The Diyarbakir Fortress, which has been the guardian of this city for thousands of years, is located on a large plain on the eastern shore of the basalt plateau, which rises next to the Tigris River, which has given life to the city. The fortress consists of the city where the city was first established and the outer castle that complements it.
İçkale; As the first settlement, it formed the core of the city. The small diameter fortress found here, BC. It was built by the Hurri-Mitanians between the years 3700-3500.
Diyarbakır, together with the small kingdoms, represented 33 different civilizations in different times of history, and the tribe hosted the state and culture. Every sovereign civilization has widened the walls in line with its security needs. Walls M.S. In 349 the Roman Emperor II. Constantius was rebuilt in time. M.S. In 362, an agreement between the Sassanids and the Romans, the fortress of Nusaybin (Nisibis), one of the most important fortresses of Rome, was captured by the Sassanids, and the Christian people settled in the western part of the citadel by migrating to Diyarbakir for religious reasons. After this migration, the western walls of the city were demolished between the years 367-375 and the people of Nusaybin (Nisibis) were taken into the walls. Thus, the Diyarbakır Fortress took its new form. When the city expanded with the new city walls, the first fortress, which is the administrative center, became the İçkale. The second extension of the İçkale was made by the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent in 1524-1526. After the add-ons and repairs made today, has become the final version.
In addition, the archaeological excavations of Amida Höyük (Virantepe), which was known as the first settlement point in İçkale, between 1961 and 1962, revealed the ruins of the Artukoğulları period from 1200-1222.
A bird's-eye view of Diyarbakır Castle resembles a shield fish. The walls have carved, embossed and embossed traces of civilizations that dominate the city, as well as inscriptions surrounding it as a generation. The length of the walls is approximately 5,700 meters, the height is between 10-13 and the thickness is between 3-5 meters. Diyarbakir Castle square, polygonal and round planned; There are 82 sign in total. The most important ones are; Goat Burcu (Birca Keçikê), Yedi Kardeş Burcu, Ulu (Married) Body Sign * and Nur Burcu. The outer fortress has four gates, four of which are important in terms of architectural history. There are Dağkapı (Harputkapı) in the north, Urfakapı (Rumkapı) in the west, Mardinkapı in the south (Telkapı) and Yenikapı (Dicle or Sukapi) in the east.