The land of beautiful horses : stables in middle Byzantine settlements of Cappadocia
Author(s)
Advisor
Gates, CharlesDate
2008Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
The present work is a study on horses and horse breeding in Middle Byzantine
Cappadocia with special attention being paid to the architectural evidence, namely,
the stables. The major aim here is to test the hypothesis that the landowner magnates
living in monumental rock-cut mansions bred horses in their large stables to supply
their own troops, as well as those of the imperial army. In order to evaluate this
further, this thesis investigates the stables of the elite mansions in three settlements,
Açık Saray, Çanlı Kilise, and Selime-Yaprakhisar. The architecture of the stables is
discussed along with their possible functions and meanings. Architectural data is
supplemented by literary evidence on horses and horse breeding in the Byzantine
world.