Anasay

Öz

From the past to the present day, mankind has accepted the fact that death

is a part of life. Considering the cultural characteristics of the religion that he believes

and the society that he lives in, he has built and still been building tombs

and mausoleums depending on the pecuniary and social status of the decedent.

While the death is regarded as an end and disappearance in some societies,

the Turks (because of Göktürks’ beliefs) have not considered it as the end

of life, but rather as a passage to a new life. This belief has become more meaningful

with the adoption of Islam.

The first Turkish mausoleums are the Kurgans (Cairns, burial mounds),

where the body of the decedent and his/her valuable belongings are buried in

a room under a mound of a hill, and whose existence had started to be known

in the era of the Huns. After the Huns, the “Bengütaş”s (eternal stone), which

can be called as the first tombstones, and “Balbal”s (Kurgan stelae, handmade

statues) around them were settled in the era of Göktürks. In the era of Uyghurs,

stupas, which are considered as the first domed tomb architecture examples,

were observed.

Mausoleums and gravestones are seen all over the Anatolia. It is known

that, particularly the decedent common people are buried in areas called cemeteries,

while mausoleums have been built for statesmen and important persons.

Around the constructed mausoleums (in its cemetery), the family members

and close relatives of the person, who lies under it, are buried. One of

the examples reflecting this situation is the grave stones found in Abdurrahman

Pasha Mausoleum and Cemetery, which is in the baldachin form, located in the

Belen District of Hatay Province.

Nine grave stones located in Abdurrahman Pasha Mausoleum and its cemetery

were examined in this study.