The fortifications of Rhodes are shaped like a defensive crescent around the medieval city and consist of a huge stone wall, equipped with an escarpment, bastions, a ditch, a counter-scarp and a glacis. The part of the fortifications facing the harbor, instead, consists of a battlement. On the piers are towers and defensive forts.
They were built by the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John, reinforcing the existing Byzantine walls, starting in 1309, the year they captured the island after a three-year struggle.
Like most defensive walls, they were built using the rubble masonry method, which allows for a large mass capable of withstanding shots, with smooth external stone surfaces that prevent climbing.
The defense of different parts of the fortifications was entrusted to different languages (Langue) of the knights. The bastions and houses still bear the names of their respective languages. There are 11 gates leading to the old city. Some of them are ancient, some are modern.
They were built by the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John, reinforcing the existing Byzantine walls, starting in 1309, the year they captured the island after a three-year struggle.
Like most defensive walls, they were built using the rubble masonry method, which allows for a large mass capable of withstanding shots, with smooth external stone surfaces that prevent climbing.
The defense of different parts of the fortifications was entrusted to different languages (Langue) of the knights. The bastions and houses still bear the names of their respective languages. There are 11 gates leading to the old city. Some of them are ancient, some are modern.
Translated automatically from Ukrainian. View original
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