The Historical, Topographic and Architectural Definitions of "GELaNDEMAUER" City Walls in Karia

Abstract

In the early 4th Century BC, the systematical constructions of 'Gelandemauer' city walls began in Karia under the Hekatomnid rule. Henceforth, 'Gelandemauer' city walls became the most advanced and sophisticated fortification system in Western Anatolia, both in tactical and topographical points, until the end of the 3rd century BC. On this type of city wall, defined by scholars as "Gelandemauer" circuits, the traces of walls follow the high ridges and summits of the lands, aiming to gain the topography's natural defense advantage. Therefore, the city walls built according to the "Gelandemauer" planning model surround larger areas than those required for civic buildings. These fortifications' topographical layout, tactical design, and construction method demonstrate the concept of advanced territorial defense. At the same time, the tradition of rural "Lelegian" residential architecture and stonework, entirely existing in the Halikarnassos Peninsula before the Hekatomnid rule in Karia, gave shape to the rustic appeal and economic character of the Hekatomnid 'emplekton' technique which would be adopted to requirements of the art of the 'poliorketic' siege warfare in Hellenistic period. In many cases, the initial construction of "Gelandemauer" city walls was also carried out using various masonry techniques based on distinct variants of 'emplekton' (ashlar, trapezoidal, polygonal, pseudo-polygonal) while considering the different topographical conditions, except for later repair. On the other hand, the architectural characteristics of 'Gelandemauer' in the region emerged as the consequence of the fact that Hekatomnids had supported the urbanization process and had undertaken the reconstructions of the prominent sanctuaries of the Karian League while installing an extent fortification network for defending the territory of the Karian Satrapy. In this regard, the Hekatomnid building program in military architecture has distinct characteristics that had a long-term influence on the design of Hellenistic fortifications. Maussollos' settlement policy based on urbanization by 'synoecism' that radically transformed the rural residential organization in Karia essentially determined the development of 'Gelandemauer' in the region. Since the end of the 4th century BC, adopting a similar settlement policy to the synoecism of Maussollos, many of the Macedonian leaders (Eupolemos, Pleistarkhos, Demetrios Poliorketes, Lysimakhos) principally fortified their 'metropoleis' with 'Gelandemauer' city walls. Accordingly, as appeared in the City of Herakleia ad Latmum (Pleistarkheia), reestablished by Pleistarkhos at the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC, this fortification technique was promoted by being modified to the advanced siege warfare engineering (poliorketic). It could be reasonably said that both cities carry the architectural memory of 'Gelandemauer' in Karia. Considering the transference of the architectural technique of Hekatomnid 'emplekton' in the city walls of Halikarnassos to the Early Hellenistic fortification of Herakleia ad Latmum, in this respect, Halikarnassos and Herakleia ad Latmum are significant cities of which the city walls could be taken as descriptive patterns to define the architectural and topographic details of 'Gelandemauer'; at the same time, it is also essential to emphasize the fact that these ancient Karian cities experienced similar settlement processes depending on 'synoecism' and in this manner, they were fortified with similar 'Gelandemauer' city walls.

Fortification building projects planned for the defense of Halikarnassos in the second quarter of the 4th Century BC and Herakleia ad Latmum at the end of the 4th - early 3rd century BC contributed to the continuity of 'Gelandemauer' in Karia. Therefore, it should be considered that Karia is among the places where the architectural improvements in the design of 'Gelandemauer' city walls could uninterruptedly be pursued during the period from Maussollos' rule to the end of the 3rd - the beginning of the 2nd century BC when Philippos V. and Antiokhos III attempted to invade this region. Ancient cities fortified with "Gelandemauer" are mostly the centers of the political confederations called "koina" (e.g., Messene), or administrative centers of a kingdom or a regional political power (e.g., Syracuse in Sicily, Samos in Ionia, Halikarnassos, Herakleia ad Latmum in Karia, Demetrias in Thessalia, Antiokheia in Kilikia). Studying the evolution of "Gelandemauer" city walls in Karia to classify the ancient defense systems according to their architectural techniques, topographical designs, and chronological phases will undoubtedly contribute to the knowledge about urbanization and resettlement patterns in the region during the Classical and Hellenistic periods.