SEEKING THE UNIVERSAL GOD: THEOS HYPSISTOS CULT IN BLACK SEA AND ANATOLIAN CITIES

Year 2018, Issue: 21, 1 - 20, 20.12.2018

Onur Sadık Karakuş

Abstract

Theos Hypsistos known as The Supreme God has attracted attention as a cult since the time of the first researches until now. In conclusion to the curiosity for the Ancient Civilizations, inscriptions, starting at 19th Century, about that cult are found and according to those inscriptions it has been said that there were a unique religious system which had a tendency to monotheism. Those monotheist elements held in the system, not being able to answer the questions about the society and its origin and most importantly being worshipped in lots of different region caused that the cult to be chosen as a research topic. According to that, places which have the examples of the cult in an intense way like the cities in Anatolia and the West and North Black Sea region seen as an Roman state and protectorate in the Roman Sovereignty are taken as a center to the research. Main subject of this study is that the cult Theos Hypsistos can be divided as both cultural and regional parts. To be easily understood, details about the Theos Hypsistos cult which are in the cities that is in this study are compared.

Keywords

Theos Hypsistos, Black Sea, Anatolia, Monotheism, Roman Empire

Karadeniz ve Anadolu Kentlerinde Theos Hypsistos Kültü

Abstract

Theos Hypsistos yani En Yüce Tanrı, ilk araştırmalardan günümüze
kadar üzerinde pek çok tartışmanın yapıldığı bir kült olarak dikkat
çekmektedir. Antikçağ uygarlıklarına duyulan merak sonucu, 19.yüzyıldan
başlayarak söz konusu külte dair yazıtlar Doğu Akdeniz ve Karadeniz’deki pek çok
bölgede ele geçirilmiş ve bunlardan hareketle Antikçağ dünyasında monoteist
eğilimler gösteren, özgün bir dini yapının var olduğu dile getirilmiştir. İçinde
barındırdığı monoteist unsurlar, kökeni ve tapınımına ilişkin pek çok sorunun
cevaplanamamış olması ve en önemlisi onlarca farklı bölgede tapınım görmesi söz
konusu kültün araştırma konusu olarak seçilmesine neden olmuştur. Bu bağlamda külte
dair örnekleri en yoğun şekilde barındıran, Roma eyaleti veya bağlaşığı olarak
Roma Egemenlik sahasında kalan Batı ve Kuzey Karadeniz bölgesi ile Anadolu’daki
çeşitli kentler çalışmanın merkezine alınmıştır.

Keywords

Theos Hypsistos, Karadeniz, Anadolu, Monoteizm, Roma İmparatorluğu, Din, Anadolu, Monoteizm, Roma İmparatorluğu

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