The historical names for this site are minor variations of Haruniye (Arabic: al-Hārūniyya(h); Armenian: Harun or Harunia; Crusader: Haronia or Aronia).

The fortress was built in A.D. 785/86 during the Abbasid Caliphate by Harun al-Rashid as a link in a chain of Arab defenses along the Nur Dağları, and named after him as al-Haruniyya.

Following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 nomadic Turks began to move into Anatolia and the nearby hills were temporarily settled by the Avşar tribe of the Turkmen.

On January 22, 1236 the Armenian King Hethum I and his wife Isabella bestowed the castle and village of Haruniyya to the Knights of the Teutonic Order.

[3] The plan of the local medieval fortress, Haruniye Kalesi, reveals a compact keep-like structure with a massive tower at the east, which protects a postern gate.