Byzantium, At it's high point - AD 1000 to 1180

 

View of a Castle Gate

 

Drawbridge Pulley Mechanism

 

Drawbridge Operating Counterweight

 

Rolling Bridge

 

Early Greek Ship

 

In this drawing the major rigging elements for a vessel under sail are clearly shown:

--Mast;
--Yard;
--Forestays;
--Brails;
--Sheets;
--Braces;
--Sail;
and the double steering Oars. This ship design probably dates from the fourth century BC or earlier.

Reference:

--A. Cowley (trans.)" Jewish Documents of the Time of Ezra, #26 (translated from the Aramaic)," Bodley's Librarian, 1919.

--Henry B. Culver, Gordon Grant (Illus.), "The Book of Old Ships, From Egyptian Galleys to Clipper Ships," Dover Publications, New York, 1992, (ISBN 0-486-27332-6 [pbk.])

Respectfully Submitted;

Marcus Audens

Infantry / Cavalry Square

 

A Byzantine military manual of the middle of the 10th century depicts this' square infantry formation keeping the cavalry inside' which enabled the two arms to cooperate to best effect. The text is usually associated with the soldier--emperor Nikephoros Phokas II, who, led the revival of imperial fortunes from the 950s until his assassination in 969.

Reference:

Matthew Bennett, et all, "Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World, AD500 - AD1500," Amber Books Ltd., St. Martin's Press, New York, 2005, Page 11 (ISBN 0-312-34820-7)

Towers with a rear open face.

In some cases the back of the tower was left open to make it easier to haul up supplies and projectiles from the ground level to the fighting platforms above.  In addition, the open back prevented the enemy from taking the tower and using it against the defenders.  Drawing by Marcus Audens.

Rashid (Rosetta)

The medieval fortifications at the port city of Rashid (Rosetta) illustrated by H. Boot in the 19th century, showing a gate and flanking towers that have since disappeared.  In Egypt, Sultan Baybars (1260 - 1277)was credited with repairing the walls of Alexandria and adding a moat, as well as building a tower at Rashid (Rosetta).  Towards the close of the Mamluk period the fortifications of Rashid were strengthened yet again.  Drawing is by Marcus Audens.

Roman Warship -- Trireme

Drawn by Marcus Audens

Deserted Oasis of Ayn Umm al-Dabaqi in Egypt

A remarkably complete, mud-brick fortress which probably dates from between he 10th and 12th centuries. It certainly includes features that are more advanced than those seen in pre-Islamic desert forts. (author's photo). Drawing by Marcus Audens.

Reference:

David Nicolle, Saracen Strongholds AD 630 - 1050. the Middle East and Central Asia, Osprey Pub., Fortress 76, 2008

Harlech Castle

A plan showing the use of circular towers to command the corners and approaches.  Source: Philip Warner, Sieges of the Middle Ages, (London:Bell, 1968).

Citadel of Baykand (Paikend), Uzbekistan

B--Plan of the upper floor.

Fortifications of Central Asia -- Tower 2 of the second Citadel (shahristan)

A-B-- Baykand (Paikend) in Uzbekistan, pre-Islamic but remaining in use until the 9th century AD (after A.R. Mukhamedkhanov et al.)

A--Isometric reconstruction of the tower;

B--Plan of the upper floor.

Balkh, Afganistan

C--isometric reconstruction of a section of the brick citadel in the 7th and 8th centuries AD (after E. Elsin)

North Gate, al-Rafiqa

C --plan of upper chamber

D -- restored section through the gate

Bastions and Associated Works

 

Bastions and Associated Works, the "trace italienne system" of fortifications, source : Geoffrey Parker, "The Military Revolution," page 11 ---- Traced by Marcus Audens

Reference:

I. A. Corfis, and M. Wolfe, "The Medieval City Under Siege," Boydell Press, Rochester, N. Y., 1995.

Eric McGeer, "Byzantine Siege Warfare In Theory and Practice," --The Medieval City Under Siege--, pp 123 to 129.

al Rabadhah, Saudi Arabia

 

Fortified structure with a complex. One of several fortified buildings at al-Rabadhah, Saudi Arabia, on the Darb al-Zubaydah pilgrim road between Iraq and Mecca, late 8th to early 10th centuries AD (after S. Ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Rashid).

Reference:

D. Nicolle, "Saracen Strongholds AD 630 -- 1050," Fortress 76, (Osprey Pub.-2008), P. 48.

Ukhaidir (Desert Castle)

 

Southwest of Baghdad in the Iraqi desert stand the two "desert castles" of Atshan and Ukhaidir. The former might be Umayyad, but Ukhaidir is generally believed to have been built for the "Abbasid prince Isa Ibn Musa after he went into internal exile around AD 776. Ukhaidir is particularly interesting because it combines poor masonry with a very advanced design, and as such, was typical of many aspects of medieval eastern Islamic fortification. The large fortified enclosure is approximately 170 m along each side, the intact parts of the outer wall including the wallhead reaching 17 m. Round towers stand at each corner, with ten half-round towers and split or quarter-round towers flanking three of the gates. The outer surfaces of the walls are not flat, but have two pointed blind arches between each tower. The towers themselves are solid, but at the wallhead was a covered walkway that opened into a chamber at the summit of each tower, and had slits in the floor, which enabled a garrison to defend the foot of the wall.

The drawing is of the North side of the court of honor in Ukhaidir before the massive restoration of recent years. It led to the Main Gate which was itself set between massive rectangular towers. The drawing is based on an Iraqi Ministry of Tourism photograph.

Reference:

David Nicolle, Adam Hook (illust.), "Saracen Strongholds AD 630 - 1050," Fortress 76, Osprey Pub. Oxford, UK, 2008, P. 30.

Rumeli Hisari (Ottoman Fortification on the Bosphoros)

 

Key for the Main Picture:

1. Saruca Tower;

2. Dag (Mountain) Gate;

3. Dizdaz (Sentries) Gate leading to the Barbican;

4. Halil Pasa Tower;

5. At the time of the sinking of the Venetian blockade-runner, the fortifications of the barbican were apparently not yet complete and the heavy guns were simply lined up along the shore;

6. The huge stone cannon ball that sank the Venetian blockade-runner was probably not the first shot, the guns fixed positions suggesting that they were fired in sequence;

7. The doomed Venetian ship was a three-masted merchant galley, not a speedy war galley;

8. The vessel would have tried to sail down the middle of the strait to keep as far as possible from the guns of both Ottoman Fortresses;

9. Su (Water) Tower;

10. Sel (Ravine) Gate was a minor entrance to the fortress.

Reference:

D. Nicolle, "Ottoman Fortifications 1300-1710," Fortress 95, (Osprey Pub. -2010), P.47