Voices in Stone: The Architectural and Epigraphic Legacy of Ottoman Greece

المؤلفون

الكلمات المفتاحية:

Inscription, Ottoman, Balkan, Greece, Epigraphy

الملخص

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18435625

 Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the surviving inscriptions on Ottoman-era buildings across Greece. The sheer volume of extant inscriptions from the Ottoman period within the region is striking. Employing statistical methodologies, this research systematically surveys a total of 684 inscriptions associated with 343 Ottoman structures distributed throughout Greece. Upon closer examination, these inscriptions represent 1,788 distinct textual records, assessed in terms of language and content. The classification of these inscriptions is presented through two detailed tables accompanied by illustrative charts, which categorise the material according to typology, architectural function, and regional distribution. The criteria employed for this classification encompass linguistic composition, thematic content, patronage, stylistic characteristics, and geographical context. Furthermore, the analysis offers statistically substantiated insights into the distribution and attributes of the inscriptions, shedding light on broader historical and cultural patterns. The paper concludes by proposing a structured methodological framework for the cataloguing and scholarly documentation of Ottoman building inscriptions across Greece.
 

التنزيلات

تنزيل البيانات ليس متاحًا بعد.

المراجع

1. Ameen, A. (2012). The meaning of the Arabic dedicatory inscriptions of the Ottoman monuments of Greece. Journal of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, 1–16.

2. Ameen, A. (2017). Islamic architecture in Greece: Mosques (Foreword by Mostafa El Feki). Alexandria: Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

3. Ameen, A. (2018). Balkanlar’da Osmanlı vakıfları, vakfiyeler Yunanistan. In H. Eren, M. Oğuz, & Z. Mete (Eds.), SHEDET 5, 224–229. https://doi.org/10.36816/shedet.005.15

4. Ameen, A. (2019a). Patrons of Ottoman mosques in Greece reconsidered in light of the Ierapetra Mosque of Crete. Journal of Islamic Architecture, 5(3), 137–144. https://doi.org/10.18860/jia.v5i3.5365

5. Ameen, A. (2019b). The Ottoman architecture in Greece then and now: Quantitative method. SHEDET 6, 88–110. https://doi.org/10.36816/shedet.006.06

6. Ameen, A. (2019c). Bilingual and trilingual inscriptions of the Ottoman buildings in Greece: a search for the history of late ottoman period, Abgadiyat, scientific refereed annual journal, Issue no. 14, Calligraphy Center Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt), 208-243. https://doi.org/10.21608/abgad.2019.140483

7. Ameen, A. (2019d). Towards a corpus of the inscriptions of Ottoman buildings in Greece, Journal of Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences (JAAS), Lupine Publishers, USA, Vol. 1 (Issue 2), 36-46, USA 2019. CorpusoftheinscriptionsGreece.ID.000107

8. Ameen, A. (2020). The significance of the Qur’anic quotation ‘Mā shā' Allāh’ on both Ottoman and Greek heritages in the Balkans,” EJARS Vol. 10 (1), Sohag, 2020, 73-85. DOI: 10.21608/EJARS.2020.98963.

9. Ameen, A. (2021). Ottoman Waqf–Medreses in Greece “Archival & architectural study, Journal of Architecture, Arts and Humanistic Science, Volume 6, Issue 25, 566-597, DOI: 10.21608/MJAF.2020.25255.1534

10. Ameen, A., & Kasem, Y. (2025). The Visual Impact of Colors in Ottoman Inscriptions: A Case Study of the Sultan Bayezid II Mosque in Didymóteichon, Greece. Journal of Islamic Architecture, 8(4), 1012-1021. doi:https://doi.org/10.18860/jia.v8i4.27523 [Accepted]

11. Ameen, A., & El-Hussiny, F. and Benkheira, N., “Islamic Epigraphic Heritage of the Ottoman Balkans: The Case of Didymoteicho (Greece),” Abgadiyat [Under Publishing]

12. Anastasopoulos, A., Kalogirou, E., Kalogirou, K., & Papadaki-Oekland, S. (2016). Project for recording and studying the Islamic tombstones of Ottoman Rethymno. Digital Crete – The Ottoman Centuries – Islamic Tombstones.

13. Blair, S. (1998). Islamic inscriptions. Edinburgh University Press.

http://digitalcrete.ims.forth.gr/tourkology_stele_search.php?l=1

14. Kiel, M. (2002). The quatrefoil plan in Ottoman architecture reconsidered in light of the "Fethiye Mosque" of Athens. Muqarnas, 19, 109–122.

15. Map showing regions of Greece. (2025, May 10). https://www.greek-islands-ferries.gr/ferry_GREECE.htm

16. Morsy, M and Ameen, A. (2024) Collective Waqf and its Role in Sponsoring the Ottoman Mosques and Medreses in Greece Late 13th H/19th and Beginning 14th H/20th Centuries. Civilized and Archival Study, Journal of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Vol. 16, Issue 27, Cairo University, 1363-1393. DOI: 10.21608/JARCH.2024.333288

17. Yapar, B. (2007). Yunanistan’daki Türk eserlerinde kitabeler (Dedeağaç, Dimetoka, İskeçe, Gümülcine, Selanik, Kavala, Yenice-Karasu) (Master’s thesis). Mimar Sinan University, Institute of Social Sciences, Istanbul.

18. Αξιώτης, Μ. (1994). Βρύσες στη Λέσβο. Εταιρία Αιολικών Μελετών.

منشور

2025-06-30

كيفية الاقتباس

Voices in Stone: The Architectural and Epigraphic Legacy of Ottoman Greece. (2025). َQalamos Heritage Studies, 1(1), 26-37. https://qalampk.nl/index.php/ojs_files/article/view/2