"A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault."
This topic delves into the ways ancient armies besieged and defended cities and fortresses. It includes case studies of famous sieges and the development and use of fortifications such as walls, trenches, and towers.
Defensive Architecture: The study of fortification design, construction, and layout to prevent enemy invasion or attacks.
Siege Warfare: The tactics, strategies, and tools used by an attacker to capture a fortified site or stronghold.
Siege Engines: The various types of siege engines used to break through the walls or gates of a fortified site. Examples include battering rams, trebuchets, and ballistae.
Castle Design and Construction: The architectural and engineering techniques used to build medieval castles such as motte and bailey, concentric, and keep castles.
Military Architecture: The history and development of fortifications in the ancient world, from ancient Greece and Rome to the Renaissance period.
Defensive Strategies: The planning and execution of tactics that helped defenders to hold out against attackers during a siege.
Military Technology: The evolution of military technology, including weapons such as the catapult, flamethrower, and gunpowder weapons.
Siege Warfare in Mythology and Literature: The portrayal of siege warfare in mythology and literature, including the siege of Troy in Homer's Iliad and the siege of Jerusalem in the Bible.
The Great Siege of Malta: The famous 16th century siege in which the Knights of St. John held out against a much larger Ottoman force for months.
Siege Tactics and Challenges: The military tactics and challenges associated with a siege, including issues of supply, sanitation, disease, and morale.
Blockade: A military operation designed to prevent access to a particular area or force it to capitulate by blocking off all its supply lines.
Cordon: A tactical siege method used to isolate a fortified position from its surrounding countryside in ancient times.
Counter-siege: A siege operation intended to break up an attacking siege or to relieve a besieged force.
Covered way: A fortified trench or tunnel, made of earth and timbers, constructed to provide cover for troops from defending forces.
Crannog: An ancient prehistoric fortification that was built on a man-made island located in a lake or a bog.
Curtain wall: A wall that runs along the perimeter of a fortification and spans between towers to form an enclosure.
Defensive ditch: A deep trench that helps to protect a fortification from an attacking force.
Limes: A fortified line or boundary that separates the conquered territories of an ancient empire from the barbarian tribes.
Lodge: A small fortification built to protect a gate or passageway that would allow for entry into a larger fortification.
Mannerheim Line: A line of fortifications built by Finland to protect itself from the Soviet Union during World War II.
Martello Tower: A small defensive fortification built along the coast of Ireland and Great Britain.
Motte and Bailey castle: A castle consisting of a fortified tower built on a raised mound and an enclosed courtyard.
Palisade: A fence or wall made of wooden stakes driven into the ground to form a fortification.
Parapet: A raised protective wall or barrier on top of a fortification.
Redoubt: A small independent fortification built to defend a larger fortification.
Sapper: A soldier who specializes in attacking the walls and fortifications of enemy positions.
Trench: A long, deep, narrow ditch that is dug in the ground to provide soldiers with protection from enemy fire.
Wall tower: A tower built into a fortress wall.
Wooden palisade: An enclosure built of wooden stakes driven into the ground to protect a fortification.
Ziggurat: An ancient Mesopotamian fortified structure built on an artificial mound that served as a temple, royal palace, and administrative center.
"Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static, defensive position."
"An opportunity for negotiation between combatants is common, as proximity and fluctuating advantage can encourage diplomacy."
"A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that cannot be easily taken by a quick assault, and which refuses to surrender."
"Sieges involve surrounding the target to block provision of supplies and reinforcement or escape of troops. This is typically coupled with attempts to reduce the fortifications by means of siege engines, artillery bombardment, mining or the use of deception or treachery to bypass defenses."
"Failing a military outcome, sieges can often be decided by starvation, thirst, or disease, which can afflict either the attacker or defender."
"The attacking force can circumvallate the besieged place, which is to build a line of earth-works, consisting of a rampart and trench, surrounding it."
"A defensive ring of forts outside the ring of circumvallated forts, called contravallation, is also sometimes used to defend the attackers from outside."
"Ancient cities in the Middle East show archaeological evidence of fortified city walls."
"During the Warring States period of ancient China, there is both textual and archaeological evidence of prolonged sieges and siege machinery used against the defenders of city walls."
"Leonardo da Vinci gained some of his renown from the design of fortifications."
"During the Renaissance and the early modern period, siege warfare dominated the conduct of war in Europe."
"In the Napoleonic era, increasing use of ever more powerful cannons reduced the value of fortifications."
"While traditional sieges do still occur, they are not as common as they once were due to changes in modes of battle, principally the ease by which huge volumes of destructive power can be directed onto a static target."
"Modern sieges are more commonly the result of smaller hostage, militant, or extreme resisting arrest situations."