Medieval Fortifications in the Balkans
By Alice Isabella Sullivan
Fortified locals are prominent features of the Eastern European landscape. Throughout the Middle Ages, the regions of the Balkan Peninsula were caught at the crossroads of competing worldviews and defensive architecture became an important mechanism through which to ensure the protection of secular and religious sites.
Medieval cities regularly received surrounding enclosures. Constantinople is a prime example. Its massive fortifications resisted besiegers for more than a thousand years. Thessaloniki – a prominent city in the Balkans, established by King Cassander of Macedon (r. 305-297 B.C.) – featured imposing fortifications like those of the Byzantine capital. Although the architectural record of Thessaloniki from this period is difficult to establish, the walls of the city were impressive. They extended for about 8 kilometres, and were reconstructed between 380s and mid-400s. This project corresponds roughly with the rebuilding of the land walls of Constantinople under Emperor Theodosius II (r. 402-450), which began in 412-413. The Theodosian walls, with remnants still standing, consisted of a double enclosure system: an inner, main wall and an outer wall, both with towers, separated by a space in between, and preceded by a moat. The archaeological evidence and extant inscriptions reveal that the walls of the city were rebuilt once more before and after the Arab attack of 904.