It was a bold, dark castle of pine boughs that stood like a medieval fortress, eclipsing the sun and human time.

Potemkin's Army of Ekaterinoslav, totaling, it was claimed, 40,000 regular troops and 6,000 irregulars of the Cossack Corps, had invested Islam's principal stronghold on the north shore of the Black Sea, the fortress town of Oczakov, and was preparing to test the Turk by land and sea.

In 1153 Baldwin captured the Egyptian fortress of Ascalon, which was then added to Amalric's fief of Jaffa ( see Battle of Ascalon ).

In 1168 the chief Wendish fortress at Arkona in Rügen, containing the sanctuary of their god Svantevit, was conquered.

During the 3rd century, under threat from a Herulian invasion, repairs were made to the Acropolis walls, and the " Beulé Gate " was constructed to restrict entrance in front of the Propylaia, thus returning the Acropolis to use as a fortress.

After the fall of the Duchy of Athens and the principality of Achaia, the only Latin possessions left on the mainland of Greece were the papal city of Monemvasia, the fortress of Vonitsa, the Messenian stations Coron and Modon, Navarino, the castles of Argos and Nauplia, to which the island of Aegina was subordinate, Lepanto and Pteleon.

The most powerful of the latter was Umar ibn Hafsun, who, from his impregnable fortress of Bobastro, controlled much of eastern Al-Andalus.

The last of Ibn Hafsun to fall was Hafs, who stood in his powerful fortress of Bobastro.

Gobannium was a Roman fort guarding the road along the valley of the River Usk which linked the legionary fortress of Burrium ( Usk ) and later Isca Augusta or Isca Silurum, ( Caerleon ) in the south with Y Gaer, Brecon and Mid Wales.

The Second Army, under general Nikola Ivanov, with 2 infantry divisions and 1 infantry brigade, was deployed west of the First and was assigned to capture the strong fortress of Adrianopel ( now Edirne ).

The Third Army had 3 infantry divisions and was assigned to cross the Stranja mountain and to take the fortress of Lozengrad ( Kirk Kilisse ).

The fortress of Adrianople was besieged and Kirk Kilisse was taken without resistance under the pressure of the Bulgarian Third Army.

Anadoluhisarı fortress was built between 1393 and 1394 as part of preparations for the Second Ottoman Siege of Constantinople, which took place in 1395.

The strategic position, to wit the high bank of the Waal — which offered an unimpeded view far into Germania Transrhenana ( Germania Beyond the Rhine )— was recognized first by Drusus, who built a massive fortress ( castra ) and a headquarters ( praetorium ) in imperial style.

In the 18th century, a fortress was built at Montjuïc that overlooked the harbour.

In 1794, this fortress was used by the French astronomer Pierre François André Méchain for observations relating to a survey stretching to Dunkirk that provided the official basis of the measurement of a metre.

Jean Froissart states as follows: " Now will I name some of the principal lords and knights ( men-at-arms ) that were there with the prince: the earl of Warwick, the earl of Suffolk, the earl of Salisbury, the earl of Oxford, the lord Raynold Cobham, the lord Spencer, the lord James Audley, the lord Peter his brother, the lord Berkeley, the lord Basset, the lord Warin, the lord Delaware, the lord Manne, the lord Willoughby, the lord Bartholomew de Burghersh, the lord of Felton, the lord Richard of Pembroke, the lord Stephen of Cosington, the lord Bradetane and other Englishmen ; and of Gascon there was the lord of Pommiers, the lord of Languiran, the captal of Buch, the lord John of Caumont, the lord de Lesparre, the lord of Rauzan, the lord of Condon, the lord of Montferrand, the lord of Landiras, the lord Soudic of Latrau and other ( men-at-arms ) that I cannot name ; and of Hainowes the lord Eustace d ' Aubrecicourt, the lord John of Ghistelles, and two other strangers, the lord Daniel Pasele and the lord Denis of Amposta, a fortress in Catalonia ".

Havana was furnished with the fortress of Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro to deter potential invaders, which included the English privateer Francis Drake, who sailed within sight of Havana harbour but did not disembark on the island.

The city was built on seven hills as well as on the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, and thus presented an impregnable fortress enclosing magnificent palaces, domes and towers.

Around the turn of the 4th century, as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance, the Romans established a fortress town along the east bank of the Nile.

Massachusetts was increasingly concerned over reports of the capabilities of this fortress, and of privateers staging out of its harbour to raid New England fishermen on the Grand Banks.

In 1758, the fortress of Louisbourg was laid siege for a second time within 15 years, this time by more than 27, 000 British soldiers and sailors with over 150 warships.

Later, as a result of his writings against Pelagianism, a body of excited partisans broke into the monastic buildings, set them on fire, attacked the inmates and killed a deacon, forcing Jerome to seek safety in a neighboring fortress ( 416 ).

When relations between Prince Jayawikarta and the Dutch deteriorated, Jayawikarta's soldiers attacked the Dutch fortress.

He arrived in Damascus in June to learn that Farrukh-Shah had attacked the Galilee, sacking Daburiyya and capturing Habis Jaldek, a fortress of great importance to the Crusaders.

In Brazil, he briefly captured the Portuguese settlement of Salvador, personally leading the assault on the sea fortress of that town. In August with a small and undermanned fleet he sailed for the African west coast and attacked a Portuguese fleet in a strongly defended bay of Luanda but failed to capture any ships. He then crossed the Atlantic ocean again to try and capture merchant ships at the city of Vitória, but was defeated by a resistance organized by the local civilians, with assistance by a Portuguese garrison. After finding Salvador recaptured by a large Spanish-Portuguese fleet Heyn returned home. The Dutch West India Company were pleased with Heyn's leadership qualities and in 1626 placed him in command of a new squadron. In subsequent raids in 1627 at Salvador, he attacked and captured over thirty richly laden Portuguese merchant ships before returning to the United Provinces.

When Fëanor rode too far from his bodyguard during the Battle under Stars, he was attacked by several Balrogs including their Lord Gothmog, who had issued forth from Angband, the enemy's fortress in the north.

Learning of the Noldor's arrival, Morgoth summoned his armies from his fortress of Angband and attacked Fëanor's encampment in Mithrim.

The Alamanni attacked the fortress while it was still under construction and destroyed it.

There, within its walled city and fortress, Angelica and the knights she has befriended make their stand when attacked by Agrican, emperor of Tartary.

The fortress has been attacked many times without capture, including an attempt by Simon de Montfort.

De Courcy attacked the fortress and administrative centre of Rath Celtair ( the Mound of Down ), defeating and driving off Rory MacDonlevy ( Ruaidhri Mac Duinnshleibhe ), King of the Dál Fiatach and Ulster ( Ulaid ).

On June 22, 1941 the fortress and the city were attacked by Nazi Germany at the beginning of the Soviet-Nazi war, Operation Barbarossa, but held out for six days.

Their attempted ambush ended in their defeat and the army pressed on, destroying de Verdon's fortress of Castle Roche, and on 29 June attacked Dundalk.

Eventually an army of Ents and Huorns led by Treebeard of Fangorn attacked Isengard, taking the fortress, although they could not take Orthanc.

During the Crimean War, an Anglo-French force attacked and destroyed the fortress of Bomarsund in 1854, against the erection of which the British prime minister Palmerston had protested without effect some twenty years previously.

Through all of these years, the Iroquois never attacked the Kitcisìpirinik fortress.

Accompanied by a force of Toulousian troops, he attacked and seized the fortress at Arimah, on the road to Tortosa.

In 219, Guan Yu attacked Cao Cao's fortress at Fancheng while leaving troops behind to defend against a possible attack from Lü Meng.

The fortress was attacked and sieged twice falling into enemy hands.

Grey, armed with the financial support and far more troops armed with 32-pounder cannons, that had been denied to FitzRoy, attacked and occupied Kawiti's fortress at Ruapekapeka, forcing Kawiti to retreat.

They attacked the fortresses and on May 3, 1848 succeeded in winning the battle of Goito and capturing the fortress of Peschiera.

As an important border fortress ( between Bosnian Kingdom and Hungary ), it was also frequently attacked ( officially recorded-18 times ) in the Austro-Ottoman Wars, and finally fell to the Habsburgs in 1878.

Sakuma Morimasa attacked on orders from Shibata Katsuie, and Nakagawa was killed, but the fortress ' defenses held.

Meanwhile, he was reported “ injurious information ” about his queen ; therefore Leo had numerous members of her suite put to death and attacked her personally before imprisoning her in the fortress of Vahka ( today Feke in Turkey ) where she was poisoned some time later.