@article{article_1573886, title={AN EVALUATION ON SİVAS YILDIZ RIVER BRIDGE AND STONE DECORATION WITH HUMAN FIGURES}, journal={Amisos}, volume={10}, pages={144–158}, year={2025}, author={Saklavcı, Fatmagül}, keywords={Sivas, Yıldız Köprüsü, Taş İşçiliği, Devşirme Maleme, İnsan Figürleri}, abstract={In this study, the spolia human figures found on the Yıldız River Bridge, about which there has been no detailed research to date, were discussed and the figures were evaluated by comparing them with the Seljuk Age and neighboring cultural environments. Since there has not been a detailed research on the inscriptions and spolia about the Yıldız Bridge, I think that this study is important in terms of contributing to and shedding light on period research on the use of figurative decoration in Medieval architecture. Yıldız Bridge is located on the Yıldız River, 27 km away from Sivas. The bridge was rebuilt during the Seljuk period on foundations from the Roman Period. The bridge, which is 4 m wide and 70 m long, has thirteen arches. There is an Armenian inscription on the south-facing downstream side of the bridge. The figures, which are the subject of our research, are placed horizontally in the eighth row of stones from the bottom, in the inner part of the middle arch of the bridge. On the piece, which is stated in the sources to belong to the Roman Period, there are three human figures with clothes, beards and pointed hats, carrying each other on their hands. The presence of spolia figures in a water-related structure such as a bridge is in line with the decoration concept of the period. The type of figure carrying something by raising its hands in the air is also detected in Byzantine, Georgian and Western European art, as well as in Turkish art, and is a common iconographic scheme. It should be noted that Kutaisi Bagrati and Mtskheta Svetitskhoveli cathedrals, dating back to the 11th century, are two important examples of this type of figures in Georgian art. It is understood that the spolia figures on the Yıldız Bridge are the figures carrying the bridge, like the caryatid female figures on the Malabadi Bridge, a structure of the Artuqid Period. Figure type carrying something by raising its hands in the air, Konya II. It was also detected in the plaster decorations of Kılıçaslan Mansion. In the examples in the Konya Mansion, standing dressed figures carry fish figures with water elements in their hands raised upwards. As can be seen, this iconographic pattern is generally used in relation to water. Therefore, the use of these spolia figures on the Yıldız Bridge indicates a conscious design.}, number={18}, publisher={Davut YİĞİTPAŞA}