The castle was first built in the 8th or 9th century BC during the Urartian period. On the South side of the castle, which is called the “girls castle” the are terraces excavated in the rock and there also is a tunnel with steps leading down to the water, both made during the Urartian period. The castle was named “Ziata Castelleum” by the Romans and "Hısn Ziyad" by the Arabs. The Harput castle was conquered in 1087 by Çubuk Bey, one of the chiefs of the Turkomen tribes. All the present walls belong to the Turkish period. In 1112 the castle was passed into the hands of Balak Gazi of Artukoğlu and became his capital. It remained with this dynasty until 1234 when it was conquered by the Selçuk sultan Alaaddin Keykubad. In 1516 Yavuz Sultan Selim conquered it for the Ottomans.

Excavation works are going on, digging for an Ottoman district that was built within the walls from the 17th century on.