Basic Istanbul - Roman Memories

Roman Memories

Istanbul retains no major evidence of its very ancient past when it was called Byzantium: we know that the acropolis was located on the hill at the tip of the peninsula, on the site of Topkapi Sarayi, the residence of the Sultans. In 193 AD Byzantium sided with Pescennius Niger, Roman governor of Syria, against Emperor Septimius Severus, who besieged the town: it was a long siege and when eventually the town fell it was razed to the ground. A few years later the emperor rebuilt it and gave it a new name Augusta Antonina , because Septimius Severus claimed to be the legitimate successor of Emperor Antoninus Pius. The new town was larger than the previous one and it rapidly grew again, owing to its excellent position on the trade routes between Europe and Asia and between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.

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Basic Istanbul - Roman Memories

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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.

(left to right) Column of the Goths; details

of this column (above) and of the following one (below); Column

of Marcian; Column of Arcadius

During the IIIrd century for the first time the Roman limes (fortified border) on the Danube River was crossed by nomadic tribes and the Goths laid siege to Byzantium. A

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Basic Istanbul - Roman Memories

column was erected to celebrate the decisive victory of Emperor Claudius II (268-270) against the Goths at Naissus (today's Nis in Serbia). In 272 Constantius Chlorus, the military commander of Naissus had a child by an innkeeper's daughter: he was to become Emperor Constantine and to play a major role in the future of Byzantium (some believe the column celebrated Constantine's victories). The Column of Marcian was erected during the reign of that emperor (450-57) to celebrate not so much a victory on the battlefield, but his ability in preserving the city from being attacked by the Huns. This column is known in Turkish as the Kiztasi (Maiden's) Column because, according to a legend, the column would identify false virgins from true ones. This is probably due to the existence in the same neighbourhood of a (lost) column to Venus (it makes more sense to believe that a goddess, rather than an emperor, had means to detect loss of innocence). A third column was erected by Emperor Arcadius (395-408) to celebrate his triumphs: it was similar to Trajan's Column: it did not celebrate a victory on the battlefield, but riots during which the Goths who lived in Constantinople were massacred. Only parts of its base remain.

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(left) Cemberlitas (Column of

Constantine); (centre) heads of

Medusa; (right) Yerebatan Sarayi

(Basilica Cistern) In 324 Byzantium was again caught in the middle of a fight between two contenders for the Roman Empire; they were co-emperors and brothers-in-law, yet Constantine and Licinius did not refrain from involving large armies and fleets in a bloody civil war. Constantine won a great victory at Adrianople and Licinius retreated to Byzantium which he had to withdraw from when Crispus, Constantine's eldest son defeated his superior fleet. This time Byzantium did not pay a price for having been on the wrong side of the fight, because in 326 Constantine decided to move the capital of the Roman Empire there. Byzantium was renamed

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Nova Roma , but because Constantine had almost entirely rebuilt it, over time Constantinopolis (Constantinople) became the most used name. Cemberlitas (the burnt column) is a column erected by Constantine at the centre of his Forum (now near the Great Bazaar). It celebrated the inauguration of the new capital of the empire which occurred on May 11, 330. The column was made of ten blocks linked by bronze rings: it supported a statue of the emperor. Storms and fires have greatly damaged the column and only six blocks are left. Constantine built a cistern to supply water to the imperial palaces. It was enlarged by Emperor Justinian (527-565). The cistern was built in the form of a subterranean basilica with 336 columns, for this reason it is called Yerebatan Sarayi (Undergound Palace). It was during the changes made by Justinian that two colossal heads of Medusa were employed as bases for columns. They most likely came from a temple to Apollo and they were placed in that position as an indication of the despite for the old faith.

(left) Walls supporting the Hippodrome; (centre-

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1) Obelisk of Emperor Constantine

VII; (centre-2) Serpent Column;

(right) Milion The Hippodrome played a special role in the early days of Constantinople. Chariot races were very popular and crowds gathered there, so often riots started in the hippodrome. Constantine greatly enlarged a previous circus and to do this he had to level the ground between two hills by erecting huge supporting walls. The hippodrome was decorated with statues and other monuments. The Serpent Column was brought here from the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. The column celebrated the victory of the Greeks against the Persians and it ended with three heads of snakes supporting a golden basin. But both Christians and Muslims did not like snakes (seen as a symbol of evil) and eventually the bronze snakes were decapitated (one head has been found and can be seen in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum). A rather unrefined obelisk stands near the Serpent Column; it is known by the name of Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-59), because of an inscription at the base of the obelisk, but it is thought he just restored the crumbling monument which most likely was erected by Constantine. In 20 BC Emperor Augustus erected a column in Foro Romano; it was called Miliarium Aureum because it served as the starting point for measuring the length of the roads leading to the main towns of the empire (it is now lost). In Constantinople this function was assigned to an arch (Milion ) which was located at the northern end of the Hippodrome; recent excavations have brought to light a long stone which is thought to have been part of that arch.

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Aqueduct of Valens at Ataturk Bulvari

An extensive net of aqueducts provided the city with that ample supply that the Roman way of living required for baths, lavatories and fountains. Because the city was built on seven hills, aqueducts had to pass over many gaps; that between the third and the fourth hill is of a major dimension and it required the construction of many arches. This aqueduct was completed in 368 by Emperor Valens to supply the imperial palaces. Damaged by earthquakes and storms it was always repaired. The lower arcade is made of large stones, whilst the upper one is made of lighter materials.

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Sections of the aqueduct near

Kalenderhane Camii It is interesting to follow the aqueduct in its eastern section where it carried water to a Roman bath which was turned into a church and later on into a mosque (Kalenderhane Camii).

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(left to right) Obelisk of Thutmosis III; details

of its hieroglyphics; relief portraying

Emperor Theodosius offering a laurel wreath

According to an account it was Constantine who brought this obelisk of the Pharaoh Thutmosis III to Constantinople, but it was Emperor Theodosius I (379-95) who actually placed it at the centre of the Hippodrome. According to another account the decision to relocate the obelisk was made by Emperor Constantius II at the same time he shipped to Rome the Lateran Obelisk. For some reasons while the transport and erection of this obelisk went smoothly, the obelisk for Constantinople was broken and it was not erected (it is small because it is just the upper part of the original obelisk). Finally a third theory suggests that everything was done by Theodosius; this is in contrast with inscriptions in Latin and Greek which were placed at the base of the obelisk to celebrate the event: they emphasize the erection and not the transportation: strangely enough the Latin inscription says the erection required 30 days, while the Greek one says thirty-two. The hieroglyphs are very fine, in contrast with the rather still reliefs of the base. The lower part of the relief shown above portrays musicians and spectators and two water organs.

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Obelisk of Thutmosis III: (above) chariot

race; (below) submission of the Goths

One of the reliefs portrays some Goths on their knees and offering gifts. As a matter of fact it was Theodosius who made gifts to the Goths. He was appointed co-emperor after the defeat of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. His policy was to find an appeasement with the Goths who eventually were allowed to settle in various regions of the Balkans and to govern themselves. In 394 he did not hesitate to attack Eugenius and Arbogastes, respectively emperor and actual ruler of the western part of the empire, with an army mainly composed of Visigoths. He defeated his rivals at the Battle of the Frigidus (today Vipava River in Slovenia): he became the sole ruler of the empire, but he also paved the way for the 410 invasion of Italy by the Visigoths. The threat of the Goths led to the construction of new walls to protect Constantinople (408-413).

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Forum of Theodosius: (left) discovery of a

podium in 1950; (right) today with

the addition of other remains

The most touristic street of modern Istanbul (inside the walls of the ancient city) follows the same route as Mese (middle) Road, the main artery of Roman Constantinople. In 1950, during excavations made to enlarge the street, remains of a small podium were found near Beyazit Medresesi. Other findings in the area included pieces of columns and fragments of a triumphal arch; they now have been assembled in a rather haphazard way along the pavement of the street.

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The Hippodrome in a Russian engraving based on

a painting by Gavriil Sergeef (late

XVIIIth century) (by courtesy of

Andrey Spashchanskiy) The image used as background for this page shows a relief of the obelisk portraying Emperor Theodosius and his court. Introduction to this section Hagia Sophia Byzantine Heritage (before 1204)

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St. Saviour in Chora Byzantine Heritage (after 1204) First Ottoman Buildings The Golden Century: I - from Sultan Selim to Sinan's Early Works The Golden Century: II - The Age of Suleyman The Golden Century: III - Suleymaniye Kulliye The Golden Century: IV - Sinan's Last Works The Heirs of Sinan Towards the Tulip Era Baroque Istanbul The End of the Ottoman Empire Topkapi Sarayi The Princes' Islands Map of Istanbul Other sections dealing with Constantinople/Istanbul: The Walls of Nova Roma Galata

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