Some remarks on the documentary sources of the “fortifications” of Iași

Abstract

There is an academic consensus in that the premodern city of Iaşi was no walled. However, although there are campaign fortifications in and around the city that are well documented, mainly for the Russian-Turkish wars of 18th century, one also finds several sources that give testimony of various “walls” inside the city proper as well as at its outskirts. This paper undertakes a short inventory of these documentary “walls” in the city of Iasi in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as commentary on the location and nature of such walls, making use of the methods of historical topography and the cartographic sources available.

Keywords: Iaşi; Princely Court of Iaşi; enclosures; city walls; ditches; pre-modern urbanism; Moldavia.