Belen Pass
| Belen Pass | ||
|---|---|---|
| Belen Geçidi | ||
Elevation 660 m (2,165 ft)[1] | | |
| Traversed by | Route   D.817 / E91 | |
| Location | Hatay Province, Turkey | |
| Range | Nur Mountains[1] | |
| Coordinates | 36°28′46.20″N 36°13′55.20″E / 36.4795000°N 36.2320000°E | |
The Belen Pass (
Ancient geographers described the pass through what was then known as the Amanus Mountains as 300
Around 401 BC, Cyrus the Younger passed through the Syrian Gates without a fight when his army of 100,000—including the ten thousand Greek mercenaries immortalized by Xenophon's Anabasis—compelled the Persian general opposing them to order his garrison to retreat.
After the 333 BC
In 39 BC, it was the scene of the
over the course of the next year.During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Crusaders of Antioch and Armenians of Cilicia built several fortresses along and nearby the Syrian Gates, including Trapessac at the northeast approach; Çalan, 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) north of what is now Belen; Sarı Seki at the northwest approach; and Bagras guarding an alternate southern route between Antioch and Cilicia.[3] The Crusader fortification at Çalan was surveyed in 1979.[4]
The pass received its present name following its conquest by the Turks.
On July 28, 1832, a
See also
References
- ^ a b "Belen İlçesi" (in Turkish). Hatay Government. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
- ^ William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, 1878, s.v. 'Amanides Pylae'
- ISBN 0-88402-163-7.
- ^ Photographs and a plan of Çalan Castle