LexisThe lexicon used in epitaphs varies in different religions. Phrases or entire sentences are quoted on the tombstones. It is seen in a Muslim gravestone (figure 1.95) carved on “inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un (إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ). This is a verse from the Quran that translates in English to “Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we will return.” This excerpt from the Holy Book is in prayer form, an idiom and conventions for prayers. Additionally, many Jewish tombstones have the phrase “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One” inscribed on them, which is one of the greatest commandments of Deuteronomy 6:4. Jewish headstones with Jewish engravings are of greater value to genealogists, as they not only show the date of the deceased's death and the time, age, or date of conception, but also incorporate the name of the deceased's father. This allows us to go back another generation. Formulas and expressions are consistent on all gravestones. Most epitaphs are brief testimonies of the family and perhaps career of the deceased, often with an expression of love or respect - "beloved husband of..." (figure 4.6) - but others are more ambitious. These lexical pieces like “in loving memory of” are common in most inscriptions and may seem cliché. From the Renaissance to the 19th century in Western culture, epitaphs for important people became increasingly long and pompous descriptions of their family origins, careers, virtues, and close relatives, often in Latin. However, the Laudatio Turiae, the longest known ancient Roman epitaph, surpasses almost all of these at 180 lines; celebrates the virtues of a wife, probably of a consul. It is evident on a gravestone (figure 4.2) ...... middle of the paper ...... population number under the Muslim category until the 20th century so there are not many gravestones that can be analysed. Since this topic is quite unusual, not much research has been done, so theorists were difficult to find. Evaluation To allow this investigation extensive evidence and in-depth research it would have been better to visit more cemeteries across the country, so the results could be more reliable. To better understand the meaning of the inscriptions I could have talked about death with religious leaders. The validity of the conclusion could be better with more evidence from different cemeteries across the country. Therefore, due to the limitations of the tests, inaccurate results may be obtained. It was also difficult to decipher what some of the inscriptions were as the headstones had been eroded by the weather (figure 5-5.4).