Fortress #73 covers the defensive structures of the Hittite civilization. This group occupied and controlled much of what is now Turkey and the Levant, equaling the power of Egypt and often clashing with them. So great was the power of the Hittite empire, that it rivaled that of Egypt and Assyria during their heights.

One of the major problems regarding Hittite fortress building is a lack of complete surviving relics. This is as much due to the majority of the works being built of wood and mud brick as anything else. However, their bases were made of stone works and much of this survives, despite many structures being disassembled for the use of stones in other building.

In this book, author Konstantin Nossov covers the methods of construction as well as the major parts of Hittite fortresses. There most notable feature was a rounded rampart that is somewhat unique to this area. Also of interest is that there were no arrow slits for defenders. Instead, full windows were provided for the archers. Towers also tended to be placed rather close to each other and the main gates to the city tended to be a bit convoluted in order to provide best defense. Oddly, there were openings below the fortress walls that do not seem to be camouflaged in any means. These long tunnels were not obviously defended, though any invaders would have had a very difficult time traversing them without discovery.

Another section of the book gives us a tour of sorts of some of the major sites. Both how they looked when in active use and how they look today are provided. Thanks to what little in the way of relics are left and the excellent illustrations of Brian Delf, we can get a good idea of what it was like to live in these various postings. I should also thank Osprey for spreading out its illustrations to accompany the various parts of the book dealing with the illustration's subject rather than compiling them all in the center of the book as they used to.  Finally a look at the various sites today and how one can visit them, a very helpful guide for those who wish to learn more.

Overall, another fine book in this series and one that should be on the shelves of anyone interested in this particular time and place in ancient history.

March 2008

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