KUBADABAD SARAYI KAZISI
Authors: ÇEKEN Muharrem 
Published: November 2023

This important Seljuk palace ruin is located within the boundaries of the Gölyaka neighborhood, Beyşehir district of Konya province on the west coast of Lake Beyşehir. As far as we know, the Kubadabad Palace complex, with its layout, structure, architectural decoration, infrastructural facilities and other small finds, is the only Seljuk palace that has survived to this day in the area that included Iran, Iraq, Syria and Anatolia, where the Seljuks were predominant. In addition to the twentytwo ruins of buildings identified so far, which include the Büyük Saray and the Küçük Saray, Kubadabad is also a city that extends to the southwest and its ruins are still waiting to be illuminated underground. According to the Seljuknâme of Ibn Bibi, the Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I ordered a palace to be built in this region, which he visited and liked very much, and the structure was designed and completed by the Emir-i Şikâr and architect Sadeddin Köpek. Archaeological data on the use of the palace after the Seljuk period do not provide any results for the period after the 14th century. In the process that started with the discovery of the ruins of Kubadabad Palace Complex by the director of Konya Museum, Zeki Oral, with the help of Seljuknâme of Ibn Bibi in 1949, the first scientific excavations were carried out by Prof. Dr. K. Otto-Dorn and Mehmet Önder in 1965 and 1966. During these studies, a topographical plan of the site was made for the first time and the existing ruins were marked on it. Some of the in situ tiles and stucco decorations discovered during the excavations, as well as pottery and glass finds, were presented to the scientific community. The excavations of the second period in Kubadabad were directed by Prof. Dr. Rüchan Arık from 1980 to 2016. The first excavations of the palace complex were carried out on Kız Kalesi Island, which is a part of the complex. Prof. Dr. Rüçhan Arık focused on the excavations and restorations in the palace complex after 1986. Due to the density of the building group on the ground, excavations continued around the Büyük Saray and the Küçük Saray and were extended to the south and west of the Kulliye in the following years. Numerous remains of the complex were discovered during these studies, some of which were on the surface and others completely underground. Since 2017, the excavations have been carried out by a team led by Assoc. Prof. Muharrem Ceken. The excavations continued towards the north, especially along the western boundary of the complex, and a large rectangular building (Structure No. 10) adjacent to the western wall was fully exposed at the base level. In addition, during the excavation of the ruins in the southwest of the complex, a hunting lodge (Şikarhane), also known as building No. 15, was uncovered and its restitution was completed. At Kubadabad, where excavations began in 1965 and systematic archeological studies have been conducted since 1980, important data on the life and architecture of Seljuk palaces have been obtained and numerous artifacts have been discovered. For more detailed information, please refer to the Extended Abstract at the end of the text