bastion, heartland, redoubt, battleground, hotbed, enclave, fiefdom, loyalists, citadel, fortress, epicenter, beachhead, ally, inroads, hub, foothold, constituency, birthplace, toehold, outpost, suburbs, ottoman turk, mayorship, garrison, leader, rival, bridgehead, hideout, flashpoint, bailiwick, faction, outskirts, nemesis, regrouping, hinterlands, archrival, frontier, mecca, northern, hotspot, challenger, dominance, sympathizers, stalwart, doab, southern, zagros mountains, north, powerhouse, exurb, resurgent, areas, souther, strongman, ascendancy, territory, mainstay, encampment, retaking, frontrunner, counteroffensive, bustling, alliance, scrublands, bulwark, chieftan, headquarters, environs, offshoot, guerrillas, breadbasket, eastern, chieftain, supporters, linchpin, gateway, rebels, hamlet, firebrand, haven, fiercest, tombouctou, northeast, northeastern, backwater, fortifications, lairs, south, rustbelt, graveyard, al qahira, committeewoman, byzantine empire, powerbroker, kingmaker, darling, kingpin, fertile crescent, stranglehold, lawless, fortresses, bluest, strongholds, cemetery, outposts, camp, forts, colony, fort, leaders, port, stalwarts, allies, adjoining, nearby, bleak, cape, castellated, castle, castled, cave, crumbled, easternmost, encircled, fortified, fortressed, girt, godforsaken, goodsized, humpy, impregnable

blockhouse, donjon, dungeon, hold, keep, sconce

baltic, baltic sea, bastion, blockhouse, citadel, dominica, eniwetok, fortification, hold, munition, redoubt, sconce, sion, storm, yardie, zion

defence, defense, defensive structure

fastness