Forts

The decade prior to 1820, the horizon of the formation of the State of Alabama, remains one of the most important periods in its history, and yet one of the least studied. This is primarily due to the preexisting gulf between primary documents, rare books and newspapers, and the researchers that use them, particularly local authors. The topic of Fort Hampton specifically has been touched on by several authors, though few have gone in depth on its purpose, function or the soldiers that occupied it 1. The authors of this manuscript became interested Fort Hampton and the early history of the State only after a provenanced collection of artifacts from the site was made available for study.

"Fanno il deserto e lo chiamano pace." Così lo storico Tacito descrive i legionari di Roma, espressione rapace di uno Stato in espansione. In effetti, nell'immaginario collettivo, l'esercito romano rappresenta una compatta, inarrestabile macchina da guerra. Un esempio ineguagliabile di efficienza e disciplina. E lo fu davvero, anche se non fu solo questo. Seguendone l'evoluzione è possibile ripercorrere lo sviluppo dell'intera società romana. Proprio ciò che in questo volume fa Federica Guidi, puntando la lente d'ingrandimento sulle forze armate dell'Urbe, che a prima vista appaiono una realtà monolitica. Partendo dall'epoca regia per arrivare alla tarda età imperiale, l'autrice descrive con uno stile sapientemente vivace l'articolazione delle legioni, le tecniche di guerra, ma anche gli aspetti più quotidiani della vita dei soldati: dalla costruzione delle macchine belliche alle pratiche mediche di soccorso, dall'addestramento alla organizzazione dei castra. Per scoprire che le legioni furono lo specchio della grandezza di Roma e della sua straordinaria capacità di includere e integrare l'altro, il diverso.

The Government of Kashmir started building this fort in 1559 CE. completed and commissioned in 1646. Renovated in 1846 CE and remained in active military use till 1928 when it was abandon as new cantonment was built. Notified as a national heritage monument in 1980. Few photographs and plan of the fort is also included along with historyin paper.

There has been no holistic work on Forts of Kerala. The objective of this monograph, which is first of  its kind, is to study an give an historical and architectural account of some major forts and fortification in the region. 32 forts have been dealt in this work.

The Sewri And Worli Forts In Mumbai By Mr Jason Johns PhD Scholar,Teaching Assistant and Visiting Faculty for Post-Graduation Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai. Assisted by Ms. Harshali Pagare Ms. Nisha Rana Ms. Priyanka Suryaneni Students, M.A Ancient Indian Culture and Archaeology. St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai. Forts, Fortification and defence walls in India trace their antiquity to the first few millennia Before the Common Era .Terminologies used for Forts include Durga, Killa, Pura ,etc all denoting an area fortified by walls . The earliest classification of forts in the Indian context comes from the Arthashastra .The two forts of Worli and Sewri though not constructed in the ancient period , do fall into one of the ancient classification of forts:- Audaka Durga- The Water Fort- meant for the defence of the population and the area under control .Both Worli and Sewri fall in the Late Medieval – Colonial Phase i.e the 17th Century , located on opposite directions on the coast of Mumbai as strategic viewpoints for defence. Initially, the island of Parel ,Worli along with the other islands that constituted the colony of Bombay, belonged to the Portuguese. These were given to the British as dowry to Charles II of England by the Portuguese on his marriage to Catherine of Braganza. As the area turned out to be crucial port in trade routes, the British moved their business from Surat to Bombay and thus constructed forts for defence and promotion of their commercial endeavours.The following paper will deal with material technology of the two forts, their structure, historical significance,current state of preservation and usage. Worli Fort:It is located in the erstwhile Worli Island and built on Worli Hill. Some scholars say it was built by Portugese and others say it was built by British around 1675. Cruising northwards along the west coast of the island of Bombay from the main fort, the first vantage point was Worli. The location of the Worli Island was such that it was most vulnerable to attacks from pirates and invaders entering Bombay by way of Gujarat, as well as from Europe, Africa and Asia. The fort is built on a steep promontory jutting out into the sea. It is rather long, with no regular form, and is built on rock stones laid upon one another without any mortar or chunam to cement them together. Being surrounded by land on three sides and the Mahim bay on the fourth, it commanded great strategic importance. From the pinnacle, one gets a good view of the Arabian Sea that was frequented by traders, invaders and interpolers. This was used as a vantage point to keep guard and send out warning signals from danger of invasion During low tide, one could access Mahim fort through an isthmus – like connection with Worli fort. For security reasons, this passage was first spiked and then blocked during the British times. Due to high crime rates and the practice o the intruders to enter from sea, the fort was heavily guarded. There was also a standing army of Rajput soldiers. It is provided with a canon and armed with 7 to 8 guns and manned with an ensign and 25 soldiers. The guards had to be ever vigilant due to high risk of attack and follow strict protocol. Even to this day, the fort is used to send out signals and is a base of Indian navy. It is important for naval defense. The Worli town, located at the base of the fort, is inhabited by simple and poor Kolis whose ancestors lived in palm-thatched houses. Presently, encroachment of slum settlements around the fort can be witnessed by the locals. It needs more attention and restoration, conservation efforts are required. Despite an NGO adopting the area, there is not much improvement in the aid situation. The Sewri Fort: It was built in 1680 by the British, served as a defence post upon the land jutting out on the eastern shoreline of the island of Parel. When the British took over, their enemies (for instance, the Mughals and the Siddis), often attacked the area, which prompted the British to build forts to defend this trade centre. Thus, the forts serves less of an aesthetic purpose, and more of just defence, wherein its actually served the purpose if a watch tower earlier. The Fort is built on a small quarried hill in basalt, with land surrounding it on three sides, and mangroves on the fourth. After losing its importance as a defence stronghold, because of the increase in the British power in the country leading to weaker enemies, the fort began to be used as prison by the British. The structure was attacked by a Mughal chieftain Yakut Khan in 1689 and was renovated in the 1700s.Ultimately, the structure changed ownership and was transferred to the Bombay Port Trust, where it was used as a godown facility. Today, although the fort has been recognised as a structure of historical importance, by declaring it as a Grade 1 Heritage Site, the condition it remains in is poor. However, recent plans revealed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) aim at revamping the facility by “restoring and illuminating” it along with the assistance of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The only remarkable features inside are the pentagonal rooms and corridors and the vaults. It is now a conserved location and is under renovation.

A number of archaeological sites today, face the threat of damage from various anthropogenic actions. The lack of documentation of these archaeological sites, especially in developing countries such as India, has led to the destruction of an irreplaceable chapter of history. The paper aims at studying one such site -- the fortress of Rehlu, in district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, with respect to its significance in the political scenario of the hill states of Western Himalayas as well as the possible risks the site faces today.
The study of the site had many constraints, as there was not sufficient archaeological mapping and documentation available. Much of the information that has been collected is on the basis of personal observation and interviewing the local people of Rehlu village. The paper initially begins with an introduction to the general geography and the history of the site in focus. The subsequent sections then discuss the current scenario of the site’s conservation and its architecture. The paper also suggests ways which may be applied in protecting the site through adaptive reuse, and which may also be applied to similar sites in the Kangra district.

This paper examines what it is possible to say about who commanded the non-Italian, auxiliary troops which frequently served in the armies of the Roman Republic. The discussion is restricted to land forces, looking firstly at the evidence for Romans in command of auxilia – mostly found at the upper levels of command – and secondly at the evidence for non-Romans commanding auxilia – mostly found at the level of individual unit commanders. The problem of classification of auxilia (allies, auxiliaries, or mercenaries?) is briefly considered, with reference to their military autonomy. The final section explores the potential value of ‘native’ commanders and Roman recognition of this, through clientela and mechanisms of reward and civic incorporation. The paper concludes with brief speculation on developments in practice over the course of the Republic.

In February 1916 a small group of German army pioneers approached the looming bulk of Fort Douaumont near Verdun, at the time considered impregnable. This article describes the remarkable events surrounding its almost single-handed capture  by one of these men and the complacency amongst the French army's high command which led to this debacle.

Panhala Fort, is located in Panhala, 20 kilometres northwest of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India. It is strategically located looking over a pass in the Sahyadri mountain range which was a major trade route from Bijapur in the interior of Maharashtra to the coastal areas.Due to its strategic location, it was the centre of several skirmishes in the Deccan involving the Marathas, the Mughals and the British East India Company, the most notable being the Battle of Pavan Khind. Here, the queen regent of Kolhapur City, Tarabai, spent her formative years. Several parts of the fort and the structures within are still intact.
It was one of the important FORTS of Shivaji Maharaj and this paper explores its history and design

A lo largo de sus tres siglos de historia en la época imperial romana, la función principal de la Guardia Pretoriana fue la protección de la figura del emperador allí donde este se encontrara, ya fuera actuando permanentemente como su escolta y guardia personal  en el palacio imperial o como última línea de defensa en el ámbito militar. Pero como cuerpo de élite del ejército romano acantonado en la capital del Imperio también se les encomendó el mantenimiento y, en su caso, restablecimiento del orden allí donde fuera necesario. Así, la Guardia Pretoriana se conformaría como una de las piezas clave en la historia imperial romana como uno de los actores principales no solo a nivel militar sino también a nivel político, papel este último muy alejado de las funciones iniciales para las que fue creada pero que poco a poco fue cobrando especial relevancia tanto por su cercanía a la figura de los sucesivos emperadores como por su acantonamiento en la capital imperial. Consciente de su poder, no fueron pocas las ocasiones en que los pretorianos utilizaron su posición e influencias para dirigir y aprovechar los habituales cambios políticos en la cúspide del poder . Pero, aun siendo menos conocida, no sería menor la importancia bélica que en los campos de batalla protagonizarían los pretorianos en numerosas ocasiones como unidad militar y que a la postre les consagraría como uno de los pilares fundamentales del régimen imperial prácticamente desde su creación, en tiempos de Augusto , hasta su desmantelamiento llevado a cabo por el emperador Majencio.
Como cuerpo de élite del ejército, reconocidos como los mejor entrenados y preparados como demostraron en no pocas ocasiones, y en base a su especial misión recibían una paga superior al del resto de soldados; y su tiempo de servicio era varios años menor, por lo que resultaban ser la envidia del resto de unidades militares y en particular de aquellos que servían en el limes del imperio . Es por ello que trataremos aquí de realizar un estudio esquemático sobre su formación, estructura, actuaciones, etc. con el fin de ahondar en el conocimiento de esta institución muchas veces denostada por algunas de sus intervenciones.

A B S T R A C T
Janjira - The Undefeated Fort
Janjira Fort is situated on the Murud beach in the Arabian sea along the Konkan coast line. Murud is the nearest town to the fort which is located at about 165 kms from Mumbai. You need to drive on the NH17 till Pen & then proceed towards Murud via Alibaug and Revdanda. The  Rajapuri jetty is from where sail boats sail to the fort entrance. The road from murud town to janjira fort takes you a top a small hill from where you get the first glimpse of this amazing fort. Once you decent this hill, you reach Rajapuri jetty which is a small fishermen village. The sail boats take you from the jetty to the main door of the fort . One unique feature of this fort is that the entrance is not easily visible from a distance and can only be identified, once you go nearer to the walls of the fort. This was a strategy due to which Janjira was never conquered as the enemy would just keep on wondering about the entrance of the fort. The walls of the fort have become abraded due to harsh waves crashing on its surface for over so many centuries. The remains of the palaces and courts in the fort are not well-maintained as it should have been. The Balekilla or the main complex of the fort is strategically located at a higher altitude right at the center of the fort so that it remains safe from the attack from any of the directions. The Lake in this island fort is surprisingly a fresh water source in middle of the sea. About 2 kms in north-west direction, you can also see another island fort, 'Padmadurg' which was constructed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj inorder to conquer Janjira but his effort did not yield any fruitful result. This is a must visit place for all who adore History. Janjira Fort still stands tall among the violent waves of the Arabian Sea, roaring about its glorious past.

War and defence were the two focal points of the great maratha warrior Shivaji, not only as a personal ambition but also as a expansion of realm for which he built more than 250 Forts all over India. The Design, architecture, Construction and a brief description of some of his forts in this paper.

"This book offers annotated translations of documents touching on Dutch admiral Cornelis Matelieff de Jonge and his voyage to Asia between 1605 and 1608. These translations are aimed at a contemporary English-speaking Asian readership interested in the early modern history of European trade, warfare and expansion in Southeast Asia with a focus on Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Researchers specialising in early European colonialism, international law, international relations, security studies, and diplomatic history will also find that the documents translated in this volume offer new and unfamiliar perspectives. Materlieff’s business acumen, military and diplomataic prowess as well as his vision of empire all have implications for examining not only European expansion into Southeast Asia, but also into other regions at large, including especially south Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Admiral Matelieff was a director of the Rotterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) formed in 1602. He was appointed fleet commander on one of the company’s first voyages to Asia. Matelieff’s mission was both commercial and military: he launched a major sea-borne attack on the Portuguese colony of Melaka, arranged for the signing of treaties with the rulers of Johor, Aceh and Ternate, and founded the first Dutch fort on the island of Ternate. His endeavours, however, to open the Chinese market for the Dutch company proved unsuccessful.
Following his return to the Dutch Republic in September 1608, Matelieff penned a series of memorials and letters. In these he advanced recommendations for changing the way the company organized its fleets and conducted business. More importantly he offered  his Dutch contemporaries a vision of empire in Asia. The materials contained in this volume offer important observations of a perceptive analyst who was also determined to grasp the political and economic structures of Asia, and also of inter-state relations in across this vast region. At a time of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French and English engagement in Southeast Asia, Matelieff sought to critically assess and strategize on the ways in which Europeans were increasingly engaging with Asian polities and their rulers.

This book will be released for sale in Australasia and Europe in June 2014 and available in the Americas after September 2014
""""

MA Thesis in Maritime History (Faculty of Letters, Lisbon University FLUL, 2014) - revised version

The present thesis Shipwrecks of the “Carreira da Índia” (1595-1623) – Sources
for the Study in Portuguese Maritime History deals with factors which caused losses of
ships of the Carreira da Índia which linked the European metropolis Lisbon with its
Goa based Estado da Índia between 1595 and 1623. Although Portuguese-Asiatic
shipping was formally separated from the Habsburg Empire during the Union of the
Two Iberian Crowns (1580-1640), the European policies of the Spanish Kings,
especially towards the United Provinces and the Netherlands had its influence and
effects on the Portuguese side.
Shipwrecks, either on the outward bound or homeward bound voyages had
occurred for various reasons since the early days of the Carreira da Índia yet the
emergence of the two private European Companies, the Dutch United East India
Company (founded in 1602) and the British East India Company (founded in 1600)
were a new momentum by which’s characteristics of concurrence and struggle for
supremacy of the European-Asiatic spice trade, losses of Portuguese ships were caused
by planned and executed military operations as well.
Focusing on the geographical region of the Mozambique Channel in which the
losses have taken place, the thesis combines a historiographical approach with records
of underwater archaeology analyzing questions related to the political environment and
planed military operations in which shipwrecks have occurred as well as causes of
shipwrecks observing ship building and design modifications and effects related to
economic patterns such as the monetary flows of the Portuguese outward bound
shipping during the period of observation.

Naufragios da Careira da Índia (1595-1623)

ABSTRACT: El-Markha Plain is a key coastal region providing an anchorage for Egyptian expeditions traveling to the copper and turquoise mining region in South Sinai.  The University of Toronto expedition investigated a mound at Ras Budran and uncovered a late Old Kingdom, circular stone structure. It represents one of three Egyptian “forts” identified from the Early Dynastic through Old Kingdom period and augments two published Old Kingdom sites in South Sinai. It clarifies and underscores the perceived dangers in and the importance of South Sinai to Egyptian mining expeditions during this period. It displays an unusual circular design for an ancient Egyptian structure and an uncommon application of stone to a “fort”.  Its construction, occupation, possible destruction, and abandonment reflect contemporary late Old Kingdom records for Egyptian campaigns against Asiatic “Sand-dwellers” and a Bedouin massacre of an Egyptian expedition beside the Red Sea. The site illuminates multiple aspects of a period associated with the Old Kingdom’s “collapse” and the activities and cross-cultural interactions of a transitory garrison on Egypt’s eastern frontier.

ABSTRAK Pelancongan warisan adalah sesuatu perjalanan daripada sebuah destinasi ke destinasi yang lain (bukan tempat asal) untuk mengalami sendiri tentang tempat, artifak dan aktiviti-aktiviti yang benar-benar berlaku dan mewakili segala kejadian yang berlaku pada masa dahulu dan ia juga boleh termasuk sumber kebudayaan, sejarah dan semula jadi. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji persepsi pengunjung terhadap Kubu Margherita sebagai destinasi pelancongan warisan. Sebanyak 300 orang responden di sekitar Kuching telah terlibat dalam melakukan kajian ini. Kajian dilakukan berbentuk deskriptif di mana borang soal selidik yang mengandungi 58 soalan yang digunakan sebagai instrumen kajian. Data yang dikumpul dianalisis menggunakan perisian Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) versi 20.0. Melalui data yang diperolehi penyelidik dapat mengenal pasti faktor kedatangan pengunjung ke Kubu Margherita. Selain itu, penyelidik juga dapat menganalisis pendapat pengunjung terhadap kemudahan yang terdapat di Kubu Margherita. Hal ini membolehkan penyelidik mencadangkan penambahbaikkan yang perlu dilakukan oleh pihak Kubu Margherita.

A lo largo de su historia el Imperio romano tuvo que hacer frente a numerosas revueltas, debido al enorme territorio que controlaba. De entre los pueblos que las protagonizaron, los hebreos se contaban entre los que con mayor insistencia lucharon por recuperar su independencia. En cuanto a los diversos conflictos que enfrentaron a judíos y romanos, la que, a la postre, seria recordada como la Primera Guerra Judeo-romana (66-73 d.C.) pasó a la historia como el más importante de todos. Ello se debe tanto a que requirió de la participación de dos futuros emperadores al mando de las tropas romanas que debían restablecer la paz en la provincia de Judea, Vespasiano y su hijo Tito, como al hecho de que la ciudad de Jerusalén y el Gran Templo que albergaba acabaron completamente destruidos.

En el año 66 d.C. numerosos factores se unieron al odio que sectores radicales hebreos sentían hacia sus conquistadores romanos, provocando la caída del procurador de Judea, Gesio Floro, y la derrota del Legado de Siria, Cestio Galo, en Beth Horón, quien acudió con sus tropas a pacificar la región sin conseguirlo. El movimiento fue cobrando fuerza tras estos éxitos, y Jerusalén se convirtió en el epicentro del independentismo judío. Roma no podía permanecer pasiva ante estos acontecimientos y Nerón envió allí a Vespasiano, un general experimentado, para acabar de una vez por todas con el problema. La resistencia implacable que demostraron los rebeldes y los problemas políticos que, durante ese tiempo, se produjeron en Roma, provocaron que la conquista final quedara en manos de su capaz hijo Tito quien, a la postre, consiguió conquistar Jerusalén y acabar con la revuelta. El gran triunfo que se celebró en Roma para conmemorar la victoria era lo que la nueva dinastía Flavia necesitaba para afianzar su poder. Sin embargo, la campaña no finalizó hasta el año 73 d.C., tras la toma de la fortaleza de Masada, donde los últimos insurrectos prefirieron suicidarse antes de ser derrotados. El enfrentamiento se saldaría con una enorme pérdida de vidas, tanto entre los soldados romanos como entre los insurrectos judíos y la población civil. Gracias a la obra de Flavio Josefo, podemos reconstruir lo sucedido para poder así conocer con detalle uno de los grandes episodios de la Historia Antigua.

This paper deals with finds of clay slingshots discovered during the archaeological investigations of the Roman military camp Novae in the Iron Gates gorge. Castle Novae is situated in eastern Serbia,18 km downstream from the entrance to the Iron
Gates gorge, at the confluence of the Čezava river with the Danube.

The article is about the work of Joseph Hatzinger, son of builder Paul (Pál) Hatzinger from Székesfehérvár (Hungary), and Joseph’s sons Heinrich and Paul. Joseph worked in Osijek and in Slavonia in the second half of the 18th century. In the early 19th century, his older son Heinrich spent almost a decade as a professor at the Genie-Akademie (Military Academy of Engineering) in Vienna and designed two important Early Neoclassical churches at Terezin and Josefov fortresses in Bohemia. His younger son Paul, after a brief period as a lecturer at the Genie-Akademie, worked as an engineer in various parts of the Habsburg Monarchy during the first half of the 19th century, from Galicia, across Dalmatia, to Vienna and Lower Austria in the final phase of his career. Finally, his great-great-grandson Gusztáv Kasper, the grandson of Paul Hatzinger Jr, became a Hungarian railway engineer at the turn of the 20th century.

This article focuses on the origins and the similarities between the Aghlabid, Fāṭimid and Spanish Umayyad military architectures from the 9 th to the early 11 th century. The main characteristic of these early Islamic fortifications was the use of small square counterforts or plain buttresses towers built close together and forming a line of defence very similar to those used during the late Antiquity in North Africa. We will try to explain the origins and the similarities between the Aghlabid, Fāṭimid and Umayyad military architectures in Ifriqiyya. These observations lead us to other questions; what differentiates the Egyptian military architecture from the Tunisi-an ribats in the scholarly literature? Our predecessors have interpreted the Aghlabid ribat according to the historical sources, where the words "ribat and murabitun" frequently appeared. Researchers first focused on the religious meaning instead of looking at the secular function. Other than the role of garrison forts, these buildings served as stations and stopover points for travelers, merchants and pilgrims. In Persia, the caravanserais or khans were also called ribats. They were fortified stopovers for caravans isolated in remote areas. In Central Asia, the cities on the Silk Road were called ribats. In fact, the Tunisians ribats were simply forts and caravanserais used to protect the port cities and the coast.

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH (minus references): A fort is often defined as a ‘fortified building,’ or ‘fortified position,’ while military historians distinguish three basic types: a refuge (place of retreat), a stronghold (essentially a center securing an area), and strategic defenses (an integrated line of fortifications controlling a broad region or frontier).  The materials, designs, sizes, population (“garrison”), aims/functions, and locations of fortifications vary widely throughout Antiquity, while innovations over time are closely related to geographical location (i.e., landscape), changing socio-political and economic circumstances, means, and needs, and advances in and adaptations against military technology, siege tactics, and other strategies.  This entry covers Egyptian fortifications from the late Predynastic through pharaonic periods (ca. 4,000–332 BCE).