1From Edessa to Urfa. The Fortification of the Citadel is an edited volume on a Muslim urban fortress located north of the Bilad es-Sham. The main author, Cristina Tonghini, director of the project, starts with an introduction to the city, from Edessa to Urfa (p. 1-10). She places the citadel of Urfa in the contemporary context of Turkey. Edessa was located at a strategic location, north of Aleppo, between the Mesopotamian plain, the Euphrates river and the foot of the Taurus mountains. The origins of the city are unknown. The city was mentioned in texts that appeared around the second century bc. Few ancient architectural elements survived in the urban fabric today, the author mentioned that parts of city walls are still preserved (p. 3). Tonghini then wrote a historiography about the previous research on the citadel of Urfa and she rightly claims that no monographic study was written on the citadel (p. 3-5). The paragraphs on “Medieval fortifications in the Near East: a personal itinerary from Shayzar to Urfa” (p. 8) are very interesting as the author explained the context of the archaeological investigations, including her previous works on the citadel of Shayzar from 2001 to 2011. Unfortunately, there is no mention of the contemporary war context in the Middle East over the past twenty years and the fact that many archaeologists moved their field of research from Syria to Turkey because of these events, while others moved to Kurdistan at the end of the war in Iraq. The author should have mentioned Erbil and the latest developments in the region. There is no mention of the programme on the fortifications in Egypt and the walls of Cairo, and almost nothing about the research on fortifications carried out in Israel. The project’s aim, methodology and presentation of the results are described in page 9. The works were conducted over three seasons from 2014 to 2016, but there is no mention of the duration of the missions, and it is difficult to understand if they were short- or long-term stays. This would be important for us to understand why and how they conducted their photogrammetric survey and if they had the time to do conventional archaeological excavations. I’m quite uncomfortable with the logic used, such as the stratigraphic analysis of the architecture and the statement about the relative sequence supported by absolute chronology epigraphic evidence, typological and stylistic elements, and written sources. Primary sources can provide some information, but they are not absolute chronology, especially because sometimes archaeology contradicts history and vice-versa.

2The first part of the book is devoted to the fortifications of the citadel in the written primary sources. Each chapter was written by different historians, with its own bibliography. Four articles are devoted to Christian sources. Niccolo Zorzi starts by a chapter on Edessa and its fortifications in Byzantine times (6^th-11^th centuries), including the age of Justinian, the 7^th century, the siege of Edessa in 944, the second half of the 10^th century and the 11^th century events (p. 13-27). Emiliano Fiori signed the chapter on the citadels and the city walls in the Syriac sources, from the 1^st millennium to the 2^nd: “Turks and Crusaders” (p. 28-36). These two chapters mentioned all the fortifications, including the city walls, demonstrating the interest to study the city walls along with the citadel. Tara Andrews gives us an interesting chapter on Edessa in Armenian sources, including the descriptions of Edessa’s fortifications in Matthew’s Chronicle (p. 37-44). Finally, Denys Pringle wrote the chapter on the fortifications of Edessa in medieval Latin sources (p. 50-56). This article includes texts on the Crusader County of Edessa from 1098 to 1144, and a very interesting text entitled “The Cities of the Persians in the Promised Land, especially Edessa or Roas, its conquest, and the war that the Christians are preparing” (1146).

3Three chapters are devoted to Muslim sources, beginning with the chapter written by Cristina Tonghini, on “the citadel of al-Ruhāʾ in the Arabic sources: an overview”. This chapter is divided in two, the early Islamic period (7^th-10^th centuries) and the middle Islamic period (11^th-14^th centuries) [p. 45-49]. Simone Cristoforetti signed an article on Ruhāʾ in the Persian sources: an elusive presence (p. 57-61). All sources about the citadel were explored by specialists and it’s extremely interesting to place al-Ruhāʾ in a Persian context and to rethink boundaries and frontiers inherited since the Antiquity. Onur Usta wrote the chapter on the citadel of Urfa in the Ottoman written sources, before the Ottomans, in the 16^th, 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries (p. 62-74). This very precise and well documented chapter is based on more recent and modern sources. It is the reason why many useful details are provided; this brings more attention to the life in the citadel and how archaeological investigations should be conducted to reconstruct the social history of the fortification and the city.

4The second part of the book is devoted to the inscriptions from the citadel. It is an excellent transition between primary sources and building archaeology. The epigraphic studies are essential as they provide the documentation for absolute chronology. Nicolo Zorzi wrote notes on some Greek inscriptions from Edessa (p. 77-81). I was surprised not to see any Latin inscriptions in the citadel, even spolia, and the Crusader presence seems a mystery to me, even after reading the whole volume. Roberta Giunta signed the chapter on the Arabic inscriptions of the citadel of al-Ruhāʾ (Urfa/Şanlıurfa) [p. 82-99]. It is a remarkable work presenting the different blocks in situ, in the masonry, from different periods, Abbasid, Mamluk, Aq Qoyunlu and Ottoman. Some blocks not in situ are also very interesting such as a Kufic block from the 11^th century quite similar to those of the Fatimid vizir Badr al-Jamali in Cairo and Ashkelon (p. 94-95).

5The third and last part of the book, called “The fortification of the citadel: the material evidence,” is the most important, as it is the presentation of the archaeological report and fieldwork (p. 102-202). Over 100 pages, 9 chapters describe the different construction phases of the citadel, plus one chapter analysing the stone cutting techniques, and masonry typology. The plates of the orthophotos are located at the end of the volume (p. 211-249), followed by an appendix containing the stratigraphic units (that we prefer to call architectural units), the different phases of construction and the documents related to them (p. 250 255). The first chapter, “The archaeological analysis,” presents the site, fieldwork methodology, and the results (p. 102-104). The chronology provides evidence for the dating of the different building phases, based on historical and epigraphic documentation. Whereas epigraphical blocks in situ are a firm and serious way of dating a part of a construction, historical documentation should be taken more cautiously. The whole material and discussions are based on architectural surveys and photogrammetry. Other phases of the project are mentioned, including stratigraphic excavations, but for a series of reasons the project came to an end after the first phase of the work. It’s difficult to understand why no conventional archaeological excavations were conducted on the citadel, and why the fieldwork was limited to building archaeology and surveys. Was it connected to a short period of stay, a limited research budget, political or administrative issues?

6The following chapters are each divided into two parts: chronology and archaeological analysis. Each chapter has a basic plan of the citadel to locate the area studied and described. The nine periods and material evidence identified are divided into chapters as follow: Period 1 Late antiquity and Byzantine period, 3^rd-6^th centuries (p. 105-117); Period 2, 6^th-11^th centuries (p. 118-131); Period 3, late 11^th-12^th centuries (p. 132-140); Period 4, 13^th-14^th centuries (p. 141-159); Period 5, 15^th century (p. 160-171); Period 6, 16^th century (p. 172-180); Period 7, 17^th century (p. 181-183); Period 8, 18^th-19^th centuries; and Period 9 post Ottoman to the present day (p. 184-186). The last chapter signed by Cristina Tonghini and Jean-Claude Bessac, is devoted to the masonry typology with technical notes (p. 187-202).

7Except the general synthetic plan of the citadel, only five drawings are provided in this volume, and they are all in an unfinished state: generally, a scan from a sketch done on the field (p. 114; 126; 149; 150 and 153). The first sketch shows one of the rare plans of the book and it seems that the team started some excavations or clearing in the citadel. Unfortunately, nothing is said about the function of the spaces investigated. Only one plan illustrates arrow slit niches but, because of the unfinished state, it is very difficult to read the different levels and the uses of the internal spaces. For a good analysis of internal spaces in fortress, see J. Mesqui and M. Goepp, Le crac des Chevaliers (Syrie). Histoire et architecture, Paris, 2018. There is no in-depth discussion about the towers on the southern front, no plans, no section to understand these towers. The turrets of the citadel are very interesting for the 11^th century as they are present in Seldjuk and Fatimid military architecture; cf. S. Pradines, « Les fortifications fatimides, x^e-xii^e siècle (Ifriqiyya, Misr et Bilâd al-Šam) », in Historiographie de la guerre dans le Proche-Orient médiéval (x^e-xv^e siècle), Ifao-Ifpo, Cairo-Damascus, 2015, p. 231-276. Finally, one elevation and internal space sketch is provided but very difficult to read as it was not prepared for publication on Autocad or Illustrator, and sometimes the publication looks more like a report than a finished product. Except the use of photogrammetry, there is no use of recent technology such as 3D scans, drones, even though these technologies are extremely useful for building archaeology.

8The general conclusion (p. 203-210) and the chapter “Constructional history: a summary” present the different period and phases observed by the archaeologists and confront these data to the primary sources and epigraphy. I’m a bit sceptical about the chronology based on comparisons with better dated evidence discussed in the specialist literature as many references are missing in the bibliography. In the chapter “Military architecture, building techniques and beyond,” important references are missing: for example, for the gates of Cairo (p. 207), see S. Pradines, “Ethnicity and architecture. The Fatimid town walls in Cairo,” in Earthen Architecture in Muslim Cultures: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives, Brill, Leiden, 2018, p. 104-145; S. Pradines and J. Den Heijer, « Bâb al-Tawfîq: une porte du Caire fatimide oubliée par l’histoire », Le Muséon 121, Peeters, Louvain, 2008, p. 143-170. There is no real engagement with Diyarbakir fortifications, and no discussion about the impact of the Crusades in the architecture of the citadel in Urfa. Regarding expression of power in Mamluk citadels, sculptures and epigraphy (p. 173-174 and 208), see N. Rabbat, The Citadel of Cairo. A New Interpretation of Royal Mamluk Architecture, Brill, Leiden, 1995; and for sculptures of lions during Baybars reign, see S. Pradines, “The Mamluk fortifications of Egypt”, Mamluk Studies Review 19, 2016, p. 1-54.

9One large plan is presented on page 211, but a multiperiod plan or a combination of the different plans of the citadel from the previous chapters would have been useful to see the evolution of the monument thought time. The period 5 (15^th century) sees a massive rebuilding of the citadel, and most of the monument visible today date from this period. As underlined by Tonghini, important phases of re-fortification are not mentioned in the sources, and the lack of correspondence is a warning, but it is normal, and it is an on-going discussion between archaeologists and historians. I understand that the book is limited to the fortifications of the citadel, and not the buildings in the citadel, but a few pages could have been very useful to understand this monument. For the fortifications, there is no in-depth analysis of the casemates, arrow loops, polygonal towers, machicolation boxes (p. 209). This is probably due to the lack of archaeological documentation such as detailed plans of the walls, arrow slits niches, sections of the curtain walls and towers. This publication is very similar to the previous book published by Cristina Tonghini on Shayzar, The Fortification of a Citadel, Brill, Leiden, 2012.It seems to me that the main author was pushed to publish quickly and, therefore, the work presented looks more like a report than a site monograph. The development and discussion about the citadel cannot go in depth because of a lack of material to discuss.

10The bibliography for the archaeological material and castellology is a bit outdated, for example why D. Genequand, 2006 and not his recent book Les établissements des élites omeyyades en Palmyrène et au Proche-Orient, Ifpo, Damascus, 2013; the same for J.-M. Mouton, 2010 and not his recent book Portes et murailles de Damas de l’Antiquité aux premiers Mamlouks. Histoire, architecture, épigraphie, Ifpo, Damascus, 2018 ; Mesqui, 2008 and not his recent book with M. Goepp (2018). Some authors are completely ignored, such as: S. Pradines, “Burg al-Zafar, architecture de passage des Fatimides aux Ayyoubides,” in U. Vermeulen, K. D’hulster, J. Van Steenbergen (eds.), in Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras VIII, Peeters, Leuven, 2016, p. 51-119; and for the Ottoman fortifications: S. Pepper, “Ottoman military architecture in the early gunpowder era: A reassessment”, in J. Tracy (ed.), City Walls, CUP, Cambridge, 2000, p. 282-316; S. Pradines, « Maintien de la paix et protection du territoire : le réseau fortifié des Ottomans en Égypte », in M. Eychenne, S. Pradines and A. Zouache (eds.), Guerre et paix dans le Proche-Orient médiéval, x^e-xv^e siècles. Histoire, archéologie et anthropologie, Cairo, 2019, p. 251-287.

11In short, this book is very useful to understand the city of Urfa though history and epigraphy. The building archaeology analysis is excellent as the director of the mission Cristina Tonghini is a world class specialist in this field. Concerning the study of the military architecture (castellology), it is another story, and a lot of work needs to be done. This publication seems very incomplete and gives a presentation of the outer walls of the citadel rather than the citadel itself. The bibliography is superficial, the absence of conventional archaeological excavations and the basic sketches give the feeling that the work is still in progress. I hope that this volume will be followed by excavations in the citadel, and more documentation about the city walls.