The Complex of Elvan Çelebi: Problems in 
Fourteenth-Century Architecture

The fourteenth-century complex of Elvan Çelebi is often cited as an example of the survival of local Christian saints’ cults in later medieval Anatolia. The reuse of Byzan­tine materials in the complex’s buildings and the stories told by its sixteenth-century residents about the exploits of Khidr ha...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Anderson, Benjamin (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Brill 2014
Dans: Muqarnas
Année: 2014, Volume: 31, Numéro: 1, Pages: 73-97
Sujets non-standardisés:B Elvan Çelebi
 St. Theodore of Euchaita
 Khidr
 Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq
 Hans Dernschwam
 spolia
 Ana­tolia

Accès en ligne: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Résumé:The fourteenth-century complex of Elvan Çelebi is often cited as an example of the survival of local Christian saints’ cults in later medieval Anatolia. The reuse of Byzan­tine materials in the complex’s buildings and the stories told by its sixteenth-century residents about the exploits of Khidr have been used to argue that the local cult of St. Theodore of Euchaita was maintained by Muslims. Furthermore, portions of the complex have been identified as the remnants of a Christian church. However, there is no evidence that the complex incorporates parts of, or was built on the site of, an earlier Byzantine structure. The most prominent displays of reused material date to the later sixteenth century, and the der­vishes’ stories are best understood as an example of the widespread Anatolian identification of Khidr with St. George. However, the complex still has much to tell us about the patronage of architecture by family networks in the absence of state intervention in fourteenth-century Anatolia. Local stories according to which the spolia in the building were donated by Elvan Çelebi’s father are more telling indicators of the complex’s significance than speculations about the survival of cult.

ISSN:2211-8993
Contient:In: Muqarnas
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/22118993-00311P04