Editing Fortification (section)

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Short description|Military defensive construction}}
{{Redirect-several|Fort|Fortress|Stronghold|Fortification}}
{{Distinguish|food fortification|fortified wine}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{War}}
[[File:Castillo San Felipe del Morro (10 of 1).jpg|thumb|[[Castillo San Felipe del Morro]], Puerto Rico. The fortress and walled city of [[Old San Juan]] are a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]].]]

A '''fortification''' (also called a '''fort''', '''fortress''', '''fastness''', or '''stronghold''') is a [[military]] [[construction]] designed for the defense of territories in [[war]]fare, and is used to establish rule in a region during [[peacetime]]. The term is derived from [[Latin]] {{lang|la|fortis}} ("strong") and {{lang|la|facere}} ("to make").{{sfn|Jackson|1911|p=679}}

[[File:Aerial photograph of Maiden Castle, 1935.jpg|thumb|[[Maiden Castle, Dorset|Maiden Castle]] in 1935. The [[Iron Age]] [[hillfort]] was first built in 600 BC.]]

From very early history to modern times, [[defensive wall]]s have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of [[invasion]] and [[conquest]]. Some settlements in the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] were the first small cities to be fortified. In [[ancient Greece]], large [[cyclopean]] stone walls fitted without mortar had been built in [[Mycenaean Greece]], such as the ancient site of [[Mycenae]]. A Greek ''[[Towns of ancient Greece#Military settlements|phrourion]]'' was a fortified collection of buildings used as a military [[garrison]], and is the equivalent of the [[ancient Roman|Roman]] [[castellum]] or fortress. These constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint to watch and maintain the border.

The art of setting out a military camp or constructing a fortification traditionally has been called "castrametation" since the time of the [[Roman legion]]s. Fortification is usually divided into two branches: permanent fortification and field fortification. There is also an intermediate branch known as semipermanent fortification.{{sfn|Jackson|1911|p=680}} [[Castle]]s are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from the generic fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a [[monarch]] or [[Nobility|noble]] and command a specific defensive territory.

[[Castra|Roman forts]] and [[hill fort]]s were the main antecedents of castles in Europe, which emerged in the 9th century in the [[Carolingian Empire]]. The [[Early Middle Ages]] saw the creation of some towns built around castles.

Medieval-style fortifications were largely made obsolete by the arrival of [[cannon]]s in the 14th century. Fortifications in the age of [[black powder]] evolved into much lower structures with greater use of [[Ditch (fortification)|ditches]] and [[Earthworks (engineering)|earth]] [[Rampart (fortification)|ramparts]] that would absorb and disperse the energy of cannon fire. Walls exposed to direct cannon fire were very vulnerable, so the walls were sunk into ditches fronted by earth slopes to improve protection.

The arrival of [[explosive shell]]s in the 19th century led to another stage in the evolution of fortification. [[Star fort]]s did not fare well against the effects of high explosives, and the intricate arrangements of bastions, flanking batteries and the carefully constructed lines of fire for the defending cannon could be rapidly disrupted by explosive shells. [[Steel]]-and-[[concrete]] fortifications were common during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The advances in modern warfare since [[World War I]] have made large-scale fortifications obsolete in most situations.