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Qalat[citation needed] orkalata (قلعه) inPersian,[1] andqal'a(-t) orqil'a(-t) (قلعہ, قلعة) inArabic, means 'fortress', 'fortification', 'castle',[2] or simply 'fortified place'.[3] The common English plural is "qalats" in Arabic, the singular is "qala", but English may use "one qalat/many qalats".[citation needed][dubious –discuss]
Qalats can range from forts likeRumkale to themud-brick compound common throughout southwest Asia. The term is used in the entireMuslim world to indicate a defensive fortress.[4] The term took various forms in different languages, such asqala/qal'a andqalat/qal'at (Persian and Arabic),kale (Turkish),[3]kaleh andkalleh (Persian),qila (Urdu and Hindi), and often became part ofplace-names. It is even preserved intoponyms in places such asSicily, which was occupied by theAghlabid dynasty and then theFatimids from the ninth to the twelfth centuries.[5]
The word is used an variousArabic placenames.
Wolf Leslau (1987), citingSiegmund Fraenkel [de] (1886) and Walter Belardi (1959), offers that the Arabic word has been adopted from the Iranian (Persian)kalata.[1]
The Etymological Dictionary of Contemporary Turkish written byArmenian-Turkish authorSevan Nişanyan states that the Turkish wordkale is adapted from ḳalˁa(t), which originates from the Arabic root ḳlˁ. Nişanyan goes on to note that the Arabic word shares its origin with theMiddle Persian variantkalak, which has no written record and originates in theAkkadian word of the same meaningkalakku.[3]
The Persian word iskalata.[1]
The Armenian word is preserved as kałak (kaghak) which means city.
The Arabic word takes the formsqal'a(-t) andqil'a(-t), pluralqilâ' andqulû', meaning fortress, fortification, or castle.[2]
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See the lists of castles fromSaudi Arabia, Jordan (Qalʻat ar-Rabad,Qal'at al-Karak andQal'at ash-Shawbak),Tal Afar in Iraq, the castles ofSyria,Lebanon,Egypt, etc.
A typical qala in Central Asia consisted of a tripartite city model:kuhandiz (citadel),shahristan (residential area), andrabad (faubourg,suburb; the regional variant forrabat). This city model is valid not only for Central Asian city typology and is also used to describe similar city types elsewhere in Islamic geography.[6]
In the pre-IslamicIran andTurkestan towns consisted of a fortress calleddiz (also means "fortress" in Persian), and the actual town which was calledshahristan. Middle Eastern Islamic geographers use the wordkuhandiz for the oldest part of the settlements in the town centers. It later started to be used in with the meaning ofcitadel. The wordkuhandizoriginates from Persian (كهندز) and means literally "old fortress". But the wordkuhandiz can't be applied to solitary fortresses which were independent of towns, as it would cause conceptual confusion. Although in Arabic the wordhisn orhusûn (حصون. ج - حص)[clarification needed] was used to indicate fortresses which were located off towns, since Arabic terms did not have proper meaning to describe those structures, they borrowed the wordkuhandiz during the Islamic conquest of Iran. Kuhandizes were usually built onhigh ground and were thelast line of defence in the town. Administrative units were mostly located here. The Turkish termiç kale and the English "citadel" are synonymous.[7]
Shahristan is a combination of two words,šahr (city) and-stan/-istan (region, area), thus it literally means "city area". Before the Islamic conquest of Central Asia,castle-style settlements were common rather than largepolitical andeconomic centers. The word used by Muslim Arabs for these fortified towns, which were protected by walls, isqal'a. As the feudal system was transcended, this tripartite city model appeared with castle-like structures, which are calledkuhandiz, forming the core of the city. With the development in itself of the settlement within the old walls, cities withoutkuhandizes also appeared. Most of the townspeople dwelled in theshahristan. Mesut Can states that this might be the reason the nameshahristan was used. Most of the buildings forrecreation andworship were also located there.[8]
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In many areas of Iran and Afghanistan, particularly in tribal areas with pre-modern building practices, the qalat compound is the standard housing unit for multi-generational families. Qalats can be quickly constructed over the course of a single season, and they can be extremely large, sometimes covering several acres. Towers may be placed at the corners or points along the walls to create a more defensible position, but most qala compounds consist only of the walls.[citation needed]
While the foundation of a qala compound may be stone or fired brick, the walls are typically dried mud. Walls are created by laying down a row of adobe bricks withmud mortar along the entire length of the wall. By the time that the mason returns to the point of origin, the mortar is dry and the next row can be added on top of the old. Using this technique walls dozens of feet high can be built very rapidly.[citation needed]
Khanate of Kalat was a major state in the southwestPakistan that derived its name from the fortified city ofKalat in the modern day's province ofBalochistan.
In modern Turkish,kale (Turkish pronunciation:[ka'le]) is an umbrella term that encompasses all types of fortified structures.[10]
In Turkish, the scope of the termkale can vary. Today many fortified buildings are calledkale, which causes confusion. Originally the wordkale (orkal'aقلعە inOttoman Turkish) refers tofortresses which were built onroads, atnarrow passes, and atbottlenecks, where the enemy was expected to pass by, or in cities with strategic value.[3][10] Building materials ofkales could differ according to geographical conditions.[11] For example, Ottomanpalankas were mostly built of woodenpalisades.[12]
A typical kale has the same features known from Western and Eastern counterparts, such ascurtain walls with towers and agatehouse, an inner tower similar to akeep (bâlâhisar,erk orbaşkule in Turkish),battlements andembrasures, amoat and sometimespostern gates. In the 15th century, the Greek word for tower,purgos, was adopted into Turkish asburgaz.[10]
Ottoman towns in theBalkans andAnatolia had a tripartite city model: old castle (inner fortress),varoş (residential area, in modern Turkish used as 'suburb'), and outer city (suburb).[13]
There are also other similar terms such ashisar orkermen.
The definition of the termhisar is similar to that ofcastle, a fortified structure that acts as a residence, such asRumelihisarı orAnadoluhisarı.[10] The word originates in Arabic, where it means 'fortress' and 'blockade', and from where it also made it into Persian ashessar.[14]
Another word used for forts iskermen, which originates fromCuman. It is known askirmen inTatar, and askarman inChuvash. The Russian wordkremlin also originates fromkermen.[15]
Whentoponymically examined, it can be seen thathisar is used for place-names in western Turkey,kale in eastern Turkey, andkermen in theCrimean peninsula.[16]
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