Fortresses in the Çanakkale strait

SUMMARYThis thesis aims to examine the fortresses found along the coast of theÇanakkale Strait in terms of chronology, architecture, construction techniques, andplan types. The region of Çanakkale, which geographically roughly corresponds tothe ancient Troad, saw the development of various cultures throughout the ages in itslands. This was evidently due to the regions strategically important geographicposition between Asia and Europe. Because the Çanakkale (Dardanelles) strait tiesthe Aegean and Black Sea Worlds together, it has been very important since as earlyas the classical antiquity. As a consequence, a series of fortresses have been builtalong the straits to control the access to the Sea of Marmara and beyond. Some ofthese newly built fortresses were placed over the previously built ones or they weresimply re-used after a series of restorations and alterations.When Çanakkale came under the control of the Ottoman Empire during thereign of the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, he ordered the building of two fortressesfacing each other at one of the narrowest points of the Çanakkale Strait in 1463.These fortresses are called the Kilid-ül Bahir and Kale-i Sultaniye. Following thereign of the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, six additional fortresses were built atdifferent times along the strait. For instance, the so-called Kumkale and Seddülbahirfortresses were built by Frenk Ahmet Paşa on each side of the mouth of the Straitbetween 1697-1699 under the sponsorship of the Valide Sultan, who was the motherof the sultan Mehmet IV. Additional fortresses were also built during the eighteenthcentury and later, namely Çamburnu, Mecidiye(Köseburnu), Naraburnu, and Bigalı.are the fortresses which built during this period. It is in this period that the Gallipolifortress was also restored. As a consequence, the Çanakkale Strait has always keptits strategic importance in terms of militaristic point of view. In this context, it is animportant research objective to place these fortresses on the map and to draw them. Ialso utilize archaeological data, literary evidence, old photographs and drawings,accounts of travelers, and Ottoman documents to evaluate these fortresses.