Burdur Museum

The Burdur Museum is located in Burdur, which is surrounded by the provinces of Denizli, Afyon, Isparta, Antalya, and Muğla. Historically, Burdur was situated within the borders of the Pisidia region, bordered by Isauria and Lyconia to the east, Pamphylia to the south, Lycia and Caria to the west, and Phrygia and Galatia to the north.

Burdur's prehistoric past extends back to the Paleolithic Age. Rock paintings found in Başkuyu Village, Yeşilova District, definitively prove that Paleolithic people lived in Burdur. Other finds from the Paleolithic (700,000 - 15,000) and Mesolithic (15,000 - 8,000) periods have been obtained from research conducted in various parts of the region.

Concrete finds from later prehistoric periods, the Neolithic (8,000 - 5,500 BC) and Chalcolithic (5,500 - 3,200 BC) eras, have been unearthed in Burdur at Hacılar Höyüğü and Kuruçay Höyüğü. Excavations at Hacılar have revealed layers IX-IV of the "Late Neolithic" (dating back to 5400 BC), above the "Pre-Pottery Neolithic" (dating back to 7000 BC).

Hacılar is one of the most important archaeological centers where the great transformation of humanity from hunter-gatherer to settled production—the domestication of animals, the establishment of villages, and the learning of pottery making—can be traced. Furthermore, the mother goddess figurines and painted pottery with human faces from Hacılar hold a significant place in world archaeology. Remains from the Chalcolithic Age, when metal began to be used alongside stone, bone, wood, and terracotta, are evident from surface surveys of many mounds in Burdur, such as Hacılar, Kuruçay, Gebrem, Beyköy, Bucak, and İstasyon Höyük.

Findings from the Early Bronze Age (approximately 3000-2500 BC), when artifacts began to be made from metals such as copper, lead, tin, silver, gold, bronze, and electrum, are found in many mounds in Burdur, including Yazır, Yarıköy, Çamur, Hasanpaşa, Harmankaya, Alan, and Beyköy. During this period, vessels were handmade and had a metallic appearance. Towards the end of this age, the production of geometrically decorated and painted pottery began.

The history of Burdur at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC is quite obscure. When the Hittite Age began in the 17th century BC, the Kingdom of Arzava ruled in Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Lycia. The Phrygian artifacts unearthed in the vicinity of Lake Yarışlı (Düğer) and Uylupınar have definitively established the presence of Phrygians in this region.

In the 7th century BC, Pisidia, along with the Phrygian state, came under Lydian rule, and after the defeat of King Croesus of Lydia by King Cyrus of Persia in 546 BC, the region fell under Persian hegemony. In 334 BC, after Alexander the Great entered Anatolia from Çanakkale, he crushed the Pamphylian, Lycian, and Carian forces that stood in his way, entering Pisidia through the Kestros (Aksu) Valley, and conquering Sagalassos and Kremna in 333 BC. After Alexander's death, Pisidia was first annexed to the Seleucids (301 BC), then to the Kingdom of Pergamon (228 BC), and finally came under Roman rule. During the Roman era, Pisidia experienced intense settlement throughout the region. Many new cities were founded, and old centers were rebuilt. Almost all of the ruins located within the present-day Burdur borders show architectural remains from this period. Kremna, Komama (Ürkütlü), Olbasa (Belenli), and Sagalassos are among the most important.

With the division of the Roman Empire, Pisidia fell under the control of the Byzantine Empire, and the region's important centers gradually declined, losing their former importance. This period of decline continued until the end of the 11th century AD, with the beginning of Turkish rule. Between 1071 and 1100, the Kınalı tribe, one of the Turks who came to Anatolia, settled in Burdur. During this period, the city, which was under the dominion of the Seljuk State, existed as a border city between 1075 and 1120. Burdur, which was incorporated into the Hamitoğulları Principality after the Seljuk period, was purchased from this principality during the reign of Murad I. Known as the Tirkemiş district at that time, Burdur definitively came under Ottoman control after Yıldırım's campaign in 1391. Becoming an independent sanjak (district) in 1920, Burdur was elevated to province status in 1923 after the establishment of the Republic.