Maiden's Tower

This article is about the location. You may be looking for the memory.

The Maiden's Tower, known in Turkish as Kız Kulesi, as well as in Ancient Greek as Leander's Tower or Tower of Leandros, was a lighthouse located on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus Strait, off the coast of Üsküdar in Constantinople.

History

The tower was first built by the ancient Athenian general Alcibiades in 408 BCE, in order to control the movements of the Persian ships in the Bosphorus. During that period, the tower was located between the ancient cities of Byzantion and Chrysopolis.

It was later enlarged and rebuilt as a fortress by the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus in the year 1110. Later, it was restored and slightly modified several times by Ottoman Turks, most significantly in 1509 and 1763.

In the year 1259, the Assassin Niccolò Polo had an intricate structure built beneath the Maiden's Tower, to conceal the fourth Masyaf Key. In 1511, fellow Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze sailed to the Maiden's Tower and discovered its secrets, procuring the Key in the process.

Gallery

• The Maiden's Tower in 1511
  The Maiden's Tower in 1511
• 
  The Maiden's Tower at dawn

Reference

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations