Persian rider figurines from the Hatay Archaeology Museum: The relationship between cultural identity and sacredness

Hatay, one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia with a history dating back to 100,000 BCE, has served as a gateway opening Anatolia to the Near East. In such a region with a rich cultural heritage, terracotta figurines form one of the most influential traces of this rich cultural background. The subject of this study, the Persian Horse Rider Figurines, is significant in terms of reflecting the cultural identity and sacred meanings they carry, as well as being one of the pivotal points in the history of the Middle East, namely, the Persian Empire, which bore the cultural and political structure of the region up to the present day. The Hatay Archaeology Museum has acquired Persian horse rider figurines by donation and purchase, which provide important information about the area's social structure and religious system. Utilizing a sample of eighteen figurines, this study investigates their production processes and distribution regions. It also addresses the discrepancies in the literature regarding these figurines, the materials used, and/what they represent from a historical and artistic perspective. The analysis focuses on figurines dated to the Persian/Achaemenid Period (6th–4th century BCE), evaluating their role in conveying cultural identity and sacred meaning, and interpreting these elements using different academic approaches. Furthermore, the limited number of studies on this topic in the literature has been a decisive factor in the subject selection.