Architectural Distinctiveness of the 15th Century Ottoman Tombs in Skopje: Learning from the Recent Archeological Excavation

Abstract

Grave structures are architectural works reflecting the cultural accumulation, continuity and political power of societies. In addition, graveyards or necropolises and grave structures themselves, have an important contribution in shaping urban forms of cities. This article aims to evaluate the impact of crypted tombs (mezar odalı türbe), originating from the Kurgan culture of the Turks, in shaping the urban morphology of Skopje, as a Turkish city during the 15th century. Crypted tombs, which are very few in the Balkan geography, are a type of tombs mostly built during the Seljuk and Early Ottoman periods. The rich architectural forms and local aesthetic qualities of tombs have attracted a lot of research attention. As a result, tomb typology was defined by classifying the tombs according to the architectural peculiarities such as plan, volume shape, roofing system and applied materials. For the purpose of this paper, available sources were examined and the typology for six crypted tombs of Skopje was prepared. In addition, the archive documents describing the immediate surroundings of the tombs were examined, and the confusion of information about the tombs was clarified. After the definitions and typology of the tombs were determined, the locations of these tombs in the city of Skopje were defined, confirming the urban development approach applied since the Early Ottoman period. This paper relies on the results of Archaeological Excavation and Research Project of the Pasha Yiğit Bey Tomb, which was done under the auspices of the Şarık TARA, in Skopje, during which three crypted tombs were found beside the previously known ones. In this study, the tombs unearthed as a result of archaeological excavations are defined in the context of the 15th century Early Ottoman city structure. The crypted tombs found in Skopje are discussed for the first time in this study.