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Identifier 000462472
Title Λουτρικές εγκαταστάσεις του Ηρακλείου : συμβολή στη μελέτη του αστικού βίου (8ος-12ος αι.) / Ζαχαρίας Αλετράς.
Alternative Title Bathing establishments of Heraclion : a contribution to the study of urban life (8th-12th century)
Author Αλετράς, Ζαχαρίας
Thesis advisor Τσιγωνάκη Χριστίνα
Reviewer Κιουσοπούλου Αντωνία
Φωσκόλου Βασιλική
Θεοδωρακόπουλος Ιωάννης
Μαΐλης Αθανάσιος
Μαμαλούκος Σταύρος
Μαργαρίτη Ρωξάνη
Abstract The subject of this doctoral thesis is the study of four bathing installations (baths A, B, C, D), which were partially revealed during rescue excavations in the historical center of the city of Heraklion in Crete. They belong to the serial raw type which is a building complex centered on the succession of dressing room, cold room, tepid room and hot room (apodyterium-frigidarium-tepidarium-caldarium) which ensured the gradation of heat in a fixed route. The chronological framework of the research lies between the 8th and 12th century. The focus of this study lies on the continuity of bathing culture in the medieval capital of Crete, as an integral aspect of everyday life. The thesis is divided into two volumes, the first incorporates the main study in four chapters, and the second includes maps, drawings, and images. The first chapter presents an overview of the history of Heraklion during Early Byzantine, Islamic, and 2nd Byzantine periods, with an emphasis on its transformation from the port «ἐπίνειον» of Knossos to the capital of Crete during the Early Byzantine period. The second chapter presents main aspects of the urban development of Heraklion in order to localize the baths within the city, while hypotheses are formulated for the topography of its neighborhoods. The third chapter, which is the axis of the research, presents the detailed description of the architectural remains of the baths of Heraklion. Subsequently, they are compared between them in terms of typology, architectural technology, and structural materials. This chapter leads to the hypothetical design restoration of these bathing installations and concludes that they are classified into tripartite serial type baths. The fourth chapter presents representative cases of baths in the Byzantine and Islamic worlds which are compared to each other and the baths of Heraklion, in order to determine the typological characteristics alongside with the chronology of the latter. Emphasis is placed on the Roman origin of the type, its development in Byzantium, within the context of the Church and the institution of "diaconia" and its adoption by Islam. First, Early Byzantine baths of Crete are presented in important urban centers, such as Gortyna and Eleftherna, and then are described representative baths of Egypt (Mareotis region) and Asia Minor (Amorium). Furthermore, are presented mid-Byzantine baths in Crete and mainland Greece, as they show close typological similarities. Then, the origin of the andalusian conquerors of Crete oriented the research to the Islamic world. Primarily, the study focused on representative baths of the wider Islamic Syria - Bilad al-Sham and al-Andalus with an emphasis on urban centers of the Caliphate such as Córdoba, Madinat al Zahra and Toledo. Finally, the baths of al-Andalus were compared with the baths of Heraklion and were observed significant typological similarities. Recapitulating, this thesis concludes that from the 8th to the 12th century these baths are considered to have a public character as landmarks of city districts following a continuous bathing culture in Crete since Early Byzantine times. Particularly, Bath C (8th – 12th century) is the earliest bathing installation in Heraclion. This bath typologically belongs to a transitional type located between the Early Byzantine and islamic baths of Crete. Furthermore, bath A dates in the end of the 9th founded during Arab occupation of Crete and continued to function until at least the 11th century. Probably it belonged to a neighborhood of merchants, artisans and sailors, since it is located in the vicinity of the Mesi Odos «Μέση Ὀδός», which leaded from the port to the main square –plateia- of the city. Bath B was dated to the same period as bath A and it is part of an extensive residential complex in the center. It preserves Islamic decorative elements (a decorative zone of pyramidal stepped ramparts in caldarium) and is typologically parallel to baths in al-Andalus (Simple Type baths). Its position in the center of the medieval city, its size and the quality of its construction confirm that bath B was part of the palace complex of the Emir of Crete. Bath B was renovated during the second Byzantine period and probably is identified with the "official" bath of the city, as witnessed in a historical source dated in the 12th century «ἐπίσημον βαλανεῖον». The location of bath D in proximity to the Jewish Gate of the medieval city walls, at the southern limits of the corresponding quarter, is a strong indication that during the 2nd Byzantine period it was part of the Jewish Neighborhood. Βath D is a unique architectural element of the medieval life of the Jewish community. Finally, this research outlines that important landmarks of the early Byzantine, Islamic and 2nd Byzantine city are documented for the first time and contribute to the study of the monumental topography in the medieval capital of Crete during a period of profound historical changes in Christian and Islamic world.
Language Greek
Subject 8th-12th century
8ος - 12ος αιώνας
Aegean sea - Crete
Baths
Byzantine architecture
Byzantium - Arabs
Chandax
Cretan emirate
Heraclion
Hypocaust
Islamic architectural elements
Urban life
al-Andalus
Αιγαίο - Κρήτη
Αστική ζωή
Βυζάντιο-Άραβες
Βυζαντινή αρχιτεκτονική
Εμιράτο Κρήτης
Ηράκλειο
Ισλαμική αρχιτεκτονική
Λουτρά
Υπόκαυστο
Χάνδακας
Issue date 2023-12-06
Collection   School/Department--School of Philosophy--Department of History and Archaeology--Doctoral theses
  Type of Work--Doctoral theses
Permanent Link https://elocus.lib.uoc.gr//dlib/f/9/8/metadata-dlib-1707734886-693412-14370.tkl Bookmark and Share
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