Vita Basilii’de I. Basileios’un Konstantinopolis’e Geliş Anlatısı Üzerine Politik-Teolojik Bir Değerlendirme

Year 2024, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 674 - 695, 26.12.2024

Umut Var

https://doi.org/10.48120/oad.1460946

Abstract

İmparator I. Basileios’un yaşamını konu edinen Vita Basilii, hagiyografik ögelere sahip bir biyografi metnidir. Basileios’un torunu VII. Konstantinos Porphyrogenitus ya da onun hazırladığı bir yazar kurulu tarafından 10. yüzyılda kaleme alınan eser, Basileios’un imparator olmadan önceki yaşamını son derece detaylı bir şekilde ele aldıktan sonra, onun Bizans tahtına yükselişini ve ardından saltanatı süresince gerçekleştirdiği faaliyetlerini konu edinir. Eser, içeriğindeki yoğun sembolizm sebebiyle son derece önemlidir. Ancak bu sembolizm, bir alt metin okumasıyla incelendiğinde imparatoru methetmek için kurulmuş söz sanatlarından çok daha fazlasına işaret etmektedir. Eserde kullanılan kartal ve elma gibi kaynağını antik dönem retoriğinden ve Hristiyan sembolizminden alan motifler, imparatorun yaşam öyküsüne ustaca yerleştirilmiş ögelerden bazılarıdır. Derinlemesine incelendiğinde bu motiflerin egemenlik ve güç sembolizminin araçları oldukları görülmektedir ki hepsi Basileios’un gelecekte kudretli bir imparator olacağını simgeler. Bunun yanı sıra eserde yer verilen vizyon ve rüyalar da Basileios’u Bizans tahtına götüren olaylar silsilesinin Tanrı’nın birer planı olduğuna işaret etmektedir. Ancak tüm bu sembolizm imparatorun yaşamına kudret ve kutsiyet atfetmekten ziyade çok daha önemli bir amaca hizmet etmektedir: I. Basileios’un tahta geçiş anlatısını kahramanca bir çerçevede sunmak ve hanedanın taht üzerindeki hakkını pekiştirmek. Bu çalışmada, öncelikle Vita Basilii’de işlenen yoğun sembolik detaylar derin bir incelemeye tabi tutularak bunlara dair çeşitli alt metin okumaları yapılacaktır. Bu alt metin okumalarından hareketle I. Basileios’un ve Makedonya Hanedanı’nın meşruiyetini pekiştirme sebepleri ve Vita Basilii’nin bu amaca ne ölçüde hizmet ettiği incelenecektir.

Keywords

Vita Basilii, I. Basileios, Makedonya Hanedanı, politik-teolojik sembolizm, oneirokritik

A Political-Theological Evaluation for the Narrative of Basil I’s Arrival to Constantinople in Vita Basilii

Abstract

Vita Basilii, which focuses on the life of Emperor Basileios I, is a biographical work with hagiographic elements. The work, written in the 10th century by Basileios’ grandson Konstantinos VII Porphyrogenitus or a committee of writers he commisioned, provides a detailed account of Basileios’life. The work is extremely important due to the intense symbolism it contains. However, upon closer examination, this symbolism reveals much more than being merely a literary embellishment. The motifs used in the work, such as the eagle and the apple, originating from ancient rhetoric and Christian symbolism, are some of the elements skillfully placed in the life story of the emperor. When examined in depth, these motifs emerge as instruments of sovereignty and power symbolism, all of which foreshadow Basileios’ future as a powerful emperor. In addition, the visions and dreams in the work indicate that the series of events that led Basileios to the Byzantine throne were God's divine plans. In this study, first of all, the intensely symbolic details covered in Vita Basilii will be subjected to in-depth research and various subtext readings will be subjected to in-depth analysis, and various subtextual readings will be conducted.

Keywords

Vita Basilii, Basileios I, Macedonian Dynasty, political-theological symbolism, oneirocritic

References

• Temel Kaynaklar
• Artemidori Daldiani Onirocriticon Libri V, ed. R. Hercher, Leipzig: Teubner, 1864.
• Chronicon Pascale, ed. M. Whitby ve M. Whitby, Liverpool: LUP, 2007.
• Chronographiae Quae Theophanis Continuati Nomine Fertur Liber Quo Vita Basili Imperatoris Amplectitur, ed. veçev. I. Shevchenko, CFHB XLII, Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2011.
• EP, Σύμμικτα, ed. L. Allatius, Cologne, (1653), 1-178.
• Eusebios, Vita Constantini, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers II-1, ed. P. Schaff ve H. Wace, NY: CLP Co, 1890.
• G. Cedrenus,JS ope. Historiarum Compendium I, CSHB 8, ed. I. Bekker, Bonn: I. Weber, 1838.
• Genesios, Basileia: On the Reign of the Emperors, çev. A. Kaldellis, Canberra: AABS, 1998.
• Glykas M., Annales, Bonn: Impensis Weber, 1836.
• Herodotos I, ed. ve çev. A. D. Godley, MA: HUP, 1975.
• Konstantinos Porphyrogenetos, De Ceremoniis Aulae Byzantinae I, ed. J. J. Reiske, CSHB, Bonnae: Weber, 1829.
• Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), VIII/2, ed. ve rd. H. J. Ackermann ve J-R Gisler, Zurich: Artemis & Winkler Verlag, 1997.
• Liutprand of Cremona, Antapodosis, ed. J. Bekker, Hannover-Leipzig,1915.
• Oi Meta Theophanin, Ioannes Cameniata, Simeon Magister, Georgios Monachus, ed. I. Bekker, Bonn: Weber, 1838.
• Scriptores post Theophanem, CP, ed. F. Combefis, Venice: B. Javarina, 1678.
• Scriptores post Theopanem, PG 109, ed. P. Migne, Paris:P. Migne (editörün basımı), 1861.
• Sozomenos, Historia Ecclesiasticae I, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers II-1, ed. P. Schaff ve H. Wace, NY: CLP Co, 1890.
• Symeon Magistri et Logothetae Chronicon, ed. H. G. Beck, A. Kambylis, R. Keydell, Berlin: De Gruyter 2006.
• Theophanis Chronographia, ed. C. R. de Boor, Leipzig: Teubner, 1883.
• Vat. Gr., 167. https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr.167 (çevirmiçi erişim tarihi: 19.03.2023).
• Modern Çalışmalar
• Alexander P. J., “Secular Biography at Byzantium”, Speculum, 15/2 (1940), 194-209.
• Angelov D., Imperial Ideology and Political Thought in Byzantium, Cambridge: CUP, 2007.
• Arhweiler H., L’idéologie politique de l’Empire Byzantin, Paris: PUF, 1975.
• Arnason H. H., “The History of the Chalice of Antioch”, The Biblical Archeologist, 4/5 (1941), 49-64.
• Barker E., Social and Political Thoughts in Byzantium from Justinian to the Last Palaeologos, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957.
• Braccini T., “An Apple Between Folktales, Rumours and Novellas: Malalas 14:8 and It’s Oriental Parallel”, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 58 (2018), 299-323.
• Bury J., The Imperial Administrative System in the Ninth Century, London: Oxford University Press, 2011.
• Calofonos G. T., “Dream Narratives in the Continuation of Theophanes”, Dreaming in Byzantium and Beyond, ed. C. Angelidi ve G. T. Calofonos, NY: Routledge, 2014.
• Codeso P. V. “In Search of a Byzantine narrative canon: the Vita Basilii as an uncanonical work”, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 9/2 (2015), 173-190.
• Δεληβορια B., Ἡ σημειολογικὴ ἀντίληψη για τα φυτὰ στὸ Βυζάντιο. Ἀπό τὸν Ὀνειροκριτικὸ σὲ ἕνα γενικότερο κώδικα, Byzantina Symmeikta, 26/2 (2015), 495–503.
• Drake H. A., “The Impact of Constantine on Christianity”, Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, ed. N. Lenski, Cambridge CUP, (2005), 111-136.
• Eisner M., “Killing Kings: Pattern of Regicide in Europe. AD 600-1800”, BJC, (2012), 1-22.
• Gerhold C.- Errain V., “La dimensión política del género hagiográfico: La Vita Basilii, ¿una hagiografía imperial?”, Temas Medievales, 21 (2013), 29-47.
• Grant R. M., “Religion and Politics at the Council of Nicaea”, The Journal of Religion, 55 (1975), 1-12.
• Grosdidier J., Trois études sur Léon VI: L’homélie de Léon VI sur le sacre du patriarche Étienne, Hippocrate et Léon VI, Les constitutions tactiques et la damnatio memoriae de l’empereur Alexandre, Paris: de Boccard, 1973.
• Henry P., 'A Mirror for Justinian: The Ekthesis of Agapetus Diaconus', GRBS 8 (1967), 281-308.
• Hosle P. K., “Understanding Imitatio-Dei in the Holiness Source, Vetus Testamentum, (2022), 1-23.
• Janin R., Constantinople Byzantine: Developpement Urbain et Repertoire Topographique, Paris: IFEB, 1964.
• Janin R., La Géographie ecclésiastique de l’empire byzantine: Les eglises et Les Monastéres, Paris: IFEB, 1953.
• Jenkins R.J.H., “The Chronological Accuracy of the ‘Logothete’' for the Years A.D. 867-913”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 19 (1965), 91-112.
• Kaçar T. (ed.), İznik Konsili’nin Siyasi ve Entelektüel Tarihi, Ankara: TTK Yayınları, 2023.
• Kobelius S., Floriarum Christianum, çev. A. Rodzinska-Chojnovska, Krakow: TYNIEC, 2014.
• Krause P. J., “The Mesopotamian Origins of Byzantine Symbolism and Early Christian Iconogprahy”, Valley Humanity Review, 2015 Spring.
• Littlewood A. R., “The erotic symbolism of the apple in late Byzantine and meta-Byzantine demonic culture”, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 17 (1993), 83-104.
• Littlewood A. R., “The Symbolism of the Apple in the Byzantine Literature”, JÖB, 23 (1974), 33-61.
• Magdalino P., “The Historiography of Dreaming in Medieval Byzantium”, Dreams, Memory and Imagination in Byzantium, ed. B. Neil ve E. Anagnostou-Laoutides, Leiden: Brill, (2018), 125-144.
• Mango C., “The Triumphal Way of Constantinople and the Golden Gate”, DOP, 2000 (54), 173-188.
• Markopoulos A., “Voices from the Center: Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos and the Macedonian Dynasty in Contemporary Historiography,” Center, Province and Periphery in the Age of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, ed. N. Gaul vd., Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, (2018), 22– 38.
• Markopoulos A., “The Emperor Basil I and Hippolytus: Legend and History”, History and Literature of Byzantium in the 9th-10th Century, Aldershot: Variorum, (2004), xix.
• Marlow L., “Introduction”, Dreaming Across Boundaries: The Interpretations of Dreams in Islamic Lands, ed. L. Marlov, Washington DC: Centre for Hellenic Studies, (2008), 1-24.
• Martin L. H., “Artemidorus: Dream Theory in Late Antiquity”, A Journal of Christian Studies, 8/2 (1991), 97-108.
• Moravcsik G., “Sagen und Legenden über Kaiser Basileios I”, DOP, 15(1961), 59-126.
• Neil B., Dreams and Divinations from Byzantium to Baghdad, 400-1000, Oxford: OUP, (2020), 135-136.
• Nesbitt J. W., “The Monastery of Diomedes”, Byzantine Religious Culture: Studies in Honor of Alice- Mary Talbot, ed. D. Sullivan vd., Brill: Leiden (2012), 339-345.
• Nicol D. M., “Byzantine Political Thought”, The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought, ed. Burns J. H., Cambridge: CUP, (2007), 51-87.
• Oberhelman S. M., “The Dream-Key Manuals of Byzantium”, Dreams, Memory and Imagination in Byzantium, ed. B. Neil ve E. Anagnostou-Laoutides, Leiden: Brill, (2018), 145-160.
• Oberhelman S. M., Bizans’ta Rüya Tabirnameleri: Giriş, Çeviri ve Yorumlarıyla Birlikte Altı Oneirokritika, çev. A. Akgün, İstanbul: YKY, 2018.
• Odahl C., Constantine and the Christian Empire, London: Routledge, 2004.
• Pfeilschifter R., “Always in Second Place: Constantinople as an Imperial and Religious Center in Late Antiquity”, City of Caesar, City of God: Constantinople and Jerusalem in Late Antiquity, ed. K. M. Klein ve J. Wienand, Berlin: de Gruyter, (2022), 39-70.
• Prinzing G., “Byzantine Mirrors for Prince: An Overview”, A Critical Companion to the “Mirrors for Princes” Literature, ed. N. L. Perret ve S. Péquignot, Leiden: Brill, (2023), 108-135.
• Rapp C., “Old Testament Models for Emperors in Early Byzantium” Old Testament in Byzantium, ed. P. Magdalino ve R. Nelson, Washington DC: DORLC 2010.
• Romilly J., “The Classical Background of Scriptores post Theophanem”, DOP, 30/8 (1954), 11-30.
• Runciman S., The Byzantine Theocracy, Cambridge: CUP, 1997.
• Scott R., “Dreams and Imaginative Memory in Select Byzantine Chronicles”, Dreams, Memory and Imagination in Byzantium, ed. B. Neil ve E. Anagnostou-Laoutides, Leiden: Brill, (2018), 183-207.
• Shawcross T., “Ethnic and Religious Violence in Byzantium”, The Cambridge World History of Violence III, ed. M. S. Gordon vd., Cambridge: CUP, (2020), 287-312.
• Struder-Karlen M., “The Emperor’s Image in Byzantium: Perceptions and Functions”, Meaning and Functions of the Ruler’s Image in the Medieterranean World, ed. M. Bacci vd., Leiden: Brill, (2022), 134-171.
• Stumpf J. A. “On the Mutilation Blinding of Byzantine Emperors From the Reign of Heraclius I Until the Fall of Constantinople”, JAHA, 4/3 (2017), 46-54.
• Ševčenko I., 'Agapetus East and West: The Fate of a Byzantine "Mirror of Princes'", RESEE, 16 (1978), 3-44.
• Ševčenko I., “Re-reading Constantine Porphyrogenitus”, Byzantine Diplomacy: Papers from the Twenty-Fourth Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, ed. J. Shephard ve S. Franklin, Aldershot: Variorum, (1992), 167-195.
• Tonybee A. J., Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World, NY: OUP, 1973.
• Treadgold W., Middle Byzantine Historians, NY: Palgrave Macmilan, 2013.
• Var U., VI. Leon’un Eserlerinde İdeal Bir Hristiyan Devlet Olarak Bizans, (yayımlanmamış doktora tezi), İstanbul Medeniyet Üniversitesi, Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü, Tarih ABD Doktora Programı, İstanbul 2024.
• Varona P., “In Search of Byzantine Narrative Canon: The Vita Basilii as an Uncanonical Work”, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 39/2 (2015), 173-190.
• Voegtle S., “The Eagle as a Divine Symbol in Ancient Mediterranean”, Symbols and Models in the Mediterranean, ed. A. Barnes ve M. Salerno, NuP: CSP, 107-123.
• Werlin S. W., Eagle Imagery in Jewish Relief Scripture and Late Ancient Plaestine: Survey and Interpretation, (yayımlanmamış yüksek lisans tezi), Univesity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MA in the Department of Religious Studies, Chapel Hill, 2019.
• Westerink L., “Trois textes inedits sur Saint Diomede de Niceé, AB, 84 (1966),161-227.
• Wittkower R., “Eagle and serpent. A Study in the Migration of Symbols”, JWCI II/4, (1939), 293-325.
• Wünch H-G., “Like an eagle carries its young”, HTS Teologiese Studies, 72/3 (2016), 1-6.