OBSCURE TOMBS OF ANATOLIAN SELJUKS IN AKSARAY

The city, which was rebuilt entirely by Qilich Arslan II, the Sultan of Anatolian Seljuks, had rapidly thrived since it was a military base and also located at the intersection of main trade routes. The golden era of Aksaray during the Seljuks period began to fade following the K？seda？ War; the chaotic environment in the Beyliks (small Turkish emirates) period and displacement of certain people in order to Turkize and Islamize the new capital city of Ottomans led the city of Aksaray to collapse. Numerous tombs built in that period were destroyed because of some problems such as invasion, plunder, riot; the remaining ones were demolished for the sake of nothing. Four tombs belonging to that period, which are still extant despite all these negative circumstances or were detected before its demolition, have been included in the scope of the study. One of those does not exist today. The sites of cemetery subsist only in two tombs at the city center. The tomb in the town of Topakkaya has managed to remain standing by virtue of restoration, partially loyal to its original state though. The buildings, except the Anonymous Tomb, are not known very well in the academic circles. This article aims to present the obscure tombs of Anatolian Seljuks in Aksaray