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Chiliocomum: the ''Plain of a Thousand

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Chiliocomum: the ''Plain of a Thousand CHILIOCOMUM: THE ‘’PLAIN OF A THOUSAND VILLAGES’’ EXAMINING THE RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN NW OF AMASYA DURING THE HELLENISTIC AND THE ROMAN PERIODS BY USING GIS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY COŞKU KOCABIYIK IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SETTLEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY JUNE 2009 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences ___________________ Prof. Dr. Sencer Ayata Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. __________________ Prof. Dr. Numan Tuna Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. ____________________________ Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas (METU, SA) ________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Lale Özgenel (METU, ARCH) _____________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Evangelia Piskin (METU, SA) ________________ I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Coşku, KOCABIYIK Signature: iii ABSTRACT CHILIOCOMUM, THE ‘’PLAIN OF A THOUSAND VILLAGES’’: INVESTIGATION OF THE RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN NW OF AMASYA DURING THE HELLENISTIC AND THE ROMAN PERIODS BY USING GIS Kocabıyık, Coşku M. Sc., Department Of Settlement Archaeology Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas June 2009, 97 Pages The territory of Pontus once occupied by the Mithridatic Kingdom in the Hellenistic Period and fell under the Roman Empire in the first century B.C., layed between the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea) and the northern edge of the Anatolian plateau. In his Geography Strabo describes Pontus with a detailed account of the settlements. In his description of his hometown Amaseia (Amasya today), he mentions a plain with 1000 villages called Chiliocomum. Indeed, the archaeological survey data indicates that there were a large number of settlements dating to the Hellenistic and the Roman period in this region. The aim of this thesis is to quantify the settlement - environment relationship and to investigate and compare settlement patterns in the Hellenistic and Roman periods by using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Data sets are used in the study includes a settlement database, topography, road network, soil and current landuse which were spatially analysed in GIS. Raster analyses, proximity analyses and density analyses are conducted in order to understand and compare site distribution and landuse. The results of the GIS analyses revealed that settlements were located in particular areas of the landscape. Some of these areas continued to be settled from the Hellenistic through the Roman period, while others were abandoned and alternative iv landscapes have replaced them. The results of the various analyses were utilized to discuss issues related to the shift in the political power and the socio-political structure in the region from the Hellenistic and to the Roman period. Keywords: Settlement Archaeology, Pontus, Mithradates, Hellenistic, Roman, GIS in Archaeology v ÖZ CHILIOCOMUM,BİN KÖYLÜ OVA:AMASYANIN KUZEY BATISINDA, HELENİSTİK VE ROMA DÖNEMİ YERLEŞİM DÜZENİNDE MEYDANA GELEN DEĞİŞİKLİKLER Kocabıyık, Coşku Yüksek Lisans: Yerleşim Arkeolojisi Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas Haziran 2009, 97 pages Mithridat Krallığı, Karadeniz ve Kuzey Anadolu platosunun arasında yer almaktadır. Hellenistik Dönemdeki Mithridat Krallığı, M.Ö. 1. Yüzyılda Roma İmparatorluğunun egemenliği altına girmiştir. Strabo bölgedeki yerleşimlerle ilgili detaylı bilgi vermektedir. Mithridat Krallığı’na bir dönem başkentlik yapan ve Roma dönemi önemli yerleşimlerinden biri olan Amasya’yı anlatırken, ‘’Chilliocomum’’ adı altında ‘’bin köylü bir ova’’tasvir etmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı bahsi geçen ovadaki Helenistik ve Roma dönemi yerleşim dağılımlarını incelemek ve de yerleşimlerin topoğrafya ile ilişkisinin Coğrafi Bilgi Sistemi (CİS) kullanarak saptamaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, yerleşim, Roma yolları, topoğrafya, toprak ve bugünkü arazi kullanım veri kümeleri oluşturulmuştur. Bu veri tabanları kullanılarak, raster, yoğunluk ve uzaklık analizleri yapılmıştır. Sonuçlar, Helenistik ve Roma dönemindeki yerleşimlerin, bazı yerlerde süreklilik gösterdiği, bazı bölgelern terk edildiği ve alternatif alanlar seçildiğini ortaya koymuştur. Bu analizler doğrultusunda, bahsi geçen dönemler arasında siyasal iktidarın değişimi ve sosyopolitik düzenle bağlantılı olarak tartışılmış ve öneriler sunulmuştur. Anahtar kelimeler: Yerleşim Arkeolojisi, Pontus, Mithridat, Helenistik, Roma, CBS vi To my beloved parents, Tülay and İbrahim Kocabıyık vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge my gratitude, To my advisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas who supported me endlessly throughout my graduate studies in archaeology by giving me perspective as well as initiative. I am thankful to her for accommodating me throughout my elongated writing process. I was lost most of the times, poking her at last minutes. Incredibly she tolerated me and never gave up on me. It has been my good fortune to be able to study with her. To my committee members, Assist. Prof. Dr. Evangelia Pişkin and Assist Prof Dr. Lale Özgenel; for their understanding, support and valuable contributions. To Prof Dr. Vedat Toprak; for giving me his valuable time and for sharing his valuable comments during this thesis. To my dear friend Mert Burnaz; for the technical aid and giving me his precious time and teaching me a lot of things. If he was not there, GIS would be a big problem for me. To Aydın Babacan and Erkan Öksüz from Yeşilırmak Basin Development Union; for their assistance in finding and comprehending the information I gathered for this study. To my friend Emine Sökmen for her efforts to help me, trying to find something that she can do for me and sharing all her valuable archaeological knowledge with me. To İlknur Urkun and Derya Silibolatlaz; for always being there for me, whenever and wherever I needed it. I am thankful to them for their friendship and caring about my stressful mood and always putting a smile on my face. viii To Sezen Kayhan for her arrivals to Ankara and being a movie guru. She has created sweet breaks and pulling me out of the reality of thesis by her discussion topics and stories. To my angels, Bilge Ar, Enise Burcu, Evrim Pekyavuz and Dijana Omeragic for being always online for me. They have always encouraged me to finish my thesis. You were far away but too close. To Özgecan Yarma and Arda Aydın for their magical skills who always make me feel like home in Ankara and parenting me throughout my nightmares and daydreams. To Burçin Türkmenoğlu, for his endless support while also being a computer wizard and helping me in every step of my thesis with his computer skills. He has absorbed all my stressful moments, guarding me in the sleepless nights. He has tried to make it fun, happy and less stressful in every respect. I owe all my accomplishments to the best family one can have, my mother Tülay, my father İbrahim, my sister Özgün and my very special grandparents Ali Rıza and Seher. They are always the greatest support ever in every step of my life, I cannot imagine doing this without them. I am fully aware of how fortunate I am to have them. They have always given me opportunity for everything I ever wanted to do ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ...................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... iv ÖZ ......................................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. xiii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ xiv LIST OF MAPS .................................................................................................. xvi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.Purpose and Scope .......................................................................................... 1 II. GEOGRAPHY and ECOLOGY ....................................................................... 3 2.1. Location of the Study Area ..................................................................... 3 2.2. Topography of the Study Area ............................................................... 4 2.3. Geology and Mineral Sources ................................................................ 5 2.4. Climate and Vegetation .......................................................................... 7 2.5. Agricultural Productivity ........................................................................ 7 2.6. Historical Geography .............................................................................
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