2010

Crosses in the Mosaic Floors of Churches in Provincia Arabia and Nearby Territories, Against the Background of the Edict of Theodosius II

İ.S. 4. ve 8. yüzyıllar arasında, Arabistan eyaleti ve komşu ülkelerde (bugünkü Transürdün) bir çok kilise kurulmuştur. Kiliselerin çoğu mozaiklerle döşenmiştir. Mozaik tabanlar, geometrik, bitkisel ve figüratif halı desenleri gibi günlük hayattan alınmış sahnelerle zengin bir repertuvara sahiptir. Bu desenlerin bazıları da kişileştirme şeklinde karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Mozaik tabanlar aynı zamanda sembolik hanedanlıkla ilgili düzenlemeler ve sembolik motiflerle süslenmiştir. Bunlar arasında haçlarda yer almaktadır. Bu çalışma, Transürdün Bizans kiliselerinde bulunmuş farklı haç tiplerinin tanımı, bunların mozaik tabanlardaki ve kiliselerdeki konumu ve gizli haçlar olarak eşdeğer öneme sahip paralel motiflerin kullanımı üzerine yoğunlaşmıştır. Haç motifi repertuvarı zengindir. Bu haçlar, eşit kollu Yunan haç tipi, Latin haçı, Malta haçı ya da geometrik geçişli Yunan haçı şeklinde bulunmuştur. Ayrıca, crux clipeata, crux gemmata ve crux decussate tipinde haçlar bulunmaktadır. Bazı yerlerde ?? harfleri haçların kolları arasında gösterilmiştir ve dikey koldan askıya alınmıştır. Bazı yerlerde haç, yükselen bir tepe üzerinde, Golgotha Tepesini simgeler şekilde gösterilmiştir. Mozaik tabanlardaki haçlar, kilise komplekslerinin ön giriş odasında, kiliselerde, kiliselere eklenmiş şapellerde, kriptalarda, martyrium şapellerde, mezar şapellerde ve vaftizhanelerde görülmektedir. Bunlar gizli değildir ve kilise ya da şapel binasının belirli bir kısmıyla sınırlı değildir. Aksine, haçlar görünürdür ve apsiste, bemada, kilise eşyalarının saklandığı odada, koridorlarda, sütunlar arasındaki koridorlarda, nartekste, ön odalarda ve mekanlar arasındaki geçiş ya da girişlerde görülmektedir. Kiliselerdeki mozaik tabanlar üzerinde haçların görünmesi oldukça şaşırtıcıdır. Çünkü, İmparator II. Theodosius tarafından İ.S. 427'de çıkarılan fermana aykırıdır. Ancak bu ferman, bölgemizdeki mozaikler üzerinde yetersiz bir etki yapmıştr. Arkeolojik buluntular, Transürdün ve komşu topraklarda taşlara oyulmuş ya da kiliselerin mozaik tabanlarında yer alan haçların varlığını, kiliselerin girişindeki ve insanların yürüyüp adım attıkları ve üstüne bastıkları kilisenin içindeki haçların konumu nedeniyle, saygısızlık riskine rağmen, kanıtlamaktadır. Arkeolojik kanıtlar, fermanın ruhu ve gerçeklik temeli arasındaki boşluğu kanıtlamaktadır ve olayın anlaşılmasına katkıda bulunmaktadır.

II. Theodosius'un Fermanının Arka Planına Karşı Arabistan Eyaleti ve Yakın Bölgelerdeki Kiliselerin Mozaik Tabanlarında Görülen Haçlar

Between the 4th and 8th centuries A.D., many churches were founded in Provincia Arabia and neighbouring territories (today's Transjordan). Most of the churches were paved with mosaics. The mosaics floors are decorated with geometric, vegetal and figurative carpets with a rich repertoire of scenes of daily life, sometimes accompanied by personifications. The floors were also decorated with symbolic heraldic arrangements and symbolic motifs, among them crosses. This research focus on a description of the different types of cross found in Byzantine churches in Transjordan, their position on the mosaic floors and in the church space, and the use of parallel motifs with equivalent significance as concealed crosses. The repertoire of crosses is rich, and crosses have been found of the equal-armed Greek cross type, the Latin cross, the Maltese cross, or a geometric interlace in the form of a Greek cross. There are also crosses of the crux clipeata, crux gemmata and crux decussate type. In some places the letters ?? are shown between the arms of the cross, or suspended from the vertical arm. In other places the cross is shown on a graduated mound symbolizing the hill of Golgotha. The crosses in mosaic floors decorate the vestibules of church complexes, churches, chapels attached to churches, crypts, martyrium chapels, funerary chapels, and baptisteries. They are not hidden, and are not limited to a specific part of the church or chapel building; on the contrary, the crosses are open to view and appear in the apse, the bema, the sacristy, halls, panels between columns, the narthex, vestibules and passageways or entrances between spaces. The appearance of crosses on mosaic floors in churches is seemingly surprising, because it contravenes the edict issued in A.D. 427 by the Emperor Theodosius II. But this edict had scant influence on the mosaics of our region, and the archaeological finds testify to the existence of crosses carved in stone or incorporated in the mosaic floors of the churches in Transjordan and in the adjacent territories, despite the risk of desecration, due to the position of crosses along the path of entry into the church and the traffic route inside the church, where people might walk and step on them. The archaeological evidence testifies to the gap between the spirit of the edict and reality on the ground, and contributes to an understanding of the phenomenon.

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