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Journals / Cihannüma Tarih ve Coğrafya Araştırmaları Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 12 Sayı: 1

THE TWO-HANDLED DRINKING VESSELS AS AN INDICATOR FOR POSSIBLE EXPANSION OF THE MEDES INTO CENTRAL ANATOLIA

Orta Anadolu’daki Olası Med Yayılımının Bir Göstergesi Olarak Çift Kulplu İçki Kapları

Okan Sezer, Fatih Çongur

Pages
349–372
Publication Date
2026-07-22
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Abstract

The Medes, whose presence has not been conclusively identified yet in the archaeological record, are documented in ancient Greek historiography as having influenced a vast region stretching from the Iranian Plateau in the east to the Kızılırmak Bend in the west. However, their political organization and short governance over this vast region remain poorly understood. Additionally, the possible archaeological materials related to the political and cultural aspects of the expansion of the Medes have regrettably not been improved. This paper intends to investigate the form of a two-handled drinking vessel (“tankard”) dated to the Middle-Late Iron Ages, which seems to demonstrate significant potential for understanding the expansion of the Medes, in the context of the changing border and political structure of the expansion. By analyzing “tankard” found in the Kızılırmak Bend, which are considered to descended from the East, alongside written sources and other archaeological evidence, we suggest that the Delice River, rather than Kızılırmak River, marks the westernmost extent of Median political and cultural expansion into Central Anatolia.

Özet

Arkeolojik anlamda herkesi ikna edecek düzeyde kimlik kazandırılamayan Medler, Eski Yunan tarihçiliğinden gelen bilgilere göre doğuda İran platosundan batıda Kızılırmak kavsine değin uzanan geniş coğrafyada söz sahibi olmuşlardır. Ancak, bu geniş coğrafya üzerindeki kısa süreli egemenlikleri ve egemenliklerinin şekli detaylı ve eksiksiz tanımlanabilmiş değildir. Dahası Med yayılımının politik ve kültürel boyutunu tartışabileceğimiz olası arkeolojik malzeme grupları genişletilememiştir. Bu çalışma, yayılımın anlaşılması adına güçlü bir yan taşıyan Orta-Geç Demir Çağlarına tarihli iki kulplu bir içki kap formunu (“tankard”) yayılımın değişen sınırları ve politik yapısı bağlamında incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Tarihi kaynaklar ve diğer arkeolojik kanıtlarla birlikte, Kızılırmak kavsinde bulunan ancak ilk kez kavsin doğusunda ortaya çıktığı anlaşılan “tankard” kap grubunu ortaya koyarak, Medlerin Orta Anadolu’ya doğru ilerlettikleri politik ve kültürel yayılımın en batı ucunu Kızılırmak yerine onun bir kolu olan Delice Irmağı’nın çizdiğini önermekteyiz.

Keywords
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Cite This Article

Sezer, O., Çongur, F. (2026). THE TWO-HANDLED DRINKING VESSELS AS AN INDICATOR FOR POSSIBLE EXPANSION OF THE MEDES INTO CENTRAL ANATOLIA. Cihannüma Tarih ve Coğrafya Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt: 12 Sayı: 1, 349–372. https://doi.org/10.30517/cihannuma.1863652

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