Conference Presentations by Furkan Çağlan
Bilkent History Graduate Symposium, 2024
This paper aims to examine the transformation of the urban identity of the Late Byzantine cities ... more This paper aims to examine the transformation of the urban identity of the Late Byzantine cities from the late 12th century to the early 14th century through the analysis of Byzantine lead seals and coins. After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the Byzantine Empire was divided between the successor states based in former imperial provincial centers like Nicaea, Trebizond, Arta, and Thessaloniki. Former Constantinopolitan aristocratic families like the Komnenoi, the Doukas, and the Laskarids ruled those successor states. Meanwhile, some local usurpers established short-lived city-states in the provincial cities, like Theodore Mangaphes in Philadelphia and Theodore Branas in Adrianople. Most of the seals and coins were issued by these newly established authorities. Sigillographic and numismatic evidence helped express a sense of civic identity as encouraged by the dynastic families and urban elites. Although the abovementioned cities did not become politically autonomous or proper city-states like in Italy, they developed peculiar legal customs and a sense of belonging to an urban community. Often, seals and coins also entail real imperial claims rooted in the loyalty of these individuals to their cities, as shown by religious and secular symbols, iconography, and inscriptions they contain. For example, on most of the Thessalonian seals and coins, St. Demetrios, the city's patron saint, and the city walls were portrayed to harness the saint to the city symbolically, ask for his protection over the city, and emphasize his supernatural authority. In this light, the paper first aims to present the historical background of the reasons why imperial claims developed among the dynastic family members and local urban elites. Second, it will explain how the iconography of seals and coins helps to shed light on a new sense of belonging that was actively supported by the new dynastic imperial families and their urban elites.
Bilkent History Graduate Symposium , 2023
This paper focuses on the two capital cities of Byzantine successor states in Anatolia, Nicaea, a... more This paper focuses on the two capital cities of Byzantine successor states in Anatolia, Nicaea, and Trebizond, in the post-1204 period until the recapture of Constantinople from the Latins. These two cities are examined by comparing their urban and social transformation since both cities had imperial claims toward regaining Constantinople. Therefore, this paper first attached the importance of the date of 1204 for the Byzantine world and how the Byzantine political entities and people managed to survive in exile. For this reason, it investigates the theme of exile and imperial aspirations of these successor states impacted on the urban, social, and cultural transformation process between 1204 and 1261. By examining the structures and buildings, such as newly built churches and walls, the paper compares and contrasts the urban changes of Nicaea and Trebizond in the light of the imperial claims. Hence, this paper aims to convey the results of the imperial image that the Laskarids and Grand Komnenos had created to regain Constantinople to the urban landscape of the cities in both Trebizond and Nicaea. Although these cities already had a solid background, this paper especially emphasizes that the urban transformation process of Nicaea and Trebizond during this period of exile played an essential role in gaining a new identity for both cities
Papers by Furkan Çağlan
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Conference Presentations by Furkan Çağlan
Papers by Furkan Çağlan