Download PDF | (History of Warfare, VOLUME 128) Dweezil Vandekerckhove - Medieval fortifications in Cilicia _ the Armenian contribution to military architecture in the Middle Ages-Brill (2020).
283 Pages
Preface
The Armenians are a people with a long and fascinating history. Their homeland in the Caucasus was caught up in the violent struggles between Persia and Rome, and then Byzantium and the Islamic powers of South-East Asia. The Golden Age of Medieval Armenia lasted from 883 until 1045 when it was absorbed into the Byzantine Empire. By the first quarter of the 11th century the Armenians had ceded control over their lands to the Byzantine emperor and the Armenian rulers were dispersed in the eastern sections of the empire.
The Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in 1071 by the Seljuk Turks effectively ended Byzantine control in Armenia. At the same time it ended any remaining vestige of Armenian independence in their historic lands. In the midst of Byzantine efforts to further repopulate the Empire’s east, the Armenian immigration into Cilicia along the southern coast of Asia Minor intensified. For some three hundred years the Armenians maintained their rule, precariously balanced between Byzantium, the Turks and Crusaders. It is important to recognize that this embattled people maintained their realm due to the construction of numerous powerful castles. These medieval fortifications are of outstanding architectural interest, with a significant place in the history of military architecture.
Despite that, remarkably few attempts have been made to describe the well-preserved castles in the Armenian kingdom. Especially when we compare them to the impressive numbers of publications discussing the monumental architecture of the Crusader Castles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, and to a lesser degree the County of Tripoli. This book is the first serious attempt in almost thirty years to investigate the role of these medieval fortifications. The aim of this book is to trace the origins, development, and spatial distribution of fortified sites and examine their relationship to the local topography.1
This will contribute to our understanding of medieval fortifications within the wider context of rural and urban landscape development in the eastern Mediterranean region. Although many of the sites are still relatively well preserved, the project is timely as the continuing expansion of the population into the Cilician Highlands is causing archaeological remains to be plundered for building material. Until now, what we knew of these medieval fortifications was confined to a selection of articles, a few monographs and rudimentary survey work done by some archaeologists, historians and explorers. Because of many political and cultural reasons, the military fortifications have never received the attention they deserve, as a part of the national heritage of Turkey. One of the most serious problems is the cultural agenda of the Turkish authorities. Nationalist and culture-specific agendas frequently drive the practice of archaeology.
The taboo over the Armenian recent past of the area and the slow economic development until very recently, has resulted in very little development of our knowledge of the local topography and archaeology over the last forty years. Certain streams of Turkish historiography go even as far as to deny the existence of an independent Armenian kingdom in Cilicia.2 Thus, for various reasons, the archaeology of the Armenian kingdom has been ignored from an archaeological standpoint. In comparison to late antique studies and the history of Turkish nomadic groups (in the early eleventh century), the contrast is huge and the scientific potential for research is nonetheless equally high. The views on the Armenian kingdom served to shut down meaningful research by blindly asserting its lack of value or simply ignoring it. Another problem is the toponomy of Armenian Cilicia.
The American archeologist Robert W. Edwards rightfully pointed out that ‘the printed word can be all too convenient, deceptive, and even intimidating’.3 On the subject of toponomy, the nomenclature of the Cilician and Syrian area presents us with many problems. Scholars in the past who wished to interpret the events of this Armenian kingdom have earnestly assigned a number of medieval placenames to the surviving Armenian sites. Since the number of known extant medieval sites is far greater (and even more expansive than expected a century ago) than the number of known pre-Ottoman toponyms and continues to grow, speculative conclusions are abundant. As early as the twelfth century, a writer could complain that ‘perpetual wars’ have brought great changes to the names of these provinces.4 Greek, Latin, Byzantine, Arabic, Armenian and Turkish names replace one another to great confusion of the traveller. Even today, the process continues with an official policy of standard Turkish place-names, which are often at variance with local usage.
The gazetteer included at the end of this book should provide a degree of clarification for the reader.5 Problems arise too because many academics decline or are unable to visit Cilicia to obtain a first-hand view of the monuments in their geographical surroundings. They are content to rely on published descriptions, often more than one hundred years old, which vary greatly in quality. As a consequence the vast majority of Armenian placenames cannot easily be assigned to the surviving medieval sites because the evidence so far is simply insufficient. Often the texts will provide us with only one simple reference to the location of an important fortress. For example, a chronicler might imply that a particular site could be reached in a one-day journey west of Sis, modern-day Kozan.
A quick glance at the topographical map around Sis shows that there are immediately a number of possible candidates, but then again we have no idea which roads and passes would have been used. Nineteenth-century travellers, primarily interested in identifying ancient sites , added their hypotheses to the general confusion. In particular, Armenian names have been attributed very insensibly. Even today some of the principal castles and lordships of the Armenian kingdom can still not be accurately placed on the map, while buildings as important and well preserved as Yılan and Tumlu have lost their Armenian names and cannot be assigned to any known lordship or historical incidents.
This was the task that I began in the autumn of 2010. After three years and three exploratory missions I visited more than half of the medieval fortifications in the region of Cilicia. The 104 sites that I have studied probably constitute the majority of forts within the confines of the Armenian kingdom at its greatest extent. With my surveys I have recorded and mapped several previously undiscovered fortifications in the deep valleys of the Taurus mountains, which will be attributed in the gazetteer of this book. Some fortifications were discovered very recently through satellite imagery and I have not yet been able to visit them. They will be mentioned in the gazetteer but will not be included in the analysis. In addition to the fortified sites, a large number of rural settlements have been found in close proximity to the medieval fortifications. Their relationship with the nearby fortifications will be discussed in this book. Since my surveys have covered all major regions in and around Cilicia a good geographical cross section is represented.
Acknowledgements This book is the product of much wonderful collaboration and could not have been done without the inspiration, motivation, assistance, and cooperation of a large and significant group of individuals. First and foremost, I must mention the late Prof. Johnny De Meulemeester, who introduced me to the archaeology of the crusades, who fired my imagination and my enthusiasm and whose teaching has really directed the course of my life ever since. This project, however, was also not possible without the support of my two mentors at Cardiff University, Prof. Denys Pringle, who pushed me towards the fortifications of the Armenian kingdom and the late Prof. Frank Trombley, who guided me along through the early Byzantine period. Their continued guidance, observations and constant support, not to mention their friendship and sharing of their own past research into the neighbouring regions, were invaluable and at times, a necessary life-raft.
Throughout the way, many people have helped encourage or facilitate this research and I would like to mention some few of them for their useful insights and comments great and small who must be thanked: Dr. James Petre, Dr. Ionna Rapti, Dr. Thomas Asbridge, Prof. Scott Redford, Dr. Asa Eger, Dr. Steve Mills. The fieldwork for this book spanned three summers, from 2011 to 2013. Work in Turkey would not have been possible without the continued financial assistance of the British Institute at Ankara (BIAA), the Cyril Fox Fund and Postgraduate Fund of the School of History, Archaeology and Religion Studies (SHARE) at Cardiff University, the Research Training Support Grants of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and Cardiff Alumni Students. Equally, I am extremely grateful to the Arts and Humanities Research Council for the award I received [doctoral award] towards the funding of my thesis, which is largely the basis for this book. For the plans of the fortifications, I am deeply indebted to the work of Robert W. Edwards. On the ground, many people were helpful during the course of my fieldwork. First of these is Emily Iona Stewart, my wife, my colleague, illustrator and partner in-crime of all my quests in Cilicia who has been a wonderful cofield archaeologist and road companion.
While helping me in every possible way, she proved to be the best critic of any new idea. I would also like to say how much I have appreciated travelling companions, such as my parents, who have provided friendship and moral support while visiting obscure heaps of stones in hot and dusty places, and risked life and limb climbing the outlying parts of many castles. I also acknowledge the friendly welcome I have received from so many local people in villages and castles throughout the area; the friendliness of the people will always encourage me to return to Cilicia.
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