Site in the foothills of the Anti-Taurus Mountains, southern Turkey, of Samal, one of the Late Hittite city-states that perpetuated a Semitized southern Anatolian culture for centuries after the downfall of the Hittite empire (c 1190 BC). It was annexed by the Assyrians in the 7th century BC and then abandoned with the downfall of Assyria. The town was surrounded by a wall forming an exact circle and topped by 100 towers; inside there was a fortified citadel with two palaces of the bit hilani type. The palaces and gateways were decorated with relief carvings and inscriptions in the Syro-Hittite hieroglyphic script. The identity with ancient Samal was confirmed by the discovery of a victory inscription of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon from 670 BC.