Bull depictions in Anatolian Middle Iron Age civilizations

The subject of our thesis work titled "Bull Depictions In Anatolian Middle Iron Age Civilizations" is the works of art with bull depictions in the art of Anatolian Middle Iron Age civilizations and depicted between 900-600 BC. This study; to make iconographic and typhological analyzes of the bull depictions on the Works of art belonging to the Urartian, Neo-Hittite, Phrygian, Lydian and Lycian civilizations, to reveal the dimensions of cultural and artistic interaction between civilizations as a result of these analyzes, and to reveal the bull-depicted works with the socio-cultural position of the bull aims to be evaluated as a whole. Another goal that is planned to be revealed as a result of the study is to collect all the data related to the artistic and cultural identity of the bull figure under a single research title. In this context, examinations were made on 277 works obtained as a result of literature searches, taking into account the cultural meanings that civilizations ascribe to the bull figure. As a result of these examinations, it has been understood that the figure of the bull is culturally related to many different concepts of religious, royal, economic and astrological nature. Bull figures in works of art; It can be depicted as a stand-alone figure as well as as mythological creatures with bull limbs combined in various ways. It has been determined that the bulls are mostly engraved with divine thoughts on the works of art on which they are depicted. In addition, there are also works in which the bull is depicted to represent a king or (Taurus ) constellation, as well as godly thoughts. It is seen that the artistic and cultural position of the bull figure in the Iron Age civilizations reflects a deep-rooted artistic and cultural tradition in Anatolia since the Neolithic Period. Artifacts depicting bulls contain many local and foreign art elements belonging to societies dated before and after the Iron Age. This situation is important in terms of showing that Anatolian Iron Middle Age civilizations were in interaction with different cultures.