Ρόδος : Στοιχεία πολεοδομικής ανάλυσης μιας μεσαιωνικής οχυρωμένης πόλης
Part of : Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας ; Vol.39, 2000, pages 27-42
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Pages:
27-42
Parallel Title:
Rhodes : Town-planning Analysis of a Medieval Fortified City
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Articles
Abstract:
The city of Rhodes is a characteristic example of a Greekurban centre whose transformation over the centuries canbe studied from its founding in the Hellenistic period intoOttoman times.The 'Hippodamian' grid system of the ancient city, whichremained strong into the modern age, evidently guided thestructure of the town plan in all subsequent historicalperiods.Characteristic in the formation of the Medieval fortificationsis the positioning of the gateways, which utilize the ancientstreet axes and keep the important passes for the region. Thegates in the fortified enceintes were moved along the lengthof the main accesses from the various points in the countryside towards the city of Rhodes, and maintained a correspondence from Antiquity to the present day.The fortified city of 1522 was the result of continuous expansions and additions of new sections to the initial nucleusof the Early Byzantine burg (Kastro) of the 7th century. It isclear that neighbourhoods existed extra mums, and that insome phase these were fortified, thus justifying the termscivitas, burgum, suburbia, extra-suburbia etc., which are usedfor the various sections of the city in this period.By the 15th century there were nuclei of settlement outsidethe walled city, which are mentioned as 'proastia' or villages.During the 14th and 15th centuries a continuous transformation of the south and particularly the east part of thecity is observed, with extensions of the walled part so as toinclude the originally unwalled, mainly Jewish, quarters.This phenomenon was intensified during the 15th century,as a consequence of the rapid increase in the city's population and in the face of the already imminent threat, after1444, of its direct attack and siege.So, by combining information deriving from analysis of thedocuments in the Archive of the Knights of St John in Malta,with the systematic archaeological investigation of selectedareas, a methodology can be developed for studying theevolution of the layout of the Medieval city, which will leadto very important and original results.
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