The history of mankind goes back centuries. Of great interest is the study of various eras. In this article, the reader will get acquainted with the names of cities and their history in the Middle Ages.
General characteristics of medieval cities
The period of the Middle Ages is complex and controversial in the history of mankind. Its importance in the formation of cities is enormous. The following factors influenced their development in the Middle Ages:
- The cities of Europe have inherited the main features from the time of the Roman Empire. They have survived to the present.
- In the formation of medieval cities, a huge role was played by the trade routes connecting Europe with the East.
- It mattered where the monasteries and castles were located, which were the beginnings of future cities. Although only some residences of kings and feudal lords contributed to the growth of economic development of the city.
- Of great importance were the wars that lasted for centuries continuously. For defensive purposes, the buildings were high, the streets were narrow, and landscaping was low.
- A phenomenon of the Middle Ages is the development of cities among the Arabs. Everywhere they built camps for the military. To control the conquered country, they built citadels, which the Arabs called Shahristans. Everyone settled there: rulers, their servants, courtiers, artisans, military squads. Around Shakhristans built settlements, fenced with fortress walls.
- Cities of the East in the Middle Ages differed from European. They existed in a single state system, but did not have any rights.
Mdina
The medieval city is the first capital of Malta. In another way it is called the Silent City. The first settlement of people dates back to the Bronze Age, nine hundred years BC. The Phoenicians chose the top of the hill as their place of residence. The settlement was surrounded by fortifications to protect against attacks by other tribes.
What attracted this place to the ancient settlers? Here there are sources of groundwater, thanks to which people could withstand the siege for a long time, without going beyond the boundaries of protective structures. The city reached an unprecedented peak when the Romans ruled it. Later, when the rule of Mdina passed to the Arabs, the city was divided into parts, one of them became known as Rabat.
The Middle Ages for Mdina were marked by the relocation of aristocrats into it. In the thirties of the sixteenth century, the city was recognized as independent, it receives the status of an autonomous settlement. Only after this, the knights took possession of the keys to the city. Later, the owners of Mdina changed many more times, and with them the status and name of medieval cities.
Constantinople
The origin of the names of medieval cities is symbolic. Constantinople is a city of Byzantium with strong ancient traditions. Its occurrence is associated with the ancient Greek city of Byzantium. Constantinople was built in its place, and it was of great strategic importance: the location of the ancient city was the peninsula that overlooked the Bosphorus Strait, and it went to the Black Sea.
Byzantium was founded by Greek colonists in 660 BC, but Constantinople surpassed it. The territory of the city occupies seven hills, like Rome. In his image and likeness, power was organized in Constantinople, houses were built for wealthy people. The history of the early period of Byzantium was marked by the status of a world power, where road networks were preserved, as in Rome, and Constantinople held the main nodes of land and sea routes. The city occupied a major position between the two seas: the Black and the Mediterranean.
Medieval cities of Romania
Of great interest to people of various professions, especially for scientists, are medieval cities. The list of names of some saved cities is as follows:
- Sighisoara Is the most beautiful city of Transylvania, located on a hill. He is considered the birthplace of Dracula. This city has the German name Schessburg and the Hungarian - Shegeshwar. Founded by German colonists in the eighth century. They erected a fortress, churches and a clock tower. For several centuries in a row, the city was a refuge for politicians and the military. Ammunition, looted treasures, valuable documents and food supplies had to be stored somewhere. The clock tower was surrounded by a powerful wall, everything was stored there. By the fourteenth century, Schessburg received the status of a free city and became the leading center of trade and craft in Eastern Europe.
- Brasov - a city not inferior in beauty to Sibiu, for which it received a different name - the Romanian Salzburg. Located in the center of Romania. The first written sources about the city date back to 1235. The names of the medieval cities of Europe often changed. It so happened with Brasov. He was called Brasco, Stefanopolis, Brasso, Kronstadt. The favorable geographical position and relations with other settlements allowed the city to develop its economy rapidly, thanks to which Brasov soon became a major center of Transylvania.
Name of medieval cities: Georgia and Armenia
Large cities of this era consisted of a citadel, the city itself and the suburbs. The city was called a shahastan, the ruler - Amir. He was appointed by the king. The inhabitants of the cities were people of different classes, but most of them were merchants and artisans. The specific name of the medieval cities (for each of them) in Georgia and Armenia will be considered below:
- Ani received the status of a city only in the tenth century. Before that, it was a fortress on the Akhuryan River. It has developed rapidly since 961, when it received the status of the capital of the kingdom of Bagratids. Fifty years later, it became an important center of the Middle East. The rapid development of the city is primarily due to its geographical location: Ani was located in the center of the kingdom and bordered on other countries: Russia, Byzantium, Iran, Aghvank and Georgia.
- Karin Is an ancient Armenian city. It has other names: Feodosiopol, from the eleventh century - Erzurum. Karin became a fortified city with double walls, towers and defensive moats. Caravan routes that connected the West and the East passed through Karin. But Karin did not become the most important city of the country due to frequent wars.
- Van is the oldest city in Armenia, the foundation date of which is the ninth century BC. It was the largest center of craft production and trade. Masters were engaged in weapons, pottery, jewelry and weaving.
Medieval cities of Kazakhstan
The cities of the country of this era have an interesting history. But at present, only remnants have been preserved of them. The name of medieval cities in Kazakhstan is unusual for the ear of a contemporary. Some of them are presented below in the article:
- Otrar. The location is the valley of the Syr Darya River. Scientists call the confluence of two rivers, the Syr Darya and Arys, the Otrar oasis. The city had a favorable geographical position: it was located at the intersection of many roads. It was the most advantageous and most dangerous location in Central Asia. Conquest wars, which lasted for centuries, turned the once flourishing city into ruins. Today it resembles an open-air museum.
- Sauran. This city was founded by the Kimaks and Oghuz tribes, where they concluded contracts and traded. The city was a powerful fortress with powerful fortifications with special structures that could withstand a long siege without supplying water and food. The city received the status of the capital of Ak-Orda in the fourteenth century. At this time, ceramic production reached an unprecedented peak. Written sources indicate that Sauran was a large and wealthy city.
Internal fortifications of the city
In the Middle Ages, fortification fences surrounded not only the external perimeter of the city, but also the territory inside it. At that time it was necessary to protect the city from constant clashes with foreign and internal troops. During an enemy attack, people had to seek protection, going beyond the walls of the city, where they were waiting for inevitable death, so they built fortifications inside the city to protect themselves from the danger that could be expected at any time. There was always danger, even if there were no official wars.
The name of the internal fortification in a Russian medieval city depends on the type of fortification. The simplest was the cape type. Usually, a place surrounded by ravines or formed by the confluence of rivers was chosen for the settlement. Nature itself enclosed the city on its sides, but it was open from the floor. Fortifications were built in this place: ditches, ramparts, palisades. In general, the fortifications in the Middle Ages were the cities themselves, monasteries and castles.
As a rule, power was engaged in their construction, and if it was weak, then the clergy or secular feudal lords, as in France or Italy. Cities of Germany with internal fortifications were called burgs. They had their own laws and regulations.
Interesting Facts
- People rarely washed themselves in the era described, because they believed that water falling on the body could infect it.
- In the Middle Ages, Londoners threw fifty tons of excrement onto the streets in one day.
- Medieval cities did not have sidewalks or asphalt on the roads. People had to walk on the ground, covered with rotting remains of animals, scraps of food, excrement. Thus, the excessive pollution of the streets of London led to the emergence of people of a new specialty who cleaned excrement and other garbage. These people were called goldsmiths, as they paid more money for this dirty work.