A closer look at Ottoman frontier fortresses

The eastern Mediterranean holds the secrets of ancient frontier fortresses, silent witnesses to the Ottoman rule. Despite their historical significance in defence, socio-economic development and geopolitics, such fortress-towns in the Peloponnese, Cyprus and Crete remain shrouded in mystery. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SEABORD project sets out to solve the mystery. It will conduct extensive research through archival exploration and on-site fieldwork facilitated by advanced digital tools. With a focus on sharing and engaging with Europe’s cultural heritage, it will create a digital museum, publish papers and present a monograph, ensuring these relics of the past find their voice in the modern world.

SEABORD will explore the frontier fortresses of Eastern Mediterranean in a comparative perspective in order to assign their role in defence, socio-economic development and geo-political considerations during the Ottoman rule. This research will focus on fortress-towns of Peloponnese, Cyprus and Crete, considering their similar historical trajectory in establishing Ottoman sea borders in the Eastern Mediterranean. This project will be based on a research conducted and collected qualitative data in various archives (in Istanbul, Athens, London, Vienna and Nantes), and on other primary sources, and on-site fieldwork facilitated by advanced digital tools and methods. Combining use of unpublished archival material with development of new digital reproductions (3D images, GIS based maps), this research offers an innovative approach to share and engage with cultural heritage in Europe.

Main outcomes of this project will be a monograph, conference papers (will be published in edited collective volumes or as journal articles), and a digital museum, which will contribute to disseminate the project results in a wider audience. During two years period of the MSCA European Fellowship (EP), the researcher will base her research and training activities at Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC), at the Cyprus Institute (Cyl). As part of her fellowship, she intends to complete a 3-month secondment at the Department of History and Archaeology, at the University of Crete, to enhance her training and expand her research. Overall, this project aims address a significant societal challenge, primarily resulting from derision of systematic research on such monuments during the Ottoman rule in Greece, and elsewhere in Europe in general. Thus, dissemination, communication and outreach activities are designed fulfilling this aim promoting research on fortresses and castles, and other examples of built military heritage of the Ottoman past in Europe.