A palanka (), also known as parkan in Southern Hungary and palanga, was a wooden

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

used by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

extensively in certain regions of

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, including

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, the

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and the Black Sea coast against rival states, especially the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

and the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. Such wooden forts could be built and expanded quickly, and usually contained a small garrison. These fortifications varied in size and shape but were primarily constructed of palisades. Palankas could be adjacent to a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and later they could be replaced by a more formidable stone fortress as in the case of Uyvar. Palankas could also be built as an extension of the main fortress. Many Ottoman forts were a mixture of palanka type fortifications and stonework. Evliya Çelebi describes the word palanka also as a technique of

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

masonry. Some palankas developed into larger settlements and word ''palanga'' has been also used to describe rural settlements which originates from palankas in Erzincan, Eastern Anatolia.

Etymology

The word comes from Hungarian , which itself comes from Middle Latin meaning ''log'', which is derived from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

or (, ) also meaning ''log''.

Architecture

Typical palanka had a rectangular plan and its entrance could be guarded by a watchtower called ''ağaçtan lonca köşkü''. Walls of a palanka could be made of a single palisade as well as two rows of stockade, creating a gap in between which is filled with earth which might be acquired from the ditch dug around the fortification, called ''şarampa'', thus creating a protected walkway. The inner and outer palisades were held together by transverse beams, whose ends were fixed to the outer walls by wooden pins, to counter the pressure of earth filling. In order to increase resistance against cannon fire, wooden walls could be strengthened by applying mortar in a technique called ''horasani palanka''. After that, military buildings such as bastions which

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

s are placed, towers,

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

and civilian buildings such as inns,

marketplaces A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s, cisterns could be added. Lastly, a stockade could be constructed around the palanka as a secondary fortification.

Characteristics

Palankas were the basis of Ottoman frontier defence system in Europe and their purpose was to protect military and riverine routes, which had strategic value, and travellers, who were passing through these routes, against plunderers. These routes connected palankas, thus leading to creation of a defense network. They also allowed effective communication between strategic areas. When Ottoman reached the limit of their conquests in Europe, they used these structures to stabilize the frontier. Although palankas were not indestructible on their own, they were interconnected structures, and if an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

too strong to resist attacked, the forces of the other palankas would come to their aid. Wooden walls of palankas were difficult to ignite since they were filled with earth; and stakes used to build them were damp. Most of the troops in palankas were azaps and a palanka functioning in the frontier could have a higher ratio of cavalry troops compared to a fortress defended by cannons. Palankas showed similarities to Roman limes system. In the pre-Ottoman period, there used to be fortifications, where palankas were constructed, and after the conquests these fortifications were rebuilt with remarkable Ottoman characteristics. Due to their makeshift aspect few palankas survive today but researches show that this kind of structures were used between 14th and late 19th century.

Havale

''Havale'', which is the fortification that palanka was inspired by, acted as a base for troops and

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

during

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

s of the early Ottoman era. 15th century Ottoman historian Aşıkpaşazade mentions that this kind of fortresses were built during the Siege of Bursa (1326). Havale type forts were also built during the Siege of Sivrihisar in Karaman, and in Giurgiu during the campaign to Hungary (1435–36) by Murad II.

Gallery

File:Palanka Fort 3.png, Palanka Ádony File:Palanka Fort 4.png, Palanka Baranyavar File:Palanka Fort 5.png, Palanka Paks File:Palanka Fort 6.png, Palanka Szeksard

Related towns

Serbia

* Bačka Palanka * Smederevska Palanka * Bela Palanka * Brza Palanka * Banatska Palanka

Macedonia

* Kriva Palanka

Bosnia and Herzegovina

* Lušci Palanka

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Fortifications Fortifications