THE FORMATION AND INFLUENCE OF THE MILITARY ARCHITECTURE IN OMAN DURING AL-YA'ARIBA PERIOD (1034-1162 AH/1624–1749 AD)

Despite its richness, the research corpus published about Islamic architecture presents some discontinuities in the knowledge of the architecture in the lands ruled by Muslims. Similarly, the dynamics of influence that might have operated between the "monumental" architecture in these lands and their popular architectures are insufficiently addressed. Moreover, the material culture related to the Islamic civilization is almost exclusively studied as a product that has stopped evolving. The architecture produced during Al-Ya'ariba (Al- Ya'rubi) Imamate (1624-1749) is an instance of these understudied topics in the history of Islamic architecture. This research argues that Al-Ya'rubi Imamate is not only an important chapter in the history of Oman, the Arabian Peninsula, Indian Ocean, and Eastern Africa, but also the architecture of this period has created the identity of Omani architecture as we know it today. Nonetheless, there is no architectural production in this era both in the major references and scientific publications of Islamic architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries. Through field research, comparative analysis, and literature review of the history of Omani architecture, especially in the 17th -18th centuries, this research examines the military architecture in Oman during Al-Ya'ariba Imamate including its reference, and its influence on other architectures. It is a contribution to the scientific endeavour to address this specific architectural typology from the perspective of its mechanism of (trans) formation and its continuity of forms until the contemporary architecture of Oman.

Understanding Bunker Architecture Heritage as a Climate Action Tool: Plan Barron in Lisbon as a “Milieu” and as “Common Good” When Dealing with the Rise of the Water Levels

Abandoned on the coast as skeletons, bunkers are the last theatrical gesture in the history of Western military architecture (Virilio, 1975). Technically obsolete, this military territory has fallen into extinction and is now generally forgotten. We present the Plan Barron of Defense of Lisbon and Setubal case study, a mid-twentieth-century set of bunkers, recently declassified, as a case study to discuss the future of this heritage facing the climate crisis. Can oblivious historical war heritage be an opportunity to fight climate emergencies? We present four theoretical concepts to fundament this environmental positioning: (i) Heritage Management and Climate Governance, (ii) Techno-aesthetic (Simondon, 1992): panopticon territorial cluster; (iii) Military: camouflage as design, and (iv) Civil: inheritance as future potential. The results allow us to look at military architecture in the form of a bunker, as a set of territorial, architectonic, cultural, and social interests. We demonstrate that the counterpoint of its invisibility is a singular naturalized “milieu”, a place where the memory of war can be transformed as a buffer zone that combines characteristics of climate and coastal resilience with cultural and social interest as a “common good”.

LOWER DNIESTER (SNAKE) DEFENSIVE RAMPART:TOPOGRAPHY, ARCHAEOLOGY AND DATING

The Lower Dniester (Snake) Defensive rampart on the border of the Roman Empire is one of the largest and most significant objects of the ancient Roman fortification of the Northern Ponticregion but at the same time the most controversial and least known not only to general public but to professional historiansas well. Over the last decade, based on a detailed study of cartographic sources and materials of numerous archaeological surveys it has been possible to reconstruct completely the line of this rampart which turned out to be the longest of all earthen ramparts in Budzhak or Bessarabia (Sapozhnikov 2011; 2013; 2020a). This paper is devoted to such components of this unique monument of military architecture and engineering as topography and archaeology as well as relative and absolute dating both by traditional methods and by the method of soil-genetic chronology. Today we can say that the rampart runs on the right bank of the Dniester from the Sergeevka village near the Black Sea to the right bank of the river Botna near the Plop-Stubei village for 123—125 km, and the total length of this structure (with additional fortifications and protection of the camps) reached 134—136 km. Since the rampart lies on the Late Scythiansettlements Mologa II and Vesele III its terminus post quem can be defined as the early 3rd century AD. Terminus ante quem according to soil-chronological studies by F. N. Lisetsky is limited to the second half of the 3rd century AD. Based on the historical situation in Tyras and its environs during this period the authors concluded that such a significant structure was built by the Romans (or the local population under their leadership) in the first half of the 3rd century AD.

Grociana piccola: a rare example of Republican military fortifications in Italy

Recent investigations at Grociana piccola, a site in northeastern Italy consisting of two sub-rectangular fortifications, offer the rare opportunity to investigate Early Roman military architecture outside the Iberian peninsula. Excavations have revealed an inner rubble masonry rampart dated to the 2nd c. BCE by associated pottery, mainly amphora remains. This date suggests that the fortification was in use during the first Roman conquest and/or later campaigns of the 2nd c. BCE, providing one of the earliest and smallest examples of a military fort. The fort's ramparts were built using the same building technique as much larger 2nd-c. BCE military camps. Another trench uncovered the northeastern corner of the outer rampart and a probable tower or artillery platform which can be connected to a temporary camp built during the mid-1st c. BCE.

Defensive Walls of Tobolsk Kremlin: a Historical and Architectural Sketch

The article was prepared in connection with the announcement of the year of Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov in the city of Tobolsk in 2021. Information has been collected on the history of the construction and rebuilding of the fortress walls and towers of the Tobolsk Kremlin, which rarely attracted the attention of researchers. A review of the history of the fence construction in the Sofia courtyard is carried out. Particular attention is paid to the stages of the construction of the Kremlin stone walls, the surviving elements of defensive architecture in them. The authors clarify some provisions from the classical works of V. I. Kochedamov, draw on new sources, including photographs from restoration work in the middle of the 20th century from the funds of the Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. The results of a comparative architectural analysis of the Kremlin walls of Tobolsk with synchronous and previous monuments of Russian military architecture are presented in the article. It has been established that the walls of the Tobolsk Kremlin were more of a symbolic-decorative than a military char-acter. It was determined that they represented a symbiosis of the Moscow Kremlin architecture of the late 15th century with the architecture of the Smolensk fortress wall, 17th century monastery fences and, possibly, the fence of the Bishops' court in Rostov.

Formation And Development Of Military Architecture In Fergana (Antiquity, Early Middle Ages)

The article reveals the problem of the development of military architecture in the territory of ancient Fergana, based on the long-term research of archaeologists of Uzbekistan. It identifies the main factors that have contributed to the improvement of this architecture. In each separately taken historical period, starting from the Bronze Age, the author defines the characteristic features of the fortification architecture of Fergana cities based on specific examples. At the same time, a comparative analysis with neighboring historical and cultural regions (Sogd and Khorezm) is performed, and the issues of the continuity of traditions and evolutionary development in this type of structure are revealed using the examples of military architecture of the early medieval period.

Health in the Military – Military in Good Health: Prestige and Propaganda in the Architecture of Modernist Military Holiday Houses

As a result of wartime operations, many citizens of child-bearing and working age either fell or became disabled, and in the best of cases required treatment due to a worsening of hygienic conditions and malnutrition. According to the Polska Zbrojna magazine from 1933, the health of the Fatherland’s defenders required particular attention. For this reason, in the Second Republic of Poland, the officers’ corps had its own holiday system. Military architecture can largely bring to mind standardised urban layouts of barracks complexes filled with repetitive architecture. However, the architecture of holiday houses, sanatoriums and officers’ homes dedicated to recreation and entertainment (pensioners insisted on the hosting of dancing nights) and health treatment/convalescence is something different altogether. Although the first military holiday home in Cetniewo was built in the manorial style, the so-called White Manor (Biały Dworek), successive buildings were largely designed in the Modernist style, which perfectly fit the relaxed atmosphere and was healthy due to its immanent assumptions: it was equipped with impressive glazing, where the clash of masses caused the appearance of open rooftop terraces, etc. Officers, non-commissioned officers and their families had access to year-round holiday facilities such as the Officers’ Holiday Home in Augustów, seasonal facilities (Officers’ Holiday Complex in Jurata), as well as sanatoriums (Military Sanatorium in Otwock). After sailing and kayaking had become popular among officers, facilities dedicated to specific sports club began to appear, such as the Yacht Club in Zegrze. The design of such facilities was the domain of not only military engineers, but also avant-garde civilian designers, such as Edgar Norwerth, Marian Lalewicz, etc. Recreational homes were not only of recreational and integrative significance, but were also important in propaganda: the Officers’ Recreational Home in Cetniewo was to mark Polish presence on the freshly reclaimed Baltic coast through its modern, avant-garde architecture.