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A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make"). [1] Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Puerto Rico.
The term is thought to have derived from the Brittonic *kagro-and to be cognate with cae ("field, enclosed piece of land"). [4] Although stone castles were largely introduced to Wales by the invading Normans, "caer" was and remains used to describe the settlements around some of them as well.
Masada (Hebrew: מְצָדָה məṣādā, 'fortress'; Arabic: جبل مسعدة) [1] is an ancient fortification in southern Israel, situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert , overlooking the Dead Sea 20 km (12 miles) east of Arad .
The fate of the fortress areas varied. Stalingrad, the first to fall, is seen as a crucial turning point in the war, and one of the key battles which led to German defeat. In several cases, Alderney, for example, the fortresses were bypassed by the attackers and did not fall, surrendering only after the unconditional surrender of Germany.
It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of city , meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In a fortification with bastions , the citadel is the strongest part of the system, sometimes well inside the outer walls and bastions, but often forming part of ...
However, scholastic convention tends to translate castrum as "fort", "camp", "marching camp" or "fortress". [ 3 ] Romans used the term castrum for different sizes of camps – including large legionary fortresses, smaller forts for cohorts or for auxiliary forces, temporary encampments , and "marching" forts.
Alamut, which is the most famous of these strongholds, was thought impregnable to any military attack and was fabled for its heavenly gardens, library, and laboratories where philosophers, scientists, and theologians could debate in intellectual freedom. [2] The stronghold survived adversaries including the Seljuq and Khwarezmian empires.
Towers of medieval castles were usually made of stone, wood or a combination of both (with a stone base supporting a wooden loft). Often toward the later part of the era they included battlements and arrow loops.