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48-506: Acemhöyük is located 18 km northwest of Aksaray , on the southeastern end of the Tuz Gölü , in a fertile plain on the Uluirmak or Melendiz . The ruins are arranged, like those of Kültepe , into two parts: a settlement on a hill, measuring 700 m east–west and 600 m north–south, and a lower city, which is partially covered by the modern village of Yeşilova. According to Nimet Özgüc, the extent of

96-462: A /g/ consonant, while the /u/ became /a/. Strabon mentions Garsaura in his work (V/4 and VI/1). The town of Garsaura was renamed Archelaïs ( Greek : Ἀρχελαΐς ) by Archelaus of Cappadocia , the last Cappadocian king. In Roman times, the town was known as Colonia and became a bishropric. Of its bishops, Euphrasius was at the First Council of Nicaea in 325; Bosporus (who is mentioned in

144-412: A circuit of 244 km (152 mi), passing through several areas of Cappadocia including Lake Tuz . Yahdun-Lim Yahdunlim (or Yakhdunlim, Yahdun-Lim ) was the king of Mari probably in 1820—1796 BC. He was of Amorite origin, and became king after the death of his father Iagitlim . Yahdunlim built Mari up to become one of the major powers of the region. He led a successful campaign to

192-463: A hot-summer continental climate (Dca) under the Trewartha classification. Highest recorded temperature:40.8 °C (105.4 °F) on 15 August 2023 Lowest recorded temperature:−29.0 °C (−20.2 °F) on 7 February 1991 The Runfire Cappadocia Ultramarathon , a multiday track running ultramarathon of desert concept, has been held every July since 2012. Over six days, the race takes in

240-505: A long alabastron type, or of a globular type. These bottles were probably used as containers for medicinal oils or perfumes. Syrian bottles from ancient Anatolia were made of clay or even from metal. They originated in Mesopotamia around the mid 3rd millennium BC. The stratigraphy in the Karum period and consists of five layers (V-I). Layers V and IV are unexplored. Layers V and IV belong to

288-457: A portico, made of marble bases and wooden pillars. The ground floor of the building was used for storage purposes. Clay bullae were found in all the rooms. It is assumed that the rooms of the officials were on the upper floor, as at Kültepe. In 2016 new research using carbon dating and dendrology on timber used in this site and the palace in Kültepe show the felling dates for primary construction of

336-537: A protracted struggle against the Karamanids . Many inhabitants of the city were relocated to Constantinople (recently captured by the Ottomans) where they were settled in a part of the city that also came to be named Aksaray . During Ottoman times, the town was prosperous in part because of its proximity to Tuz Gölü ( Lake Tuz ), which was a primary source of salt for Anatolia. The Aksaray Grand Mosque , also known as

384-503: A stable covered with a barrel vault with transverse ribs. A short tower, capped by a dome, stands over the crossing area. This dome has an oculus , providing light and air to the stable. Aksaray Museum exhibits the Aksaray Stele , a Late Hittite monument discovered in the city in 1976. The stone block is 88 cm high, and 90 cm wide but the top half is missing. It portrays a weather god, facing right and wearing pointed shoes. On

432-591: A temple to the god Shamash . He then expanded west and claimed to have reached the Mediterranean , however he later had to face a rebellion by the Yaminite nomads who were centered at Tuttul , and the rebels were supported by Yamhad 's king Sumu-Epuh , whose interests were threatened by the recently established alliance between Yahdun-Lim and Eshnunna . Yahdun-Lim defeated the Yaminites but an open war with Yamhad

480-559: Is 980 m (3,215 ft), with the highest point being Mt. Hasan ( Turkish : Hasan Dağı ) at 3,268 m (10,722 ft). The city of Aksaray has a long history and was an important stopover point on the Silk Road that transited Anatolia for centuries. It is a mid-sized city with the Melendiz river running through it and several monuments dating back to the pre-Ottoman era as well as some impressive examples of government buildings from

528-527: Is a large amusement theme park in the city centre of Aksaray. The Zincirye Medresesi (Chained School) was a Koranic school with a typical soaring and elaborate Seljuk portal. It was built by the bey of Karaman in 1345 and is now used as the local library. The Kurşunlu Mosque , also known as the Kurşunlu Camii, and formerly the Hacı Bektaş Mosque, is a mosque in the city center of Aksaray. It

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576-521: Is a rendering of Garsáoura. The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta . who visited the region in the 14th century, was impressed by the class of Muslim traders that had emerged in Aksaray and noted the urban centre as "a beautiful city, surrounded by waterways and gardens, with a water supply coming right to the houses of the city." In 1470 Aksaray was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire by İshak Pasha after

624-454: Is believed to have been built in 1325 by the Seljuks . The Hakiki Yusuf Baba complex , also known as Somunca Baba Complex , contains the tombs of the 14th-century Islamic leader Somuncu Baba and the scholar Cemaleddin'i Aksaray . The Kapalı Çarşı , meaning "Covered Market" is a Grand Bazaar in the city centre of Aksaray. The Aksaray Observation Deck is an observation deck overlooking

672-436: Is one of the best surviving examples of Anatolian Seljuk architecture . The monumental entrance to the han is on the east side and is a 13m-high marble portal ( pishtaq ) projecting from the 50m wide front wall. The gate is enclosed by a pointed arch decorated with muqarnas and elegant geometric patterns. The open courtyard (44 x 58 m) was lined with arcades with stables beneath the accommodation. Outdoor areas were used in

720-757: The Council of Chalcedon in 451; Alexander at a council in Constantinople called by Patriarch Menas of Constantinople in 536; and Conon at the Trullan Council of 692. No longer a residential bishopric, Colonia in Cappadocia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see . Colonia is also a titular Turkish metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople . During Byzantine times,

768-631: The Karamanoğlu Camii or Ulu Camii , is a large mosque right in the city centre dating back to 1408-09 and the Karamanoğlu dynasty. It has a detached minaret erected in 1925. The Red Minaret Mosque , also known as the Eğri Minare Mosque, (Leaning Minaret Mosque) has a Seljuk Turkish minaret dating back to 1236 and the reign of Aläettin Keykubat . The Luna Park , also known as Kültürpark

816-575: The Topada rock inscription ( de:Felsinschrift von Topada ) as one of the kings who were allied with Wasusarma of Tabal . the Aksaray Castle was a four-cornered, stone-built, solidly built castle on a large area, on the edge of the Melendiz river . It was built in the middle of the city. The bastion and its towers were not very high. With all their bastions, teeth and bodies, their crenellated holes and their calculated towers always faced each other. During

864-535: The 1960s, archaeological excavations of the Sarikaya Palace revealed stylistically similar ivory pieces, including a wing that matched with a falcon in the Pratt collection. Rumors of looting from the site and photographs of the ivories from a nearby dealer have further demonstrated that the pieces originally came from Acemhöyük, where they were looted and eventually sold on the antiquities market. Since their acquisition by

912-648: The 19th century. Nearby are the remains of the Red Church ( Kızıl Kilise ) and the High Church ( Yüksek Kilise ). Several monumental caravanserais straddle the trade route linking Konya to Aksaray that once continued to Persia (the Uzun Yolu ). The best known and most impressive is Sultan Han , located in Sultanhan village about 40 km (25 mi) west of Aksaray. A date on this fortified structure indicates that it

960-485: The Early Bronze Age III (2450-2300 BC). The vessel appears to have been imported, and it may be related to the flat- and ring-based flasks from Northwestern Syria and areas nearby. Such items reflect cultural and commercial connections of the settlement, as well as its chronology. These small bottles appear mainly in funerary contexts, and sometimes also in domestic and public contexts. Their shapes can be either of

1008-760: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, they have become known as the Pratt Ivories or the Acemhöyük ivories. The final settlement layer dates to the Greaco-Roman period and consists of the foundations of habitations. Excavation of Acemhöyük began in 1962 under the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in conjunction with the University of Ankara . From 1962 to 1988, Nimet Özgüç led the excavations. Since 1989,

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1056-480: The Middle Bronze IIA, a palace building was built on the citadel. The western part of the palace has been completely destroyed by later settlement and modern activity. The 1.5-2 metre thick walls are still visible up to 3.8 metres high in places. The palace must have contained around 50 rooms (the exact number is uncertain due to the subsequent destruction). The northern, eastern and western sides were surrounded by

1104-636: The Sarıkaya Palace at Acemhöyük are placed at RY730-731 on the MBA chronology. RY732 equates with 1793–1784 BCE (68.2% hpd; the 95.4% hpd is 1797–1781 BCE). This research shows that middle or low-middle chronology are the only remaining possible chronologies that fit these new data. The clay bullae in the Sarikaya Palace included sealings of Dugedu, a daughter of Yahdun-Lim of Mari (c. 1820-1796 BC), king Shamshi-Adad I (c. 1808–1776 BC), and king Aplahanda of Carchemish (c. 1786-1766 BC). In all, 16 imprints of

1152-660: The West entrance of the castle. The existence of the castle dates back to the first ages but was also very prominent during the Middle Ages . The castle existed in Roman and Byzantine times. Seventy percent of the local workforce is engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. Barley, sugar beet, vetch, corn, potatoes, onions, beans, flax, hemp, grapes and apples are the main local crops, with wheat production being most dominant. Carpet and rug weaving were traditionally important, especially in

1200-450: The area around Sultanhanı but these days the weavers mainly focus on repairing and repurposing old carpets. There is also some industry in Aksaray city. Ihlara Valley and the other tourist attractions of Cappadocia may be nearby but Aksaray has not had much success in attracting visitors to the city itself. Aksaray has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk) under the Köppen classification and

1248-419: The city centre. The Aksaray Highschool , or Aksaray Lisesi, is the location of the former Roman thermae or bathhouse. A newer attraction is Hünkarland, a large theme park with artificial waterfalls , which is a popular venue for Aksaray wedding parties. Hasan Dağı is a 3,000m volcano between Aksaray and Niğde , visible from the city. The (presumed) ancient Roman and Byzantine city of Nora , in

1296-527: The city of Aksaray. The Azmi Milli Museum , also known as the Azm-i Milli T.A.Ş. Un Fabrikası, is a historic stone building built in the 1930s on the commands of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk . It sits adjacent to the Zincirye Medresesi. It currently operates as a museum. The Paşa Hamam , an Ottoman-era Turkish hamam built by Hacı Ali Pasha. The Kılıçaslan Hamam , a recently restored Turkish hamam in

1344-503: The coast of the Mediterranean . Yahdun-Lim started his reign by subduing seven of his rebelling tribal leaders, and rebuilding the walls of Mari and Terqa in addition to building a new fort which he named Dur-Yahdun-Lim. Yahdun-Lim's kingdom was threatened by incursions from various nomad tribes, such as the Canaanites , but he was able to subjugate them and force them to pay tribute . After having established internal peace, he built

1392-503: The correspondence of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus ) at the First Council of Constantinople in 381; Daniel at the Council of Ephesus in 431; Aristomachus (who was also a signatory of the letter of the bishops of the Roman province of Cappadocia Tertia , to which Colonia belonged, to Byzantine Emperor Leo I the Thracian about the killing of Proterius of Alexandria in 458) at

1440-655: The discovery indicate that the tablet is contemporary with the Level Ib of Kültepe. The date is estimated as around 1700 BC, which is the time towards the end of the Old Assyrian Period. Between 1932 and 1937, a group of 2nd millennium B.C. ivory furniture fittings were donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by the collector George D. Pratt. Subsequent scholarship has shown that several of these pieces originally formed part of an elaborate gold and ivory throne, which has been convincingly reconstructed by Elizabeth Simpson . In

1488-714: The early Turkish Republic that are gathered around the main square. The nearest airport is Kapadokya Nevşehir Airport (NAV) which is 62.1 km away from the city. In antiquity the area was named Archelais Garsaura , which was mutated to Taksara during the Seljuk Turkish era, and then to Aksaray . Aksaray means "White Palace" in Turkish . First mentioned as Šinaḫuttum-Šinuhtu in ancient Hittite texts, and later Nenaşşa , (also spelled as Nenessa and Nenossós in Ancient Greek texts) and Kurşaura . The Aksaray Stela

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1536-486: The lower city is of a similar size. The highest point, the citadel, rises 20 metres above the surrounding land and is now called Sarikaya (yellow cliff) on account of the gleaming yellow mudbricks. The tell is to the south of the modern village and in the centre of it there was (or is?) a modern cemetery. Joost Blasweiler (2019) offers detailed arguments that Acemhöyük was the location of the city of Purushanda known from many cuneiform texts. Recent excavations indicated that

1584-527: The period before the Assyrians established karum settlements in central Anatolia. Layer III belongs to the karum period and represents the height of the settlement's prosperity, but it was heavily destroyed by fire. The cause of this fire cannot be determined. Settlement on the hill ceased after this until it was resettled in the Hellenistic or Roman period. Level II had houses built of wood and mudbrick built on

1632-706: The project has been led by Aliye Öztan. Some the finds are on display in the Aksaray Museum ; others are displayed at the Niğde Archaeological Museum . Aksaray Aksaray ( pronounced [ˈaksaɾaj] ) is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey . It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District . Its population is 247,147 (2021). In 2021 the province had an estimated population of 429,069 distributed over about 7,659 km (2,957 sq mi). The average elevation

1680-561: The reverse are the last five lines of a text in Luwian hieroglyphs including a dedication by King Kiyakiya who describes the prosperity of his reign and the benevolence of the weather god Tarhunzas . Kiyakiya is believed to be the same as King Kiakki of Šinuḫtu , who is mentioned in Assyrian texts and ruled in 718 BC. He was then deported by the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II . He is also mentioned in

1728-596: The ruins of Layer III in a hurry. Level I was mostly destroyed due to its proximity to the surface. In the Middle Bronze I (c. 2000-1820 BC), the Assyrians started dominating trade between Mesopotamia and Anatolia. This period is often called the "Karum Period", because the Assyrians established trade posts adjacent to city-states called "karums". This trade continued into the early Middle Bronze IIA, but started to weaken after 1750 BC when great leaders like Shamshi-Adad of Assyria and Hammurabi of Babylon had passed away. In

1776-504: The settlement. Such items indicate the wide interregional commercial relations of Acemhöyük during the Early Bronze Age III period. They are similar to the Unguentarium bottles of the later historical periods. Syrian bottle is a specific type of a bottle that was widespread in Syria, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. A fine example of a Syrian bottle from Acemhöyük has been dated to the beginning of

1824-413: The siege, the strong warriors of each tower guarded the towers with rifles. There were five gates on the side of the fortresses. Küçükkapı faces west. Demirkapı (Sídero Porta) opens to the qibla. Keçikapısı (Gida Porta) also opens towards the qibla. Ereğlikapısı (Herakleia Porta) opens to the south and Konyakapısı (Ikónion Porta) opens to the west. The guards of these gates are the tax collectors. A warehouse

1872-515: The summer, while the covered rooms ( iwans ) on either side were used during the winter. In the middle of the courtyard stands a square stone kiosk-mosque ( kösk mesçidi ), the oldest example in Turkey. The mosque on the second floor sits on a construction of four carved barrel-vaulted arches. At the other side of the courtyard is another equally decorative arched entrance with muqarnas, joggled voussoirs and interlocking geometric designs. It leads into

1920-757: The town had a long history before the Assyrian Trade Colonies period. The mound was excavated by Nimet Özgüç and Aliye Öztan between 1962 and 2019. In the Early Bronze, Acemhöyük was a central hub in the Anatolian Trade Network which reached Troy and the Cyclades in the west, and Mesopotamia in the east. In the mid-3rd millennium BC, Acemhöyük emerged with connections with West Anatolia and Syria. Some 'Syrian bottles' have been discovered here in Level XI of

1968-529: The town was known as Koloneia (Κολώνεια) was an important military center, holding an imperial aplekton . At some point between 1081 and 1084, the town was part of the domain of Suleiman ibn Qutalmish according to Ibn al-Athīr . This would later become the Sultanate of Rum and the Sultans founded and left important landmarks in and around the town. Its name also changed over time to Taksará and Aksará, which

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2016-512: The two seals of king Aplahanda were found (his cylinder seal CS 7, and seal CS 8). Inscription on a sealing of Shamshi-Adad: Two additional Old Assyrian documents were discovered in Acemhöyük during the excavations of 2012/2013. One is a label, and the other is a small tablet, which is the first such discovery here. They were found in the structure known as the “Service Building” within the Sarikaya palace. The orthographic and contextual features of

2064-400: The village of Helvadere , is on the slopes of Mt Hasan, in close proximity to Aksaray. The area around the city also contains several höyüks . Aşıklı Höyük is a burial mound 25 km (16 mi) east of the city. Acemhöyük is an early Bronze Age settlement, 18 km (11 mi) north-west of the city. The dramatic Ihlara Canyon , 40 km (25 mi) southeast of the city,

2112-408: Was avoided. Yahdun-Lim then became occupied by his rivalry with Shamshi-Adad I of Shubat-Enlil , the son of the late Ila-kabkabu . He received pleas for help from kings threatened by Shamshi-Adad's expansionist plans. But before Yahdunlim could move against Shamshi-Adad, he was assassinated in c. 1798 BC by his possible son Sumu-Yamam , who himself got assassinated two years after ascending

2160-694: Was built in 1229, during the reign of the Seljuk Sultan Kayqubad I , by the Syrian architect Mohammed Bin Havlan El Dimaski (the word Dimasci indicating Damascus ) . After it was partially destroyed by a fire, it was restored and extended in 1278 by the governor Seraceddin Ahmed Kerimeddin bin El Hasan during the reign of Sultan Kaykhusraw III . It was then the largest caravanserai in Turkey. Today, it

2208-519: Was built in the castle to store wheat during the rebels' time. It has no arsenal. There were big balls thrown during Ramadan and other festivals. The southern interior of the castle is now where Aksaray Square stands. The Kurşunlu Mosque is where Ereğlikapısı used to be. It also encompasses the Aksaray Grand Mosque to the North-East of where the castle once stood. The Zinciriye Medresesi lies at

2256-430: Was carved out by the Melendiz river and its walls are riddled with Byzantine frescoed churches dating back to the early Middle Ages. It runs from Selime village in the north to Ihlara township in the south and is a popular destination for tour groups visiting Cappadocia . Near Ihlara , Güzelyurt is a pretty Cappadocian town with rock-cut churches and even a rock-cut mosque as well as many find stone houses from

2304-525: Was written in Luwian Hieroglyphs and was dedicated by king Kiyakiyas who described his prosperity in his reign and the benevolence of the weather god Tarhunzas . Kiyakiyas may be identical with king Kiyakki of Šinuḫtu , who ruled prior to 718 BC. At that time Šinuḫtu was taken, the king was seized and deported by the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II . The Hittite name Kurşaura underwent a sound change to Garsaura . The /k/ became voiced and turned into

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