Vahka Castle History
Vahka Castle, near Feke in present-day Turkey, was one of the chief strongholds of the Cilician Kingdom of Armenia.
The main seat of the Rubenid family, later the ruling dynasty of Cilicia, was originally captured from the Byzantines around 1097/1098 by Constantine I, Ruben I’s son.
Recaptured by Emperor John II Komnenos in 1138, then regained from the Danishmendids around 1145 by the Cilician baron Leo I’s younger son, T’oros II, it remained in Armenian hands almost continuously until its eventual capture by the Mamluks.
Of historical interest as military architecture because of siting, layout, and construction, Vahka has features in common with fortresses at Tumlu, Yilan, and Anavarza (Anazarba).