关于长城

2002-12-24

常有人说长城是中国人保守的象征. 其实, 在定居民族和barbarians斗争时, 延着边界造墙本是很有效的一种军事手段, 且被广泛使用. 罗马帝国就造了一大堆长城, 有名的就有Antonine Wall, Hadrian's Wall和the Limes(在日尔曼尼亚的那一段), 在叙利亚和北非也建有类似的长城(只是要短些), 叙利亚部分的甚至一直工作到阿拉伯人入侵. 古苏美尔(Sumerian)也造过"Muriq Tidnim"(c.1965BC)用来防备西方闪米特人(Semite)的入侵; 至于柏林墙和朝鲜墙, 属于现代, 但也见墙即使在原子武器时代, 对于维持军事平衡, 依然是很有效的手段, 不管哪个民族, 只要有用皆会用之, 和民族性实在无大关系.

下引数段罗马长城的资料

Antonine Wall from about.com

The Antonine Wall, begun in AD 142 during the reign of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, consisted of a turf rampart set on a stone foundation stretching 37 miles across central Scotland. A broad ditch was dug in front of the Wall as part of the overall defenses, and the fill from this ditch formed a low mound to the north.  To the south, a road called the Military Way ran behind the wall. The barrier, built from east to west, stretched between the Firth of Forth at Bo'ness and the mouth of the River Clyde at Old Kilpatrick.

 [Fig.1: Map of the Antonine Wall, showing Forts and the individual Legions (Roman numerals) who built each wall section (after Keppie 1990).]

Like Hadrian's Wall to the south, the Antonine Wall had a series of regularly-spaced forts which housed detachments of Roman soldiers and auxiliary troops. The original plan of the Antonine Wall called for 6 forts spaced 6-8 miles apart. Yet after the wall had been built as far as Castlehill, only four miles from its completion, the plan was revised to more than triple the number of forts to 19 (fig.1). A series of inscribed stone markers called distance slabs record the sections of wall completed by each of the three Legions (II, VI, and XX) stationed in Britain during its construction in AD 142-144.

In spite of the additional defenses, the Antonine Wall was abandoned after 20 years when the Roman army withdrew from Scotland in AD 164, pulling the northern frontier back down to Hadrian's Wall. After barbarian invasions from the north in AD 197, the emperor Septimius Severus arrived in AD 208 to restore order along the Scottish borders, briefly reoccupying and repairing portions of the Antonine Wall. Related to this, the Antonine Wall is called the Severan Wall by a series of Late Roman and Dark Age historians including Eutropius, Orosius, and Bede. After only a few years, however, the turf-built Antonine Wall was abandoned permanently and the main Roman defensive line reverted south again to the more substantial, stone and masonry barrier of Hadrian's Wall.

Parts of the Antonine Wall and its ditch can still be traced today. The visitor can see remains of several forts including Kinneil, Rough Castle, and  Bearsden; and intact sections of wall and wall foundations at a number of sites including Watling Lodge and Hillfoot Cemetery.

Hadrian's Wall(122AD) from about.com

Following Domitian and preceding Commodus was the period of the five good emperors of Rome. One of the differences between these five and many of the more "colorful" emperors was that they weren't born the sons of emperors. Instead, they were selected as successors on the basis of competence.

Nerva

Trajan

Hadrian

Antoninus Pius

Marcus Aurelius

The third of these was Publius Aelius Hadrianus -- Hadrian.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/graphics/hadrians_wall_1.jpg

Hadrian's Wall near Housesteads Fort

Hadrian was born on January 24, 76 A.D. He died on July 10, 138, having been emperor since 117. During this time he worked on reforms and consolidated the Roman provinces. For eleven years he toured his empire.

Not all was peaceful, though. When he tried to build a temple to Jupiter on the site of Solomon's temple, the Jews revolted in a war lasting three years. His relations with the Christians were generally not confrontational, but during Hadrian's stay in Greece (123-127) he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, according to Eusebius, and then, with new-found pagan zeal, persecuted local Christians.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/graphics/hadrians_wall_2.jpg

Housesteads Fort

It is claimed Trajan, his adoptive father, had not wanted Hadrian to succeed him, but was thwarted by his wife, Plotina, who covered up her husband's death until she could make sure of Hadrian's acceptance by the senate. After Hadrian became emperor, suspicious circumstance surrounded the assassination of leading military figures from Trajan's reign. Hadrian denied involvement.

Mementos of Hadrian's reign persist in the form of coins and the many building projects he undertook. Most famous is the wall across Britain that was named after him. Hadrian's wall was built, beginning in 122, to keep Roman Britain safe from hostile attacks from the Picts. It was the northernmost boundary of the Roman empire until early in the fifth century.

The wall, stretching from the North Sea to the Irish Sea (from the Tyne to the Solway), was 80 Roman miles (about 73 modern miles) long, 8-10 feet wide, and 15 feet high. In addition to the wall, the Romans built a system of small forts called milecastles (housing garrisons of up to 60 men) every Roman mile along its entire length, with towers every 1/3 mile. Sixteen larger forts holding from 500 to 1000 troops were built into the wall, with large gates on the north face. To the south of the wall the Romans dug a wide ditch, (vallum), with six foot high earth banks.

Today many of the stones have been carted away and recycled into other buildings, but the wall is still there for people to explore and walk along, although this is discouraged.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/graphics/hadrians_wall_3.jpg

Housesteads Fort

Further Reading

Divine, David: Hadrian's Wall; Barnes and Noble, 1995.

The Roman Limes :

http://home.t-online.de/home/bernd.hummel/limeng.htm

map :

http://www.limes-in-deutschland.de/gif/limes-karte.gif (German)

http://home.t-online.de/home/bernd.hummel/kartlim.jpg (English)

"limes" Encyclopædia Britannica
<http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=49445>
[Accessed December 25, 2002].

The limes as a continuous barrier can best be seen in Great Britain and Germany. The Rhine and Danube rivers were adopted from AD 9 as the natural frontiers of the Roman Empire. Later in the 1st century the Romans extended their control into the Black Forest area; under the emperors Hadrian (117–138) and Antoninus Pius (138–161) a limes was established, consisting of a continuous nine-foot palisade running, in its final form, more than 300 miles across the angle between the two rivers. The palisade was later replaced by stone and earth walls. The Alemanni broke through the limes in c. 260 and the Roman frontier was withdrawn to the Rhine and Danube once more. The limites in Great Britain were Hadrian's Wall between the Rivers Tyne and Solway and, farther north, the turf wall of Antoninus Pius between the Rivers Forth and Clyde.

The limes as a system of fortifications was employed on other frontiers during the 2nd century AD and assumed various forms according to the differing geographical and military conditions. In what is now Romania a limes of Trajanic-Hadrianic times has been traced in the Dobruja area; lines of forts to the east and west of this area, however, do not appear to have been linked by ramparts. In Anatolia a continuous barrier was neither practicable nor necessary, as the Romans controlled the roads and river crossings. In Syria , however, an elaborate limes system was established, not only to control the mobile native population and the caravan routes but also for defense against Parthian or Sasanian attacks. The main part of this line held until the Arab conquest in the 7th century. Control of nomads was also necessary in North Africa. The network system of roads, forts, and watchtowers was adopted, but the defenses also included a continuous barrier, a ditch, and either a stone or earth wall.