This thesis reviews the architectural context of four churches in western Cilicia. These churches, namely the East Church at Alahan, the Cupola Church at Meryemlik, the Domed Ambulatory Church at Dagpazari, and the Tomb Church at Corycus, have been tentatively grouped by Stephen Hill under the name of Domed Basilicas based on their resemblance to the early 6th century models in Constantinople, the most famous being the Hagia Sophia. However, the dome comes forward in the Constantinopolitan context mainly as a feature in the establishment of a new architectural scheme that integrates a vertical axis into the oblong horizontal axiality of the basilica. Firstly, this thesis suggests that a similar integration visible in the planning of the Cilician churches is the essential point that needs to be studied. This seems to have been ignored by previous research. Consequently, the analytical approach that has concentrated on the possibility of a dome is criticized and a spatial interpretation is attempted. Moreover, as some scholars propose, these provincial examples might be the possible source of influence for the capital, if they are a local model dated to the end of the 5th century. Thus, issues pertaining to function, dating and patronage are overviewed, in order to obtain a wider perspective of interpretation. Finally, the general information concerning the Cilician examples was found to be based on surprisingly scanty and unverifiable physical testimony which points to the urgency and necessity of further fieldwork.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/1223874/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| Creators | Belgin-henry, Ayse |
| Contributors | Guven, Suna |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | M.A. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | To liberate the content for public access |
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