Anastasian Wall
Ἀναστάσειον Τεῖχος (in Greek) Anastasius Suru (in Turkish) | |
Istanbul Province, Turkey | |
| Region | Thrace |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°12′0″N 28°20′0″E / 41.20000°N 28.33333°E |
| Type | Defensive wall |
| Length | 56 km (35 mi) |
| Width | 3.3 m (11 ft) |
| Height | 5 m (16 ft) |
| History | |
| Periods | Early Medieval |
The Anastasian Wall (
Construction
Originally some 56 km (35 mi) long, it stretches from Evcik İskelesi in
The wall was named after the Emperor
Effectiveness
It is known that the wall had only a limited effectiveness, and various groups attacking Constantinople penetrated it many times, because the fortification's length made it difficult to defend the wall completely by a limited garrison, and also because the wall was not sufficiently strong due to its hasty construction.[4][5]
The wall fell into ruin after it was abandoned in the 7th century because of the difficulty of keeping it manned and repaired. Over the centuries, the stone of more than half of the total length was reused in other local buildings. It is best preserved in the woodlands of the northern sector.[4]
See also
- Walls of Constantinople
- List of walls
- Çakmak Line, An abandoned Turkish defensive line for similar aims
References
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Macron Teichos
- ^ Strabo, Geography, 7, fragments
- ^ "Tarihi Eserler-Anastasios Surları" (in Turkish). Çataca Belediyesi. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
- ^ Janin, Raymond (1964). Constantinople byzantine. Développement urbaine et répertoire topographique (in French). pp. 261–262.
Sources
- Schuchhardt, C. (1901), "Die Anastasius-Mauer bei Constantinopel und die Dobrudcha-Wälle", Jahrbuch des Kaiserlich Deutschen Arhäologischen Instituts (in German), XVI: 107–127
- Crow, J.G. (1995), "The Long Walls of Thrace", in Mango, Cyril; Dagron, Gilbert (eds.), Constantinople and its Hinterland: Papers from the Twenty-seventh Spring Symposium on Byzantine Studies, Oxford, April 1993, Variorum, pp. 109–124, ISBN 0-86078-487-8
- Crow, J.G.; Ricci, A. (1997), "Investigating the hinterland of Constantinople: interim report on the Anastasian Long Wall", Journal of Roman Archaeology, 10: 253–288
