Room and Corridor Mosaics from the Ancient City of Germanicia and its Iconographic Assessment

Abstract

Germanicia has been hosted by many civilizations since Antiquity and is located in the Kahramanmaraş province at the intersection of East, Southeast and Mediterranean Regions. Even though the localization cannot be done completely, it is thought that the city was located on the southern hillsides of Ahir Mountain in 2339 meters high. It is thought that the ruins discovered at the district of Dulkadiroğlu, located in the east of Kahramanmaraş city center at the beginning of 2000s, may belong to Germanicia ancient city. It is known that Germanicia was an important episcopal city in the Early Byzantine period and many bishops such as Eudoxius, Nestorius, Suras, Salamanes (Salamias), Anaphora Thomas and John were called “Germanikeia” Agnomen. The villa room and corridor mosaics mentioned in the article belong to the Early Byzantine Period. The founds in the district of Dulkadiroğlu were unearthed in the archaeological excavations in 2001 and 2016. Various plants, domestic and wild animal species were depicted together on these mosaics. These mosaics give us information about fauna and flora of Germanicia. The mosaic that forms the subject of our article and animal depictions had importance in Roman art since the 1st century BC. Village life, nature, animals and hunting scenes (Emblemata) began to appear on mosaics in North Africa in the 2nd century AD, in Anatolia, Europe and Adriatic in the 4th century AD and later. However, the meaning of these themes changed in the Jewish and Christian communities and were perceived as religious symbols. Village life, nature, animals and hunting scenes are associated with stories in the Old and New Testament.

Keywords

• kahramanmaraş
• germanicia
• late roman
• mosaic
• opus tessellatum