The Seljuk Han of Anatolia

 

Introduction and definition


WHAT IS A HAN ?

The architecture of the Seljuks of Anatolia (1077-1307) is seen at its most spectacular in an impressive group of buildings called hans or caravansarais, many of which still stand today. These buildings and the organization of their services are a testament to the energy and creativity of this short but glorious period of Islamic history. 

The word is also rendered as caravanserai, caravansary, caravansaray, caravansara or khan. The word is based on a combination of the Persian words “karvan” (caravan, meaning a group of people engaged in long-distance travel) with “sara” (palace with enclosed courts) and the nominative suffix “yi”. A caravansarai is also known as khan in Persian, han or kervansaray in Turkish, and funduq in Arabic.

A caravansarai is a building to house a brief overnight stop-over of a caravan, which is a body of merchants who travel together for greater protection. It is thus an overnight inn for traveling merchants. These buildings are generally known in Turkish as "hans" or the more poetic caravansarai (written in Turkish as kervansaray), meaning "a palace for caravans".  Palatial they were, and a closer look shows that they were more than just overnight inns along the road.

The typical Seljuk han is a monumental stone building with a huge, highly-decorated main portal which provided access to a large open courtyard and a vaulted hall to the rear.  The outside walls are plain but may have side towers and supporting buttresses of cylindrical, half-octagonal or half hexagonal shape.  In the larger hans, there are roof gutter spouts in the shape of stylized animals heads.  The main portal is often elaborately decorated in carved stone with bands of geometric patterned elements, rows of Koranic inscriptions and stalactite vaulting known as muquarnas.  Once inside the main door, the visitor would enter a large courtyard, surrounded by service rooms (dining hall, treasury, baths and latrines, repair shops and stores).  The vaulted hall to the rear could also have a richly-decorated entry door.  It was lit by a raised cupola in the middle and small slit windows. 

Hans constituted the second largest group of Seljuk-era buildings after mosques. Although it is estimated from texts and references that there were over 250 of them built in Seljuk times, today, approximately only a hundred or so remain in various states of repair today. Some are intact, some restored, and many are in a ruined condition. The Turks began building hans upon their arrival in Anatolia.  The earliest dated han appears to have been built in 1210 by Sultan Giyaseddin Keyhüsrev I, but the majority were built during the glory days of the Seljuk Empire from 1220-1250.  They represent the second largest group of buildings after mosques in the Seljuk architectural program.

Six of the hans are known as “Sultan Hans”, as they were commissioned directly by the reigning sultan himself. These Sultan Hans include the Evdir, Sultan Han Aksaray, Sultan Han Kayseri, Incir, Şarafsa and Alara hans.

The Seljuk sultans of Rum, established in their capital at Konya, realized the importance of commerce to the prosperity of their empire. They set out to encourage incoming revenue by increasing the flow of transit goods throughout their lands. The first step taken was to repair the existing trade routes which had served merchants for generations. Having been neglected and fallen into disrepair during many years of constant warfare, these roads were repaired, with the existing bridges solidified and new ones built. They then undertook the construction of a network of merchant way-stations along these roads.  This network was largely responsible for the expansion of both domestic and international trade. Hans connected trading centers both inside and outside the Empire, such as Tabriz, Baghdad, Aleppo, Alanya, Antalya, Izmir, Istanbul, Trabzon, Erzurum and Kayseri. These hans were built along specific trade routes which served the major cities of the empire. One main route led north from Antalya on the Mediterranean coast through Konya and Aksaray and on eastwards to Erzurum, and another led from the Black Sea coast to Tokat, Sivas, Amasya, and Malatya. Hans were constructed approximately every 18 to 25 miles, calculated on the distance a camel could cover in 9-10 hours, although this is not a fixed rule.  Caravans were led by hard-driving entrepreneurs who often pushed their camels for 15-19 hours at a stretch. Some of the camels carried more than 400 pounds, and could go for 10 days without a drink of water. In many cases, hans were spaced very close together (for example the 4 hans on the short stretch of road between Konya and Beyşehir) or at great distances apart (in the east).

Hans did not just serve the needs of commercial caravans, but fulfilled other roles.  They most probably had military uses, as did their predecessors, the ribats of Transoxania.  They served as well as royal guesthouses for visiting sultans and dignitaries, as prisons, dervish lodges, government outposts for the Sultan during military campaigns, temporary residences for the Sultan while traveling to the various cities of his empire, and most probably as post offices. 

Yet it is in their role as commercial structures that the hans will be remembered.  In addition to ensuring support for precise trade functions, the hans proposed an entire social services structure.  The building of hans and the social structure provided by them represent one of the most liberal institutions created by the Seljuks. Every traveler, whatever his nationality, religion or social status, was entitled to three days lodging with food, medical care and other services, all at the expense of the State. Complete care for the animals was provided as well, with the larger hans able to house up to 400 beasts of burden (donkeys, camels, and horses). Each han employed a physician, imam (religious official), inn keeper, wainwright, money changer, tailor, cobbler, superintendent of provisions, veterinary surgeon, messenger, blacksmith and cooks to provide these services.

Although most of the hans were built as pious endowments (usually by the Sultan, his family or his principle viziers), they were also revenue-generating operations, in order to ensure their upkeep and service needs.

The basic functions of the hans were thus to provide safety, shelter and services to tradesmen: 

Expenses for construction and maintenance were borne by the Sultan, or by other court members or private wealthy individuals who established foundations for their operating expenses. The deeds of trust of these foundations spelled out the guidelines of operations for each specific han. In addition, the State provided an insurance policy to compensate merchants who were attacked or robbed. Foreign merchants who came to Anatolia enjoyed extensive rights and reductions on customs duties.  The hans also generated revenue, which was used for operations and upkeep.

There was a frenzy of han building in Seljuk Anatolia during the 13th century, and most were of a fairly homogenous type. The majority of these establishments were built during the period of great commercial expansion brought about by Giyaseddin Keyhusrev I, Izzeddin Keykavus I and Alaeddin Keykubad, in the years of 1204-1246. They belong for the most part to what is known as the "Classical period" of Seljuk architecture.  According to contemporary sources (the Danishmendname and Ibn Bibi's Seljuqname), the Sultans themselves visited and stayed in hans, or used them for army postings.  Sultan Hans were used by Izzeddin Keykavus and Rükneddin Kiliç Arslan as a fortress where they gathered their troops of some 10,000 men.  Baybars I of Egypt stayed at the Karatay Han during his seige of Kayseri in 1276.  Alaeddin Keykubad also supposedly stopped at his sultan han on his way from Konya to Kayseri.
 

In Europe at approximately the same time, the great Gothic cathedrals of Amiens and Rheims in France were being completed. Although these hans are more modest in program and construction techniques, they deserve to stand at their side in the historical timeline of great architectural endeavors. 


DESCRIPTION
Because so many Anatolian hans still stand today, it is possible to study them and formulate certain generalizations about this building group, such as their plans, patronage, road networks and their decoration. The Anatolian hans provide a distinctive and unified group for study. Please consult the section on “Architecture of the Hans” for a more detailed discussion.

Although no two hans have the exact same plan, they all show the following characteristics:

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