A Review of Byzantine Studies and Architectural Historiography in Turkey Today

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increase in studies dedicated to various aspects of the Byzantine legacy and the representation of Byzantium in history books, letters, cinema, art, even science and music in Turkey (2). However, there is still no comprehensive study focusing on the historiography of Byzantine architecture in Turkey. This article will provide a review of Byzantine Studies in Turkey from the early Republican period up to the present with a particular focus on architectural historiography. Studies in architectural historiography are late-comers to the academic scene since architectural history as an autonomous discipline itself is relatively new in Turkey (3). Historiographical studies in Turkey usually focus on early Republican and late Ottoman architecture (4). Nevertheless, there are some important studies for the history of Byzantine Studies in Turkey. As example, Semavi Eyice’s “Turkiye’de Bizans Sanati Arastirmalari ve Istanbul Universitesinde Bizans Sanati” [“Studies on Byzantine Art in Turkey and Byzantine Art in Istanbul University”] published in 1973 is a leading study providing a vast bibliography for studies in Byzantine history, art history and archaeology from the late 19th century to the 1970s. In his “Turkiye’de Bizans Mimarisi Hakkindaki Yabanci Arastirmalarin Kisa Tarihcesi”[“A Brief History of Foreign Studies on Byzantine Architecture in Turkey”] (1976), he also provides a bibliography of archaeological studies in Turkey carried out by foreign archaeologists from the late nineteenth century to the 1945. Yildiz Otuken in her “Turkiye’de Bizans Sanati”[“Byzantine Art History in Turkey”] (2003) briefly describes some of the excavations in Byzantine archaeology and mentions current art history departments teaching Byzantine art history in Turkey. The latest study is by Engin Akyurek, titled “Byzantine Art History in Modern Turkey”(2010). Akyurek provides a review of the history of Byzantine studies in Turkey from the late nineteenth century to the present by adding recent developments in scholarship, the A REVIEW OF BYZANTINE STUDIES AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIOGRAPHY IN TURKEY TODAY (1)