Byzantine and Early Islamic rayed lamps from south-eastern Turkey

In this short paper, nine formerly unpublished rayed lamps fromsouth-eastern Turkey, eight from Mardin and one from Malatya are beingpresented, belonging to a well-known type, starting from the end of the sixthcentury A.D., which became particularly widespread in the eighth century A.D. The article adds to a group of “rayed’ lamps from the Near East next fewexamples found in less accessible museums in Turkey and it also includes auseful historical sketch of the region during the Byzantine and Early Islamicperiod. The publication of these new specimens is valuable as the material fromthe area of modern Turkey is rarely published. While waiting for research on the many further lamps that are likely tobe found in numerous museums to be published, this contribution helps usunderstand the variety of lamps and their area of diffusion, which stretchesfrom northern Mesopotamia down to Palestine, including south-eastern Turkey,Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Key words: Terracotta oil lamps, rayed lamps, south-eastern Turkey,Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Byzantine period, Early Islamic period, lychnologicalstudies.