Constantinople



Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις, Konstantinoúpolis, or Πόλις, Polis) was the capital of the (330–395), the  (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the  (1204–1261), and the  (1453–1922). It was officially renamed to its modern Turkish name in 1930   as part of  Turkish national reforms. This name was already in common use among the city's Turkish inhabitants for nearly five centuries. Strategically located between the and the  at the point where  meets, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christian empire, successor to ancient  and. Throughout the Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city, known as the Queen of Cities (Vasileuousa Polis).

Depending on the background of its rulers, it often had several different names at any given time; among the most common were (Byzantion),  (Νέα Ῥώμη, Nova Roma), although this was an ecclesiastical rather than an official name, Constantinople and Stamboul (see ).

Byzantium
refounded an existing city. The site had been strategically and commercially important from the earliest times, lying as it does astride both the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black or Euxine Sea to the Mediterranean, and being possessed of an excellent and spacious harbour in the. Thus a city was first founded on the site in the early days of Greek colonial expansion, probaby around 671-662 BC.

Constantine I (306–337)


had altogether more ambitious plans. Having restored the unity of the empire, he was overseeing the progress of major governmental reforms and sponsoring the consolidation of the Christian church, and became well aware that Rome had become an unsatisfactory capital for several reasons. Rome lay too far from the eastern imperial frontiers, and hence also from the armies and the Imperial courts (emperors had long before abandoned administering the empire from Rome); it offered an undesirable playground for disaffected politicians; it suffered regularly from flooding and from. Yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it will have seemed unthinkable to suggest that that capital be moved.

Nevertheless, Constantine identified the site of Byzantium as the correct place: a city where an emperor could sit, readily defended, with easy access to the or the  frontiers, his court supplied from the rich gardens and sophisticated workshops of Roman Asia, his treasuries filled by the wealthiest provinces of the empire.



Constantine laid out the expanded city, dividing it like Rome into 14 regions (Greek: ρεγεώνες), and ornamenting it with public works worthy of a great imperial metropolis. Yet initially Constantinople did not have all the dignities of Rome. It possessed a, rather than an. It had no, or. Although it did have senators, they held the title clarus, not clarissimus, like those of Rome. Constantinople also lacked the panoply of other administrative offices regulating the food supply, police, statues, temples, sewers, aqueducts or other public works. The new programme of building was carried out in great haste: columns, marbles, doors and tiles were taken wholesale from the temples of the empire and moved to the new city. Similarly, many of the greatest works of Greek and Roman art were soon to be seen in its squares and streets. The emperor stimulated private building by promising householders gifts of land from the imperial estates in Asiana and, and on  he announced that, as in Rome, free distributions of food would be made to citizens. At the time the amount is said to have been 80,000 rations a day, doled out from 117 distribution points around the city.



Constantine laid out a new square at the centre of old Byzantium, naming it the Augusteum. The new senate-house (or Curia) was housed in a basilica on the east side. On the south side of the great square was erected the of the emperor with its imposing entrance, the Chalke, and its ceremonial suite known as the Palace of Daphne. Nearby was the vast for chariot-races, seating over 80,000 spectators, and the famed. At the western entrance to the Augusteum was the Milion, a vaulted monument from which distances were measured across the Eastern Empire.

From the Augusteum led a great street, the Mese (Greek: Μέση (Οδός) lit. "Middle Street"), lined with colonnades. As it descended the First Hill of the city and climbed the Second Hill, it passed on the left the or law-court. Then it passed through the oval where there was a second senate-house, then on and through the Forum of Taurus and then the Forum of Bous, and finally up the Sixth Hill and through to the Golden Gate on the. The Mese would be seven Roman miles long to the Golden Gate of the.

Constantine erected a high column in the middle of the Forum, on the Second Hill, with a statue of himself at the top, crowned with a halo of seven rays and looking towards the rising sun. Byzantium's population before AD 330 was 30,000 people.

Divided empire, 395–527


The first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople was, who took office on 359 and held it until 361. The emperor built the Palace of  on the shore of the  near the Golden Gate, probably for use when reviewing troops. All the emperors up to and  were crowned and acclaimed at the Hebdomon. founded the to house the skull of the saint (today preserved at the ), put up a memorial pillar to himself in the Forum of Taurus, and turned the ruined temple of  into a coach house for the ;  built a new forum named after himself on the Mese, near the walls of Constantine.

Gradually the importance of Constantinople increased. After the shock of the in 378, in which the emperor  with the flower of the Roman armies was destroyed by the  within a few days' march, the city looked to its defences, and  built in 413–414 the 18 metre (60 ft) tall  which were never to be breached until the coming of gunpowder. Theodosius also founded a near the Forum of Taurus, on.

In the 5th century, the, led by , demanded tribute from Constantinople. The city refused to pay, and Attila was about to assault the city when a message from, a sister of the western Emperor , was interpreted by Attila as a marriage proposal. Turning away from the siege, Attila marched on the Western Empire instead.

Some years later the s overran the Western Empire, its emperors retreated to, and it diminished to nothing. Thereafter, Constantinople became in truth the largest city of the Empire and of the world. Emperors were no longer peripatetic between various court capitals and palaces. They remained in their palace in the Great City, and sent generals to command their armies. The wealth of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia flowed into Constantinople.

Justinian, 527–565


The emperor (527–565) was known for his successes in war, for his legal reforms and for his public works. It was from Constantinople that his expedition for the reconquest of the former Diocese of Africa set sail on or about. Before their departure the ship of the commander anchored in front of the Imperial palace, and the Patriarch offered prayers for the success of the enterprise. After the victory, in 534, the, looted by the Romans in 70 AD and taken to by the  after their sack of Rome in 455, was brought to Constantinople and deposited for a time, perhaps in the church of St Polyeuctus, before being returned to Jerusalem in either the Church of the Resurrection or the New Church.

Chariot-racing had been important in Rome for centuries. In Constantinople, the hippodrome became over time increasingly a place of political significance. It was where (as a shadow of the popular elections of old Rome) the people by acclamation showed their approval of a new emperor; and also where they openly criticized the government, or clamoured for the removal of unpopular ministers. In the time of Justinian, public order in Constantinople became a critical political issue. The entire late Roman and early Byzantine period was one where Christianity was resolving fundamental questions of identity, and the dispute between the and the  became the cause of serious disorder, expressed through allegiance to the horse-racing parties of the Blues and the Greens, and in the form of a major rebellion of 532, known as the  (from the battle-cry of "Victory!" of those involved).

The partisans of the Blues and the Greens were said to affect untrimmed facial hair, head hair shaved at the front and grown long at the back, and wide-sleeved tunics tight at the wrist; and to form gangs to engage in night-time muggings and street violence. Fires started by the Nika rioters consumed the basilica of St Sophia, the city's principal church. Justinian commissioned and  to replace it with a new and incomparable, located at the north side of the Augusteum. This was the great cathedral of the Orthodox Church, whose dome was said to be held aloft by God alone, and which was directly connected to the palace so that the imperial family could attend services without passing through the streets. The dedication took place on 537 in the presence of the emperor, who exclaimed, "O, I have outdone thee!"

The social fabric of Constantinople was further damaged by the onset of between 541–542 AD.

Justinian also had Anthemius and Isidore demolish and replace the original, built by Constantine, with a new church under the same dedication. This was designed in the form of an equally-armed cross with five domes, and ornamented with beautiful mosaics. This church was to remain the burial place of the emperors from Constantine himself until the eleventh century. When the city fell to the Turks in 1453, the church was demolished to make room for the tomb of. Justinian was also concerned with other aspects of the city's built environment, legislating against the abuse of laws prohibiting building within 100 feet of the sea front, in order to protect the view.



Survival, 565–717
In the early 7th century the and later the  overwhelmed much of the, threatening Constantinople from the west. Simultaneously the n s overwhelmed the Prefecture of the East and penetrated deep into Anatolia. , son to the of, set sail for the city and assumed the purple. He found the military situation so dire that he is said at first to have contemplated withdrawing the imperial capital to, but relented after the people of Constantinople begged him to stay. While the Great City withstood a siege by 80,000 Avars and the Persian fleet, Heraclius launched a spectacular campaign into the heart of the Persian empire. The Persians were defeated outside, and their capital at was surrounded by the Byzantines. Persian resistance collapsed, and all the lost territories were recovered in 627. Heraclius replaced with  as the language of government, law and military command.

However, the unexpected appearance of the newly converted and united s took the Empire by surprise, and the southern provinces were overrun. Constantinople was besieged twice by the s, once in a long blockade between 674 and 678, and in 717. The second Arab siege was laid by both land and sea. The Arab ground forces, led by Maslama, were met with the city's impregnable walls, the stout resistance of the defenders, freezing winter temperatures, chronic outbreaks of disease, starvation, and  attacks on their camp. Meanwhile, their naval fleet was decimated by the newly devised of the Byzantine navy, and its remnants  were subsequently utterly destroyed in a storm on the return home. The crushing victory of the Byzantines was a severe blow to Caliph, and the expansion of the was severely stunted during his reign.

Recovery, 717–1025
For the Byzantines, the victory at Constantinople was an epic triumph. A long period of Byzantine retreat and stagnation came to an end, and the imperial frontier in the east became fixed on the Taurus and Anti-Taurus mountain ranges in eastern Asia Minor, where it would remain unchanged for the next two hundred years.

Asia Minor became the heartland of the empire, and from this time onwards the Byzantines began a recovery that resulted in the recovery of parts of, and  by 814. By the early years of the 11th century, the Bulgarians had been utterly destroyed and annexed to the empire, the and the  had converted to Orthodoxy. In, the emperor (867–886) reconquered the whole of the south, restoring Byzantine power to a position stronger than at any time since the 7th century.

In the east, the imperial armies began a major advance during the 10th and 11th centuries, resulting in the recovery of, , , , eastern and northern , and the reconquest of the holy city of.

The Iconoclast controversy, 730–787, 814–842
In the eighth and ninth centuries the movement caused serious political unrest throughout the Empire. The emperor issued a decree in 726 against images, and ordered the destruction of a statue of Christ over one of the doors of the Chalke, an act which was fiercely resisted by the citizens. convoked a church council in 754 which condemned the worship of images, after which many treasures were broken, burned, or painted over. Following the death of his son in 780, the empress  restored the veneration of images through the agency of the  in 787.

The iconoclast controversy returned in the early 9th century, only to be resolved once more in 843 during the regency of Empress, who restored the icons. These controversies contributed to the deterioration of relations with the and the.

The Vikings, from 860
The (who knew the city as Miklagarð - the great city) couldn't resist the city's riches. In 860 they plundered Constantinople for the first time, setting fire to churches and houses, plundering and looting. The emperor was forced to offer gold for peace and later had to pay the Vikings annual tribute to avoid further plundering. There was little trust of the Vikings, if they wanted to trade in the city they had to go through a certain gate followed by the emperor's men, and they had to leave their weapons outside the city walls and couldn't enter with more than 50 at a time.

In 980 emperor received an unusual gift from Prince (Valdemar) of Kiev. He received an army of 6,000 Scandinavian-Russian Vikings which Basil incorporated into his own army as a single unit, which became known as the "The Axe-Wielding Guard"—after the huge axes they used in battle. Posterity knows this unit as the —the sworn. They were the best paid troops in the empire, they were allowed to keep any booty they managed to obtain from the battlefield and towns they conquered. They also had a right to "polutasvarv" (palace plundering) whenever the emperor died, in which they went to the emperial treasury and grabbed all the treasures and valuables they could carry. The Varangians served the emperor for over 300 years.

Prelude to the Komnenian period, 1025–1081
In the late, catastrophe struck the Byzantine empire. With the imperial armies weakened by years of insufficient funding and civil warfare, Emperor Diogenes suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of  (sultan of the Seljuk Turks) at the  in 1071. Romanus was captured, and although the Sultan's peace terms were not excessive, the battle was catastrophic for the Byzantine Empire.

On his release, Romanus found that his enemies had conspired against him to place their own candidate on the throne in his absence. Romanus surrendered and suffered death by torture. The new ruler, Ducas, refused to honour the treaty that had been signed by Romanus. In response, the Turks began to move into Anatolia in 1073, while the collapse of the old defensive system meant that they met no opposition. To make matters worse, chaos reigned as the empire's remaining resources were squandered in a series of disastrous civil wars. Thousands of tribesmen crossed the unguarded frontier and moved into Anatolia. By 1080, an area of 30,000 square miles had been lost to the empire, and the Turks were within striking distance of Constantinople.

The Komnenoi, 1081–1185


Under the Komnenian dynasty (1081–1185), Byzantium staged a remarkable military, financial and territorial recovery. This is sometimes called the, and is closely linked to the establishment of the of this period.

In response to a call for aid from, the assembled at Constantinople in 1096 and set out for. Much of this is documented by the writer and historian in her work. The Crusaders agreed to return any Byzantine territory they captured during their advance. In this way Alexios gained territory in the north and west of Asia Minor. During the twelfth century Byzantine armies continued to advance, reconquering much of the lost territory in Asia Minor. The recovered provinces included the fertile coastal regions, along with many of the most important cities. By 1180, the Empire had gone a long way to reversing the damage caused by the. Under Manuel Komnenos, the emperor had attained the right to appoint the King of, and had become a vassal of the empire.

With the restoration of firm central government, the empire became fabulously wealthy. The population was rising (estimates for Constantinople in the twelfth century vary from approximately 100,000 to 500,000), and towns and cities across the empire flourished. Meanwhile, the volume of money in circulation dramatically increased. This was reflected in Constantinople by the construction of the Blachernae palace, the creation of brilliant new works of art, and the general prosperity of the city at this time. It is possible that an increase in trade, made possible by the growth of the Italian city-states, may have helped the growth of the economy at this time. Certainly, the and others were active traders in Constantinople, making a living out of shipping goods between the Crusader Kingdoms of  and the West while also trading extensively with Byzantium and. The Venetians had factories on the north side of the Golden Horn, and large numbers (60,000 to 80,000) of westerners were present in the city throughout the twelfth century.

In artistic terms, the 12th century was a very productive period in Byzantium. There was a revival in the art, for example. Mosaics became more realistic and vivid, with an increased emphasis on depicting three-dimensional forms. There was an increased demand for art, with more people having access to the necessary wealth to commission and pay for such work. According to N.H. Baynes (Byzantium, An Introduction to East Roman Civilization):


 * "With its love of luxury and passion for colour, the art of this age delighted in the production of masterpieces that spread the fame of Byzantium throughout the whole of the Christian world. Beautiful silks from the work-shops of Constantinople also portrayed in dazzling colour animals - lions, elephants, eagles, and griffins - confronting each other, or represented Emperors gorgeously arrayed on horseback or engaged in the chase."


 * "From the tenth to the twelfth century Byzantium was the main source of inspiration for the West. By their style, arrangement, and iconography the mosaics of St. Mark's at Venice and of the cathedral at clearly reveal their Byzantine origin. Similarly those of the, the  at , and the , together with the vast decoration of the cathedral at Monreale, demonstrate the influence of Byzantium on the  Court of  in the twelfth century. Hispano- art was unquestionably derived from the Byzantine.  owes much to the East, from which it borrowed not only its decorative forms but the plan of some of its buildings, as is proved, for instance, by the domed churches of south-western France. Princes of , , abbots of , merchants of , and the Norman kings of Sicily all looked to Byzantium for artists or works of art. Such was the influence of Byzantine art in the twelfth century, that Russia, Venice, southern Italy and Sicily all virtually became provincial centres dedicated to its production."

The Palaeologi, 1204–1453


However, after the demise of the Comnenian dynasty at the close of the 12th century, the Byzantine Empire declined steeply. Dynastic strife under the (1185–1204) culminated in the capture and sack of Constantinople by soldiers of the  on. At the end of the Comnenian dynasty, Constantinople had a population of 400,000 people, but by the time the Fourth Crusade arrived at Constantinople, the population had dropped to perhaps 150,000. For the next half-century, Constantinople was ruled by the forces of the so-called. During this time, the Byzantine emperors made their capital at nearby, which became a resort for refugees from Constantinople. From this base, Constantinople was taken from its final Latin ruler,, by forces under  in 1261. By 1261 the population of the city may have fallen as low as 35,000, but succeeded in increasing the population to 70,000 people by the end of his reign. Besides the Empire of Nicaea, two other small states formed as a result of the Latin successes in 1204: the and. After the conquest of Constantinople by the Palaeologi, the imperial palace of in the north-west of the city became the main imperial residence, with the old Great Palace on the shores of the  going into decline. When the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the population was at 50,000 people.

Culture
Constantinople was the largest and richest urban centre in the Eastern during the late, mostly due to its strategic position commanding the trade routes between the  and the. After the fourth century, when Emperor relocated his eastern capital to Byzantium, it would remain the capital of the eastern, Greek speaking empire for over a thousand years. As the capital of the (now commonly known as the Byzantine Empire), the Greeks called Constantinople simply "the City", while throughout Europe it was known as the "Queen of Cities". In its heyday, roughly corresponding to what are now known as the, it was the richest and largest European city, exerting a powerful cultural pull and dominating economic life in the Mediterranean. Visitors and merchants were especially struck by the beautiful monasteries and churches of the city, particularly, or the Church of Holy Wisdom. A Russian 14th-century traveller, Stephen of Novgorod, wrote, "As for St Sophia, the human mind can neither tell it nor make description of it." The cumulative influence of the city on the west, over the many centuries of its existence, is incalculable. In terms of technology, art and culture, as well as sheer size, Constantinople was without parallel anywhere in Europe for a thousand years.

Politics


The city provided a defence for the eastern provinces of the old Roman Empire against the barbarian invasions of the 5th century. The 18 metre (60 ft) tall walls built by (413-414) were essentially invincible to the barbarians who, coming from the, found easier targets to the west than the richer provinces to the east in Asia. From the 5th century the city was also protected by the, a 60 kilometre (37 mi) chain of walls across the. Many scholars argue that these sophisticated fortifications allowed the east to develop relatively unmolested, while and the west collapsed. With the emergence of Christianity and the rise of Islam, Constantinople became the veritable gates to Christian Europe that stood at the fore of Islamic expansion. As the Byzantine Empire was situated in-between the Islamic world and the Christian west, so did Constantinople act as Europe’s first line-of-defense against Arab advances in the 7th and 8th centuries. The city, and the empire, would ultimately fall to the Ottomans by 1453, but its enduring legacy had provided Europe centuries of resurgence following the collapse of Rome.

Architecture


The influence of Byzantine architecture and art can be seen in the copies taken from it throughout Europe. Particular examples include in Venice, the basilicas of, and many churches throughout the Slavic East. Also, alone in Europe until the 13th century Italian, the Empire continued to produce sound gold coinage, the of  becoming the  prized throughout the Middle Ages. Its were much imitated (for example, see ) and its urban infrastructure was moreover a marvel throughout the Middle Ages, keeping alive the art, skill and technical expertise of the Roman Empire.

Religious
Constantine's foundation gave prestige to the Bishop of Constantinople, who eventually came to be known as the, vying for honour with the. They were often regarded as "", a situation which contributed to the that divided Christianity into  and  from 1054 onwards (although the anathemas that each religious leader pronounced against the other have been withdrawn in recent times). The Patriarch of Constantinople is still today considered outstanding in the Orthodox Church, along with the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow and the later Slavic Patriarchs. This position is largely ceremonial but still today carries great weight, particularly since by tradition Constantinople carries the administrative burden of the orthodox churches in 'barbarian lands'.

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 * Constantinople appears as a city of wondrous majesty, beauty, remoteness and nostalgia in ' 1926 poem.
 * , author of I, Claudius, also wrote Count Belisarius, a historical novel about Belisarius, much of which is set in Constantinople under Justinian I.
 * Constantinople's change of name was the theme for a song made famous by and later covered by  and many others entitled "". "Constantinople" was also the title of the opening track of '  , released in 1978.
 * Constantinople under Justinian is the scene of "A Flame in Byzantium" by released in 1987.
 * "Constantinople" is the title of a song by The Decemberists.
 * 's novel "Byzantium" (1996) is set in 9th Century Constantinople.
 * Filmmaker said he wanted images of  in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy to look like "Constantinople in the morning."
 * "Constantinople 1453 (On the Eve of the Fall)" is a song by American heavy metal band Phoenix Reign.
 * Folk/Symphonic Metal band have a song on their latest album  called Miklagard Overture.