Iconography of Turkish nomads' art

The Scythians and the Huns from the nomadic ensembles, which have been effectively seen on the stage of history since the Early Iron Age, are important nomadic communities that have marked the Eurasian steppes in cultural and political terms. As a need of the necessities of nomadic life, these nomadic communities, which displaced their existence and struggled with other communities, ruled the steppes from China in the east to the Danube in the west. These communities, which have created their own unique Animal Style in their art, have taken their cultures and beliefs everywhere they go. As they were affected by the local cultures in the regions they passed through, they influenced the local people with their own culture and arts. In this thesis, it is aimed to make re-iconographic analysis of some selected art works about the beliefs of the nomadic Turkish communities, Scythians and Huns and their reflections of their beliefs on their art. The information needed to make the iconographic analyzes can only be obtained from the archaeological finds from their graves and from the written sources left by their resident neighbours. Detailed descriptions of the selected works were made first, and then iconographic analyzes were made in comparison with previous studies and evaluations. The study was concluded with a general evaluation of the works. Key words: Scythians, Huns, Iconography, Nomadic Art, Animal Style