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| Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress Akkerman fortress | |
|---|---|
| Part ofTyras | |
| Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi,Odesa Oblast | |
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| Location | |
  Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress Akkerman fortress | |
| Coordinates | 46°12′3.96″N30°21′2.16″E / 46.2011000°N 30.3506000°E /46.2011000; 30.3506000 |
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TheBilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress orAkkerman fortress (Ukrainian:Білгород-Дністровська фортеця, or Ukrainian:Акерманська фортеця,romanized: Akermanska fortetsia, also known asCetatea-Albă orKokot) is a historical and architecturalmonument of the 13th–14th centuries. It is located inBilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in theOdesa Oblast of southwesternUkraine, in theBudjak, the historical region ofBessarabia.
The fortress is very similar to otherMoldavian medieval fortresses/castles.[1]
The fortress was built on the remains ofTyras, anancient Greek city on the northern coast of theBlack Sea which existed until the 4th century. Frequent attacks by invaders (Goths andHuns) destroyed the city.Antes,Slavs, andBulgarians lived on the site of Tyras after the Greeks.[2] In the 10th century, Bilhorod was part ofKievan Rus'. Later it was owned by theKingdom of Hungary, then thePrincipality of Galicia–Volhynia, where it stayed until the invasion of theMongols.[citation needed]
It is not known when construction began on the fortress. Most historians today believe that it was a tradingexclave of theRepublic of Genoa on theBlack Sea, first established in the 13th century. The territory was surrendered to theGolden Horde, but the Genoese managed to ally with the Mongols. Bilhorod was officially aTatar city, but ruled by the Genoese; the fortress controlled theestuary of theDniester.[citation needed]
In the second half of the 14th century, the Genoese lost their influence in theBlack Sea region and secure passage across theAegean Sea, because of increasing military pressure from theOttomans. According to most historians, Lithuania came to replace Genoa. In the 14th century, thePrincipality of Moldavia gained control over the Lithuanians.[citation needed]
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After the territory came under the control of thePrincipality of Moldova, the Moldavians called itCetatea Albă (literally White Citadel). In the 15th century the city was a metropolis with about 20,000 inhabitants - Moldavians, Greeks, Genoese, Armenians, Jews, Tatars. It was the start of the greatest development period in the city's history. The city was based on a fortress, which had already grown significantly. Its main elements had been constructed by 1440. The fortress had 34 towers, some as much as 20 meters tall. Outside, the fortress was surrounded by a deep moat. The fortress was built of white limestone, for which amortar made of eggs, crushed marble, carbon, and silicon was used.[3]
In 1440 one portion which was neither a wall nor a castle tower was completed. This segment is located outside the castle walls very close to the estuary and has remains preserved today. Inside the wall, 10 stone cores were inlaid in the wall as a kind of talisman. This part of the wall had no practical defensive value. For a long time historians and architects could not identify the purpose of it.[citation needed]
The cores inside the wall were shaped like atetractys: a figure with ten points that form nine equilateral triangles. Possibly this was a magical symbol used inDruidic rituals. It is also one of the symbols ofMasonic lodges.[4] This confirms the view of some historians that the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress was built byFreemasons and the incomprehensible portion was made specifically for the tetractys. When in one of the towers, a plate was found, inscribed with: "Master Fedorko finished construction in 1440", some jumped to such a conclusion based solely on the grounds of the usage of the word "master".[citation needed]
Another explanation of Bilhorod's tetractys is much more pragmatic: some claim it is just a variant of a sundial calendar.[citation needed]
In the second half of the 15th century, the Moldavian principality was marred by a civil war between different factions, and kingBogdan II was murdered in an ambush by his brotherPeter III Aaron in 1451. In 1457, the throne of Moldavia was captured byStephen III of Moldavia (son of Bogdan II) with the help of his cousinVlad the Impaler, prince ofWallachia. Since Cetatea Albă was the main defensive center in the southeast of the state, located right on the trade route between Europe and Asia, it was given renewed attention under a new ruler. The fortress was constructed and reinforced with new stronger walls and a large gate, which then served as the main entrance to the fortress. In order to guard it, a permanent garrison was placed.[citation needed]
In the 15th century,The Ottoman Empire repeatedly tried to capture the city. The hardest siege was in August 1484, when a 300,000-man army of Ottoman sultanBayezid II and 50,000 troops of theCrimean KhanMeñli I Giray, supported by over 100 large ships, besieged the castle from the coast and estuary. After a nine-day siege, the fortress was taken. In 1485,Stephen the Great tried to recapture Bilhorod, but failed. Turks would rule there for 328 years.[citation needed]
The Ottoman Empire made Bilhorod one of its strongholds in the north. The city suffered from endless attacks by theZaporozhian Cossacks. Cossack chieftains repeatedly tried to sack the city, among themHryhoriy Loboda,Severyn Nalivaiko,Ivan Sulima,Ivan Sirko, andSemen Paliy. Moldavians and Poles did not leave the city in peace either. However, Bilhorod remained an impregnable stronghold. Much attention to the fortress was also paid by the vassals of Turkey:Crimean Tatars. Bilhorod was often a place of refuge during the campaigns, and the Crimean Khanİslâm II Giray even died in the fortress and was buried in the mosque, of which only oneminaret now remains.[citation needed]
During the long Turkish domination, the Bilhorod fortress was repeatedly rebuilt and renovated with new fortifications. In 1657Melek Ahmed Pasha significantly strengthened the fortress. In 1707, the Turks invited French military engineers, who constructed a newbastion line. After 1756, consolidation and repairs were made to the fortress almost every year.[citation needed]
The 18th century saw threeRussian-Turkish wars. First, in 1770,the fortress was invaded by the Russian army. The Russian invaders could not stay there long, and, according toTreaty of Küçük Kaynarca, finally returned to the city[clarification needed] in 1774. In 1789, the town was captured without a fight by a large detachment ofDon Cossacks and aJäger (infantry) hunter corps headed byMikhail Kutuzov. The following year, Kutuzov became commander of the fortress, but had to leave this position soon after. According to the agreement between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, the riverDniester was their border. The Ottoman period of Bilhorod ended in 1812, following theRusso-Turkish war of 1806-1812, when Russia took the eastern part of the Principality of Moldavia, between thePrut and Dniester rivers. TheTreaty of Bucharest (1812) putBessarabia (includingBudjak) and Bilhorod under the control of theRussian Empire.
TheAkkerman Convention was signed in 1826 between the Russian and the Ottoman empires. This treaty expanded Russian influence in theDanube region and established a framework for the eventual independence ofWestern Moldavia andWallachia.[5]
The city and the surrounding district became part of theMoldovan Democratic Republic after it proclaimed its independence following theRussian Revolution. TheRomanian Army, entered the city on 9 March 1918, fighting with local troops led by theBolsheviks. Formal integration followed later that month, when the 'Sfatul Țării' of theMoldovan Democratic Republic proclaimed the whole of Bessarabiaunited with Romania. During theinterwar period, the Romanian administration transformed Cetatea-Albă into an important administrative and cultural center ofGreater Romania. The Fortress was restored and maintained, becoming an important symbolic Romanian medieval monument.
Romania ceded the city to theSoviet Union on 28 June 1940 following the1940 Soviet occupation of Bessarabia, that year the name was officially changed from Cetatea-Albă to 'Belgorod-Dniestrovski'. The pieces with theheraldic symbols of Moldova and theMoldavian Principality were removed by Soviet Authorities, with the Romanian state regaining it on 28 July 1941 during theinvasion of the USSR in the course of theSecond World War and had it within its boundaries until 22 August 1944 when theRed Army reoccupied the city. After the Soviets partitioned Bessarabia, creating theMoldovian SSR, The city and fortress became part of theUkrainian SSR, and after 1991, nowadaysUkraine.
Time has left its mark on the appearance of the fortress: only 26 of the exterior towers have survived, the interior rooms of the citadel and the cylindrical tower in the north-west corner of the fort have collapsed, and the buildings with civilian purposes have disappeared."[6]
In 2009, the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi fortress was added to theState Register of Immovable Landmarks of Ukraine.[7] In 2019, together with the remains of the city of Tyras, the fortress was listed on theUNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List.[8]
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