User:ElizabethAcors/sandbox

User:Rob6820/sandbox

Portion of the Walls of Troy- an entrance

Fortifications of Troy

The Walls of Troy are the fortifications around the ancient city of Troy, which is located in what was known as Asia Minor and is now called Anatolia, in Turkey. The walls were first erected in the Bronze age between 3000 and 2600 BCE but were destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, making nine phases of the city. Troy was a central hub for the military and for trade due to its location connecting the city to the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Black Sea. The remains of the walls have been studied through excavation, and shed light onto the historical city itself and the mythological implications including how the walls protected the citadel during the Trojan War. The fortifications display the importance of defense to the Trojans and how warfare was a prominent issue for every ancient city.

Mythological History

The city of Troy is the mythological setting for Homer's Iliad during the 13th century, as he recounts the last year of the Trojan War. The war was a ten-year long conflict between Trojans and Greeks because the Trojan prince, Paris, eloped with Helen, the wife of the Spartan King, Menelaus. This sparked a Greek expedition into Troy in which the Gods took sides- Hera, Athena, and Poseidon supporting the Greeks while Aphrodite, Apollo and Ares supported the Trojans. A large factor during the war was the benefit of having sturdy fortifications; the build of the walls was seen so impressive, it has been said that Poseidon and Apollo must have made them. The walls are said to have maintained a strong defense against the Greeks and successfully protected the citadel. In fact, the Trojans were not overcome by a failure of the walls, but Odysseus's tricky Trojan Horse ruse instead where the Greeks pretended to give up and give the Trojans a large wooden horse as a gift that secretly hid Greek troops to sack the city. This mythological conflict was well-known by Ancient Greeks, but many people believed the city to simply be a fictional creation.

Archaeological Remains

The exact historical location of Troy, if there was one, was unknown for many centuries. However, in 1822, Charles Maclaren suggested that a mound of dirt, known as Hisarlik in Turkey, housed the buried remains of Troy, but many individuals did not believe it to be true. Therefore, many people disregarded Maclaren's idea until the area was excavated and archaeologists found layer upon layer of remains of a city that matches the description of Homeric Troy. Heinrich Schliemann has been given most of the credit for excavating this site, but his work would not have been possible without several people before him to discover that Hisarlik was an important place to uncover. For example, Frank Calvert first discovered the site in 1860 CE, and convinced Schliemann to excavate it, which he did between 1870 and 1890 while writing down all his observations and findings. Many artifacts were recovered, including remains of the walls of Troy, adding over 2000 years to Western history. The walls surround the city, lasting for several hundred meters and during the time they were built, ca 3000-2550 BCE, they were over 17 feet tall. They were made of limestone with watchtowers and brick ramparts, or elevated mounds that serve as protective barriers. Currently, they are not as tall due to weathering over time and the impact of war; however, they are said to have been sturdy and tall when first built.

Phases of Creation (Note: this could probably serve as a lead-in to the section about the phases)

Archaeological plan for the city of Troy with the fortifications wrapping all the way around.

During his excavation Schliemann discovered evidence that Troy had been destroyed and rebuilt many times, resulting in the city having multiple phases. The city's first phase lay at the bottom, as when the city was destroyed each time, the citizens would level out the settlement and build upon it. The first phase of the city is characterized by a smaller citadel, around 300 ft in diameter, with 20 rectangular houses surrounded by massive walls, towers, and gateways. Troy II doubled in size and had a lower town and the upper citadel, with the walls protecting the upper acropolis which housed the megaron-style palace for the king . The second phase was destroyed by a large fire, but the Trojans rebuilt, creating a fortified citadel larger than Troy II, but which had smaller and more condensed houses, suggesting an economic decline. This trend of making a larger circuit, or extent of the walls, continued with each rebuild, for Troy III, IV, and V. Therefore, even in the face of economic troubles, the walls remained as elaborate as before, indicating their focus on defense and protection. Troy VI and VII continued the trend of the heavily fortified citadel where even in the face or earthquakes and sieges of the central city, the outer rim was preserved. Troy was then virtually abandoned for four centuries, with Troy VIII serving as the reoccupied Greek city, named Ilion, which transformed into Troy IX when the Romans sacked Ilion and created their own city.

Throughout all of these phases, the walls served as the largest fortification for the city of Troy to protect the Trojans against any enemies. Defense mechanisms like the Walls of Troy shed light onto the larger topic of warfare in ancient times. Warfare was a large issue in not only Ancient Greece, but locations nearby, like Asia Minor. The monumental efforts taken to protect their cities suggests how important it is to win wars and establish the status of their city.