The Memory of Byzantium in Modern Anatolia: Churches, Legends, and Local Traditions in Akdağmadeni

Located on the northwestern slopes of the Akdağ Mountains in central Anatolia, Akdağmadeni stands as a valuable case for examining the enduring legacy of Byzantine culture in post-Byzantine and post-Ottoman contexts. While the presence of Christian communities—primarily Greek Orthodox and Armenian—dates back only to the 19th century, the churches, local stories, and place names they left behind continue to shape the region’s cultural landscape. This paper explores the spatial memory of Byzantium through five churches identified in the Yozgat Provincial Cultural Inventory, including the Merkez Church, Merkez Upper Quarter Church, İstanbulluoğlu (now a mosque), Karapir Village Church, and the remains of the Halhacı Village Church. Employing advanced documentation methods such as architectural measurement, material analysis, and comparative typological assessment with churches in Cappadocia, Istanbul, and Bursa, this study sheds light on the architectural continuities and regional adaptations of Orthodox church architecture. In doing so, it also reflects on how local heritage has been preserved, forgotten, or transformed in the wake of demographic shifts following the 1915 deportation of Armenians and the 1924 Greco-Turkish population exchange. By reconstructing the cultural and physical memory of the Christian presence in Akdağmadeni, this paper contributes to the broader discussion of “Byzantium beyond Byzantium,” tracing how echoes of Byzantine religious space resonate far beyond the historical limits of the empire.