The dissertation analyses how architecture represents sacred realities. The main focus is on Tīmūrid architecture as an instrument to legitimize extreme and universal power. The four-īwān plan is... Show moreThe dissertation analyses how architecture represents sacred realities. The main focus is on Tīmūrid architecture as an instrument to legitimize extreme and universal power. The four-īwān plan is examined as a dynastic architectural tool marking the centre of the world, from which power spreads along the cardinal points to all corners of the macrosomos. Kosh examples of Tīmūrid mosques, madrasas and tombs are used to illustrate this approach. The concept of recreating Paradise on earth is further developed in line with dynastic supremacy and the role of the ruler as cosmocrator. The geographical focus is on Transoxania (present-day Uzbekistan) and partly on Khurasan (present-day Afghanistan). The four-īwān plan was a power statement, rediscovered by the subsequent ruler trying to relate his power to a previous undisputed chief patron. Since the Tīmūrids fostered good relations with the Sufi community, the four-īwān compounds were a symbolically acceptable setting both for the Sufi orders and for the ‘ulamā’. That is why, the four-īwān plan can be seen as an architectural representation both of the cosmologies of Sufism and of orthodox Islam. For the first time, the four-iwan plan is discussed in terms of the hierophanic and architectural palimpsest. This approach offers comparative analysis with Buddhist and Hindu cross-axial monuments, encompassing the current theories that regard the four-īwān plan only as a strictly Islamic phenomena. Show less
This thesis deals with the record management of the Hittite Empire (ca. 1650-1180 BCE). Starting point is the clay tablet itself: its physical features and its colophon. In the Hittite capital... Show moreThis thesis deals with the record management of the Hittite Empire (ca. 1650-1180 BCE). Starting point is the clay tablet itself: its physical features and its colophon. In the Hittite capital Hattusa altogether some 30,000 tablets and mostly tablet fragments have been found on several locations. These tablets span the whole period of the Empire and hold various text genres, ranging from historical texts, letters and inventories to oracle inquiries and festival descriptions. This research has analyzed the physical characteristics of the Hittite tablets. As has been demonstrated, certain conventions regarding their shape and layout surely existed, which could depend on the content of the composition, as well as the time period in which the tablet was written. The research further includes a text edition and analysis of the Hittite colophon, a subscript found at the end of the composition containing metadata of the composition, such as the title, scribe and series number of the tablet. Both the distribution and the content of these colophons are very consistent they are likely to have played a crucial role in the organization of the Hittite tablet collections. Show less
