Southeast Asia

The concept of a completely walled city was not fully developed in Southeast Asia until the arrival of Europeans. However, Burma serves as an exception, as it had a longer tradition of fortified walled cities; The cities of Burma already had walls in 1566. In addition, Rangoon had palisades made of teak logs on an earthen slope in 1755. The city was fortified with six gates, each flanked by solid brick towers.[4][5]​.

In other areas of Southeast Asia, walls were extended over the centuries and along with the rapid growth of cities in this period, as a need to defend themselves from European naval attacks. Ayutthaya "Ayutthaya (city)") built its walls in 1550 and Banten&action=edit&redlink=1 "Banten (city) (not yet drafted)"), Jepara"), Tuban") and Surabaya already had theirs in 1600; while Makassar had them in 1634. A sea wall was the main defense of Gelgel"). Cities that lacked walls had at least one fortified citadel. This wooden walled enclosure housed the royal citadel or aristocratic complexes such as in Surakarta "Surakarta (Indonesia)") and Aceh.[5]​.

China

Great rammed earth walls were built in ancient China from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1050 BC), as the capital of ancient Ao had huge walls built this way (see siege for more information). Although stone walls were built in China during the Warring States (481-221 BC), mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Sections of the Great Wall had been built before the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) and later connected and fortified during the Qin Dynasty, although its current form was primarily a feat of engineering and remodeling by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). The great walls of Pingyao serve as an example. Likewise, the walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were established at the beginning of the century by the Yongle Emperor. According to Tonio Andrade, the immense thickness of the Chinese walls prevented the development of larger cannons, as even industrial-era artillery had problems penetrating the Chinese walls.[6][7]​.

Europe

In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). In classical Greece, the city of Athens built a long set of parallel stone walls called the "Long Walls" that reached to its guarded seaport of Piraeus. Exceptions were few, but neither ancient Sparta nor ancient Rome had walls for long, choosing instead to rely on their armies for defense. Initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones stacked on top of each other without mortar.

La Romana fortified its cities with enormous stone walls joined with mortar. These include the Aurelian walls of Rome and the Theodosian walls of Constantinople, along with partial remains elsewhere. These are mainly city gates, such as the Porta Nigra in Trier or the Newport Arch") in Lincoln.

In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements that the Romans called oppida, whose walls seem partially influenced by those built in the Mediterranean. The fortifications were continually expanded and improved.

Apart from these, some cities built around castles were also created in the early Middle Ages. These cities were rarely protected by simple stone walls, but rather by a combination of walls and ditches&action=edit&redlink=1 "Moats (fortification) (not yet drafted)"). From the century AD. Hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded throughout Europe, which very often obtained the right to fortify shortly afterwards. Several medieval walls have survived into the modern age, such as the walled cities of Austria"), walls of Tallinn"), or the walls of York") and Canterbury") in England, as well as Nordlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany. In Spain, Ávila and Tosa de Mar are home to surviving medieval walls, while Lugo has an intact Roman wall.

The founding of urban centers was an important means of territorial expansion and many cities, especially in central and eastern Europe, were founded for this purpose during the Eastern Settlement period. These cities are easy to recognize by their regular layout and large market spaces. The fortifications of these settlements were continually improved to reflect the current level of military development.

Gunpowder era

Although gunpowder and cannons were invented in China, China never developed wall-breaking artillery to the same extent as other parts of the world. Part of the reason is probably because the Chinese walls were already very resistant to artillery and discouraged increasing the size of the cannons.[8] In the middle of the century, a European fortification expert commented on their immensity: "in China... the main cities are surrounded to this day by walls so substantial, tall and formidable that the medieval fortifications of Europe are insignificant in comparison."[8] The Chinese walls were thick. The eastern wall of Ancient Linzi, established in 859 BC. C., it had a maximum thickness of 43 meters and an average thickness of 20-30 meters.[9] The walls of Ming prefectures and provincial capitals had a thickness of 10 to 20 meters (10.9 to 21.9 yd) at the base and 5 to 10 meters (5.5 to 10.9 yd) at the top.

In Europe, the height of wall construction was reached under the Roman Empire, whose walls often reached 10 meters (10.9 yd) in height, the same as many Chinese city walls, but were only 1.5 to 2.5 meters (1.6 to 2.7 yd) thick. The Servian walls of Rome were 3.6 and 4 meters (3.9 and 4.4 yd) thick and 6 to 10 meters (6.6 to 10.9 yd) high. Other fortifications also met these specifications throughout the empire, but all of them paled in comparison to contemporary Chinese walls, which could reach a thickness of 20 meters (21.9 yd) at the base in extreme cases. Even the walls of Constantinople, which have been described as "the most famous and complicated defense system in the civilized world",[10]​ could not be compared to a Great Wall of China.[11]​ If the outer and inner walls of Constantinople had been combined, they would only have reached approximately a little more than a third of the width of a Great Wall of China.[11]​ According to Philo, the width of one wall should have been 4.5 metres. (4.9 yd) thick to withstand ancient siege engines (without gunpowder).[12] European walls of the 1200s and 1300s could reach Roman equivalents, but rarely exceeded them in length, width and height, remaining around 2 meters (2.2 yd) thick. It is worth noting that when talking about a very thick wall in medieval Europe, what is usually meant is a wall 2.5 meters (2.7 yd) wide, which would have been considered thin in a Chinese context. early medieval period.[14]​ Andrade also points out that the walls of the market of Chang'an were thicker than those of the main European capitals.[13]​.

Aside from their immense size, the Chinese walls were also structurally different from those built in medieval Europe. While European walls were built primarily of stone interspersed with gravel or rubble fill and held together with limestone mortar, Chinese walls had cores of rammed earth that absorbed the energy of artillery fire.[15] The walls were built with wooden frames that were filled with layers of rammed earth until they were very compact. Beginning in the Song Dynasty, these walls were enhanced with an outer layer of brick or stone to prevent corrosion, and during the Ming, ramparts were interspersed with stone and rubble.[15]​ Additionally, most Chinese walls were inclined rather than vertical to better deflect projectile energy.[16]​.

The Chinese Wall theory is essentially based on a cost-benefit hypothesis, according to which the Ming recognized the great resistance of their walls to structural damage, and could not imagine any affordable development of the weapons available to them at that time that would be capable of penetrating these walls. Even in the 1490s, a Florentine diplomat considered ridiculous the French claim that "their artillery is capable of breaching a wall eight feet thick" and that the French were "blustery by nature." In fact, the explosive projectiles of the century had some difficulty breaching the rammed earth walls.[6]​.

In response to gunpowder artillery, European fortifications began to feature architectural principles such as lower, thicker walls in the middle of the century.[18] Gun towers were built with artillery rooms where cannons could discharge fire from slits in the walls. However, this proved problematic, as the slow fire, reverberating concussions, and noxious fumes produced greatly hampered the defenders. Artillery towers also limited the size and number of gun emplacements, as rooms could only be built up to a certain point. Among the preserved artillery towers, a seven-layered defensive structure built in 1480 in Fougères, in Brittany, and a four-layered tower built in 1479 in Querfurth, in Saxony, stand out.[19]

The star fort, also known as the bastion fort, trace italienne, or Renaissance fort, was a style of fortification that became popular in Europe during the 19th century. The bastion and star fortress were developed in Italy, where the Florentine engineer Giuliano da Sangallo (1445-1516) compiled a complete defensive plan using the geometric bastion and the complete Italian trace that became widespread in Europe.[20]​.

The main distinguishing features of the star fort were its angular bastions, each placed to support its neighbor with lethal crossfire, covering all angles, making them extremely difficult to approach and attack. The angular bastions consisted of two faces and two flanks. Artillery positions on the flanks could fire parallel to the line of fire of the opposing bastion, thus providing two lines of fire cover against an armed assault on the wall and preventing mining parties from finding shelter. Meanwhile, the artillery located on the bastion platform could fire frontally from both sides, also providing overlapping fire with the opposite bastion.[21] Overlapping mutual support defensive fire was the greatest advantage enjoyed by the star fort. As a result, sieges lasted longer and became more difficult. By the 1530s, the bastion fortress had become the dominant defensive structure in Italy.[22]​.

Outside Europe, the star fort became an "engine of European expansion"[18] and acted as a force multiplier so that small European garrisons could resist numerically superior forces. Where star forts were erected, the natives experienced great difficulty in uprooting the European invaders.[18]​.

In China, Sun Yuanhua) advocated in his Xifashenji the construction of forts with angled bastions so that their cannons could better support each other. Officers Han Yun and Han Lin observed that the cannons of square forts could not support each other as well as those of bastioned forts. Their efforts to build bastioned forts, and their results, were limited. Ma Weicheng built two bastions in his home county, which helped him repel a Qing dynasty raid on 1638. By 1641 there were already ten bastions in the county. Before the bastions could be extended further, the Ming dynasty fell in 1644, and they were largely forgotten, as the Qing dynasty was on the offensive most of the time and had no use for them.[23]​.

Decay

With the growth of the cities and the consequent change in defensive strategy, which focused more on the defense of the forts around the cities, many walls were demolished. Furthermore, the invention of gunpowder reduced the effectiveness of walls, as siege cannons could be used to breach them, allowing armies to pass through. Currently, the presence of ancient urban fortifications can only be deduced from the presence of moats, ring roads or parks.

Furthermore, some street names allude to the presence of fortifications in the past, for example when words such as "wall" or "glacis" appear.

In the 19th century, less emphasis was placed on preserving fortifications for their historical or architectural value – on the one hand, entire fortifications were restored (Carcassonne), on the other, many structures were demolished in an effort to modernize the cities. An exception to this is the "monument preservation" law of the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, which led to the almost complete conservation of many monuments such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl. The countless small fortified towns of the Franconian region were also preserved as a consequence of this edict.

modern era

In the Modern Age, walls and fortifications continued to be built. However, they were not originally intended to be a structure capable of withstanding a prolonged siege or bombardment. Some modern examples of defensive walls are:.

Furthermore, in some countries, different embassies can be grouped into a single "embassy district", delimited by a fortified complex with walls and towers – this usually occurs in regions where embassies are at high risk of being targeted by attacks. An early example of this type of enclosure was the Legation Quarter in Peking at the end of the century and beginning of the 19th century.

Most of these modern walls are made of steel and concrete. The vertical concrete plates are joined together to leave as little space as possible between them, and are firmly rooted in the ground. The top of the wall is usually protruding and surrounded by barbed wire to make climbing difficult. These walls are usually built in a straight line and covered by watchtowers at the corners. Double walls with an interstitial "fire zone", as the old Berlin Wall had, are now rare.

In September 2014, Ukraine announced the construction of the "European Wall" along its border with Russia in order to successfully apply for visa exemption with the European Union.[25]​.

South Asia

Some settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization were also fortified. Around 3500 BC. C., hundreds of small agricultural villages dotted the Indus floodplain. Many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. The stone and mud houses of Kot Diji" were grouped behind huge stone dykes and defensive walls, as neighboring communities constantly vied for control of the best agricultural land. Mundigak (c. 2500 BC) in present-day southeastern Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun-dried bricks.

Southeast Asia

The concept of a completely walled city was not fully developed in Southeast Asia until the arrival of Europeans. However, Burma serves as an exception, as it had a longer tradition of fortified walled cities; The cities of Burma already had walls in 1566. In addition, Rangoon had palisades made of teak logs on an earthen slope in 1755. The city was fortified with six gates, each flanked by solid brick towers.[4][5]​.

In other areas of Southeast Asia, walls were extended over the centuries and along with the rapid growth of cities in this period, as a need to defend themselves from European naval attacks. Ayutthaya "Ayutthaya (city)") built its walls in 1550 and Banten&action=edit&redlink=1 "Banten (city) (not yet drafted)"), Jepara"), Tuban") and Surabaya already had theirs in 1600; while Makassar had them in 1634. A sea wall was the main defense of Gelgel"). Cities that lacked walls had at least one fortified citadel. This wooden walled enclosure housed the royal citadel or aristocratic complexes such as in Surakarta "Surakarta (Indonesia)") and Aceh.[5]​.

China

Great rammed earth walls were built in ancient China from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1050 BC), as the capital of ancient Ao had huge walls built this way (see siege for more information). Although stone walls were built in China during the Warring States (481-221 BC), mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Sections of the Great Wall had been built before the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) and later connected and fortified during the Qin Dynasty, although its current form was primarily a feat of engineering and remodeling by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). The great walls of Pingyao serve as an example. Likewise, the walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing were established at the beginning of the century by the Yongle Emperor. According to Tonio Andrade, the immense thickness of the Chinese walls prevented the development of larger cannons, as even industrial-era artillery had problems penetrating the Chinese walls.[6][7]​.

Europe

In ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). In classical Greece, the city of Athens built a long set of parallel stone walls called the "Long Walls" that reached to its guarded seaport of Piraeus. Exceptions were few, but neither ancient Sparta nor ancient Rome had walls for long, choosing instead to rely on their armies for defense. Initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones stacked on top of each other without mortar.

La Romana fortified its cities with enormous stone walls joined with mortar. These include the Aurelian walls of Rome and the Theodosian walls of Constantinople, along with partial remains elsewhere. These are mainly city gates, such as the Porta Nigra in Trier or the Newport Arch") in Lincoln.

In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements that the Romans called oppida, whose walls seem partially influenced by those built in the Mediterranean. The fortifications were continually expanded and improved.

Apart from these, some cities built around castles were also created in the early Middle Ages. These cities were rarely protected by simple stone walls, but rather by a combination of walls and ditches&action=edit&redlink=1 "Moats (fortification) (not yet drafted)"). From the century AD. Hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded throughout Europe, which very often obtained the right to fortify shortly afterwards. Several medieval walls have survived into the modern age, such as the walled cities of Austria"), walls of Tallinn"), or the walls of York") and Canterbury") in England, as well as Nordlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany. In Spain, Ávila and Tosa de Mar are home to surviving medieval walls, while Lugo has an intact Roman wall.

The founding of urban centers was an important means of territorial expansion and many cities, especially in central and eastern Europe, were founded for this purpose during the Eastern Settlement period. These cities are easy to recognize by their regular layout and large market spaces. The fortifications of these settlements were continually improved to reflect the current level of military development.

Gunpowder era

Although gunpowder and cannons were invented in China, China never developed wall-breaking artillery to the same extent as other parts of the world. Part of the reason is probably because the Chinese walls were already very resistant to artillery and discouraged increasing the size of the cannons.[8] In the middle of the century, a European fortification expert commented on their immensity: "in China... the main cities are surrounded to this day by walls so substantial, tall and formidable that the medieval fortifications of Europe are insignificant in comparison."[8] The Chinese walls were thick. The eastern wall of Ancient Linzi, established in 859 BC. C., it had a maximum thickness of 43 meters and an average thickness of 20-30 meters.[9] The walls of Ming prefectures and provincial capitals had a thickness of 10 to 20 meters (10.9 to 21.9 yd) at the base and 5 to 10 meters (5.5 to 10.9 yd) at the top.

In Europe, the height of wall construction was reached under the Roman Empire, whose walls often reached 10 meters (10.9 yd) in height, the same as many Chinese city walls, but were only 1.5 to 2.5 meters (1.6 to 2.7 yd) thick. The Servian walls of Rome were 3.6 and 4 meters (3.9 and 4.4 yd) thick and 6 to 10 meters (6.6 to 10.9 yd) high. Other fortifications also met these specifications throughout the empire, but all of them paled in comparison to contemporary Chinese walls, which could reach a thickness of 20 meters (21.9 yd) at the base in extreme cases. Even the walls of Constantinople, which have been described as "the most famous and complicated defense system in the civilized world",[10]​ could not be compared to a Great Wall of China.[11]​ If the outer and inner walls of Constantinople had been combined, they would only have reached approximately a little more than a third of the width of a Great Wall of China.[11]​ According to Philo, the width of one wall should have been 4.5 metres. (4.9 yd) thick to withstand ancient siege engines (without gunpowder).[12] European walls of the 1200s and 1300s could reach Roman equivalents, but rarely exceeded them in length, width and height, remaining around 2 meters (2.2 yd) thick. It is worth noting that when talking about a very thick wall in medieval Europe, what is usually meant is a wall 2.5 meters (2.7 yd) wide, which would have been considered thin in a Chinese context. early medieval period.[14]​ Andrade also points out that the walls of the market of Chang'an were thicker than those of the main European capitals.[13]​.

Aside from their immense size, the Chinese walls were also structurally different from those built in medieval Europe. While European walls were built primarily of stone interspersed with gravel or rubble fill and held together with limestone mortar, Chinese walls had cores of rammed earth that absorbed the energy of artillery fire.[15] The walls were built with wooden frames that were filled with layers of rammed earth until they were very compact. Beginning in the Song Dynasty, these walls were enhanced with an outer layer of brick or stone to prevent corrosion, and during the Ming, ramparts were interspersed with stone and rubble.[15]​ Additionally, most Chinese walls were inclined rather than vertical to better deflect projectile energy.[16]​.

The Chinese Wall theory is essentially based on a cost-benefit hypothesis, according to which the Ming recognized the great resistance of their walls to structural damage, and could not imagine any affordable development of the weapons available to them at that time that would be capable of penetrating these walls. Even in the 1490s, a Florentine diplomat considered ridiculous the French claim that "their artillery is capable of breaching a wall eight feet thick" and that the French were "blustery by nature." In fact, the explosive projectiles of the century had some difficulty breaching the rammed earth walls.[6]​.

In response to gunpowder artillery, European fortifications began to feature architectural principles such as lower, thicker walls in the middle of the century.[18] Gun towers were built with artillery rooms where cannons could discharge fire from slits in the walls. However, this proved problematic, as the slow fire, reverberating concussions, and noxious fumes produced greatly hampered the defenders. Artillery towers also limited the size and number of gun emplacements, as rooms could only be built up to a certain point. Among the preserved artillery towers, a seven-layered defensive structure built in 1480 in Fougères, in Brittany, and a four-layered tower built in 1479 in Querfurth, in Saxony, stand out.[19]

The star fort, also known as the bastion fort, trace italienne, or Renaissance fort, was a style of fortification that became popular in Europe during the 19th century. The bastion and star fortress were developed in Italy, where the Florentine engineer Giuliano da Sangallo (1445-1516) compiled a complete defensive plan using the geometric bastion and the complete Italian trace that became widespread in Europe.[20]​.

The main distinguishing features of the star fort were its angular bastions, each placed to support its neighbor with lethal crossfire, covering all angles, making them extremely difficult to approach and attack. The angular bastions consisted of two faces and two flanks. Artillery positions on the flanks could fire parallel to the line of fire of the opposing bastion, thus providing two lines of fire cover against an armed assault on the wall and preventing mining parties from finding shelter. Meanwhile, the artillery located on the bastion platform could fire frontally from both sides, also providing overlapping fire with the opposite bastion.[21] Overlapping mutual support defensive fire was the greatest advantage enjoyed by the star fort. As a result, sieges lasted longer and became more difficult. By the 1530s, the bastion fortress had become the dominant defensive structure in Italy.[22]​.

Outside Europe, the star fort became an "engine of European expansion"[18] and acted as a force multiplier so that small European garrisons could resist numerically superior forces. Where star forts were erected, the natives experienced great difficulty in uprooting the European invaders.[18]​.

In China, Sun Yuanhua) advocated in his Xifashenji the construction of forts with angled bastions so that their cannons could better support each other. Officers Han Yun and Han Lin observed that the cannons of square forts could not support each other as well as those of bastioned forts. Their efforts to build bastioned forts, and their results, were limited. Ma Weicheng built two bastions in his home county, which helped him repel a Qing dynasty raid on 1638. By 1641 there were already ten bastions in the county. Before the bastions could be extended further, the Ming dynasty fell in 1644, and they were largely forgotten, as the Qing dynasty was on the offensive most of the time and had no use for them.[23]​.

Decay

With the growth of the cities and the consequent change in defensive strategy, which focused more on the defense of the forts around the cities, many walls were demolished. Furthermore, the invention of gunpowder reduced the effectiveness of walls, as siege cannons could be used to breach them, allowing armies to pass through. Currently, the presence of ancient urban fortifications can only be deduced from the presence of moats, ring roads or parks.

Furthermore, some street names allude to the presence of fortifications in the past, for example when words such as "wall" or "glacis" appear.

In the 19th century, less emphasis was placed on preserving fortifications for their historical or architectural value – on the one hand, entire fortifications were restored (Carcassonne), on the other, many structures were demolished in an effort to modernize the cities. An exception to this is the "monument preservation" law of the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria, which led to the almost complete conservation of many monuments such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nördlingen and Dinkelsbühl. The countless small fortified towns of the Franconian region were also preserved as a consequence of this edict.

modern era

In the Modern Age, walls and fortifications continued to be built. However, they were not originally intended to be a structure capable of withstanding a prolonged siege or bombardment. Some modern examples of defensive walls are:.

Furthermore, in some countries, different embassies can be grouped into a single "embassy district", delimited by a fortified complex with walls and towers – this usually occurs in regions where embassies are at high risk of being targeted by attacks. An early example of this type of enclosure was the Legation Quarter in Peking at the end of the century and beginning of the 19th century.

Most of these modern walls are made of steel and concrete. The vertical concrete plates are joined together to leave as little space as possible between them, and are firmly rooted in the ground. The top of the wall is usually protruding and surrounded by barbed wire to make climbing difficult. These walls are usually built in a straight line and covered by watchtowers at the corners. Double walls with an interstitial "fire zone", as the old Berlin Wall had, are now rare.

In September 2014, Ukraine announced the construction of the "European Wall" along its border with Russia in order to successfully apply for visa exemption with the European Union.[25]​.