Tarih İnsan Mekan | Adnan Çevik | TEDxAlparslan University

Introduction and Background

• The presentation is about the speaker's own journey of discovery and exploration, particularly in the field of history, with a focus on the Seljuk period in Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia regions (17s).
• The speaker is a historian specializing in Seljuk history, specifically the Middle Ages, and has been working at Marmara University, focusing on the Seljuk period in Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia regions (32s).
• The speaker's 30-year academic career has been dedicated to understanding these regions, with a focus on history, time, and space, and searching for the truth of the past (59s).
• Historians use sources such as archival documents and historical texts to understand the past, but the speaker's experience has shown that relying solely on these sources may not be enough to uncover the truth (1m39s).

The Importance of Fieldwork and Interdisciplinary Approach

• The speaker's personal experience of researching the 11th to 13th centuries in the Southeastern Anatolia region, specifically the Upper Euphrates basin and the Diyarbakır region, has highlighted the limitations of relying solely on written sources (2m0s).
• The speaker's doctoral research aimed to understand the region during this period, but they initially knew little about the area and had to spend seven years completing their research (2m26s).
• The speaker's experience has shown that understanding the relationship between geography, history, and human relationships is crucial in uncovering the truth of the past, and that this process is ongoing (3m9s).
• The speaker's research has also highlighted that history is not just the domain of historians, and that understanding the past requires an interdisciplinary approach (3m17s).
• History has various auxiliary science disciplines, including archeology, art history, epigraphy, numismatics, and geography, which aid in understanding history (3m41s).
• Despite discussing these disciplines, their actual value in understanding history is often not fully appreciated, as they are not directly applied or experienced in the field (3m52s).
• Personal academic experience and fieldwork with archeologists, art historians, epigraphers, and numismatists have highlighted the importance of these disciplines in understanding history (4m8s).
• History is often perceived as a study of the past, but it is actually about predicting the future by understanding the present and past (4m50s).

Research Journey: Diyarbakır and Muğla

• A research journey began in the Diyarbakir region, focusing on doctoral studies, and involved surface research with various disciplines (5m1s).
• A project called "Erzen" was undertaken to locate a lost medieval capital, which was found to exist in the region, but its location was not previously known due to reliance on written texts (5m32s).
• The journey continued in Muğla, where research was conducted on the route taken by Kanuni (Suleiman the Magnificent) during his Rhodes campaign, using geography to understand historical events (6m2s).
• The route of Kanuni's campaign from Istanbul to Muğla was retraced, and a tourism destination was established based on this historical journey (6m31s).

The Malazgirt Project: Locating the Battlefield

• Fieldwork in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, particularly in the context of the Seljuk Empire, highlighted the significance of the Battle of Malazgirt, a pivotal event in Turkish and world history (6m50s).
• The idea of understanding history through geography, specifically the Battle of Malazgirt, has been a persistent thought, and in 2020, a project was initiated to pinpoint the exact location of the battle (7m27s).
• The goal was to understand the reality of the past through an interdisciplinary approach, combining multiple disciplines to achieve a broader perspective (7m44s).
• It is emphasized that, regardless of one's discipline, it is essential to work with other disciplines to achieve the desired goals and make progress (8m2s).
• The project aimed to determine the exact location of the Battle of Malazgirt, which has been a topic of discussion, with many previous visits to the area yielding unclear answers (8m18s).
• Despite the significance of the Battle of Malazgirt in Seljuk history, there was a lack of clear information about the battle's location, with only a single monument representing the victory (8m55s).
• The area where the battle took place was vaguely described as being approximately 150 km east and southeast of Malazgirt, with no clear indication of the exact location (9m22s).
• A single sign in Malazgirt was the only indication of the battle's location, but it was unclear which monument it was pointing to (9m29s).
• The Battle of Malazgirt is often taught in schools as the war that opened the gates of Anatolia to the Turks, but there was a lack of information about the geography of the area where the battle took place (9m51s).
• The project aimed to make the battle's location more visible and to understand the reality of the past through an interdisciplinary approach, combining multiple disciplines such as geography, geology, and geophysics (10m42s).

Discovering the Malazgirt Plateau and Challenging Historical Narratives

• The academic career has taught that even at the end of one's career as a professor, there is still room to learn and be a student, especially when working on a project that involves multiple disciplines (10m55s).
• The Malazgirt Battlefield is often perceived as a plain, but upon visiting the site, it was discovered that it is actually a plateau formed by the lava flows of the volcanic mountain, Süphan (11m19s).
• The discovery was made possible by the expertise of geographers and geologists who specialize in the area (11m40s).
• Historical texts describe the Battle of Malazgirt, including the arrival of the Emperor's large army and Sultan Alpaslan's actions, which led to a significant event that changed the course of history (11m56s).
• However, some historical texts provide conflicting information, such as the date of the battle, which is stated as August 26, 1071, but other sources suggest it occurred in the first week of August (12m38s).
• The information from historical texts can be verified through other disciplines, such as geography, which can provide additional context and insights (12m51s).
• For example, the historical texts mention a moonless night during the first clash, and by analyzing the lunar cycles of 1071, it was determined that the moonless night actually occurred on August 4, not August 26 (13m19s).
• Another example is the story of a wind that blew from morning to noon, affecting the movement of the Seljuk horses, which was later changed in favor of the Seljuks after Sultan Alpaslan's prayer (13m59s).
• This story is often seen as a legend or a myth, but it highlights the importance of considering multiple sources and disciplines when studying historical events (14m24s).
• The story of a legend is being interpreted in reverse, with some modern historians viewing it as a written account (14m26s).
• However, experiencing the terrain firsthand reveals that a summer breeze forms in the area, causing the air to rise and cool, which could be misinterpreted as a miraculous event (14m47s).
• This natural phenomenon could be the explanation for the story of Alpaslan's prayer and the sudden change in the weather during the Battle of Manzikert (15m12s).

Interdisciplinary Fieldwork and Local Knowledge

• A 5-year interdisciplinary study of the battle helped to understand the historical event accurately and interpret it correctly (15m40s).
• The study involved not only historical research but also fieldwork, including a surface survey in Örenşar village, where locals shared their knowledge and stories about the battle (16m12s).
• The villagers, including the muhtar, shared stories about a hill called "Grabos" where Alpaslan's sister and soldiers were allegedly buried, and how their elders would visit the site (16m38s).
• The researchers are practicing "battlefield archaeology," searching for evidence of a specific historical event, in this case, the Battle of Manzikert, which took place over 1000 years ago (17m11s).
• The goal is to locate and document the remains of the battle, rather than excavating a traditional archaeological site, and to make the event visible again (17m45s).
• A historical site was discovered on a 1800-meter-high hill overlooking the Patnos and Malazgirt valleys, where many Muslim graves were found, and research was conducted in the area (18m1s).
• The site's location matches descriptions in historical texts, including a 800-year-old Syriac text that tells the story of Alp Arslan's nephew, who was present at the Battle of Malazgirt and took the Byzantine Emperor prisoner, but ultimately died (18m41s).
• The discovery highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research, combining historical texts with fieldwork and insights from other disciplines to gain a deeper understanding of historical events (18m35s).

The Importance of Interdisciplinary Research and Future Directions

• The study of history, geography, and culture can also shape identity and a sense of belonging, as demonstrated by the 30 years of research conducted in the region, including the last 5 years focused on Malazgirt (19m16s).
• The findings suggest that future research should adopt an interdisciplinary approach, combining different fields of expertise to create a deeper understanding of the world and its complexities (19m36s).
• This approach is essential for creating a future where experts can specialize and deepen their knowledge while working together with other disciplines (19m50s).