged due to natural disasters, and some were destroyed as a result of invasions.  As movable cultural assets, unglazed and glazed ceramic pieces, coins, glass bracelet pieces, beads, arrowheads, bone combs and hair pins, Turkish cups, European porcelain, pipe pieces, pendants and various daily use items were found. In addition, in the excavations carried out in the area we call Region 1 in 2018, 7 BC. A stone seal dating back to the 16th century BC (Urartu Period) was found. This seal is important in that it provides precise information about the Urartian Period. Structures and finds unearthed; While it helps us date the castle, it also reflects the cultural characteristics of its period. As a result of statistical data based on both the architectural structures that have survived in the castle and the archaeological findings obtained as a result of excavations, it has been determined that the number of immovable cultural assets belonging to the Artuqids and the Ottomans is higher than that of other states. This shows that the mentioned states gave importance to development thanks to the order established in the region at the time.  Since the states and principalities that lived in castles until the Ottomans gave importance to defense, they repaired and renewed architectural structures such as bastions and city walls. When we look at the last period of the Ottomans, it is seen that the architectural structures in question were not renewed, but more importance was given to structures such as residences, workshops, shops and commercial establishments. XIX. With the establishment of the city of Mamur'et-ül Aziz (Elazığ) at the end of the century, the people left the castle and settled here.