Roma Dönemi Konut Mimarisinde Avlu Kullanımı ve Kültürel Kimlik İlişkisi: Ephesos, Priene, Aphrodisias, Kremna, Sia, Zeugma Örnekleri Işığında

Abstract

Individuals who constitute the society and the ethnic identity to which they feel a sense of belonging are the fundamental elements of that society’s culture. In order to be able to understand the development and cultural orientation of a past society, all epigraphic and archeological data should be considered. Recent studies demonstrate that architectural evidence has the potential to contribute to the understanding of the culture of a society as much as the epigraphic data and ancient resources. The approach that views architectural remains as cultural material puts domestic architecture in a particular position. In this context, domestic architecture, which previously has been considered to be reflecting only the family and daily life, is now perceived to be closely related to the concept of societal culture.

Recent approaches in archeology tend to reconsider the preconceived terminology while researching cultural identity and the foundations of it. As a result of this, the Roman Empire and the socio-politic structure it established in different geographies came to be seen as a mutual cultural interaction between the ruler and the ruled, rather than a oneway cultural imperialism. In this study, the influence of the Roman Empire on the local culture and how the concept of social identity of the local culture was shaped under the influence of Rome is examined on the basis of Late Republic and Early Imperial Period domestic examples in Anatolia. For this study, Italian domestic examples have been reviewed in order to understand the Roman domestic architecture. Residences of upper classes are evaluated as an expression of 'Romanness' and how housing could provide insights as an expression of culture. In this respect, the cities of Aphrodisias, Ephesos and Priene in Western Anatolia, the cities of Kremna and Sia in the south of Anatolia and the city of Zeugma which is a border settlement in the Southeast are selected as examples of the regions under the influence of the Roman Empire. Cities of Aphrodisias, Ephesos Cremna, and Zeugma which were subject to Roman influence quite intensely, Priene and Sia which were relatively less affected have been evaluated to point out concrete examples of abstract concepts such as cultural identity and cultural interaction.