ILKHANID COINS FOUND IN PISIDIA ANTIOKHEIA

Abstract

The ancient city of Pisidia Antiokheia, located in the Lakes Region, had not lost its military and strategic importance from the Early Iron Age to the end of the Anatolian principalities, as it was located at the crossroads of the roads connecting the Mediterranean to Central Anatolia. In addition, the post-Byzantine archaeological and epigraphic data of the city, which served as the cross center of Phrygia, Pisidia and adjacent zones from the early times, are still quite insufficient. In this study, the coins unearthed during the excavations in the Pisidia Antiokheia Men Temple and Sanctuary in 2021, the area where these coins were found, and the Seljuk and Principalities Period were evaluated. In this context, in order to provide precise information, the find area, the history and geography of the region were also briefly mentioned. The Temple and the Sanctuary, where the coins were unearthed, lived their most glorious times during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods. It maintained its importance until the end of the 4th century AD, when Christianity became the official religion of the Byzantine State. After this date, with the church built next to the temple, the new religion completely dominated the area, and this place was transformed into a Christian sanctuary. There are also watchtowers built before the temple in the area where the temple was built. These towers are in a position dominating Yalvaç and Şarkikaraağaç Plains on a 1600 m high mountain, at the point where the road from Central Anatolia to the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea is best controlled. Although there are no monumental structures belonging to the Seljuk and Principalities Periods in the area where the coins were found, traces of these civilizations can be found in other castles in the region. While the coins found in situ in the Sanctuary of Men document that the area was used actively during the Ilkhanids (Anatolian Principalities) Period, it also brings to mind the possibility that it was also used before the Ilkhanids.