ESKİ AHLAT ŞEHRİ VE SELÇUKLU MEYDAN MEZARLIĞI KAZISI

Abstract

Due to its strategic location in the region, rich natural resources, favorable climate conditions, and fertile land, Ahlat has come under the rule of many states and principalities throughout history. However, it should be noted that Ahlat owes its centuries-long reputation to the Turks. The architectural structures and tombstones from the Turkish period that have survived to the present day serve as the most prominent evidence of this. Ahlat, one of the important cities of the Middle Ages, became a center of knowledge, culture, art, and trade in the 13th century. Due to these characteristics, the city was known as Kubbetü’l Islam during the Seljuk period and as the Ancestral City during the Ottoman period. The Madavans Valley Rock Settlements and Rock Church, Ruined City Cave Houses, Ancient Ahlat Fortress, Ottoman Coastal Fortress, Double Bath, Small Bath, Dervish Lodge, Ceramic Kilns, Great Mosque, Bezirhane, Tombs, Mausoleums, Fountains, and Historical Cemeteries that have survived despite wars and major earthquakes are indicators of its glorious days. All these cultural assets are crowned by the Ahlat Seljuk Square Cemetery, which covers an area of 210,000 m², making it the largest Historical Islamic Cemetery in our country. The cemetery contains approximately 9,300 tombstones with inscriptions or sarcophagi from the Seljuk, Ahlatshah, Ayyubid, Ilkhanid, Karakoyunlu, Akkoyunlu, and Ottoman periods. In addition to tombstones, there are 178 monumental tomb structures such as mausoleums and fountains. However, it is understood from the excavations that there are also many Islamic graves underground. The tombstones with inscriptions and sarcophagi in the Seljuk Square Cemetery, considered the largest historical cemetery in the Turkish-Islamic world, can be seen as examples shaped according to the Islamic belief in Anatolia, similar to the Orkhon Inscriptions and kurgans in Central Asia. The inscriptions, geometric arrangements, plant motifs, and figurative elements found on these artifacts are of great importance in providing concrete information about the art style and cultural history of the period. The Ancient Ahlat Fortress is located on a rocky hill with dimensions of 430 meters in the north-south direction and 60 meters in the eastwest direction. The data obtained from the excavations in the Ancient Ahlat Fortress indicate that the city has a history of approximately 5,000 years. However, a significant portion of the surviving remains can be dated back to the Turkish period of the Middle Ages. For more detailed information, please refer to the Extended Abstract at the end of the text