Yusuf ALBAYRAK

Bahattin ÇELİK

Soğmatar is located 60 km southeast of Şanlıurfa province, 40 km northeast of Harran district, in an area of ​​important water resources in the Tektek mountains. Sogmatar which seen settlement Calcolitic Age, The Middle and Early Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman Period and the Islamic period until today, Soğmatar attracts attention with the worship of the Moon God Sin, especially in the 2nd century AD. The area where Soğmatar is located mostly consists of rocks in the form of low hills. This area, which has rocks that are easy to process, was also used as a necropolis in both the Early Bronze Age and the Roman period. In Sogmatar, there are many reliefs and sculptures, both carved on the bedrock and independently made. There are inscriptions giving information about the work on the sides and top of these works. In these inscriptions, besides the names of the Moon God Sin and Maralahe, the names of the managers of the period and their families are also included. The existence of the Sin culture in Soğmatar is frequently emphasized in these inscriptions. In these inscriptions, the reading of the name Maralahe, known as "the lord of the gods" in addition to Sin, shows that Sogmatar is a sacred area. In the inscriptions, there are warning statements such as not to damage the work, as well as for whom the work was made, by whom it was made, reminder and commemoration expressions. It also provides us with various information about that period in the dates in the inscriptions to us. We can think that Soğmatar is the center of sculpting, due to the excess of sculptures found in the Soğmatar cult center and its unique way of processing. Apart from the ancient cities of Edessa, Harran and Palmyra, which gave sculptural works in the region, Soğmatar cult center was also observed as an important place.

Keywords: Soğmatar, relief, inscription, Sin, Roman Period