The Mosaic Pavements in Philippopolis, Thrace, in 6th c. CE. Some Considerations

Abstract

The present paper deals with the mosaic pavements from Philippopolis which are known so far and that might be attributed to 6th c. CE. The topic is of interest because there is almost no information in the literature about the urban development of the metropolis, although it seems that the city gained huge prosperity especially from the first half to the middle of that century. As part of this prosperity, one should also regard the mosaic pavements that still preserve their importance as a medium of new ideas and religious requirements. The mosaic pavements discussed decorate both public and private buildings and reveal that the specifics of mosaic art in Philippopolis are to be attributed to both official Constantinopolitan initiatives, especially in the liturgical aspect, and also the tastes of local elites, as well as the craftsmanship of the local mosaic workshop. Taken together, these factors led to a variety of iconography, intertwined motifs, and colours, which make some of the mosaics unique so far in Late antique Thrace.

Keywords

• Philippopolis
• Thrace
• mosaic pavement
• Justinian I
• Anastasius I
• private residentials
• religious buildings

Philippopolis, Trakya’daki, İS 6. yüzyıl Mozaik Döşemeleri. Bazı Düşünceler

Abstract

Bu makalede, bugüne kadar bilinen İS 6. yüzyıla atfedilebilecek Philippopolis mozaik döşemeleri ele alınmıştır. Konu ilgi çekicidir çünkü literatürde metropolün kentsel gelişimi hakkında neredeyse hiçbir bilgi yoktur. Ancak şehrin özellikle o yüzyılın ilk yarısından ortasına kadar büyük bir refah kazandığı görülmektedir. Bu refahın bir parçası olarak, önemlerini hâlâ koruyan mozaik döşemeler de yeni fikirler ve dini gereksinimlerin birer aracı olarak görülmelidir. Tartışılan mozaik döşemeler hem kamu hem de özel binaları süslemekte ve Philippopolis’teki mozaik sanatının özelliklerinin hem resmi açıdan Konstantinopolis ile bağlantılı kullanımlara hem de yerel elitlerin zevklerine ve aynı zamanda yerel mozaik atölyelerinin işçiliğinin ustalığına atfedileceğini ortaya koymaktadır. Birlikte ele alındığında, bu faktörler ikonografi çeşitliliğine, iç içe motiflere ve renklere yol açmıştır, ki bu, mozaiklerin bazılarını şimdiye kadar Antik Trakya’da benzersiz kılar.

Keywords

• Philippopolis
• Trakya
• mozaik döşeme
• I. Iustinianus
• I. Anastasius
• özel konutlar
• dini yapılar

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