Cylinder Seals Used in Cyprus Carry Traces of Various Civilizations

Cylinder Seals Used in Cyprus Carry Traces of Various Civilizations
Cylinder Seals Used in Cyprus Carry Traces of Various Civilizations

Assoc. Dr. Yücel Yazgın's work “Reflections of Levant and Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses on Cyprus Cylinder Seals” revealed the similarities of cylinder seals used in Cyprus with Mesopotamian civilizations.

Near East University Fine Arts and Design Faculty Plastic Arts Department Head Assoc. Dr. Yücel Yazgın's article titled “Reflections of Levant and Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses on Cyprus Cylinder Seals” published in Amazonia Investiga Journal; revealed that up to 79 percent of the figures on the cylinder seals used in Cyprus throughout history are composed of Levantine and Mesopotamian god-goddess images.

Cylinder seals, which were used only in a limited region and for a limited time in world history, provide important clues about the social and commercial life as well as the artistic understanding of their period.

Assoc. Dr. Yücel Yazgın's work also compares the seals used in Cyprus and Mesopotamia and includes important results about the life of the period and the interaction between cultures. It was determined that 214 of the 67 cylinder seals examined within the scope of the study had human figures. It was determined that 34 of them had Levant and Mesopotamian god-goddess figures. As a result of the comparison of these seals with the cylinder seals used in Cyprus, it was determined that the same figures were used in Cyprus at a rate of up to 79 percent. According to the study, the seals whose engravings of gods and goddesses are similar to those of the Cyprus cylinder seals; It was determined that it belonged to the Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian, Hittite, Babylonian, Kassite civilizations.

Assoc. Dr. Yücel Yazgın: “When we examine the cylinder seals used in Cyprus, we see that the god and goddess figures of the Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian, Hittite, Babylonian and Kassite civilizations are frequently used.”

Near East University Fine Arts and Design Faculty Plastic Arts Department Head Assoc. Dr. Yücel Yazgın said that cylinder seals were used to ensure that the stored goods were not touched or stolen in history, and that the figures used in the seals contain important information about the culture of the period and the society in which they were used.
“When we examine the cylinder seals used in Cyprus, we observe that the god and goddess figures of the Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian, Hittite, Babylonian and Kassite civilizations are frequently used. This situation reveals that the ancient cultures of that period also affected their environment with a communication that knew no borders.”