Hasankale

Hasankale overlooks the plain east of Erzurum from a steep spur of Hasan Dağı. Its inner and outer walls guarded the settlement below, and a concealed passage led down to the stream to supply water during a siege. The fortress was built in the fourteenth century by Hasan Bey, a direct descendant of the Ilkhanid commander Hacı Toğay, and gave its name to the town.

The Ottomans established an important frontier district centred here after taking the region from the Safavids. Sultan Süleyman repaired the old fortress and added a mosque, while Murad IV had a pavilion built during his campaign towards Erivan in 1634. Russian occupation in 1829 damaged the town before the Treaty of Adrianople returned it to Ottoman control.