Castles

chess piece

thumb|Ksar Aït Benhaddou, [[Morocco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987]] Ksar or qṣar (), in plural ksour or qsour (), is a type of fortified village in North Africa, usually found in the regions predominantly or traditionally inhabited by Berbers (Amazigh). The equivalent Berber term used is '''' (singular) or (plural).

Encastellation (sometimes castellation, which can also mean crenellation) is the process whereby the feudal kingdoms of Europe became dotted with castles, from which local lords could dominate the countryside of their fiefs and their neighbours', and from which kings could command even the far-off corners of their realms. The ubiquity of the castle is iconic of the Middle Ages.

thumb|Corfe Castle in [[Dorset was slighted in 1646 during the English Civil War. Parliament slighted or proposed to slight more than 100 buildings, including castles, town walls, abbeys, and houses.|alt=The shattered remains of a stone building, with two walls of a tower standing higher above the ruins.]] Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is a phenomenon with complex motivations and

urban centre linked to a castle