A tower is a tall structure , taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
47-704: The Hillbrow Tower (officially the Telkom Joburg Tower , and formerly JG Strijdom Tower ) is a tall tower located in the suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg , South Africa. At 269 m (883 ft), it was the tallest tower in Africa for 50 years, until it was surpassed in 2021 by the 393.8 m (1,292 ft) Iconic Tower in Egypt's New Administrative Capital , as well as the continent's tallest structure for eleven years, until overtaken by
94-400: A , 𐤤 e , 𐤦 i , 𐤬 o , 𐤰 u , 𐤵 ã , and 𐤶 ẽ , the last two being nasal vowels, typically before a ( synchronic or diachronic ) nasal consonant (like n , ñ or m ). The vowels e , o , ã , and ẽ occur only when accented. A vowel or glide 𐤧 y appears rarely, only in the oldest inscriptions, and probably indicates an allophone of i or e that
141-426: A basic vocabulary, attempted translation of a dozen unilingual texts, gave an outline of Lydian grammar, and even recognized peculiar poetical characteristics in several texts. Eight years later William Hepburn Buckler presented a collection of 51 inscriptions then known. The 109 inscriptions known by 1986 have been treated comprehensively by Roberto Gusmani ; new texts keep being found from time to time. All but
188-484: A certain height, a tower can be made with the supporting structure with parallel sides. However, above a certain height, the compressive load of the material is exceeded, and the tower will fail. This can be avoided if the tower's support structure tapers up the building. A second limit is that of buckling—the structure requires sufficient stiffness to avoid breaking under the loads it faces, especially those due to winds. Many very tall towers have their support structures at
235-466: A few of the extant Lydian texts have been found in or near Sardis , the Lydian capital, but fewer than 30 of the inscriptions consist of more than a few words or are reasonably complete. Most of the inscriptions are on marble or stone and are sepulchral in content, but several are decrees of one sort or another, and some half-dozen texts seem to be in verse, with a stress-based meter and vowel assonance at
282-582: A larger structure or building. Old English torr is from Latin turris via Old French tor . The Latin term together with Greek τύρσις was loaned from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language, connected with the Illyrian toponym Βου-δοργίς. With the Lydian toponyms Τύρρα, Τύρσα, it has been connected with the ethnonym Τυρρήνιοι as well as with Tusci (from *Turs-ci ), the Greek and Latin names for
329-445: A similar paradigm: Examples of substantives: Examples of adjectives: Examples of pronomina: Just as in other Anatolian languages verbs in Lydian were conjugated in the present-future and preterite tenses with three persons singular and plural. Imperative or gerundive forms have not been found yet. Singular forms are often hard to distinguish from plural forms in the third person present active (both ending in -t/-d ):
376-711: A target (see siege tower ). Today, strategic-use towers are still used at prisons, military camps, and defensive perimeters. By using gravity to move objects or substances downward, a tower can be used to store items or liquids like a storage silo or a water tower , or aim an object into the earth such as a drilling tower . Ski-jump ramps use the same idea, and in the absence of a natural mountain slope or hill, can be human-made. In history, simple towers like lighthouses , bell towers , clock towers , signal towers and minarets were used to communicate information over greater distances. In more recent years, radio masts and cell phone towers facilitate communication by expanding
423-497: Is subject-object-verb , but constituents may be extraposed to the right of the verb. Like other Anatolian languages, Lydian features clause-initial particles with enclitic pronouns attached in a chain. It also has a number of preverbs and at least one postposition. Modifiers of a noun normally precede it. In May 1912 American excavators at the Sardis necropolis discovered a bilingual inscription in Lydian and Aramaic . Being among
470-451: Is also sometimes used to refer to firefighting equipment with an extremely tall ladder designed for use in firefighting/rescue operations involving high-rise buildings. Lydian language Lydian is an extinct Indo-European Anatolian language spoken in the region of Lydia , in western Anatolia (now in Turkey ). The language is attested in graffiti and in coin legends from
517-454: Is clearly of Indo-European stock. Gusmani provides lists of words that have been linked to Hittite , various other Indo-European languages, and Etruscan . Labrys (Greek: λάβρυς, lábrys) is the term for a symmetrical double-bitted axe originally from Crete in Greece, one of the oldest symbols of Greek civilization. The priests at Delphi in classical Greece were called Labryades (the men of
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#1732801161112564-510: Is often difficult to determine. Examples of verbal conjugation: To emphasize where an important next part of a sentence begins, Lydian uses a series of enclitic particles that can be affixed to a pivotal word. Examples of such "emphatic" enclitics are -in-, -it-/-iτ-, -t-/-τ-, -at-, and -m-/-um-. When stacked and combined with other suffixes (such as pronomina, or the suffix -k = 'and') veritable clusters are formed. The word ak = 'so..., so if...' provides many examples: The basic word order
611-546: Is perhaps unstressed. Lydian is notable for its extensive consonant clusters, which resulted from the loss of word-final short vowels, together with massive syncope ; there may have been an unwritten [ə] in such sequences. (Note: until recently the Buckler (1924) transliteration scheme was often used, which may lead to confusion. This older system wrote v , ν , s , and ś , instead of today's w (𐤥), ñ (𐤸), š (𐤳), and s (𐤮). The modern system renders
658-467: Is possibly derived from the native town of King Gyges of Lydia , founder of the Mermnad dynasty , which was Tyrrha in classical antiquity and is now Tire, Turkey . Yet another is the element molybdenum , borrowed from Ancient Greek mólybdos , "lead", from Mycenaean Greek mo-ri-wo-do , which in Lydian was mariwda- "dark". All of those loanwords confirm a strong cultural interaction between
705-489: Is similar to the Luwic languages : a suffix -li is added to the root of a substantive, and thus an adjective is formed that is declined in turn. However, recently it has been defended that a form ending in -l, formerly thought to be an "endingless" variant of the possessive, was indeed a genitive singular. Of an ablative case there are only a few uncertain examples. Nouns, adjectives, and pronomina are all declined according to
752-520: The Etemenanki , one of the most famous examples of Babylonian architecture . Some of the earliest surviving examples are the broch structures in northern Scotland , which are conical tower houses . These and other examples from Phoenician and Roman cultures emphasised the use of a tower in fortification and sentinel roles. For example, the name of the Moroccan city of Mogador , founded in
799-596: The Etruscans (Kretschmer Glotta 22, 110ff.) Towers have been used by humankind since prehistoric times. The oldest known may be the circular stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho (8000 BC). Some of the earliest towers were ziggurats , which existed in Sumerian architecture since the 4th millennium BC. The most famous ziggurats include the Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur , built in the 3rd millennium BC, and
846-789: The Nador transmitter in Morocco ; it remained Africa's tallest free-standing structure for two more years until overtaken by the chimney of the Sasol III Steam Plant in 1984. For seven years it was also the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere until 1978, when surpassed by the 270 m Mount Isa Chimney in Queensland , Australia . It remains the tallest telecommunications tower in Africa. Construction of
893-810: The Qin dynasty . Towers were also an important element of castles . Other well known towers include the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy built from 1173 until 1372, the Two Towers in Bologna, Italy built from 1109 until 1119 and the Towers of Pavia (25 survive), built between 11th and 13th century. The Himalayan Towers are stone towers located chiefly in Tibet built approximately 14th to 15th century. Up to
940-564: The Hittitology minor program. Within the Anatolian group, Lydian occupies a unique and problematic position. One reason is the still very limited evidence and understanding of the language. Another reason is a number of features that are not shared with any other Anatolian language. It is still not known whether those differences represent developments peculiar to pre-Lydian or the retention in Lydian of archaic features that were lost in
987-467: The Lydian metres seem to be compatible with reconstructed common Proto-Indo-European metres. The Lydians probably borrowed these metres from the Greeks; however, the assonance was a unique innovation of their own. Only one text shows mixed character: a poetical middle part is sandwiched in between a prose introduction and a prose conclusion. Analogous to the bilingual text the introduction tells who built
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#17328011611121034-602: The Lydians and the Greeks since the Creto- Mycenaean era (2nd millennium BCE). In his seminal decipherment of Lydian texts Littmann noted that at least five of them show two poetical aspects: Also, partly in order to achieve assonance and metre (" metri causa "), in poetic texts word order is more free than in prose. Martin West , after comparing historical metres in various Indo-European languages, concluded that
1081-763: The basis of (1) the verbal root ending ( a -stems, consonant stems, - ši -stems, etc.), and (2) the endings of the third person singular being either unlenited ( -t; -tλ, -taλ ) or lenited ( -d; -dλ, -daλ ). For example, šarpta- (to inscribe, to carve) is an unlenited a -stem ( šarptat , he inscribes), qaλmλa- (to be king) is a lenited a -stem ( qaλmλad , he rules). Differences between the various conjugations are minor. Many Lydian verbs are composite, using prefixes such as ẽn- (= 'in-'?), ẽt- (= 'into-' ), fa-/f- ('then, subsequently, again'? ), šaw-, and kat-/kaτ- (= 'down-'?), and suffixes like -ãn-/-ẽn- ( durative ? ), -no-/-ño- ( causative ? ), -ši- ( iterative ? ), and -ki- or -ti- ( denominative ? ); their meaning
1128-495: The double axe). The term labrys "double-axe" is not found in any surviving Lydian inscription, but on the subject, Plutarch states that "the Lydians call the axe labrys " (Λυδοὶ γὰρ ‘λάβρυν’ τὸν πέλεκυν ὀνομάζουσι). Another possibly Lydian loanword may be tyrant "absolute ruler", which was first used in Ancient Greek sources, without negative connotations, for the late 8th century or early 7th century BCE. It
1175-464: The ears of ancient Greeks, and transcription of Lydian names into Greek would therefore present some difficulties. Recently a case has been made that the Lydian word Qλdãns, pronounced /kʷɾʲ'ðãns/, both meaning 'king' and the name of a god, could correspond to the Greek Κροῖσος, or Croesus , the last Lydian king, whose kingdom was conquered by the Persians. If the identification is correct it would have
1222-526: The end of the line. Tomb inscriptions include many epitaphs , which typically begin with the words 𐤤𐤮 𐤥𐤠𐤫𐤠𐤮 es wãnas ("this grave"). The short texts are mostly graffiti, coin legends, seals, potter's marks, and the like. The language of the Ionian Greek poet Hipponax (sixth century BCE, born at Ephesus ) is interspersed with Lydian words, many of them from popular slang . Lydian can be officially studied at Marburg University, Germany, within
1269-534: The entire building simultaneously. Although not correctly defined as towers, many modern high-rise buildings (in particular skyscraper ) have 'tower' in their name or are colloquially called 'towers'. Skyscrapers are more properly classified as 'buildings'. In the United Kingdom , tall domestic buildings are referred to as tower blocks . In the United States , the original World Trade Center had
1316-720: The first millennium BC, is derived from the Phoenician word for watchtower ('migdol'). The Romans utilised octagonal towers as elements of Diocletian's Palace in Croatia , which monument dates to approximately 300 AD, while the Servian Walls (4th century BC) and the Aurelian Walls (3rd century AD) featured square ones. The Chinese used towers as integrated elements of the Great Wall of China in 210 BC during
1363-464: The first texts found, it provided a limited equivalent of the Rosetta Stone and permitted a first understanding of the Lydian language. The first line of the Lydian text has been destroyed, but can be reconstructed from its Aramaic counterpart. Examples of words in the bilingual: Other words with Indo-European roots and with modern cognates: Only a small fraction of the Lydian vocabulary
1410-554: The general height of buildings rose in the central business district , it became necessary that the height of the new telecommunications tower stayed above the height of the buildings surrounding it. The Hillbrow Tower has been closed to visitors since 1981, primarily for security reasons. Before the closure, the Hillbrow tower was one of the largest tourist draws in Johannesburg. The public was able to enter six public floors at
1457-458: The interesting historical consequence that king Croesus was not saved from being burnt at the stake, as Herodotus tells us, but chose suicide and was subsequently deified. Heiner Eichner developed rules to determine which syllable in a word has the stress accent. In short, the rules are: A useful application of those rules is the investigation of metres in Lydian poetry. Nouns and adjectives distinguish singular and plural forms. Words in
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1504-529: The late 8th century or the early 7th century to the 3rd century BCE, but well-preserved inscriptions of significant length are so far limited to the 5th century and the 4th century BCE, during the period of Persian domination. Thus, Lydian texts are effectively contemporaneous with those in Lycian . Strabo mentions that around his time (1st century BCE), the Lydian language was no longer spoken in Lydia proper but
1551-464: The monument (a certain Karos), and for whom (both his son and his ancestors), while the final sentence of the original inscription may be the usual curse for those who would dare to damage it. The poetic middle part seems to claim that the monument was built after consulting a divine oracle, cited between Lydian "quotation marks" ▷...▷, and continues with an appeal to pay as much respect to the builder as to
1598-643: The nickname the Twin Towers, a name shared with the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur . In addition some of the structures listed below do not follow the strict criteria used at List of tallest towers . The tower throughout history has provided its users with an advantage in surveying defensive positions and obtaining a better view of the surrounding areas, including battlefields. They were constructed on defensive walls , or rolled near
1645-431: The older texts is either from left to right or right to left. Later texts show exclusively the latter. Use of word-dividers is variable. The texts were found chiefly at the ancient capital of Sardis and include decrees and epitaphs, some of which were composed in verse; most were written during the 5th century and the 4th century BCE, but a few may have been created as early as the 7th century. Lydian has seven vowels: 𐤠
1692-402: The other Anatolian languages. Until more satisfactory knowledge becomes available, the status of Lydian within Anatolian remains a "special" one. The Lydian script , which is strictly alphabetic, consists of 26 signs: The script is related to or derived from that of Greek as well as its western Anatolian neighbours, the exact relationship still remaining unclear. The direction of writing in
1739-456: The periphery of the building, which greatly increases the overall stiffness. A third limit is dynamic; a tower is subject to varying winds, vortex shedding, seismic disturbances etc. These are often dealt with through a combination of simple strength and stiffness, as well as in some cases tuned mass dampers to damp out movements. Varying or tapering the outer aspect of the tower with height avoids vibrations due to vortex shedding occurring along
1786-446: The plural form seems to be in principle nasalized, but this could not always be expressed in the writing. Lydian distinguished a mediopassive voice with the third-person singular ending -t(a)λ or -daλ (derived from Proto-Anatolian *-tori; -t(a)λ after consonant stems and part of the stems ending in a vowel, -daλ when lenited after other stems ending in a vowel or glide). About a dozen conjugations can be distinguished, on
1833-655: The range of the transmitter. The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario , Canada was built as a communications tower, with the capability to act as both a transmitter and repeater. Towers can also be used to support bridges, and can reach heights that rival some of the tallest buildings above-water. Their use is most prevalent in suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges . The use of the pylon, a simple tower structure, has also helped to build railroad bridges, mass-transit systems, and harbors. Control towers are used to give visibility to help direct aviation traffic. The term "tower"
1880-475: The revolving restaurant. The Hillbrow Tower is one of two iconic towers that are often used to identify the Johannesburg skyline. The second tower, the Sentech Tower (old Albert Hertzog Tower), is used for television and radio transmissions. Tower Towers are specifically distinguished from buildings in that they are built not to be habitable but to serve other functions using the height of
1927-508: The sibilants more naturally and prevents confusion between v (= w 𐤥) and the Greek nu symbol ν (= ñ 𐤸).) Voicing was likely not distinctive in Lydian. However /p t k/ are voiced before nasals and apparently before /r/. The palatal affricate ( τ ) and sibilant ( š ) may have been palato-alveolar . It has now been argued that the laterals l and λ are actually flaps. The sign 𐤣 has traditionally been transliterated d and interpreted as an interdental /ð/ resulting from
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1974-518: The sound change *i̯ > ð or the lenition of Proto-Anatolian *t. However, it has recently been argued that in all contexts d in fact represents the palatal glide /j/, previously considered absent from Lydian. An interdental /ð/ would stand as the only interdental sound in Lydian phonology, whereas a palatal interpretation of d is complemented by a full series of other palatal consonants: λ , š , ñ , and τ . Lydian, with its many palatal and nasal sounds, must have sounded quite strange to
2021-403: The texts are predominantly singular. Plural forms are scarce, and a dual has not been found in Lydian. There are two genders : animate (or 'common') and inanimate (or 'neuter'). Only three cases are securely attested: nominative , accusative , and dative - locative . A genitive case seems to be present in the plural, but in the singular usually a so-called possessive is used instead, which
2068-510: The top of the tower. One of the floors housed a popular revolving restaurant named "Heinrich's Restaurant" and a discotheque named "Cloud 9" as well as another non-rotating restaurant known as "the Grill Room" and the observation floor which was at 197 m height. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup , a huge football was fitted to the tower to celebrate the event. In 2013, television programme Carte Blanche broadcast from what used to be
2115-693: The tower began in June 1968 and was completed three years later, in April 1971. Construction cost 2 million rand (at the time, US$ 2.8 million). The tower was initially known as the JG Strijdom Tower , after JG (Hans) Strijdom , South African Prime Minister from 1954 to 1958. On 31 May 2005 it was renamed the Telkom Joburg Tower . The tower was constructed for South African Posts & Telecommunications, which later became Telkom , South Africa's government-run and largest telecommunications company. As
2162-411: The tower. For example, the height of a clock tower improves the visibility of the clock, and the height of a tower in a fortified building such as a castle increases the visibility of the surroundings for defensive purposes. Towers may also be built for observation , leisure, or telecommunication purposes. A tower can stand alone or be supported by adjacent buildings, or it may be a feature on top of
2209-558: Was still being spoken among the multicultural population of Kibyra (now Gölhisar ) in southwestern Anatolia, by the descendants of the Lydian colonists, who had founded the city. In 1916 the Sardis bilingual inscription , a bilingual inscription in Aramaic and Lydian allowed Enno Littmann to decipher the Lydian language. From an analysis of the two parallel texts, he identified the alphabetic signs, most of them correctly, established
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