- Melitene was an ancient city whose Ruins now lie in Arslantepe, a village near the city of Malatiya in the Malatiya Province of eastern Turkey. Melitene is on the river Tohma, a tributary of the Euphrates.
- It was built in 72 CE as a Roman Frontier Fortress with Armenia and occupied by the Legio XII Fulminata. It was in the Province of Cappadocia.
History
- The Site at Arslantepe was first inhabited in c. 4,000 BCE.
- During the Bronze Age it became a fortified city in the kingdom if Isuwa.
- It was part of the Hittite Empire between c. 1450-1178 BCE.
- Bewteen 1050-850 BCE the Kingdom of Kammanu built a Palace, that has recently been excavated and made into an Open Air Museum.
- After 712 CE, the city was sacked and became part of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian Empires.
- The Roman Period:
- In 63 BCE, Melitene became part of a Roman Client Kingdom.
- In 72 CE, the Romans rebuilt it as a Legionary Fortress on a separate site which controlled the road to southern Armenia and the upper Tigris.
- The Legio XII Fulminata was based there between the 1st – 5th century CE.
Museums
- Malatya Museum
- Located at Kernek Square, Malatya.
- The museum hold the Finds from Arslantepe dating from the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age, the Hittite period, the Roman and Byzantine Empires, the Seljuk period and the Ottoman Empire.
- Arslantepe Mound Open Air Museum
- This is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site located at the village of Arslantepe.
- Excavations revealed the Palace (1050-850 BCE) with a splendid Gate, Statue of King Mutalluh and several orthostats (“Traditional Style I”) Statues of Lions, which is why the site is called Arslan Tepe, “Hill of the Lion”.
Roman Roads
Malatiya Museum, Malatiya