Mardin Ulu Cami Üzerine Yeni Görüşler

Abstract

One of the most ancient mosques in Anatolia is the Great Mosque of Mardin. Various opinions about the construction date and architectural building of the mosque which is one of the most beautiful archetypes of Artuqid art were propounded. It is reckoned that it had a long construction period because of 16 inscriptions on the mosque. Although it was claimed in resources that the mosque had two minarets, it has not been accepted definitely by researchers and considered conspicuously. The buildings in Mardin were written by Prof. Dr. Ara Altun and his opinions are widely accepted. According to his opinions, the mosque was built in XI. century in the Seljuk Period considering the oldest inscription of the mosque and it took its present form the earliest in the last quarter of XII. century. On the other hand, this claim is not exact according to the waqfiyya. The waqfiyya asserts that the mosque was built by the Artuqid Sultan of Kutbettin İlgazi at once. Waqfiyya is dated to 573/1178. On the body of minaret, the date of 572/1176 can be read. It demonstrates that the mosque was completed in 1176 and its waqfiyya was engineered in 1178. Its waqfiyya reveals that the mosque had a backyard, two minarets and an independent madrasah. In addition, it is stated in the waqfiyya that there were shops on the north of the mosque. In this study, it will be dwelled on the date problem of the mosque in the light of present new information and the waqfiyya. Also, it will be attempted to reveal the original form of the mosque taking into consideration the remnants from the original texture of the building, the documents related to the mosque and the waqfiyya.