Posted on 04/19/2020 1:54:03 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The walls stand up to 20 feet tall. It was built at the start of the 4th century AD, as part of defensive works for a limes Arabicus, and held a cavalry unit of perhaps 120-150 men. The building inscription survives:Optimis maximisque principibus nostris Caio AurelioWhich tells us that the fort was called Mobene, and was constructed by the Praeses of the province of Arabia, a chap named Aurelius Asclepiades, in the reign of the tetrarchy, Diocletian and friends.
Valerio Diocletiano Pio Felici Invicto Augusto et
Marco Aurelio Valerio Maximiano Pio Felici Invicto Augusto et
Flavio Valerio Constantio et Galerio Valerio Maximiano
nobilissimis Caesaribus Castra Praetorii Mobeni fossamentis
Aurelius Asclepiades praeses provinciae Arabiae
perfici curavit.
I [Roger Pearse] found this marvellous photograph of a Roman fortlet in the Jordanian desert on Twitter here.
sidebars:
(Excerpt) Read more at roger-pearse.com ...
Qasr Bashir in the Jordanian desert, is an incredibly rare survivor -- a Roman fort with walls still standing 20 or more feet high. Yet it has been surprisingly neglected by archaeology. Using the "Medieval Engineers" software and many of my own 3D models, I have attempted to recreate the fort to give an idea of what it would have looked like in its 4th century heyday.
The Roman Frontier in the East -- Qasr Bashir Fort Reconstructed
STORI3D PAST Productions | Published on January 25, 2018
https://www.triphistoric.com/historic-sites/qasr-bashir
Qasr Bashir
Amman , Jordan
About Qasr Bashir
Qasr Bashir (aka Q’Sar Bashir or Qasr Al Bashir), is an extremely well preserved Roman fortress that lies in the Jordanian desert. Unlike many Roman remains, Qasr Bashir is exceptionally well preserved, having never been re-built by later civilisations.
Built at the beginning of the fourth Century AD and known as Mobene, the walls of Qasr Bashir still stand intact, at a height of up to 20 feet in places, while the main entrance remains to this day. The huge corner towers still rise up two stories from the ground.
It is likely that Qasr Bashir was originally home to an auxiliary cavalry unit, charged with defending the Roman frontier and keeping the peace in the surrounding area. For lovers of well-preserved Roman architecture Qasr Bashir is certainly a hidden gem. Standing within the solid walls of Qasr Bashir, you will certainly be able to feel the living history of life on the edge of the Roman Empire.
Fans of Simon Scarrow’s Eagle series may be interested to note that Qasr Bashir (described as Q’Sar Bashir in the author’s comments) was the setting for his novel, The Eagle in the Sand.
Is this where derives the Getman word Kaserne, which is a fortified military permanent encampment; say for once cavakry and now a mechanized infantry or panzer tank regiment?
mmmmmmmmm........you had me at panzers
Thanks rfp1234.
I haven't watched this yet:
The short film The Roman Frontier in Jordan is part of the multimedia DVD-project Frontiers of the Roman Empire. The aims of the film are to show fascinating pictures from the Roman frontier in the Middle East and to connect people from different countries through their common history and archaeology. The Roman fort of Qasr Bshir is one of the best preserved installation of the Roman army known today. Archaeological remains like Qasr Bshir, Jerash and Azraq clearly demonstrate the importance of the Eastern provinces for Rome. And today? His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Thalal is promoting the history and archaeology of his country. And in this context we can recognise that Roman archaeology in particular demonstrates that Western Europe and the Arabic world have common roots.
The Roman Frontier in Jordan - Part I
mind transformers - edufilm | Published on November 23, 2009
translation from http://byzantinemilitary.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-byzantine-fortress-of-qasr-bashir.html
In honor of our best and greatest rulers, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletian, our pious, lucky, and unconquered emperor, and Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximian, our pious, lucky, and unconquered emperor, and to Flavius Valerius Constantius and Galerius Valerius Maximianus, our noblest caesars, has Aurelius Asclepiades, praeses of the province of Arabia, ordered to build Castra Praetorium Mobene from its foundations.
Thanx for this thread
My pleasure.
So, this would have been a post on the Strata Diocletiana, the military road Diocletian built to defend the Eastern border?
Dunno, I can’t find any two maps that have A) sufficient resolution and detail, and B) the same set of placenames. The S.D. was roughly parallel to the Traianus, but further east and covered a greater distance.
http://www.helsinki.fi/hum/arla/sygis/military.html
https://www.revolvy.com/page/Strata-Diocletiana
“Flavius Valerius Constantius”
Emperor Constantine’s father?
"Getman" is a mistype for "German" ("r" next to "t"), hence the term "panzer" as applied to the WWII German tank.
When Allied troops occupied Germany subsequent to the war, they were housed in military garrisons--Kasernen--contiguous facilities as formerly used by Germans on a unit by unit basis (originally barracks and training fields for horse cavalry ==> mechanized cavalry, which would be tanks), or newly constructed on that kind of plan by Occupation forces.
I had wondered if the Arabic term "Qasr" (meaning "a fortlet") was related to the German word, perhaps borrowed and applied by returning Crusader knights (who were medieval horse cavalry) as they established headquarters in the homelands of Germany or Austria or Prussia.
But maybe that is just a coincidental wild thought, with rfp1234 having the better etymology for "kaserne."
Thanks imardmd1.
The Kaserne where I was stationed at in Friedberg, Hesse, Germany had been for an infantry battalion. It had both vehicle garages and horse stalls, because most of the vehicles used to move its equipment were horse drawn wagons. Even though many of the Kasernes in Germany were built after Hitler came to power, the German Army remained dependent upon horse power, as it was never fully mechanized/motorized.
Historical tidbit: Elvis Presley was stationed at the same 3d Armored Division Kaserne when he was in the Army in Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedberg,_Hesse
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