Mustafa Semavi Eyice (9 December 1922 in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

– 28 May 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey) was a Turkish art historian and archaeologist, who specialised in the study of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and Ottoman art in

. Professor Eyice is widely regarded as the pioneer of

Byzantine studies Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. T ...

in Turkey.

Early life

Born on 9 December 1922 at

Kadıköy Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea o ...

, Istanbul, to parents originating from

Amasra Amasra (from Greek Amastris Ἄμαστρις, ''gen''. Ἀμάστριδος) is a small Black Sea port town in the Bartın Province, Turkey, formerly known as Amastris. The town today is much appreciated for its beaches and natural setting, ...

, he grew up in Istanbul, where he attended the primary and secondary French schools in

district, and graduated in 1943 from the Galatasaray Lisesi in Beyoğlu. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to learn the language. During the war years he attended in two different periods lectures in archeology, history and art history respectively at the Universities of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(at that time heavily bombed). In 1945, he was forced to leave Berlin, and was evacuated to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and Sweden. In the same year, he returned to Turkey to undertake the study of art history at Istanbul University, where he graduated in 1948 under Ernst Diez with a thesis on the minarets of Istanbul. He then worked as a research assistant in the Department of Art History, and earned his doctorate in 1952 with the work ''Side'nin Bizans Dönemine Ait Yapıları'' ( en, Buildings of the Byzantine era in

Side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Greece * Side (Caria), a town of an ...

). In 1955, he was appointed associate professor after publishing his work ''Istanbul’da Son Devir Bizans Mimarisi'' ( en, Architecture of the late Byzantine age in Istanbul). In the same year, Semavi Eyice published ''Istanbul, Petit guide à travers les monuments byzantins et turcs'' ( en, italic=yes, Istanbul, a small guide to Byzantine and Turkish landmarks), a book which is still among the most cited works in the field of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

's art history.

Academic career

After founding the Byzantine Art Department at İstanbul University in 1963, he was appointed the next year first full professor of the newly established chair. In the course of his academic career he has lectured at numerous institutions, including Ankara

Hacettepe University Hacettepe University is a leading state university in Ankara, Turkey. It was established on 8 July 1967. It is ranked first among the Turkish universities by URAP in 2021. The university has two main campuses. The first campus is in the old t ...

and Istanbul

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University The Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University ( tr, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, or MSGSÜ) is a Turkish public university dedicated to higher education in the fine arts. It is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, Istanbul ...

, and abroad at the ''Ėcole des Hautes Ėtudes'', the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and the Universities of

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

and

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

. In addition to his teaching activity, he has engaged in archaeological field research in various places including the region of

Binbirkilise Binbirkilise (literally: Thousand and One Churches) is a region in the antique Lycaonia, in modern Karaman Province of Turkey, known for its around fifty Byzantine church ruins. The region is located on the northern slopes of the volcano Kara ...

in south-central Anatolia, various Byzantine settlements around

Silifke Silifke ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia'', la, Seleucia ad Calycadnum) is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova. Silifke is near the Mediterranean co ...

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

(among them Karakabaklı), and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. Since 1946 he has published 15 books and more than 500 papers and contributions to encyclopedic works, and until his death he has been fully active in research and teaching. His library, containing more than 30,000 rare editions and books dealing not only with Byzantine history and art, but also with Islamic, Turkish and Ottoman history, art and literature, is now hosted by the Istanbul Research Institute. In addition to his main scientific field in Byzantine art and archaeology, and Turkish art in the Ottoman era, he has done research on foreign painters and travellers who visited Turkey, and has also studied the traces left by the Genoese in Turkey. Professor Eyice was a member of several research organizations, including the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

. In 1955, he received the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Medal from the Académie de France, and in the same year he was awarded the Prize of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. In 2011,

President of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national govern ...

Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th President of Turkey, in office from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently served as bo ...

awarded Prof. Eyice with the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Prix. Semavi Eyice was appointed

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1990. He has been married to Kamran Yalgın since 1954.

Selected works

*''Istanbul, Petit guide à travers les monuments byzantins et turcs'' Istanbul: Istanbul Matbaası, 1955 *''Son devir Bizans mimarisi: Istanbul'da Palaiologos'lar devri anıtları'' Istanbul, 1963 *''Recherches archéologiques à Karadağ (Binbirkilise) et dans la région de Karaman'' Istanbul, 1971 *''İstanbul yazıları.'' Istanbul: Türkiye Turing ve Otomobil Kurumu, 1992, . *''Some Byzantine towns in Cilicia Tracheia'' In ''150 years of German Archaeological Institute'', Mainz 1981, pp. 204–209. A complete bibliography of his publications can be found at *

References

External links

Other works of Semavi Eyice

Publications at the Common Library Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyice, Semavi 1922 births 2018 deaths Archaeologists from Istanbul Turkish art historians Turkish Byzantinists Istanbul University alumni Academic staff of Istanbul University Galatasaray High School alumni 20th-century Turkish historians 21st-century Turkish historians Historians of Byzantine art Byzantine archaeologists Turkish expatriates in Germany