21 February 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The Oldest and Most Unique Example of the ‘Etrarchic Embracement Motif’ is on Display for the First Time

A relief depicting two Roman emperors’ embrace of Diocletian and Maximian during a ceremonial event, each other welcomes visitors for the first time after 23 years in the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum.

For the first time, this rare artifact offers visitors an exceptional glimpse into the grandeur and political intricacies of the Roman Empire.

The relief was unearthed during rescue excavations in Kocaeli’s Cukurbag neighborhood, following the devastating 1999 Marmara Earthquake. Eight relief panels, two statues, and 12 pieces of statues were found during the rescue excavations initiated in 2001 by the Kocaeli Museum Directorate. They were put on display for the first time in 2022.

The relief, which was found in the same period and restored using 10 separate broken pieces, depicts the scene where Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian embrace each other after getting off the chariot during the “adventus” ceremony at the entrance to the city.

 The Adventus ceremony is an ancient Roman tradition celebrating the rulers’ entrance into a city.

Serkan Gedük, branch manager of the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, explained that the restored work depicts an imperial procession approaching from both sides.

Photo: AA

“One of the scenes depicts adventures, or parade, held at the entrance to the city, with Emperor Diocletian on the left and Emperor Maximian on the right embracing each other. We see that both emperors are depicted in magnificent attire, wearing a belted, sleeved tunic decorated with gold bands, trousers and a tasseled imperial cloak. Their short-cropped hair and beards are one of the most important scenes in terms of representing a typical example of the third-century Roman soldier emperors,” he said.

Gedük explained that the depiction of embracement symbolized the new multiple governance system of the Roman Empire, known as the tetrarchy (rule of four emperors in groups of two), which Diocletian implemented in Nicomedia, and the political harmony between the co-emperors.

Gedük noted that no emperor had ever been depicted so physically close in Roman art before.

“It is derived from the right-hand shaking motif, which is a common iconographic symbol of marriage in Roman art and literature, and we can describe it as a sign of political harmony. This panel belongs to the Tetrarchy Period. It is the oldest and most unique example of the ‘Tetrarchic embracement motif’ from various sculpture groups erected everywhere in the Roman Empire,” he added.

Photo: AA

Gedük, who pointed out that they obtained a lot of information about that period from the reliefs, said that they could understand from these reliefs how the horse carriage that Maximianus rode was used at that time and what kind of ceremonial carriage it was.

An exceptional chance to explore the artistic and historical significance of the embrace of the ancient Roman emperors is presented by the unveiling of this ancient masterpiece.

Now, guests at the Kocaeli Archaeology Museum can explore the fascinating realm of Roman ceremonial art and political symbolism while also getting a close-up look at this incredible relic.

Cover Image: Relief of the “Embrace scene of two emperors” depicting the Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximianus together, unearthed in Kocaeli in 2001, Kocaeli Archaeology Museum, Türkiye. Photo: AA

Related Articles

A Large Roman Pottery Production Center was Found in Poland

2 April 2021

2 April 2021

A large Roman pottery production center was found in Poland. The production center was discovered near the village of Wrzepia,...

Huge ancient stone murals discovered in central China: “It is an important discovery that enriches and rewrites the art history of the Song Dynasty”

10 October 2022

10 October 2022

Two stone murals from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) have been discovered in Henan Province, central China, and are the...

Hundreds of skeletons found on Welsh beach

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

Archaeologists found the burial site of women and children just below the surface of the sand dunes on Whitesands Bay...

Mystery of the 1,700-year-old Mosaic Solved: The Medallion in the Mosaic uncovered to be the Symbol of a Roman Military Unit

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

The mystery of the 1,700-year-old mosaic, which was found during excavations in Amasya province in northern Turkey 11 years ago...

Archaeologists discovered 22 mummies wrapped in bundles, mainly children and newborns in Peru

7 December 2023

7 December 2023

The mummified burials of 22 people, mostly young children and newborn babies, were found in the Peruvian town of Barranca...

Archaeologists have unearthed a trove of artifacts at the necropolis of Saqqara

9 June 2022

9 June 2022

Archaeologists at the necropolis of Saqqara, near Cairo, have discovered a cache of 250 complete mummies in painted wooden sarcophagi...

Tomb of a Roman doctor buried with unique surgical tools unearthed in Hungary

28 April 2023

28 April 2023

Hungarian archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Roman doctor 1st-century man buried with high-quality surgical tools near the city of...

A Temple Guardian From The 13th Century Found At Cambodia’s Angkor Wat

17 September 2024

17 September 2024

While clearing rubble from a collapsed gate at the Banteay Prei Temple within Cambodia’s Angkor Wat Archaeological Park, workers stumbled...

A Child’s Skeleton was Unearthed During the Tozkoparan Mound Excavations

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

The skeleton of a child was unearthed during the rescue excavations carried out in the Tozkoparan mound located in Tozkoparan...

Archaeologists Discovered a New Pyramid Resembling Teotihuacán in Tikal

17 April 2021

17 April 2021

Researchers discovered a new pyramid complex in the Tikal in Guatemala. About 65 km south of El Mirador in the...

Iron Age Children’s a Unique Funerary Building Discovered in Oman

3 March 2024

3 March 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered a unique Iron Age children’s funerary building at the Manaqi archaeological site in Rustaq, South Al Batinah...

Tombs of elite Wari craftsmen found in the royal necropolis in Castillo de Huarmey, Peru

12 September 2022

12 September 2022

A group of tombs of elite craftsmen of the Wari culture has been discovered at the archaeological site of Castillo...

Thor’s hammer amulet discovered in Sweden

23 October 2022

23 October 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed the Thor’s Hammer amulet, which they call “one of its kind” in Ysby in southwestern Sweden’s Halland...

Roman-era structures unearthed in northwestern Turkiye dam site rescue excavations

18 May 2024

18 May 2024

Rescue excavations at the Reşitköy Dam site in the northwestern Turkiye province of Balıkesir have unearthed Roman structures, including a...

The Earliest Evidence of Christianity on Bulgarian Territory Found in Roman city of Deultum

13 July 2024

13 July 2024

A silver amulet was discovered during excavations of the Deultum-Debelt National Archaeological Reserve, near the village of Debelt in the...