On üçüncü yüzyılda Geç Bizans Anadolu şehirlerinin kentsel dönüşümü

This thesis examines the urban transformation of Late Byzantine Anatolian cities in the thirteenth century, a period that was characterized by political fragmentation after the emergence of two successor states – the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of Trebizond after the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and the frontier politics between the Byzantines and the Rum Seljuqs. This study explores the reactions and adaptations of cities in Anatolia in the thirteenth century to changing socio-political, economic and cultural factors such as the loss of imperial power after the Fourth Crusade, military threats, particularly from the Rum Seljuqs and nomadic Turks, growing commercial ties, and cross-cultural interactions on the frontier, focusing on four different cities – Nicaea, Trebizond, Laodicaea, and Ephesos. Using an interdisciplinary approach, combining a wealth of literary sources with material sources, and utilizing historical geography, this study uses a comparative and thematic approach to demonstrate the urban transformation resulting from the responses of these four cities to the socio-political, economic and cultural changes of this period. Also, this thesis considers the functions of these cities within the framework of being an 'imperial' capital and strategically located, particularly on the border, and having commercial and religious nuclei. The choice of selecting case studies from different geographies allows for an understanding of the development of frontier dynamics, influenced by topographic and geopolitical changes, imperial legitimacy and cross-cultural interactions. Considering all these, the thesis argues the urban transformation of Late Byzantine Anatolia cities emphasized their adaptations and reactions to the circumstances in the thirteenth century, paving the way for the transition from Byzantine city to Turkish city in the fourteenth century.