Structures > Birtha
Birtha
Background
Birtha (Greek: Βίρθα)[1] was an ancient fortress on the river Tigris, which was said to have been built by Alexander the Great. It would seem, from the description of Ammianus,[2] to have resembled a modern fortification, flanked by bastions, and with its approaches defended by out-works. Shapur II here closed his campaign in 360, and was compelled to retire with considerable loss. D'Anville[3] and Edward Gibbon[4] both identify Birtha as modern-day Tikrit, Iraq.The word "Birtha" in Syriac means a castle or fortress, and might be applied to many places. From the known position of Dura, it has been inferred that the remarkable passage of the Tigris by Jovian in 363 took place near Tikrit.[5] Towards the end of the 14th century, this impregnable fortress was stormed by Timur. The ruins of the castle are on a perpendicular cliff over the Tigris, about 200 feet (65 m) high. This insulated cliff is separated from the town by a broad and deep ditch, which was no doubt filled by the Tigris. At the foot of the castle is a large gate of brick-work, which is all that remains standing; but round the summit of the cliff the walls, buttresses, and bastions are quite traceable. There are the ruins of a vaulted secret staircase, leading down from the heart of the citadel to the water's edge.[6]Hellenistic Greece
- Library of Pergamon
- Colossus of Rhodes
- Ancient Theatre of Ohrid
- Tomb of Alexander the Great
- Tomb of Philip II
- Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
- Pergamon Altar
- Philippeion
- Sanctuary of the Great Gods
- Ploutonion at Hierapolis
- Filippeios Krini
Ptolemaic Structures
- Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria
- Cleopatra's Palace at Alexandria
- Library of Alexandria
- Serapeum
- Caesareum of Alexandria
- Tomb of Antony and Cleopatra
Seleucid Structures
Indo-Greek Structures
Babylonian Structures
Other
- Gates of Alexander
- Kapilikaya Rock Tomb
- Birtha
- Tombs of the Kings of Pontus
- Monument of Prusias II
- Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Sources
Primary Sources
Ptol. v. 18; Virta, Amm. Marc. xx. 7. § 17.
Secondary Sources
l. c.
Geog. Anc. vol. ii. p. 416.
vol. iii. p. 205.
Amm. Marc. xxv. 6. § 12; Zosim. iii. 26.
Rich, Kurdistan, vol. ii. p. 147; comp. Journ. Geog. Soc. vol. ix. p. 448; Chesney, Exped. Euphrat. vol. i. pp. 26, 27; Carl Ritter, Erdkunde, vol. x. p. 222.
Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Birtha". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.