| # | Polity | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | Edit | Desc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Not mentioned for this period in Shaw’s (1991, 15-24) discussion of Egyptian fortifications.
[1]
According to Gnirs, "fortification architecture and techniques of siege had become the basic means of warfare by the third millennium BCE."
[2]
Construction of a fortress at Elephantine.
[3]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 15-24) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Gnirs 2001) [3]: (Juan Carlos Moreno García 2013, 190 cite: Building the Pharaonic state: Territory, elite, and power in ancient Egypt in the 3rd millennium BCE http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/toc/15127.html) |
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-
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Urban fortification in Yemen at time is relatively well studies and sources do not mention the existence of concentric fortifications.
[1]
[1]: (De Maigret 2002: 267-273) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5. |
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|
All descriptions are of a single wall with towers around the city, with a citadel at the centre in some cases.
[1]
[1]: Cahen, Claude. The Formation of Turkey: The Seljukid Sultanate of Rūm: Eleventh to Fourteenth Century. Translated by P. M. Holt. A History of the Near East. Harlow, England: Longman, 2001. P.121. |
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"With the exception of planned settlements, we have no evidence for wall-construction around towns in the New Kingdom."Spence does not describe complex fortifications.
[1]
According to Gnirs, "fortification architecture and techniques of siege had become the basic means of warfare by the third millennium BCE."
[2]
[1]: (Spence 2004: 270) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M4BFTF9V. [2]: (Gnirs 2001) |
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Not mentioned for this period in Shaw’s (1991, 15-24) discussion of Egyptian fortifications.
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 15-24) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
Not mentioned for this period in Shaw’s (1991, 15-24) discussion of Egyptian fortifications.
[1]
According to Gnirs, "fortification architecture and techniques of siege had become the basic means of warfare by the third millennium BCE."
[2]
1st Dynasty fortress built "on the highest point of the shore on Elephantine Island."
[3]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 15-24) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Gnirs 2001) [3]: (Bard 2000, 64) |
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|
Not mentioned for this period in Shaw’s (1991, 15-24) discussion of Egyptian fortifications.
[1]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 15-24) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. |
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|
older reports describe make-shift palisades and watchtowers made from wood only.
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None have been found, and fortifications themselves are scarce.
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None have been found, and fortifications themselves are scarce.
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Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
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Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
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|
not mentioned in any of the sources that deal with warfare
|
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not known to be built at this time
|
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|
The guard stations and garrisons of the imperial army may qualify as complex fortifications: ’During the Ts’ung Cheng reign period /1628/ /the end of the Ming dynasty/, the Miao rebelled, demolishing the guard stations and leveling the border wall. The “Great Wall” to blockade Miao country disappeared.’ After the later Hmong rebellions of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were suppressed, ’the Manchu court realized that the time was yet inopportune to change the Miao by teaching, and the blockade policy was once more used. The various hsiens along the Miao border were heavily garrisoned for protection.’
[1]
However, Hmong fortifications probably don’t qualify (see above), as it appears that settlements were surrounded by single walls and additional fortifications were constructed quickly on an ad hoc basis. This is open to review and may need expert confirmation.
[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 168 |
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|
"...the Erlitou primary center was not fortified… the secondary center in the periphery was walled".
[1]
The following quote may refer to a later period. "The layout of the ancient city of Zhengzhou has been identified after many years of excavations. The city plan is nearly rectangular with two rings of protective walls that form the outer and the inner city. The inner city is approximately rectangular with a perimeter of almost 7,000m and an area of 300ha. The outer city wall only protects the southern and western portions of the site, located 600-1,100m away from the inner city wall (Figure 16.1). The outer wall was designed to follow natural topography surrounding the inner city, obviously having a defensive function."
[2]
[1]: (Liu and Chen 2012: 386) Seshat URL. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DE5TU7HY?. [2]: (Yuan 2013, 327) |
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|
Multiple lines of fortification not described by sources. Tell el-Dab’a covered almost 4 KM2 at its largest extent. Citadel on western edge on the river, watchtower to the southeast over the land, around them an "enclosure wall" 6.2 meters wide (later 8.5m) and "buttressed at intervals."
[1]
In Upper Egypt there were "forts guarding the second Nile cataract" at Elephantine.
[2]
Fort at Buhen.
[3]
[1]: (Bourriau 2003, 180) [2]: (Bourriau 2003, 194) [3]: (Bourriau 2003, 194-195) |
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|
not mentioned in any of the sources that deal with warfare
|
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Technology not yet available
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We have provisionally assumed that stone walls around settlements were built in one row only.
|
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Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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|
-
|
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|
Inferred from the presence of complex fortifications in previous and subsequent polities in the Paris Basin.
|
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|
Not mentioned in the literature.
|
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|
Not mentioned in the literature.
|
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|
[When there are more than one concentric ring of walls.]
|
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|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
|
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|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
|
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|
-
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|
Checked by Peter Peregrine.
|
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|
Not mentioned in the literature.
|
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|
Despite textual descriptions and iconographic depictions of sieged warfare in the first millennium BCE, there is little evidence for walls surrounding entire settlements; indeed, the norm seems to have been for walls to surround temple complexes, and for the rest of the settlement to remain exposed, though it is possible that the settlement’s inhabitants could expect to find reguge within the temple enclosure in the event of an attack.
[1]
[1]: (Kemp 2004: 271-276) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HD39CU6I. |
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|
"Indus city walls and gates are not generally thought to have performed defensive functions, analogous to those in contemporary Mesopotamia."
[1]
There is no evidence for complex fortifications at Nausharo.
[2]
[1]: (Cork 2006: 4) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IQQCEMPC/q/cork. [2]: Agrawal, D. P. (2007) The Indus Civilization: An interdisciplinary perspective. Aryan Books International: New Delhi. |
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|
"Indus city walls and gates are not generally thought to have performed defensive functions, analogous to those in contemporary Mesopotamia."
[1]
There is no evidence for complex fortifications at Nausharo.
[2]
[1]: (Cork 2006: 4) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IQQCEMPC/q/cork. [2]: Agrawal, D. P. (2007) The Indus Civilization: An interdisciplinary perspective. Aryan Books International: New Delhi. |
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|
Not mentioned in the literature.
|
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|
The European powers present on the Gold Coast erected numerous forts: "The claim of the Portuguese to be, in comparatively modern times, the first European discoverers of and settlers in Gold Coast is supported by more reliable and satisfactory evidence. According to several Portuguese writers including de Barros, Alphonso, the king of Portugal, farmed out in 1469 for five years the Guinea trade to one Fernando Gomez, at the rate of five hundred ducats, or about £138 17 s. 9 d.; the said Gomez having undertaken on his part to explore five hundred leagues, that is, three hundred miles each year, starting from Sierra Leone. In 1471 he directed that the coast-line should be discovered as it lay. This was done by Joao de Santaren and John de Scobar, who, skirting the coast past what is now Liberia, rounded Cape Palmas, went as far as the island of St. Thomas, and on the return voyage discovered Odena in five degrees of latitude. Fernando Po island was discovered in 1472 by Fernando da Poo. And so much gold was found at Odena that they called that port El Mina, afterwards known as the Castle, or Mina. These men also found gold at Chama, and it is said that Gomez opened a gold-mine at Approbi near Little Kommenda, the Aldea des Terres of the Portuguese."
[1]
"The relations between the Dutch and the people of Elmina and elsewhere were harmonious for some time, but when the English began to increase their trade, and sought to build factories and forts, the Dutch, becoming alarmed, changed their former politic conduct into one of harsh severity, took stringent measures, and devised means to deter the inhabitants from dealing with their competitors in the trade. Therefore they set up small forts at Boutri, Chama, Cape Coast Castle, Anumabu, Kromantin, and Accra, on the pretence that they were necessary to protect the inhabitants against attacks and raids by the inland people. The unlawful seizure by the Dutch of the English fort at Kromantin was one of the causes leading to the war between England and Holland in 1666, during which the Dutch fleet sailed up the Thames."
[2]
An Akan ruler captured a Danish fort at the end of the 17th century, but returned it after successful negotiations: "The narratives of the travellers of those days show that the natives did not tamely submit to any oppressive measures, whether from the Dutch, Danish, or English. On one occasion the people of Elmina confined the Dutch Governor-General and his garrison in the castle for ten months. The Danes were amongst the early settlers at Accra, and seemed to have got on well with their customers. But about the year 1693, finding their trade much diminished through Dutch competition, they advised their landlord and his people not to trade with them. When an attempt was made to enforce this advice, the African ruler, by name Asamani, and people, attacked the Danes and seized their fort, situate four miles to the east of James Town, with all the merchandise therein contained, including much treasure, which Asamani appropriated to his own use. On the fort he planted his flag, white, with an African brandishing a scimitar painted in the middle; and from its sixteen guns he exchanged salutes with passing ships, in addition to firing volleys-as much as two hundred on one occasion-in honour of his visitors. Soon after, the King of Denmark sent a special expedition, and the officer in command successfully treated for the restoration of the fort on the payment to Asamani of fifty marks of gold."
[3]
At the time, forts were not a regular feature of Akan military organization.
[1]: Sarbah, John Mensah 1968. “Fanti National Constitution: A Short Treatise On The Constitution And Government Of The Fanti, Asanti, And Other Akan Tribes Of West Africa Together With A Brief Account Of The Discovery Of The Gold Coast By Portuguese Navigators, A Short Narration Of Early English Voyages, And A Study Of The Rise Of British Gold Coast Jurisdiction, Etc., Etc.”, 55 [2]: Sarbah, John Mensah 1968. “Fanti National Constitution: A Short Treatise On The Constitution And Government Of The Fanti, Asanti, And Other Akan Tribes Of West Africa Together With A Brief Account Of The Discovery Of The Gold Coast By Portuguese Navigators, A Short Narration Of Early English Voyages, And A Study Of The Rise Of British Gold Coast Jurisdiction, Etc., Etc.”, 72 [3]: Sarbah, John Mensah 1968. “Fanti National Constitution: A Short Treatise On The Constitution And Government Of The Fanti, Asanti, And Other Akan Tribes Of West Africa Together With A Brief Account Of The Discovery Of The Gold Coast By Portuguese Navigators, A Short Narration Of Early English Voyages, And A Study Of The Rise Of British Gold Coast Jurisdiction, Etc., Etc.”, 73 |
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This technology is not known to have been developed anywhere in the Americas before European colonization.
|
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-
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|
Although there is no information on the warfare of this period, it is highly unlikely the resources were available for this technology.
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-
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"For urban centres in the rest of Mesoamerica, the lack of perimeter walls and defensive settings is striking. The undefended nature of Aztec towns, for example, contrasts sharply with the ethnohistoric record of Aztec warfare".
[1]
[1]: (Smith 2003: 38) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/WEIQNSNP |
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|
"Whereas no sites are documented as fortified or military observatories during the Formative and Classic periods, approximately one quarter of sites are during the Epiclassic and one-third of sites are during the Postclassic."
[1]
[1]: (Carballo and Pluckhahn 2007: 615) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MUW5MHB7. |
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|
"Whereas no sites are documented as fortified or military observatories during the Formative and Classic periods, approximately one quarter of sites are during the Epiclassic and one-third of sites are during the Postclassic."
[1]
[1]: (Carballo and Pluckhahn 2007: 615) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MUW5MHB7. |
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|
"Whereas no sites are documented as fortified or military observatories during the Formative and Classic periods, approximately one quarter of sites are during the Epiclassic and one-third of sites are during the Postclassic."
[1]
[1]: (Carballo and Pluckhahn 2007: 615) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MUW5MHB7. |
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|
Monte Albán was built with a 3km defensive wall along the shallower slopes of the hill.
[1]
Another wall was constructed along the northern boundary of Monte Albán, but not until the Late I or II periods.
[2]
[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (2003). "The origin of war: New C-14 dates from ancient Mexico." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100(20): 11801-11805, p11804 [2]: Marcus, J. and K. V. Flannery (1996). Zapotec civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, Thames and Hudson London, p151 |
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|
’The 7th century appears in the inscriptions as a time of relative prosperity, and the near absence of fortifications may indicate that warfare was rare, and not very destructive when it occurred. Even when impressive city walls were built, at Angkor Borei, increasingly viewed as a possible site for the capital of the Funan, there is archaeological opinion that they were for water control in the city, not for protection from attack.’
[1]
[1]: (Vickery 1998, 317) |
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|
Monte Albán was built with a 3km defensive wall along the shallower slopes of the hill.
[1]
Another wall was constructed along the northern boundary of Monte Albán, but not until the Late I or II periods.
[2]
[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (2003). "The origin of war: New C-14 dates from ancient Mexico." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100(20): 11801-11805, p11804 [2]: Marcus, J. and K. V. Flannery (1996). Zapotec civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, Thames and Hudson London, p151 |
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|
Monte Albán was built with a 3km defensive wall along the shallower slopes of the hill.
[1]
Another wall was constructed along the northern boundary of Monte Albán, but not until the Late I or II periods.
[2]
[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (2003). "The origin of war: New C-14 dates from ancient Mexico." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100(20): 11801-11805, p11804 [2]: Marcus, J. and K. V. Flannery (1996). Zapotec civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, Thames and Hudson London, p151 |
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|
’Until the end of the Kamakura period, most fortresses built in Japan were relatively simple, and were designed for a particular siege or campaign. Terms such as shiro and jokaku (translated in later eras as “castle”) appear frequently in 12th- and 13th century [CE] accounts of warfare, but in the Kamakura era, these terms refer to temporary fortifications. Early medieval defense structures were more like barricades than buildings, and were not intended to house soldiers for extended periods. However, such fortifications could be elaborate and large in scale.’
[1]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press. p.173. |
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|
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
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|
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
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|
No references in the literature. RA.
|
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|
No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
|
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|
"The reasons for the abandon of Sarazm by its inhabitants have not yet been identified. Hypothesis include migration of the population, epidemic disease, attack of this prosperous settlement which wasn’t fortified, ..., but none could really be verified."
[1]
[1]: (Razzokov and Kurbanov 2005: 12) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IDTTJNJT. |
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|
Though the Iroquois were known for their impressive fortifications in the seventeenth century, no sources could be found describing Iroquois fortifications in the eighteenth century. This, combined with Lyford’s claim that the Iroquois had abandoned their traditional fortification methods by the end of the seventeenth century, suggests that most of our "fortification" variables cannot be confidently coded as "present". "The necessity of stockading the villages had almost ceased by the beginning of the seventeenth century, and by the close of the century the stockades were abandoned. Villages became less compact, but houses continued to be built near enough together to form a neighborhood."
[1]
Because, in seventeenth century descriptions, earth ramparts are not mentioned separately from palisade system, it seems reasonable to infer this variable as inferred absent.
[1]: Lyford 1945, 11 |
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|
’Castle towns trace their origin to the Muromachi period and the construction of wooden defenses typically located on hills for reasons of protection and surveillance. These fortifications were the precursors to the castles and castle-building styles that grew more elaborate during the Warring States period.
[1]
‘the acquisition, possession and loss of a castle were common events during the Sengoku Period, but once the trend towards larder armies developed, the castle became not only a barracks for the troops, but a symbol of the daimyo’s authority.
[2]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press. p.60. [2]: Turnbull, Stephen. 1998. The Samurai Sourcebook. Arms & Armour Press.p.161 |
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|
Fortifications consisted mainly of earthen walls, some like the Colle Rotondo were internally reinforced by transverse cross beams.
[1]
[1]: (Cifani 2013: 82) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NIPGF5BZ. |
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|
Stone walls at At Tufariello in Southern Basilicata, none so far in Latium itself; no fortresses or fortified camps.
[1]
[1]: (Whitehouse 1992: 16) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/R9TV7IKB. |
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|
"Having run a trench several feet deep, around five or ten acres of land, and thrown up the ground upon the inside, they set a continuous row of stakes or palisades in this bank of earth, fixing them at such an angle that they inclined over the trench. Sometimes a village was surrounded by a double, or even triple row of palisades. Within this enclosure they constructed their bark-houses, and secured their stores."
[1]
Some sources suggest that the building of palisades ceased to be a common occurrence after the 17th century: "The necessity of stockading the villages had almost ceased by the beginning of the seventeenth century, and by the close of the century the stockades were abandoned. Villages became less compact, but houses continued to be built near enough together to form a neighborhood."
[2]
We follow Lyford’s periodization in selecting the end of the 17th century as the date of transition. Indeed, it’s suggestive that all sources we could find describing Iroquois fortification date to the seventeenth century.
[1]: Morgan & Lloyd 1901, 305 [2]: Lyford 1945, 11 |
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|
Not mentioned in sources.
|
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|
Technology not yet available
|
||||||
|
All descriptions are of a single wall with towers around the city, with a citadel at the centre in some cases.
[1]
"Some Seljuk towns were strongly defended. Isfahan had an impressive enceinte built by the Kakuyidsm, for Nasir-i Khusraw notes the strength of its walls and their battlements. ... However we should not assume that such solid stone work was the rule, for many fortifications were rather flimsy, designed only to deter casual raids and localised hostilities, not properly organised armies."
[2]
[1]: Lambton, A.K.S., ‘The Internal Structure of the Saljuq Empire’, in The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Period, ed. by J.A. Boyle (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968), p.274. [2]: (Peacock 2015, 241) Peacock, A C S. 2015. The Great Seljuk Empire. Edinburgh University Press Ltd. Edinburgh. |
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|
Technology not yet available
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|
Technology not yet available
|
||||||
|
Technology not yet available
|
||||||
|
Technology not yet available
|
||||||
|
Technology not yet available
|
||||||
|
Monte Albán was built with a 3km defensive wall along the shallower slopes of the hill.
[1]
Another wall was constructed along the northern boundary of Monte Albán, but not until the Late I or II periods.
[2]
[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (2003). "The origin of war: New C-14 dates from ancient Mexico." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100(20): 11801-11805, p11804 [2]: Marcus, J. and K. V. Flannery (1996). Zapotec civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, Thames and Hudson London, p151 |
||||||
|
Technology not yet available
|
||||||
|
Urban fortification in Yemen at time is relatively well studies and sources do not mention the existence of concentric fortifications.
[1]
[1]: (De Maigret 2002: 267-273) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5. |
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|
-
|
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|
In terms of settlement organisation, the main defensive strategy seems to have been to construct larger villages.
[1]
.
[1]: Illinois State Museum, Illinois Economy: Settlements (2000), http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/ec_settle.html |
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|
-
|
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|
"As with the rest of the Near East, there is little evidence for warfare in Neolithic Mesopotamia."
[1]
[1]: (Hamblin 2006: 33) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4WM3RBTD. |
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|
Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."".
[1]
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. |
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|
Based on this description it seems these were not complex fortifications ‘Aden was heavily fortified. There was a string of fortresses along the top of the mountain ^ ... He also mentions that there were two towers on Huqqat bay equiped with artillery and a catapult.^’
[1]
[1]: Porter, Venetia Ann (1992) The history and monuments of the Tahirid dynasty of the Yemen 858-923/1454-1517, Durham theses, Durham University, p. 180, Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5867/ |
||||||
|
Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."".
[1]
Moat, ramparts, towers, gates around Pataliputra.
[2]
Were there concentric walls/ramparts here?
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. [2]: Schlingloff, Dieter. Fortified Cities of Ancient India: A Comparative Study. Anthem Press, 2013. p. 39 |
||||||
|
Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."".
[1]
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. |
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|
Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."".
[1]
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. |
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|
Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."".
[1]
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. |
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Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."".
[1]
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. |
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Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."".
[1]
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. |
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Though walls were typically single-layer, they could nevertheless be massive: "One particular hallmark of fortifications during the “Late Rampart” phase, especially during the late MB II (IIC), appears to have been the construction of massive revetment walls built of cyclopean masonry."
[1]
[1]: Burke (2004:173). |
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Not clear whether this information applies to pre-contact polities. "The Hawaiians generally did not build fortifications, but non-combatants could find sacred sanctuary in places of refuge known as pu’uhonua." Pg 4.
[1]
[1]: Hommon, Robert, J. 2013. The Ancient Hawaiian State: Origins of a Political Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press. |
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Not clear whether this information applies to pre-contact polities. "The Hawaiians generally did not build fortifications, but non-combatants could find sacred sanctuary in places of refuge known as pu’uhonua." Pg 4.
[1]
[1]: Hommon, Robert, J. 2013. The Ancient Hawaiian State: Origins of a Political Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press. |
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David Baker says absent.
[1]
"Forts and Castles Castles were not terribly common in the Carolingian age. The great age of castle construction was the eleventh and twelfth centuries during the social, economic, and political revolution that strengthened the aristocracy and handed control of the lands to its members. Castles became essential to maintain this inequitable structure, but in the Carolingian age there were some castles and heavily defended towns that required siege methods to overcome."
[2]
Carolingians built both Roman and Saxon style fortresses.
[2]
[1]: David Baker. Personal communication to Seshat Databank. [2]: (Butt 2002, 38) John J Butt. 2002. Daily Life in the Age of Charlemagne. Greenwood Publishing Group. Westport. |
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David Baker says absent.
[1]
"Forts and Castles Castles were not terribly common in the Carolingian age. The great age of castle construction was the eleventh and twelfth centuries during the social, economic, and political revolution that strengthened the aristocracy and handed control of the lands to its members. Castles became essential to maintain this inequitable structure, but in the Carolingian age there were some castles and heavily defended towns that required siege methods to overcome."
[2]
Carolingians built both Roman and Saxon style fortresses.
[2]
[1]: David Baker. Personal communication to Seshat Databank. [2]: (Butt 2002, 38) John J Butt. 2002. Daily Life in the Age of Charlemagne. Greenwood Publishing Group. Westport. |
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We have provisionally assumed that stone walls around settlements were built in one row only.
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"Since the great wars of the fourteenth century, when Barcelona and Valencia built the magnificent fortifications which survived down to the nineteenth century, the walls of Spanish towns had generally been allowed to fall into decline. Travellers from the war-torn Europe of the 1500s and 1600s were surprised at how Spain managed to get along with medieval ramparts, and how little was spent on the bastions and counter-scarps of contemporary defence. But the walls were still used as a control on movement in and out, and particularly for the collection of the sisas or excise tax, which was the basis of municipal budgets."
[1]
Fortress towns.
[2]
[1]: (Casey 2002, 113) Casey, James. 2002. Early Modern Spain: A Social History. New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2SNTRSWT [2]: (Casey 2002, 3 Casey, James. 2002. Early Modern Spain: A Social History. New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2SNTRSWT |
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Despite textual descriptions and iconographic depictions of sieged warfare in the first millennium BCE, there is little evidence for walls surrounding entire settlements; indeed, the norm seems to have been for walls to surround temple complexes, and for the rest of the settlement to remain exposed, though it is possible that the settlement’s inhabitants could expect to find reguge within the temple enclosure in the event of an attack.
[1]
Fortresses on Nile south of Faiyum.
[2]
[1]: (Kemp 2004: 271-276) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HD39CU6I. [2]: (Taylor 2000, 328) |
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Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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Technology not yet available
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Despite textual descriptions and iconographic depictions of sieged warfare in the first millennium BCE, there is little evidence for walls surrounding entire settlements; indeed, the norm seems to have been for walls to surround temple complexes, and for the rest of the settlement to remain exposed, though it is possible that the settlement’s inhabitants could expect to find reguge within the temple enclosure in the event of an attack.
[1]
[1]: (Kemp 2004: 271-276) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HD39CU6I. |
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older reports describe make-shift palisades and watchtowers made from wood only
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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No archaeological evidence for this. Moreover, the scholarly consensus is that the Jomon were relatively peaceful.
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no evidence of fortresses with multiple rings of fortifications
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Despite textual descriptions and iconographic depictions of sieged warfare in the first millennium BCE, there is little evidence for walls surrounding entire settlements; indeed, the norm seems to have been for walls to surround temple complexes, and for the rest of the settlement to remain exposed, though it is possible that the settlement’s inhabitants could expect to find reguge within the temple enclosure in the event of an attack.
[1]
[1]: (Kemp 2004: 271-276) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HD39CU6I. |
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no evidence of fortresses with multiple rings of fortifications
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When there are more than one concentric ring of walls.
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Monte Albán was built with a 3km defensive wall along the shallower slopes of the hill.
[1]
Another wall was constructed along the northern boundary of Monte Albán, but not until the Late I or II periods.
[2]
[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (2003). "The origin of war: New C-14 dates from ancient Mexico." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 100(20): 11801-11805, p11804 [2]: Marcus, J. and K. V. Flannery (1996). Zapotec civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, Thames and Hudson London, p151 |
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Not mentioned for this period in Shaw’s (1991, 15-24) discussion of Egyptian fortifications.
[1]
According to Gnirs, "fortification architecture and techniques of siege had become the basic means of warfare by the third millennium BCE."
[2]
Construction of a fortress at Elephantine (possibly Classic Old Kingdom).
[3]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 15-24) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Gnirs 2001) [3]: (Juan Carlos Moreno García 2013, 190 cite: Building the Pharaonic state: Territory, elite, and power in ancient Egypt in the 3rd millennium BCE http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/toc/15127.html) |
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Turrets?
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Inferred that consecutive rings of walls existed as they had done previously.
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Zhengzhou had an inner and outer wall, still present in Late Shang.
[1]
[1]: (Liu and Chen 2012: 359: 384) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DE5TU7HY?. |
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Inferred from previous quasi-polity.
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Such as on mountains where the outer wall was scarped rock faced with stone. Even in open countryside attempted to maintain an inner wall at a slightly higher elevation than outer wall.
[1]
[1]: (Nossov 2006, 16) Konstantin S Nossov. 2006. Indian Castles 1206-1526: The Rise and Fall of the Delhi Sultanate. Osprey Publishing. |
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Forts were present throughout the Mughal Empire, but mainly in new territories as ’safe points’ to extend from. An example of a complex fort is at the port of Surat. Here, Aurangezeb ordered for strong bulwarks to protect the outer part of the city, while the inner citadel was protected by a moat and 30-40 pieces of heavy artillery.
[1]
[1]: Gommans, J. J. L. 2002. Mughal Warfare: Indian frontiers and high roads to Empire, 1500-1700. London: Routledge, p139. |
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[1]
Forts built along the coast.
[2]
[1]: (Nikitin 1996, 61) Nikitin, A. V. Customs, Arts and Crafts. in in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.59-80. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf [2]: (Daryaee 2009, 136) Daryaee, Touraj. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. |
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Examples needed.
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castles
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Theodosian Landwalls of Constantinople
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Citadel in Gordion.
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in preceding Principate: Hadrian’s wall. 15 feet high for 73 miles. Milecastle every Roman mile up to 21 feet high. Milecastle could house 60 troops. Between Milecastles, two watchtowers with centuries. 17 large forts along wall home to 1000 soldiers. Nine foot ditch dug at base of wall while a Vallum behind (120 ft wide ditch) ran the entire length of the stone wall. 15-20000 men used to build. 5 year build.
[1]
.
[1]: (Canciello 2005) |
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Based on previous polity fortifications and the stone fortresses built in this time, it seems safe to say the history of complex fortifications continue here
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"Malik ’Abbas built numerous fortress-like villages in Ghur. Qutb al-Din Muhammad founded the fortress-like villages in Ghur. Qutb al-Din Muhammad founded the fortress and city of Firuzkuh. Basha al-Din Sam erected strong fortresses in Ghur, the Garmsir, Gharchistan and Herat, keeping strategic needs in view. A castle constructed at Wadawajzd by Sultan Ghiyath al-Din was so impregnable that it survived the onslaught of the Mongols."
[1]
[1]: (Nizami 1999, 189) K A Nizami. The Ghurids. M S Asimov. C E Bosworth. eds. 1999. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. Part One. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Delhi. |
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"The strong fortification walls reinforced by projecting towers, and the intricate labyrinths with multi-tiered loopholes, were some examples of major developments in the art of fortification at this time."
[1]
[1]: (Mukhamedjanov 1994, 279) Mukhamedjanov, A R in Harmatta J, Puri B N and Etemadi G F eds. 1994. History of civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. UNESCO. |
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"The layout of the ancient city of Zhengzhou has been identified after many years of excavations. The city plan is nearly rectangular with two rings of protective walls that form the outer and the inner city. The inner city is approximately rectangular with a perimeter of almost 7,000m and an area of 300ha. The outer city wall only protects the southern and western portions of the site, located 600-1,100m away from the inner city wall (Figure 16.1). The outer wall was designed to follow natural topography surrounding the inner city, obviously having a defensive function."
[1]
[1]: (Yuan 2013, 327) |
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No evidence settlements defended by consecutive rings of walls. However, walls were surrounded by moats or ditches. "Some of the walled settlements have surrounding ditches that may have served as moats. One of the functions of the walls probably was defense."
[1]
[1]: (Underhill in Peregrine and Ember 2001, 157) |
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reconstruction and new additions of the Great Wall during the Ming period included the redesigning of many towers and fortifications that stood along the length of the wall, as well as the addition of cannons to some strategic locations. In some areas near the west of Beijing, the Great Wall splits into the Inner Wall and Outer Wall offering additional defence through this section of concentric walls. The wall was heavily garrisoned with soldiers manning battlements, gates, and signal towers.
[1]
[1]: (Faust 2016, p.41) |
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Citadels.
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Fortresses.
[1]
Ditch and wall. "Up until the Tang and Song Dynasties wide ramparts and ditches were a typical part of the defense system for a fortified town or city.
[2]
[1]: (Graff 2002, 98) [2]: (Turnball 2002) Turnball, S. 2002. Siege Weapons of the Far East (1): AD 612-1300. Osprey Publishing. |
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Armed land and coastal forts, paotai, first built in the 1650s under Emperor Kangxi’s reign. "In keeping with Kangxi’s emphasis on coastal fortifications, the Yongzheng and the Qianlong emperors both considered a network of forts to be a vital component of the empire’s defense network along its maritime frontier."
[1]
[1]: (Po 2018, 135) |
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during different stages of building, old walls of a city were often incorporated as ‘inner walls’ of new city, e.g. in ‘double cities’ like Xue. Not clear if this was always for defensive purposes, though
[1]
. It does seem clear that the multiple-wall system served to ‘protect’ the elite residences and palace structures from external invasion, whether military threat or social removal from non-ruling classes
[1]: (Hung 1999, 660) |
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Oppida settlement at Manching near Ingolstadt in Bavaria had double ring of dry-stone wall ramparts filled with earth.
[1]
At Sainte-Germain: "Delimiting the citadel fortification consists of a triple system of embankments and ditches."
[2]
[1]: (Kruta 2004, 102) [2]: (http://www.oppida.org/page.php?lg=fr&rub=00&id_oppidum=168) |
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Not mentioned for this period in Shaw’s (1991, 15-24) discussion of Egyptian fortifications.
[1]
According to Gnirs, "fortification architecture and techniques of siege had become the basic means of warfare by the third millennium BCE."
[2]
1st Dynasty fortress built "on the highest point of the shore on Elephantine Island."
[3]
[1]: (Shaw 1991: 15-24) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF. [2]: (Gnirs 2001) [3]: (Bard 2000, 64) |
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"The strength of these forts and the effort made to render them impregnable can be seen from the fortress at Buhen, which was one of the best-preserved forts in Nubia before it was flooded by the waters of the new Aswan High Dam . This formidable Middle Kingdom fortress consisted of an elaborate series of fortifications within fortifications built on a rectangular plan measuring 172 by 160 metres. The defence system consisted of a brick wall 4.8 metres thick and at least 10 metres high with towers at regular intervals. At the bottom of this main wall was a brickpaved rampart, protected by a series of round bastions with double rows of loopholes. The whole fort was surrounded by a dry ditch cut into the bed rock 6.5 metres deep. The ditch was 8.4 metres wide and the other scarp was heightened by brickwork. There were two gates on the east side facing the Nile, and a third, heavily fortified, on the west side facing the desert."
[1]
[1]: (Mokhtar ed. 1981, 258) |
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According to Gnirs, "fortification architecture and techniques of siege had become the basic means of warfare by the third millennium BCE."
[1]
Fortress of Sile was an "important stronghold on the landbridge connecting the Egyptian Delta with Syria-Palestine."
[2]
[1]: (Gnirs 2001) [2]: (Van Dijk 2000, 285-286) |
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"During the First Intermediate Period the town [of Efdu] expanded to almost double its size, a trend which can be seen from the erection of new enclosure walls along the northwestern and southwestern side of the tell. The old walls, however, did not go out of use: an additional wall-layer was added on the outside of the Old Kingdom enclosures (Fig, 3, F116), leaving an inner walled citadel or part of the town enclosed by the former city walls. One can speculate that this now enclosed the religious or administrative quarter of the town."
[1]
[1]: (Moeller 2004: 262) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NKBSEGST. |
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three lines of walls in Los Millares (Chalcolithic site in Spain with Beaker influences) "Los Millares in Almeria was "surrounded by an extensive defensive system, comprising three lines of walls, associated bastions, towers, a ditch...and, in a later phase, outlying forts," (Monks 1997:15). The site probably enclosed an area of 2 ha (5 acres). It was built of limestone held together with mortar. "The outerwall, which belongs to a later phase, is over 300 m in length, with an elaborate barbican entrance flanked by towers and bastions, and an outer ditch. Openings or arrowslits provide good visibility...as well as providing protection for archers firing from within the towers" (Monks 1997:15-16)."
[1]
[1]: (Milisauskas and Kruk 2002, 259) |
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From the 11th century, local rulers constructed earth and wood "motte-and-bailey castles" and later built with stone.
[1]
"At the height of the Middle Ages, great castles were built with deep, defensive ditches or moats and several concentric rings of stone walls reinforced with towers that required attackers to fight their way through several layers of defense to achieve victory."
[2]
Was any of this Early Capetian period ’the height of the Middle Ages’? Inferred yes.
[1]: (De Vries 1995, 1837-1839) [2]: (Newman 2001, 75) Paul B Newman. 2001. Daily Life in the Middle Ages. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Jefferson. |
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|
From the 11th century, local rulers constructed earth and wood "motte-and-bailey castles" and later built with stone.
[1]
"At the height of the Middle Ages, great castles were built with deep, defensive ditches or moats and several concentric rings of stone walls reinforced with towers that required attackers to fight their way through several layers of defense to achieve victory."
[2]
[1]: (De Vries 1995, 1837-1839) [2]: (Newman 2001, 75) Paul B Newman. 2001. Daily Life in the Middle Ages. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Jefferson. |
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|
"At the height of the Middle Ages, great castles were built with deep, defensive ditches or moats and several concentric rings of stone walls reinforced with towers that required attackers to fight their way through several layers of defense to achieve victory."
[1]
"Castle architecture became increasingly complex from the 12th to 13th centuries. ... All of these precautions became obsolete with the widespread use of gunpowder in the 14th and 15th centuries, and castles became simply country residences for the nobility."
[2]
[1]: (Newman 2001, 75) Paul B Newman. 2001. Daily Life in the Middle Ages. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Jefferson. [2]: (Jesse 1995, 181) Scott Jesse. Castles. William W Kibler. Grover A Zinn. Lawrence Earp. John Bell Henneman Jr. 1995. Routledge Revivals: Medieval France (1995): An Encyclopedia. Routledge. Abingdon. |
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“During the United Monarchy much use was made of the so-called casemate wall, which consisted of two parallel walls joined at determined intervals by perpendicular walls. Casemate walls could be freestanding, as at Megiddo VA, or could be integrated into city buildings, as at Beer-sheba II. Casemate walls could be used as soldiers’ dwellings, or to store food or weapons that could be used in case of siege. Sometimes the stone casemates served as a framework, which was filled with earth. From the Divided Monarchy onwards massive walls are more frequent. The earliest type is the inset and offset type, built with sections of around 6m long that alternately project and recede. The degree of projection was 0.5-0.6m. Megiddo IVA is the best example of this type.”
[1]
[1]: Rocca (2010:63-64) |
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|
Referring to a period of time that appears to begin with the Mauryan era and include the first millennium CE:"The royal residence is designated with an old name the “interior city” (antaḥpura) and is described as being just as fortified as the city itself. There are even expressions where the palace wall is confused with the city wall and the castle gate with the city gate. Nonetheless, it would be a false conclusion were one to consider the royal residence, on the strength of this description, to be a citadel. We know from the narrative literature that it was easy to negotiate the moat and wall of the king’s palace by means of a pole or rope. The palace wall formed a police and not a military protection. Once besiegers had breached the city wall, the city lay at their feet. There was no last stand for the palace."
[1]
[1]: (Schlingloff 2013: 47) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DAMFF2NV. |
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|
Coningham and Young describe a settlement surrounded by concentric walls, the old Magadhan capital of Rajgir: "Measuring just more than 5 metres wide, and surviving to heights of 3.7 metres, the wall was strengthened in places with rectangular bastions (Ghosh 1989 : 363) (Figure 10.19). An inner stone wall, 8 kilometres in circuit, further differentiated the settlement area in the interior, which had access to water from springs located within this inner wall (Marshall 1960 : 84)."
[1]
[1]: (Coningham and Young 2015: 381) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DIGG6KVA. |
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|
Hadrian’s wall. 15 feet high for 73 miles. Milecastle every Roman mile up to 21 feet high. Milecastle could house 60 troops. Between Milecastles, two watchtowers with centuries. 17 large forts along wall home to 1000 soldiers. Nine foot ditch dug at base of wall while a Vallum behind (120 ft wide ditch) ran the entire length of the stone wall. 15-20000 men used to build. 5 year build.
[1]
.
[1]: (Canciello 2005) |
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|
The fortifications along the northern sector of Monte Alban consisted of an inner and outer wall, although the outer wall may have been much older (constructed in the Late I or II phases).
[1]
[1]: Marcus, J. and K. V. Flannery (1996). Zapotec civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley, Thames and Hudson London, p151 |
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|
"Important forts like Vijayanagara had no less than seven walls of fortification."
[1]
"The palace was inside a walled compound which stood within a fortified city. Temples were also enclosed by walled compounds."
[2]
[1]: (Ramayanna 1986, p. 121) [2]: (Howes 2003, 45) Jennifer Howes. 2003. The Courts of Pre-colonial South India: Material Culture and Kingship. RoutledgeCurzon. London. |
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|
In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present north-west of Persia (where is that - SW of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan region?); however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region. "The ruins of the holy city of the Kingdom of Elam, surrounded by three huge concentric walls, are found at Tchogha Zanbil. Founded c. 1250 B.C., the city remained unfinished after it was invaded by Ashurbanipal, as shown by the thousands of unused bricks left at the site."
[2]
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. [2]: UNESCO. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/113/ |
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|
Earthern rampart at Hatra, in addition to wall and ditch.
[1]
Hatra had "inner and outer city walls surrounded by a moat".
[2]
[1]: (Rawlinson 2014, 213) Rawlinson, George. 2014. The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, Or: Parthia; Sassanian, or New Persian empire; Notes and index. Gorgias Press LLC. [2]: (Ring, Watson and Schellinger 2014, 122) Ring, Trudy. Watson, Noelle. Schellinger, Paul. 2014. Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Routledge. |
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|
Earthern rampart at Hatra, in addition to wall and ditch.
[1]
Hatra had "inner and outer city walls surrounded by a moat".
[2]
[1]: (Rawlinson 2014, 213) Rawlinson, George. 2014. The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, Or: Parthia; Sassanian, or New Persian empire; Notes and index. Gorgias Press LLC. [2]: (Ring, Watson and Schellinger 2014, 122) Ring, Trudy. Watson, Noelle. Schellinger, Paul. 2014. Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Routledge. |
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Qasr-i-Qajar (Castle of the Qajars)
[1]
? “By the 1870s the khans had settled down and built castles in the lush valleys of the summer pasture to the east of Isfahan.”
[2]
[1]: (Wilber 1962) Donald N Wilber. 1962. Persian Gardens & Garden Pavilions. Charles E.Tuttle Company. Tokyo. [2]: (Oehler 1993, 134) Julie Oehler. 1993. Bibi Maryam: A Bakhtiyari Tribal Woman. Edmund Burke, III. ed. Struggle and Survival in the Modern Middle East. University of California Press. Berkley. |
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"The important towns in Central Asia had citadels and were walled and further protected by mud circumvallation."
[1]
"Some forts were protected by double walls."
[1]
The ghulam Allah Verdi Khan built a fort in the Shiraz area.
[2]
Tabriz and many Iranian cities did not have defensive walls around the whole site, although they did have a central citadel where defenders would retreat to.
[3]
Isfahan had "more than 3,500" towers around the city. These were the so-called ’pigeon towers’.
[4]
[1]: (Roy 2014, 105) Roy, Kaushik. 2014. Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750: Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships. A&C Black. [2]: Sholeh A. Quinn, ‘Iran under Safavid Rule’, in David O. Morgan and Anthony Reid (eds), The New Cambridge History of Islam: Volume 3. The Eastern Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010),P.227. [3]: Blow, David. Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. London: I.B. Tauris, 2009. p.76. [4]: Blow, David. Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. London : I.B. Tauris ; , 2009. plate 12. |
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[1]
Most Sasanian cities were fortified.
[1]
"The acme of Sasanian military construction is represented by the fortifications of Darband, which stood across the road along the west coast of the Caspian; their construction began under Yazdgird II (438-457). The defences include the city’s northern and southern walls, the citadel and a wall strengthened by stone forts that stretched 40 km to the Caucasus mountains."
[2]
[1]: (Nikitin 1996, 61) Nikitin, A. V. Customs, Arts and Crafts. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.59-80. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf [2]: (Nikitin 1996, 63) Nikitin, A. V. Customs, Arts and Crafts. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.59-80. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf |
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For example, Jebel Khalid, a settlement founded by the Seleucids, with an outer wall and inner wall around the acropolis palace.
[1]
[1]: Wright, N. L. 2011.The Last days of a Seleucid City: Jebel Khalid in the Euphrates and its Temple. In, Erickson, K. and Ramsey, G. Seleucid Dissolution: The Sinking of the Anchor. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp117-132. p119 |
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All descriptions are of a single wall with towers around the city, with a citadel at the centre in some cases.
[1]
"Some Seljuk towns were strongly defended. Isfahan had an impressive enceinte built by the Kakuyidsm, for Nasir-i Khusraw notes the strength of its walls and their battlements. ... However we should not assume that such solid stone work was the rule, for many fortifications were rather flimsy, designed only to deter casual raids and localised hostilities, not properly organised armies."
[2]
[1]: Lambton, A.K.S., ‘The Internal Structure of the Saljuq Empire’, in The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Period, ed. by J.A. Boyle (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968), p.274. [2]: (Peacock 2015, 241) Peacock, A C S. 2015. The Great Seljuk Empire. Edinburgh University Press Ltd. Edinburgh. |
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By this point, stand-alone fortresses were a more common way to defend a city than continuous, multi-circle wall-circuits. Good examples from just north of the Papal States are found in Florence: During the 16th century, the Medici built the Fortezza da Basso and the Fortezza da Belvedere on opposite ends of the city; combined, their artillery dominated the city. Coastal fortresses became increasingly common along the Adriatic coast to defend the Papal State from Turkish raids, after 1530 or so.
[1]
[1]: Mallet & Shaw, 184 |
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’The wall [of Angkor Thom] is entirely made of superimposed blocks of stone; it is about two [sic] fathoms high. The bonding of the stones is very compact and solid, and no weeds are found there. There is no crenellation.’ On the ramparts, in certain places gangling [kuang-lang, kouang-lang] trees have been planted. At regular distances are found empty casemates. The inner side of the wall is like a ramp wider than ten fathoms. On top of each ramp are huge doors, closed at night, and open in the morning. There are also guards at the gates.’
[1]
Inside the outer, city walls, were additional layers of concentric walls, ultimately surrounding ’the golden tower’ [the Bayon], which Zhou Daguan calls "the centre of the kingdom.’
[1]
[1]: (Zhou and Smithies 2001, p. 19) |
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’As both military and administrative centers, the forts and palisades at least sometimes rivaled the administrative seats of provinces (kokufu) in their size and complexity, as archaeological excavation has shown. The site of the famous Taga Fort, for instance, was a square nearly 3,000 feet on each side surrounded by an earthen wall over two miles long. Several administrative buildings on an elevation at the center of the site were enclosed within their own earthen wall, which measured 330 feet east to west and 390 feet north to south. Elsewhere within the site were other groups of buildings, including storehouses and what are thought to have been quarters for artisans and soldiers.’
[1]
[1]: Shively, Donald H. and McCullough, William H. 2008. The Cambridge History of Japan Volume 2: Heian Japan. Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press.p.31 |
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’Castle towns trace their origin to the Muromachi period and the construction of wooden defenses typically located on hills for reasons of protection and surveillance. These fortifications were the precursors to the castles and castle-building styles that grew more elaborate during the Warring States period.
[1]
‘the acquisition, possession and loss of a castle were common events during the Sengoku Period, but once the trend towards larder armies developed, the castle became not only a barracks for the troops, but a symbol of the daimyo’s authority.
[2]
[1]: Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press. p.60. [2]: Turnbull, Stephen. 1998. The Samurai Sourcebook. Arms & Armour Press.p.161 |
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"Unlike Chinese cities, Central Asian cities had several rings of walls, the outermost to keep out invading nomads and the encroaching sand. At the Merv oasis the outermost rampart ran for more than 155 miles, three times the length of Hadrian’s Wall separating England from Scotland."
[1]
"Krasnaya Rechka. Site in northern Kyrgyzstan, c. 36 km east of Bishkek. ... identified with either Sarigh or Navakat ... Located along the Silk Route, the settlement developed in the 6th century and explanded in the 7th. ... The city was fortified with a pise and mud-brick wall (h. 15m; w. 12.3 m) with protuding bastions, fortified gates and a large moat. In the center of the site was an extensive area (20 sq. km) with traces of an irrigation system, sections of inner walls ... Excavation of a palace (10th-12th century), manor houses, craft workshops, pottery kilns and vineyards suggest that this became the city center during the period of Karakhanid (r. 940-1211) rule."
[2]
Inner walls mentioned here.
[1]: (Starr 2013) Starr, S. Frederick. 2013. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. Princeton. [2]: (Bloom and Blair 2009, 399) Jonathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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’The wall [of Angkor Thom] is entirely made of superimposed blocks of stone; it is about two [sic] fathoms high. The bonding of the stones is very compact and solid, and no weeds are found there. There is no crenellation.’ On the ramparts, in certain places gangling [kuang-lang, kouang-lang] trees have been planted. At regular distances are found empty casemates. The inner side of the wall is like a ramp wider than ten fathoms. On top of each ramp are huge doors, closed at night, and open in the morning. There are also guards at the gates.’
[1]
Inside the outer, city walls, were additional layers of concentric walls, ultimately surrounding ’the golden tower’ [the Bayon], which Zhou Daguan calls "the centre of the kingdom.’
[1]
[1]: (Zhou and Smithies 2001, p. 19) |
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|
’The wall [of Angkor Thom] is entirely made of superimposed blocks of stone; it is about two [sic] fathoms high. The bonding of the stones is very compact and solid, and no weeds are found there. There is no crenellation.’ On the ramparts, in certain places gangling [kuang-lang, kouang-lang] trees have been planted. At regular distances are found empty casemates. The inner side of the wall is like a ramp wider than ten fathoms. On top of each ramp are huge doors, closed at night, and open in the morning. There are also guards at the gates.’
[1]
Inside the outer, city walls, were additional layers of concentric walls, ultimately surrounding ’the golden tower’ [the Bayon], which Zhou Daguan calls "the centre of the kingdom.’
[1]
[1]: (Zhou and Smithies 2001, p. 19) |
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’The initial move seems to have been to Srei Santhor, about 30 km (19 miles) northeast of Phnom Penh, at some time in the fourteenth century; then, briefly, to Phnom Penh itself. By about 1528, the Cambodian court under its first great Post-Angkorian king, Ang Chan I, had moved once and for all to the all to the Quatre Bras region, establishing a new capital at Lovek (Longvek), on the right bank of the Tonle Sap River, 50 km (30 miles) north of Phnom Penh. Love, like Udong and Phnom Penh- the town s that succeeded it as the capital- was thoroughly international, with foreign quarters for Malay, Japanese, and Chinese traders (there were as many as 3,000 of the last in the 1540s). There Ang Chan (who really did exist) built a golden palace and at least four major wats, erecting a huge, four-faced Buddha of wood, the stone foundation of which survive in one of the town’s vicars. The capital was fortified by earthen ramparts topped with palisades; these ramparts, which form a huge rectangle, are still visible.’
[1]
[1]: (Coe 2003, pp. 208-209) |
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Sintashta-Petrovka culture (slightly preceding the Andronovo) in southern Urals: "The fortification and layout of the settlements were deliberately planned in advance, taking into account the natural relief. Sites are surrounded by a ditch ... with two rows of defensive walls, 1.7m and more thick, made of clay blocks and vertically erected pine logs ... Walls were also made of timber frameworks filled with earth; there was probably a timber palisade above them. The ditch was cut in steps and reinforced by logs."
[1]
The (not Andronovo) Bactrian-Margiana Archaeological Complex c2200-1700 BCE of southern Turkmenistan is very close to Sogdiana region: here "The presence of triple-walled circular forts in the BMAC also matches the description of the fortified sites depicted in the Vedas.
[2]
Strong inferrence for Andronovo also.
[1]: (Kuz’mina 2007, 32) Elena Efimovna Kuzʹmina. 2007. The Origin of the Indo-Iranians. J P Mallory ed. BRILL. Leiden. [2]: (Mallory 1997, 72-73) J P Mallory. BMAC. J P Mallory. D Q Adams. ed. 1997. Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. London. |
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Closest relevant data: in the 19th century the Yoruba capital Ketu had double walls and a moat.
[1]
The "short-lived capital of Ton Mansa" probably occupied in the 1760s/1770s "features a central, double-walled concession of limited access, which is tempting to identify as a palace area. Another walled area in the northwest quadrant of the town has direct access to the exterior and controlled access to the interior. This is said to have been the place of the Sifinso."
[2]
[1]: (Smith 1989, 111) Robert Sydney Smith. 1989. Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa. Second Edition. The University of Wisconsin Press. Madison. [2]: (Monroe and Ogundiran 2012, 183) J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa. J Cameron Monroe. Akinwumi Ogundiran. eds. 2012. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. |
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Study of the Chintolgoi balgas: "The town was surrounded by two ramparts."
[1]
"The Chintolgoi Wall is a 1256 x 655 m earthen enclosure is thought to have housed some 20,000 Khitan warriors."
[2]
[1]: (Kradin 2010, 253) [2]: (Gunchinsuren 2017, 727) Byambaa Gunchinsuren. The Archaeology of Mongolia’s Early States. Junko Habu. Peter V Lape. John W Olsen. 2017. Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology. Springer. New York. |
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"Early in the 6th century, probably under Anagui’s reign, the Rouran built their capital city, the town of Mumocheng, encircled with two walls constructed by Liang shu (LS 54: 47a-47b; Taskin 1984, p. 290)."
[1]
"However, no trace of the town has been found to date and historians argue about its location."
[1]
[1]: (Kradin 2005, 163) |
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"The fortified settlement of Ivolga in Russia, situated near the modern city of Ulan-Ude, is the most investigated one among them. The site was an irregular rectangle with sides equal to approximately 200 and 300 m. On three sides, it was protected by fortification works of three walls alternating with three ditches while on the fourth side the site was protected by the Selenga river."
[1]
Not ’concentric’ but I think we can code as present since the fourth side is protected by a river.
[1]: (Kradin 2011, 85) |
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"The fortified settlement of Ivolga in Russia, situated near the modern city of Ulan-Ude, is the most investigated one among them. The site was an irregular rectangle with sides equal to approximately 200 and 300 m. On three sides, it was protected by fortification works of three walls alternating with three ditches while on the fourth side the site was protected by the Selenga river."
[1]
These fortifications are not ’concentric’ but the fourth side is protected by a river.
[1]: (Kradin 2011, 85) |
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"For fortifications, Aztec sites show a broad range with some totally exposed on valley floors and others being walled or at elevations. Tenochtitlan only had walls around the sacred precinct but of course had natural fortification by being an island in a lake that could be entered only through a few causeways. At the high end of fortification was the Tlaxcalan stronghold of Tepeticpac, up on a high hill and encircled by walls. That was their strategy of resistance against the Aztec empire. Huexotla is a site in the domain of Texcoco with a large wall and their were fortified garrisons on the frontier between the Aztec and Tarascan empires, in west Mexico. But probably more sites were not fortified than were. There was nothing comparable to the medieval European pattern or earlier fortified city states of Mesopotamia or elsewhere in Eurasia."
[1]
[1]: (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro) |
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Alişar Hüyük
[1]
. A fortification wall was constructed, and only 10 meters of fortification found on the terrace were excavated. One of these walls was set behind the other and rectangular-shaped bastions were constructed onto it.
[2]
[1]: Çevik Ö., "The Emergence of Different Social Systems in Early Bronze Age Anatolia: Urbanisation versus Centralisation", In: "Anatolian Studies", Vol. 57, Transanatolia: Bridging the Gap between East and West in the Archaeology of Ancient Anatolia (2007), p. 136. [2]: Joukowsky M. S., "Early Turkey. An Introduction to the Archeology of Anatolia from Prehistory through the Lydian Period", USA 1996, p. 170. |
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same as the previous polity: ’this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’
[1]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985 |
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Settlements have continuity with previous polity. Alişar Hüyük
[1]
. A fortification wall was constructed, and only 10 meters of fortification found on the terrace were excavated. One of these walls was set behind the other and rectangular-shaped bastions were constructed onto it.
[2]
[1]: Çevik Ö., "The Emergence of Different Social Systems in Early Bronze Age Anatolia: Urbanisation versus Centralisation", In: "Anatolian Studies", Vol. 57, Transanatolia: Bridging the Gap between East and West in the Archaeology of Ancient Anatolia (2007), p. 136. [2]: Joukowsky M. S., "Early Turkey. An Introduction to the Archeology of Anatolia from Prehistory through the Lydian Period", USA 1996, p. 170. |
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"Fortifications of Mersin XVI are the earliest of the type of structure. Carefully planned, built of mudbrick on a stone foundation, it stood on the top of a fifty-foot mound. The sides had been steeply revetted to from a glacis, adding considerably to its strength. The fortress appears to have had single storey, with a continuous roof over the barrack rooms which provided a platform for the garnison whose main weapons was the sling. Behind the 1-5 metre thick defensive wall, provided with stout offsets, lay a series of rooms each lit by two slit windows in the outer walls. Each rooms had small open courtyard in front, grinding platforms, grain bins, hearths and other domestic arrangements. Doors in the site walls made communication possible along the inner face of the wall. On the northwest site of the mound, a track or ramp led from the river to the "Water Gate" which was about two metres wide and flanked on either site by a projecting tower containing a guardroom. An important building, which the excavators thought to be the ruler’s residence, formed a rectangular block divided down the middle by a long central courtyard containing a domed oven. The group of rooms lay on either side. Thus the plan of the structure resembles that of manny an Early Bronze Age house at Byblos".
[1]
[1]: The Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages in the Near East and Anatolia, James Mellaart, KHAYATS Beirut1966, p.102 |
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same as the previous polity: ’this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’
[1]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985 |
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Parallel walls joined by diagonal walls were part of the fortification: ’(e.g. Hattusa) The fortification walls were built in a casemate system with a width of up to 8 m. Two parallel walls were connected by diagonal walls, and the compartments thus constructed were filled with rubble. Towers protruded at regular intervals from the outer face of the walls. The walls are always situated on earthen ramparts, which provided protection against battering rams.’
[1]
[1]: Lorenz J. and I. Schrakamp (2011) Hittite Military and Warfare, pp. 141 [In:] H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (ed.) Insights Into Hittite History And Archaeology, Colloquia Antiqua 2, Leuven, Paris, Walpole MA: PEETERS, pp. 125-151 |
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’By the end of Croesus’s reign, Sardis was a city of monumental architecture that included: a fortification wall twenty meters thick (figure 52.3) that enclosed a lower city area of about 108 hectares; terraces of white ashlar masonry that regularized natural slopes and contours of the acropolis (figures 52.4, 52.5; Ratté 2011); probably the triple-wall defenses of the acropolis—if they are not Persian—that later impressed Alexander the Great (Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri 1.17.5; Lucian, Charon 9); three huge tumuli at Bin Tepe—the largest more than 350 m in diameter (figure 52.6)—that were visible from afar and heralded the city to those approaching it (Roosevelt 2009).’
[1]
[1]: Crawford H. Greenewalt, ‘Sardis: A First Millennium B.C.E. Capital in Western Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p.1117 |
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Lysimachus built a fortified camp near Dorylaeum that was fortified with a "deep ditch and three lines of palisades".
[1]
“No excavations in Lysimacheia have been undertaken up to now, the only particular building we know about is the temple renamed Lysimacheion after the death of Lysimachos. There the King was buried and certainly venerated as an oikist (App. Syr. 341; ИTM: 330). One may expect impressive fortifications to have defended the new foundation with the sites of older Kardia and Paktia.”
[2]
[1]: (Champion 2014, 155) Jeff Champion. 2014. Antigonus the One-Eyed: Greatest of the Successors. Pen & Sword. Barnsley. [2]: Dimitrov, K. (2011) Economic, Social and Political Structures on the Territory of the Odrysian Kingdom in Thrace (5th - first half of the 3rd century BC). ORPHEUS. Journal of IndoEuropean and Thracian Studies. 18, p. 4-24. p15 |
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’this fortification system arrangement remained unchanged throughout the imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite periods’
[1]
e.g. Carchemish: "The defence consisted of several walls or ramparts that protected an outer city with private houses and an inner city with gates, temples, the Great Staircase and hilani-buildings. A fortified citadel was located by the river at what was probably the centre of the city. ... According to Mazzoni a new lay-out of the citadel, squares and public buildings with facade sculptures took place during the late 11th and early 10th centuries B.C. (Mazzoni [1995] 182). Thereafter there is a change in iconography marked by the disappearance of the traditional Hittite motifs..."
[2]
[1]: Marcella Frangipane, ‘Arslantepe-Malatya: A Prehistoric and Early Historic Center in Eastern Anatolia’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 985 [2]: (Thuesen 2002, 47) |
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"Kilidülbahir castle overlooks the Dardanelles from the Gelibolu peninsular. It was first built by the Ottomans in the late 15th century."
[1]
Yeni Kule (Seven Towers fort) 1458 CE. Kars, Erivan had a double wall and 51 towers. Maintained fortifications that had been built by Hungarians along Danube and Carpathian borders.
[2]
On the Examples include one on the Asiatic Bosphorus called Anadolu Hisar, and one on the European coast called Rumeli Hisar. The latter was completed in 1452 CE and allowed the Ottomans to control, using artillery, the route to and from the Black Sea.
[3]
[1]: (Nicolle 1983, 7) [2]: (Nicolle 1983, 23-24) [3]: (Turnbull 2003, 37) |
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"Having run a trench several feet deep, around five or ten acres of land, and thrown up the ground upon the inside, they set a continuous row of stakes or palisades in this bank of earth, fixing them at such an angle that they inclined over the trench. Sometimes a village was surrounded by a double, or even triple row of palisades. Within this enclosure they constructed their bark-houses, and secured their stores."
[1]
Some sources suggest that the building of palisades ceased to be a common occurrence after the 17th century: "The necessity of stockading the villages had almost ceased by the beginning of the seventeenth century, and by the close of the century the stockades were abandoned. Villages became less compact, but houses continued to be built near enough together to form a neighborhood."
[2]
We follow Lyford’s periodization in selecting the end of the 17th century as the date of transition. Indeed, it’s suggestive that all sources we could find describing Iroquois fortification date to the seventeenth century.
[1]: Morgan & Lloyd 1901, 305 [2]: Lyford 1945, 11 |
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By this period villages were often located on defensible hilltops, away from major routes, and were fortified "either by ravines or by artificial earthworks and multiple palisades," and included man made ditches and usually one to two gates. There were also"watch towers, reached by ladder, served as an outlook above the palisade wall."
[1]
[2]
[1]: (Snow 1994: 52) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TQ4KR3AE. [2]: (Wright 1979: 20) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/MKRRCUSL. |
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"Another early city of the same date, Kalalî-gîr, was surrounded by triple walls with bastions and had four gates with entrance barbicans and a hill-top palace, but it was never completed."
[1]
[1]: (Negmatov 1994: 446) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2ZC77C82. |
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"Unlike Chinese cities, Central Asian cities had several rings of walls, the outermost to keep out invading nomads and the encroaching sand. At the Merv oasis the outermost rampart ran for more than 155 miles, three times the length of Hadrian’s Wall separating England from Scotland."
[1]
"Qala’i-i Kahkakha itself was a small citadel attached to the curtain wall of the fortified Central Asian city of Bunjikath. Its lower part was made of large stone blocks forming a sloping plinth or talus, while the stone wall above was integral with the circuit-wall of the town. The upper part of the citadel was constructed of brick covered with stucco plaster and topped by a row of crenellations."
[2]
[1]: (Starr 2013) Starr, S. Frederick. 2013. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. Princeton. [2]: (Nicolle 2012) Nicolle, David. 2012. Saracen Strongholds AD 630-1050: The Middle East and Central Asia. Osprey Publishing. |
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The summer palace built by Hülegü’s son Abaqa near Lake Urmia had "massive oval walls protected by towers and accessed by a new gate".
[1]
Cannot find any reference to concentric walls.
[1]: Sheila S. Blair, ’IL-KHANIDS ii. Architecture’ http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/il-khanids-ii-architecture |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region. Another reference to north-western Iran: ‘The Iron II fortifications of the citadel are poorly known, but evidence for a probable circumvallation was found in three locations on the northern and northwestern citadel (Fig. 17.11; Danti forthcoming a, forthcoming b). A series of buildings on the southwest slopes of the mound formed the fortified entry to the Iron Age citadel (Dyson 1989: 110-11). The built environment of the citadel interior was designed to control access to its inner reaches (the Lower Court) and contained internal gateways and towers, supporting the conclusion that the entire citadel was strongly fortified in concentric fashion.’
[2]
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. [2]: Michael D. Danti, ‘The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in Northwestern Iran’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 354 |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. |
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Sources
[1]
do not mention any archaeological evidence for fortification for this period.
[1]: Marcus and Flannery (1996) Zapotec Civilization: How urban society evolved in Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley. Flannery and Marcus (1983) The Cloud People: divergent evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec civilizations. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Academic Press, New York. |
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The fact that sources mention evidence for defensive palisades
[1]
but not evidence for any other kind of fortification suggests that there is only evidence for the former. Evidence for large or complex fortifications has not been found for this period.
[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (2005). Excavations at San José Mogote 1: The Household Archaeology, University of Michigan Museum, p102 |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. |
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around Baghdad?
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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Not mentioned by sources.
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Checked by Peter Peregrine.
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region. Possibly at Susa during the reign of Indattu-In-Shushinak.
[2]
What was the nature of these fortifications? Description needed.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. [2]: Hinz 1971, 660 |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. |
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[1]
The Questions of King Milinda on Salaka: "Wise architects have laid it out ... strong towers and ramparts, with superb gates and entrance archways; and with the royal citadel in its midst, white walled and deeply moated."
[2]
[1]: Chaliand, Gerard. Nomadic Empires: From Mongolia to the Danube. Transaction Books, 2006. [2]: (Bauer 2010, 180-181) Bauer, S W. 2010. The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade. W. W. Norton & Company. |
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No evidence to code.
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around Baghdad?
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No references in the literature.
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No references identified in the literature. RA.
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"The fortifications on the peninsular, some of which were excellent, derived from Theodoric’s efforts to preserve and, if possible, improve the existing system of defences. The main fortress, Ravenna, was also the most important residence; but the Amal also spent considerable sums on maintaining Rome’s city walls. Moreover, Theodoric probably took over and expanded the organisation of the tractus Italiae per Alpes, the fortresses at the southern exits of the Alpine passes. At any rate, we know of several measures by the Gothic king to construct fortifications and supply camps at the Gallic Durance, in the Cottian Alps, in the Val d’Aosta, and near Como and Trent. The conglomerate hill Doss Trento ... was crownded by the fortress with the telling name "Wart." This Verruca and the Ligurian fortresses of Dertona are the best known new constructions of Theodoric’s time."
[1]
[1]: (Wolfram 1990, 306) |
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There were "Sites of royal importance with fortifications, e.g. Pauni, Nagaradhan, Bilav-Kuji nala, Ghugusgad, etc."
[1]
however, what those fortification were is not stated.
[1]: (Sawant 2009) Reshma Sawant. 2008. ‘State Formation Process In The Vidarbha During The Vakataka Period’. Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute 68-69: 137-162. |
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"when the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius invaded the Indus region in 180 BC, he established a Greek centre called Sirkap near the Indian city. Sirkap was a Greek walled city built on the river bank opposite Taxila, but the two centres shared administrative duties and the royal mint remained in the Indian capital."
[1]
[1]: (McLaughlin 2016, 80) Raoul McLaughlin. 2016. The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy and the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia and Han China. Pen and Sword History. Barnsley. |
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The fact that sources mention evidence for defensive palisades
[1]
but not evidence for any other kind of fortification suggests that there is only evidence for the former. Evidence for large or complex fortifications has not been found for this period.
[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (2005). Excavations at San José Mogote 1: The Household Archaeology, University of Michigan Museum, p102 |
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Not discussed in consulted literature RA.
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Palace at Edo? Cannot get enough detail from snippet read.
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Not discussed in consulted literature RA.
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Not discussed in consulted literature RA.
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we need expert input in order to code this variable
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According to Miksic the Majapahit capital did not seem to have any sort of defensive perimeter.
[1]
This does not mean that no town or fort in Majapahit had any type of defensive fortification. Indian military terms surviving in Javanese include ’fortress’ and ’siege’.
[2]
[1]: (Miksic 2000, 115) [2]: (Kumara 2007, 161) Sasiprabha Kumara. 2007. Sanskrit Across Cultures. Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. |
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Kautilya’s Arthasastra, written after 200 BCE, mentions a complex arrangement of moats. He suggested around provincial capitals three moats should be built "constructed at distances of one Danda from each other. ... They should be revetted with stone or their sides should be lined with stone or brick. They should be fed either by natural springs or by channeled water, and they should be provided with means of drainage and stocked with lotuses and crocodiles. At a distance of four Dandas from the moat, he should get a rampart constructed using the earth that has been dug out."
[1]
[1]: (Olivelle 2016, 103) Patrick Olivelle trans. 2016. King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. Oxford University Press. Oxford. |
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Commenting on Jean Deloche’s ’Studies on Fortification in India’ a book reviewer says " certain types of multiple ditches on the exterior of medieval forts were likely to have been placed to ’impede the approach of elephants.’”
[1]
[1]: (Smith 2010, 274) Monica L Smith. January 2010. Journal of the American Oriental Society. 130.2. Studies on Fortification in India. Collection Indologie, vol. 104. Four Forts of the Deccan vol. 111. Senji (Gingee): A Fortified City in the Tamil Country. vol. 101 by Jean Deloche. |
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In the north-west of Persia by c800 BCE: "Double and triple stone walls, with a thickness of 3.6 m and a height of 12 m, surrounded some cities"
[1]
- present for that region at that time; however this is not a direct reference to the Elamite region.
[1]: (Hejazi and Saradj 2015, 6) Mehrdad Hejazi. Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj. 2015. Persian Architectural Heritage: Architecture, Structure and Conservation. WITPress. Southampton. |
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