Palaeologan Veria: A Peripheral Center under the Perspective of Its Monuments The Case of the Marble Decoration from the Old Metropolitan Cathedral as a Possible Donation by Christian Members of the Seljuk Dynasty

Abstract

By the rising of the Palaiologan dynasty in Constantinople, regional centers on the Greek mainland, such as Veria, lived and prospered under the influence of the Byzantine capital, and at the same time geographically close Thessaloniki. The essay presents sculptures that came to light during the first phase of the investigations and the main phase of restoration of the Old Metropolis in Veria during the years 2011–2015. The sculptures decorated with arabesque motifs form a group with common stylistic features and are associated with a phase of renewal of the church’s liturgical furnishings in the first two decades of the 14th century, when the ecclesiastical seat of Veria was raised from an Archdiocese to a Metropolitan seat. The subject matter of the sculptures, although widespread in the Palaiologan era as the result of the interaction of the Christian with the Islamic world, might be associated with the presence, documented by written sources, of the family of Sultan ‘Izz ad-Dın Kaykaus II in Veria. The study of the documents, sources and published material and assessment of the evidence relating to members of the Seljuk ruling house of Iconium who settled in Byzantine territories of Imathia, the region of Veria including the village of Komanitzes, and the areas of Meliki, Ressiane, and Nese, reveals three noble families who took over the lands and general administration during the Palaiologan era. Since it is known from the archival researches of E. Gara that the Old Metropolis of Veria and its environs were known in the late 16th and early 17th century as the Melek Monastery, we think it is probable that the architectural sculptures described above were given to the church by that family, who could have been its patrons and benefactors.