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- Title
ALAHAN MANASTIR. ALTE BEFUNDE – NEUE DEUTUNGEN.
- Authors
WETZIG, Norman
- Abstract
The past few years have seen a newly increased historical and archaeological interest in the ancient Roman and early Byzantine provinces of Cilicia and Isauria. Extended surveys have helped to widen our knowledge of their territories, infrastructure, and settlements as well as their economical and religious development. Yet still, the comparatively little amount of extant and – even more important – excavated remains, especially in the mountainous hinterland, forces us to hypothesize on these matters to a great extent. Given this state of research it seems appropriate to refocus on single material witnesses to reexamine them and try to locate their position in the overall picture that these recent surveys have drawn. In order to do so some of these archaeological sites and monuments need to be studied in depth again. This article deals with the well-known site of Alahan monastery in the Upper Göksu valley in the Taurus Mountains about 23 km north of Mut. Situated 300 m above the route that links Silifke to Karaman the place is studded with architectural remains in a beautiful setting; two facts that besides the uniqueness of the place account for its reputation as the most famous early Christian site in Isauria. The place has been studied and excavated between 1955 and 1972 by Michael Gough who unfortunately died before he could finish the excavations and the final report. Gough and many scholars after him promoted the idea that the complex of Alahan was part of an imperial building program initiated under the emperor Leo I. (457- 474) and extended under his successor Zeno (474-491) whose Isaurian descent made him likely to have spent great amounts of money on his home province. On the other hand, it has been argued that the site shows no traces of imperial patronage, e.g. the use of imported marbles, and that the architectural decoration of the remains should rather be dated to the sixth century based on stylistic grounds. In this article it is proposed that the reconstruction of single buildings or parts of them differs from what has been the consensus in the past years. These include the basilica at the western end of the complex particularly the eastern part of the building and its roofing, a secular building in a spot that was up to now thought to be an open space, and a simplified reconstruction of the much discussed roof above the central tower that crowns the so-called East Church. The second part of the article reexamines the building sequences of the complex and develops a scenario of two building sequences, the first taking place between 451 and 462 and second probably under the reign of either Justin I. (518-527) or Justinian I. (527-565). This is followed by a comparative analysis of the architectural decoration to further establish the significant differences between the building sequences and allow for a more precise dating of them. The last part of this study attempts to fit the dates of the building sequences to the historical events that the sources report for the empire and the region of Isauria trying to show that at the time of the emperor Zeno the Upper Göksu valley was not the ›peaceful kingdom‹ Michael Gough had thought it to be. The foremost conclusions to be drawn from the ideas presented in this article are the need for a thorough review of Michael Goughs documentation of his work at Alahan, a new architectural analysis of the extant buildings, and the initiation of new excavations that pick up where the untimely death of Michael Gough had stopped them.
- Subjects
ISAURIA; SURVEYS; FAITH development; GOUGHS, Michael; RELIGIOUS institutions; HISTORIC sites
- Publication
Olba Journal, 2014, Vol 22, p393
- ISSN
1301-7667
- Publication type
Article