Çandır Castle

Çandır Castle
Mersin Province, Turkey
The mesa from west
Çandır Castle
Coordinates	37°01′N 34°37′E / 37.017°N 34.617°E / 37.017; 34.617
Type	Fortress
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	A part of the church and residence are partially standing.
Site history
Built by	Byzantines and Armenians
Demolished	Most of it

Çandır Castle (Turkish: Çandır Kalesi) the medieval Armenian site of Paperon (also known as Barbaron), is a fortification in Mersin Province, Turkey.

The castle is in the Toros Mountains at 37°01′N 34°37′E / 37.017°N 34.617°E / 37.017; 34.617. It is situated to the east of Ayvagediği and Gözne Castle and to the north of Mersin. The distance to Mersin is about 40 kilometres (25 mi). The castle shares the same name with a village lying to the south (see Çandır, Mersin). It is built on a plateau at an altitude of 1,125 metres (3,691 ft).

Alishan, writing in the 19th century, identifies Paperon with the Byzantine fort of Papirion ("Παπιρίον"), which is first mentioned in conjunction with the Byzantine emperor Zeno the Isaurian in the 5th century. However, there is no archeological evidence to support this and the identification is questioned. The site rose to prominence during the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from the 12th through the 14th centuries, when it was the seat of Het’umid power, and the surviving structures date from this period. The fortress controlled two roads to Central Anatolia, one of which leads to the other main Het’umid stronghold, Lampron. Çandır Castle was the residence of many Armenian nobles and kings as well as the home of the remarkable scholar and diplomat, Sempad the Constable.