The Evolution of Defensive Elements in the Syrian Cities and Kingdoms during the Bronze Age "Syrian Jazirah, Euphrates region, Northern Levant, Between the Early and Middle Bronze Age"

This work presents a comprehensive study of the Early and Middle Bronze defensive elements (around 3000 – 1600 BC.) in Syrian Jazirah, the Euphrates region, the Upper and Lower Northern Levant (Fertile Crescent), Where it provides a study about the methods of using the defensive elements, their structure, dimensions and their building materials and clarify the changes that happened to them between early and middle bronze age in the regions of the study. It aims to: 1- Define the defensive elements that have been used to fortify the cities during the Early and Middle Bronze age in the regions of the study. 2- Analysis and study their structure; specifically, their dimensions, their shapes, building materials which have been used to build them and their functional use. 3- Study and clarify the changes that happened to them between the Early and Middle Bronze Age. a. Size and shape. b. Building materials. c. Functional use. 4- Present an accurate statistical study of the fortified cities and their defensive elements. 5- Clarify how the defensive elements have been used in different ways from a city to another, moreover, how these elements were working together as one defensive unit to protect the cities against the invasion. 6- Study the correlation between the size of the settlements and the kind and width of the defensive elements that have used to fortify them. 7- Clarify the features and aspects of the fortification structures in the regions of the study, which includes the kind of defensive elements that have been used to fortify the cities and the building materials that have been used to build the fortification structure (wall- rampart), moreover, the methods of using the fortification walls, the types of gates and the methods of using the towers and bastions, furthermore, the shape of the settlements 8- Clarify the reasons behind of fortifying and reinforcing some cities more than others, and how some cities have continued fortified from the EB to MB and other cities have become abandoned during the EB, whether due to natural disasters or the military invasion.