An Evaluation on Tile Decorations in Some Seljuk and Ilkhanid Structures in Tokat and Niksar

Tokat and Niksar, during the Danishmends and Seljuk period in XIIth-XIIIth centuries, emerges as important centers. The structures built in this period in the region are important examples in Turkish architecture both in terms of their plans and decorative features. These structures have undoubtedly been the subject of research and studied for several reasons. Since 2012, especially in Tokat center and Niksar, our works have revealed some of the elements of the buildings that attract our attention with their architectural and decorative features. In this article, findings related to tile decoration features applied in Seljuk period buildings are discussed in the light of the data obtained as a result of a field study in Tokat and Niksar. Sheikh Mekn？n Zawiyah, located in the center of Tokat, underwent restoration work after becoming heavily damaged in the course of time. As we learned from previous sources, pictures and paintings, the domed sofa, iwan and tomb sections of the building had a rich tile decoration. Only some of the tiles in the tomb have survived till the present day. In a restoration work carried out in Tokat Ya？？basan Madrasah in the early 2000s, in-situ hexagonal turquoise coloured tiles were found on the southern iwan wall. Also, the traces of tiles in the tomb of Murad Sevdekar from the Seljuk period have survived to the present day. Some traces of the presence of tiles in the tomb of Sefer Pasha have been recorded by previous researchers. During our field work in Niksar, a piece of mosaic tile, found in a place organized as a garden next to Ya？？basan Madrasa, was attracted our attention. When the structures that may be related to this fragment are examined in Niksar, we found from the sources that Sunguriye Tomb has tile ornaments. Only the burial chamber of this tomb has survived, and the ruined upper floor was demolished in the 1940s. In this study, with the help of written and visual resources related to Sunguriye Tomb, it has been attempted to determine whether there is a connection between its tile decoration program and the tile mosaic piece identified here. In the light of the data of the structures built over the XIIth-XIVth centuries in Tokat, this study evaluates tile ornaments in a holistic manner. It reveals that, in addition to well-known G？k Madrasah, there is a rich use of tiles in the buildings during the same period. Some of them, however, have not survived to the present day