From the Pagan to the Islamic Period, a 3000-year-old cult area: Dülük Baba Tomb from the Shrine of the God Jupiter Dolichenus.

Dr. Ali Çağlar DENIZ, ADO Alevi Philosophy Centre

The city of Doliche, as it was called in ancient Greek, is the shrine of the god called Jupiter Dolichenus. Before Jupiter Dolichenus, Teshup Hadad, the god of air and lightning, was worshiped in this region. The closeness between these two gods is not only limited to geography, but also great similarities can be detected in the forms of depiction. In the western states during the Roman imperial period, Jupiter Dolichenus is depicted with double axes and a lightning bolt in his hand, just like Teshup. The bull plays an important role for both gods. Dolichenus was worshiped like Mithras, another god of oriental origin, throughout the Roman Empire from the 1st to the 3rd century AD. Although the city’s and sanctury’s development ceased after the Persian king Shapur I destroyed Doliche in 253 AD, Doliche reappears as an episcopal center in the 5th century AD. There are two Syrian type rock churches dating from the 8th and 10th centuries AD to the west of the city necropolis. The inclusion of the city of Ayıntap within its borders in the 11th-12th century AD decreased the city’s importance. The discovery of two Mithreums (the sacred area inside the cave where rituals belonging to the Mithra cult took place) on the slope of Keber Hill, where Dülük city is located, during  excavations carried out between 1997 and 1998 increased the importance of the city known as the homeland of Jupiter Dolichenus in terms of religious history. In addition to these caves being the first Mithreums in the Commagene region, it was also determined that they were one of the biggest sacred areas of the Roman Empire. The fact that Mithra’s head was broken and the symbol of a cross was engraved on the relief in the first cult cave indicates that the cult area was destroyed by the Christians. It turns out that there is a sanctuary dating back from 1000 BC to late antiquity when Christian influences began to intensify. Considering that the Dülük Baba Tomb was frequently visited by the local people until recently, it becomes clear that the sanctity of the region has a long history dating back to ancient times.