Tokmar Castle

Tokmar Castle, locally known as Tokmar Kalesi, lies on a cliff next to a hamlet, overlooking the village of Akdere, in the province of Mersin in Turkey.

The castle is situated in a region called Cilicia, which was the area of an Armenian kingdom between the end of the 11th century until the late 14th century. As with most of the fortifications in this area, neither its medieval name nor its history are known.

Architectural analysis show that it is most likely that the castle was built during the late 12th century by Armenian masons. It was situated in the western part of the Armenian kingdom and overlooked the classical harbor of Palaiai, 4 km to the east. The castle was built on a mountain spur, towering 400 m above the valley below.

It is thought that Tokmar may be the castle called "Castellum Novum" in Latin or "Norpert" in Armenian (both meaning 'new castle') in historical texts. If so, then it was held by the Armenian Sebastos Heri in 1198. In 1210, the Armenian king Leo I handed Castellum Novum over to the Knights Hospitaller, together with Silifke Castle to the northeast. In exchange, Leo received a support force of 400 knights for his fights against the Seljuks and an annual payment. While Silifke was returned to the Armenians in 1226, nothing is known about Castellum Novum, and it disappeared from the historical records.

Tokmar Castle is freely accessible. A very nice castle ruin offering great views of the valley below.

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