Keywords
fortifications
Early Bizantium
Black Sea
Kaliakra
defensive architecture
Black Sea Limes
How to Cite
Abstract
The author presented the characteristic features of the fortifications of Thrace on the Black Sea in the early Byzantine period and their place in the defence system of the eastern part of the empire. The aim of the article is to determine the most important architectural solutions used in fortifications and to explain their military function. The author used the historical and archaeological method. She analysed the relics of fortifications, the results of excavations and studies on defensive architecture. She paid particular attention to the system of fortifications along the western coast of the Black Sea and the route connecting Histria with Constantinople. She discussed the characteristic type of fortifications closing access to rocky headlands and peninsulas with a single wall with a gate and flanking towers. The analysis showed that the use of the natural advantages of the area allowed to limit the length of the walls and increase the effectiveness of defence. The development of this type of fortifications was a response to the changing military threats of late antiquity. From the end of the 4th century AD the Black Sea cities of Thrace became important points of defence of Constantinople and its economic base.
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© by Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of History, Poznań, 1984
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