Kütahya’da Bulunan Anadolu Selçuklu Mimarisi Üzerine Bazı Tespitler
Anadolu Selçuklu Devleti’nin batı sınırında yer alan Kütahya kenti, konumu dolayısıyla Selçukluların Anadolu’ya yerleşmeye başladığı 1071 yılını takip eden yıllarda fethedilmiştir. Ancak Bizans sınırında bulunması sebebiyle kent I. Alâeddin Keykubad (1220-1237) dönemine kadar Bizans’la Anadolu Selçukluları arasında sürekli el değiştirmiştir. 1233 yılında tamamen Anadolu Selçuklu egemenliğine giren Kütahya’nın kent merkezinde inşa edilen eserler ve bu eserlerin konumu üzerinden Selçuklu Dönemi’nde Kütahya’nın sınırları, bu çalışmanın konusunu oluşturmaktadır. İnşa kitabeleri bulunan Balıklı Camii ve Hıdırlık Mescidi, II. Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev dönemine tarihlenmektedir. Anadolu Selçuklu Dönemi’nde inşa edildiği kabul gören iki Hezâr Dînârî Mescidi’nden biri özgünlüğünü yitirmiş, diğerinin yerine de 1870 yılında Sadeddin Camii ve sakahanesi inşa edilmiştir. Ayrıca Evliya Çelebi’nin Kütahya ile ilgili bilgilerinden hareketle, Kütahya Ulu Camii’nin Selçuklu eseri olduğu ortaya konmuştur. Kütahya’da Selçuklu Dönemi eserlerinin banisi olan İmâdüddin Hezâr Dînârî’nin de kimliği tespit edilmiştir. Bu çalışma, Kütahya’nın Anadolu Selçuklu dönemi mimari eserleri ve kentin fiziki yapısına odaklanmaktadır. Kütahya’nın Anadolu Selçuklu Dönemi mimari eserleri ve kentin bu dönemdeki gelişimini ele alan monografik bir araştırmanın bulunmaması, çalışmanın özgünlüğünü ortaya koymaktadır.
Some Determinations on Anatolian Seljuk Architecture in Kütahya
The city of Kütahya, located on the western border of the Anatolian Seljuk State, was conquered in the years following 1071, when the Seljuks began to settle in Anatolia, due to its location. However, since it was located on the Byzantine border, it constantly changed hands between the Byzantines and the Anatolian Seljuks until the period of Ala al-Din Kayqubad I (1220-1237). The subject of this study is the boundaries of Kütahya during the Seljuk Period, based on the structures built in the city center of Kütahya, which came entirely under the rule of the Anatolian Seljuks in the year 1233, and the location of these structures. Balıklı Mosque and Hıdırlık Masjid with construction inscriptions, date back to the period of Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw II. One of the two Hezâr Dînârî Masjids, which is generally accepted to have been built during the Anatolian Seljuk period, lost its originality, and the Sadeddin Mosque and its sakahane were built in 1870 in place of the other. In addition, based on Evliya Çelebi’s information about Kütahya, it was determined that the Kütahya Grand Mosque was a Seljuk work and, in this context, the identity of Imad al-Din Hezâr Dînârî, one of the Seljuk patrons, was determined. This study focuses on the architectural works of Kütahya from the Anatolian Seljuk period and the physical structure of the city. Anatolian Seljuk period architectural monuments of Kütahya and the absence of a monographic study on the development of the period, the study reveals its originality.
Kütahya is one of the three cities located in the Inner Western Anatolia part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. The old settlement in the city center took place around Kapan Stream, which divides the city into two in the north-south direction. It is known that the first settlement in the city started in ancient times. The name of the city is mentioned for the first time by the ancient geographer Strabon. Strabon mentioned Kütahya as one of the cities of Lesser Phrygia and its name was Kotiaeion. Historical sources indicate that the city dates back to BC. 6. It shows that it was first under the rule of Lydia and then the Persians towards the end of the century. B.C. 4. The city, which was captured by Alexander the Great in the 16th century, was under the rule of the Bithynia and Pergamon kingdoms after his death. B.C. 1. century and AD. 4. It remained under the rule of the Roman Empire for centuries and then came under Byzantine rule. It is known that the city, which became an important bishopric center during the Byzantine period, and the castles, walls and bastions that still exist today, were built during this period. After the Byzantine Period, Anatolian Seljuk rule began in the city. Anatolian Seljuks defeated the Byzantines decisively in Malazgirt in 1071continued their advance in Anatolia and started settlement. In 1075, Kutalmış son Suleyman Shah conquered the region up to Iznik and declared Iznik the capital. The first conquest of Kütahya, which was on the route followed by the Seljuks in order to realize the conquest of Iznik, must have occurred between 1075 and 1078 by the Seljuks. It is accepted that there was a Turkish settlement around Kütahya after the conquest. However, the Crusaders, who captured Iznik in the First Crusade in 1097, came to Eskişehir and although the Seljuk sultan Kilijarslan I tried to stop the progress of the Crusaders there, he was unsuccessful, and the Crusaders from Marmara and Western Anatolia, which is estimated to include Kütahya, it came under Byzantine rule again, having allied with the Anatolian Seljuk. The second conquest of Kütahya by the Seljuks coincides with the Battle of Miryakefolon. It is generally accepted that the third conquest took place during the reign of Ala al-Din Kayqubad I, based on the construction inscription of the Yoncalı Bath built outside the city center, dated 1233. It is known that Kütahya, which constantly changed hands between Byzantine and Seljuk rule, was an important fringe city under Seljuk rule from the early 1230s. The information about this period in Kütahya is quite limited and the fact that the number of buildings that are known from the inscriptions that they were built in this period or that have survived until today is low is insufficient to shed light on the Seljuk period of the city of Kütahya. However, in the light of available data, it is possible to make some determinations about the urban settlement and structures of the period. The earliest known building built during the Seljuk period in the city center dates back to May 1237. This date is one of the years when the Anatolian Seljuks were in their heyday before the 1243 Kösedağ War. For this reason, the possibility that Kütahya, which was a commercial production site of important export materials such as alum and silver, was conquered at this time remains somewhat slim. Kütahya which was on the route followed by the Anatolian Seljuks to conquer Iznik, their first capital, should have been conquered in these years. Karacaviran (Karacaören) Ribat, which was found not in the city center but in settlements close to the center, is the earliest of the Seljuk period works and dates back to 1210. Although this indicates that the Turkish settlement in the city center dates back to the 1230s, considering the construction dates of the existing buildings, it is possible to talk about the existence of a Seljuk settlement around Kütahya before that. However, there is no record or trace of Seljuk settlement in the city center yet. Of the four buildings known to have been built during the Seljuk period, one of them is located where it was built, and the locations of the others are known, although they have lost their original state. The first of the two buildings in the city dated to the Anatolian Seljuk period due to construction inscriptions is Balıklı Mosque, dated 1237. However, since the building was later rebuilt, it lost its original form. The other building is the Hıdırlık Masjid, dated 1243-1244. The building was introduced as a masjid in the construction inscription, and it shows that it has similar features to the masjids of the Seljuks, which had an entrance unit, especially in the capital Konya. However, since the entrance section of the Hıdırlık Masjid was built with an iwan, it has been associated with the tombs with iwan built after it.
There are two other masjids in the city center of Kütahya, the dates of which are unknown, but it is generally accepted that they were built by Imad al-Din Hezâr Dînârî. One of them constitutes the tomb part of the Dönenler Mosque today, and it is known that the Sadettin Mosque was built in its place. In addition, these structures with their current names; are located in Balıklı, Hamidiye, Börekciler and Pirler Districts. Among these neighborhood names, the names of Börekciler, Balıklı and Pirler neighborhoods were also mentioned by Evliya Çelebi. The fact that they are still called by the same name even today shows that the names of the neighborhoods have not changed since the Seljuk period and that settlements exist in these neighborhoods.
The identity of Imad al-Din Hezâr Dînârî, whose name is mentioned as the patron in the works of the Seljuk period in the city center of Kütahya, has not been determined. It is assumed that he lived in Kütahya in the 1230-1240s due to the dates of the buildings he built, and it is accepted that he played an important role in the conquest of Kütahya by the Seljuks in this period and that he was one of the statesmen of the Anatolian Seljuks due to his patron status. The fact that the building, which was the Kütahya Mevlevi Lodge before being converted into the Dönenler Mosque in the city center, was built adjacent to the mosque built by Hezâr Dînârî under his name, caused him to be seen as one of Mevlana’s disciples and a representative of a Mevlevi order that had not yet been institutionalized in Kütahya. However, there is no record of Hezâr Dînârî in the works of Mevlâna and Sultan Veled, and his name is not recorded in the primary sources of this period, Ariflerin Menkıbeleri and İbn Bibi’s memoir.
It is known that the Kütahya Ulu Mosque was built in the Ottoman period due to its inscriptions, Evliya Çelebi’s depiction of the building with wooden poles and E. H. Ayverdi’s publication of a sketch plan of the mosque based on these depictions allowed it to be evaluated within the group of wooden pole mosques built in the Seljuk Period. A mosque with wooden pillars built both during the Early Ottoman period and before that during the Germiyanids period is not yet known. In addition, due to the location where the building was built, it is close to the Seljuk period structures. Therefore, it is probable that a Seljuk mosque featuring wooden columns was constructed where the present-day Ulu Mosque stands. When we look at the architectural works in Kütahya during the Anatolian Seljuk period, it is seen that there are structures built only in the religious architectural group. Of course, it is unthinkable that works from other building groups were not built. It is inevitable that the trade route connecting the capital Konya to Istanbul passes through Kütahya and that structures such as inns and bridges were built on this route. It is only known that there are Eğret, Çakırsaz and Yeniceköy Caravanserais and Üçgöz, Altıntaş and Hacı Hamza Bridges on the road between Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. In addition, it is said that the water of the sakahane, which is located on the lower floor of the Sadettin Mosque today, was brought by Hezâr Dînârî and that he had a masjid built here. Although it is stated in the construction inscription of the mosque that he was buried here after his death, there is no document or record to prove the accuracy of this information. The fact that the Sakhane continues to operate today strengthens the possibility of the existence of a water system built by Hezâr Dînârî.
As a result, due to its geopolitical location, Kütahya was both a frontier city and was located on the trade routes connecting from Konya, the capital of the Anatolian Seljuks, to Istanbul and the Aegean Region. An attempt was made to describe the city of the period through the existing structures and the structures known to have been built during the Seljuk period.
