HISTORY OF ISTANBUL: ANCIENT TO CONTEMPORARY

REVISION NOTES

FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT TO GRECO-ROMAN BYZANTION

 Bosporus: a straight (31km)
 Golden Horn: a natural inlet (7.5 km)
 People have been living in the region for 800 000 years
 Cutting tools reveal the presence of Neanderthal communities in the Istanbul region
 village life based on farming began in the region of Istanbul by 6600 BCE, on the shores of the
Marmara lake Yenikapı Excavations: Neolithic settlement at the level of 6.5-9.5 m below the sea,
village life based on farming
 Small farming community in Sarayburnu had an advance knowledge of the metallurgy
 Greek Colonization in the 8th and 7th c. BCE
 Byzas: the founder of the Megaran colony, Byzantion
 Foundation of Byzantion: 660 BCE
 Byzantion in Classical and Hellenistic Periods:
1. Sea trade: the import and export of grain from the Black Sea
2. Prosperous city that pays high taxes to keep its independent status
3. city walls, two harbors on the Golden Horn side, Strategion in the harbor area (large
marketplace), temples in the Acropolis (Topkapı) and on the seashore
 Byzantion passed to Roman hands in the 2nd c. BCE
 Septimius Severus rebuilt Byzantion (city walls, public buildings) after civil war in 2nd c. CE
 remains of luxurious Roman suburban villa (2nd or 3rd c. CE)
 The Thracians: Fierce tribal warriors, influenced the Greeks in the Archaic period in religion,
music, myth, warfare
 Byzantines were known for production of salted fish

THE BIRTH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

 Byzantion becomes Constantinople on May 11th, 330
 Constantine came to Byzantium and built his city there, built walls around the city, built fancy
homes, and summoned noble families to live there
 Walls of Constantine I: consisted of a single wall, reinforced with towers at regular distances,
which began to be constructed in 324 and was completed under Constantine II
 The Great Palace was the imperial residence and the ceremonial heart of the Empire, it was next
to the Hippodrome
 Hippodrome Spina: longitudinal wall decorated with sculptures, Sphendone: South curved end
 Central gates of Hippodrome were decorated with Spolia sculpture
 Serpent column put on Spina of Hippodrome, believed to have supernatural powers and to act as
a talisman against snakes
 Hippodrome is the most monumental building in the city and extensively decorated with statues
 Resemblances with Circus Maximus in Rome, also hosts chariot races
REFER TO DOCUMENTARY NOTES
URBAN PHYSIOGNOMY OF CONSTANTINOPLE IN LATE ANTIQUITY
 Estimated population by the end of the 5th c. : 500. 000 inhabitants
 Urban functions of the city fall into seven main categories: residence, economy, administration,
culture, defense, religion, and networks
 Obelisk of pharaoh Thuthmosis III brought from Egypt and put on the spina of the Hippodrome
in 390. Marble base made of panels that represent scenes involving the emperor Theodosius I and
his court in the Hippodrome.
 The linear disposition of new fora along the Mese: Forum and column of the emperor Theodosius
I, The Forum and the Column of the emperor Arcadius, Column of the emperor Marcian
 Luxury life:
1. Large and luxurious mansions (domus-oikoi), with gardens, decorated with sculptures,
mosaics, paintings.
2. Palace of Antiochos (high court official) and Palace of Lausos (high court official), near
the Hippodrome
 Palace of Lausos (430): Domed rotunda, famous for its collection of ancient sculptures, burned
down in 476, later becomes the Church of St. John the Evangelist (early 7th c.)
 Palace of Antiochos (410-420): Number of halls arranged fan-like around a semi-circular portico,
later transformed into the Church of Hagia Euphemia
 Dominant architectural type of churches was a basilica
 The Studios Monastery: Situated in the Psamathia region, near the Golden Gate, south of the
Mese. The oldest preserved Byzantine church in the city. Originally built to house the relics of
Saint John the Baptist. Church (453-454) built by Senator Studios, converted into a mosque
“Imrahor Camii” in the 16th c.

DEFENDING AND SUPPLYING THE CITY

 Land walls built under the rule of emperor Theodosius II (408-413), protection and additional
space for future urban growth
 Theodosian walls consisted of Moat, Outer Wall, Inner Wall
 Construction technique of walls consisted of alternating layers of 4 to 5 courses of brick and
several courses of ashlar
 Golden Gate (Porta Aurea): Ceremonial Entry to the city, built out of marble probably by
Theodosius I, had three arched openings flanked by massive square pylons decorated with many
statues, Imperial Inscription on the Gate set “in gold”
 Aqueducts: Water Supply System. The Roman waterway system, which brought fresh water to
cities. Romans also developed indoor plumbing and sewers to carry waste away from homes
 Cisterns of Constantinople : underground water storage facilities. Basilica Cistern, 5th or 6th
century, 12 rows of 28 columns that support the vaults, reused ancient columns and Capitals and
Medusa heads
 Reign of Justinian (527-565):
1. building 33 churches, six hospices, urban and suburban palaces, Basilica cistern,
seaside promenades etc.
2. Column of Justinian with his equestrian statue, placed on the Augusteion
3. Architectural and artistic innovations: basilica with a dome
  Church of Saints Sergios and Bacchos (Kuçuk Aya Sofia), 531-536, Dome over the central space,
Marble columns, rich sculptural decoration
 Church of the Holy Wisdom: Hagia Sophia. first Saint Sophia was dedicated in 360 by
Constantius II and it burned in 404, rebuilt under Theodosius II (408-50) as large basilica with
wooden roof and it burned during the Nika Revolt in 532, Church is rebuilt from 532 to 537, in
different plan, by Justinian, The first dome collapsed partly and was rebuilt in 563 by Isidoros the
Younger, Colorful marbles, golden mosaics, presence of light
 Justinian enlarged the Great Palace and rebuilt a magnificent entry gate called the Bronze (the
Chalke) Gate
 Exquisite mosaics depict the daily life, nature and mythology, no religious content

MEDIEVAL CONSTANTINOPLE
 Changes from the 9th c. onward:
1. Earthquakes, pandemics, fires, sieges, and political/religious turbulences
2. Shift from public to private patronage
3. Shift from civic to religious, namely monastic foundations
4. Many of the city’s former architectural glories survived but they changed their original
function
 Emperors, members of the imperial family and the elites building churches and urban
monasteries. Multiple functions: religious but also social care and welfare, health, education, art
production
 Emperor Basil I built the first church in the Great Palace: “New Church” (876-880)
 New architectural plan: “cross inscribed” with 5 domes, luxurious building gleaming with golden
mosaics, containing relics of the saints
 Myrelaion Monastery (929-944) - Bodrum Camii – CHECK HOMEWORK
 Monastery of Constantine Lips – Feneri Isa Camii - North Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary
(built around 907) sculptured column capitals, icons made of marble like the icon of saint
Eudokia, golden mosaics
 Second Golden Age of Constantinople: the Komnenian dynasty:
1. crusaders army of 20.000 took the city of 400.000 inhabitants
2. Development of the north-west part of the city with the building of the Blachernai palace
11th/12th c., the new imperial palace, started by Alexios I Komnenos and finalized by Manuel I
Komnenos, healing water spring and the miraculous icon of the Virgin
3. Concentration of commercial quarters along the Golden Horn, trade with the Italians and the
Islamic world
 The Pantokrator Monastery (1118-1124, 1136) -Zeyrek Camii- CHECK HOMEWORK
 Fourth Crusade and the Capture of Constantinople in 1204

LAST CENTURIES OF THE “QUEEN OF THE CITIES”

 Last Centuries of Byzantine Constantinople: The Palaeologan Dynasty (1261-1453)
 Constantinople ruled by the Latins (1204-1261)
 12th-century Church of the Virgin Kyriotissa (Kalenderhane Camii) in Venetian Quarters: given
to the monks of the Franciscan order
 Michael VIII Palaeologos reconquers Constantinople in 1261 and restores the power of the
Byzantine Empire
 Repairs, Reconstructions and New Buildings Sponsored by the Palaiologos Dynasty (1261-1453)
 Assuring the Defense of the City: Repairs of the Walls, Fortifications and Towers
1. South Land Walls: Michael VIII repairing and redecorating with spolia the Golden Gate
2. South Land Walls: the Marmara Tower, repaired with extensive spolia and transformed into a
fortified residence
3. North Land Walls: Tower of John VII Palaeologos
 the Column of Michael VIII: 35 meters high column placed close to the Church of the Holy
Apostles
 Revival of Monastic Life:
1. Repairs and new structures added to the existing buildings (reuse of the space)
2. Concern with burials and lavish tombs (funerary chapels, decorated burials etc.)
3. Centers of cultural and political life
 Constantine Lips 10th-c. monastery transformed into a large complex and mausoleum for the
Palaeologan family, Empress Theodora constructed in 1303 another church, south of the first
church
 monastery of the Virgin Pammakaristos 12th-c: Burial chapel constructed in 1310-15 by Martha
Glabas in memory of her late husband, the protostrator Michael Doukas
 Monastery of the Virgin Chora: Main Church of Christ in Chora (Kariye Camii): Late
11th-c/12th-c. church enlarged and redecorated by the highest court dignitary Theodore
Metochites
 Hagia Sophia: Restoration of the dome in 1346-1353, South gallery, Deisis Mosaic
 Genoese in Galata: Established in Galata after 1261, Autonomous Genoese trading colony,
Genoese built their own walls/towers, churches, and harbor
 Monastery of the Dominican monks in Galata: Church of Sts Paul and Dominic (Arap Camii),
established their monastery on the grounds of a former Byzantine church

ANCIENT INVISIBLE CITIES DOCUMENTARY

HAGIA SPOHIA

 Hagia Sophia Embodies the history of the entire city

 Christian cathedral built by romans, converted into a mosque in the 15th century, now a museum
 110 feet across 180 feet above the marble pavement, used to be the highest dome in the world
 40,000 pounds of silver used by Justinian to decorate
 Dome is deformed
 Enormous columns transfer the load to the ground

HIPPODROME
 Hippodrome used to dominate the heart of ancient Constantinople
 Held twice as many spectators as Rome’s coliseum
 Archways forming the exits and entrances now walled up
 Substructure supporting hippodrome seating
 Cistern in the 6th century. Water tank holding over 2 and a half million gallons of water
 Walls plastered with waterproof hydraulic mortar

 Spring under church (mosaic) under carpet shop still flowing

AQUEDUCT OF VALENS
 over 100 feet high and over a mile long
 Completed by emperor Valens in 4th century
 2 great channels inside the aqueduct, water directed into 209 cisterns across the city
 Fed by 2 supply lines coming from forest springs 125 miles away

PALACE OF BOUKOLEON
 Used to have 500 rooms covered in gold mosaics
  Reminder of the city’s lost glory
 Right on the water’s edge

MEHMET’S FORTRESS
 Most advanced of their time
 A Seven story weapon of ruthless efficiency
 Walls up to 23 feet thick that protects Mehmet’s council chamber
 Crenelated lookout positions, arrow slits, firing positions, toilets, grain storage, living quarters for
400 soldiers, a water cistern, chute to drop boiling oil on an invader at the front door, unrivaled
view to guard the narrowest part of the Bosporus

 Legend says during siege launched by the Sultan, instead of letting their enemies get the loot, the
people of Constantinople threw so much of their wealth into the Golden Horn that the waters
sparkled with gold.

 Invaders closed in on the Hagia Sophia

 Sultan Mehmet repaired the water supply, rebuilt the city walls, and established one the greatest
economic centers of its time, The Grand Bazaar. Became the centre of Istanbul’s wealth, and
Istanbul became the centre of the Ottoman empire

THE SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE

 Built by the successor of Sultan Mehmet, Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557
 The genius of the mosque is found in its grand design and its smallest details
 Invisible ventilation system hidden in the walls. It drew up the soot from the lamps through
hidden funnels leading into a secret room.
 The soot was scraped of the walls to make black ink for precious manuscripts
 A hospital was built, 6 schools, Turkish baths, a traveler’s inn, a bakery, a medical college, a
public kitchen for the poor
 Suleiman’s kitchen was designed to feed Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike

HOMEWORK 5: MEDIEVAL CONSTANTINOPLE

The Myrelaion Monastery
The Myrelaion Monastery was originally built as a rotunda. In the tenth century, it was converted into a
cistern. A few years before 922, the drungarius Romanos Lekapenos bought this building and the land
around it and built his own palace above the cistern. He also built a church next to the palace. After
becoming Emperor, Romanos Lekapenos transformed his palace into a monastery. In June 948, the
emperor died and was buried in the church, along with his wife Theodora who died in 922 and his eldest
son Christopher who died in 931. During the Fourth Crusade in 1203 the shrine was destroyed by fire
and was only repaired at the end of the thirteenth century. Around the year 1500 the Myrelaion
Monastery was converted into a mosque by Grand Vizier Mesih Paşa after the Ottoman conquest of
Constantinople in 1453.

The Pantokrator Monastery

The Pantokrator Monastery consisted of two orthodox churches and a chapel. The first church was built
by the Byzantine Empress Irene of Hungary and it was dedicated to Christ Pantokrator. The second
church was built to the north of the first church by her husband Emperor John II Komnenos and it was
dedicated to the Theotokos Eleousa. After the year 1136 the two churches were connected with a chapel
dedicated to Saint Michael. This chapel became to be the imperial mausoleum of the Komnenos and
Palaiologos dynasties and was where Emperor John II was buried along with his wife. The Monastery
also contained several hospitals, kitchens, baths, libraries, and houses for monks. After the Ottoman
Empire captured Constantinople the building was converted into a mosque and the Monastery into a
medrese where Scholars came to teach.
The Chora Monastery
The Chora Monastery was originally built in northwestern Byzantine Constantinople outside the city
walls of Constantinople which were built by Constantine the Great. Later on, in 413-414, when
Theodosius II built his land walls, the monastery became a part of the city. The church was rebuilt as an
inscribed cross by Maria Dukaina, the adoptive mother of Alexius I Comnenus. Early in the 12th
century, the church partially collapsed due to an earthquake perhaps. The monastery underwent many
restorations from the 11th to the 14th century. Between 1315 and 1321, the Byzantine statesman
Theodore Metochites redecorated the church with fine mosaics and frescos. The monastery was also
endowed with valuable estates, a hospital, and a public kitchen. During the Ottoman conquest, Chora
was one of the first churches to be looted and around 50 years after the fall of Constantinople, Atık Ali
Pasha, the Grand Vizier of Sultan Bayezid II, converted the Chora Church into a mosque.

The Genoese Galata

In exchange for the support given by Genoa to the Byzantine Emperor in his fight against Venice,
Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos granted the quarter of Galata to the Genoese in 1267. Merchant ships
lined the harbors as the Genoese built their own trading colony with almost complete autonomy. All of
the ancient fortifications were demolished except for the Fort of Galata. The Genoese built walls around
Galata and a very high tower (The Galata Tower) in 1348 at the northernmost and highest point of the
citadel to increase protection and strengthen the defenses of Galata. The construction of the Walls of
Galata began in the early 14th century and continued to be expanded and reinforced until shortly before
the Ottoman conquest. The Genoese kept enlarging their settlement illegally disregarding the precise
limits of the Genoese colony that the Byzantine Emperor had set for them.

GLOSSARY
Forum of Constantine I:
A circular forum built outside the old city walls of Byzantium. It marked the centre of the city and was a
central point along the Mese. The column of Constantine was built in the centre.

Serpent Column:
An ancient bronze column with a tripod and cauldron at the Hippodrome of Constantinople (now in
Sultan Ahmet Square, Istanbul). It was built to commemorate the Greeks who defeated the Persian
Empire at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BCE. The column was relocated to Constantinople by Constantine
the Great in 330.

Mausoleum of Constantine I:
A fancy resting place contained in the church of the holy apostles for most Eastern Roman emperors and
members of their families. The building was cross-shaped and was surrounded by a very large open area.
It was a circular building (rotunda) with twelve niches raised in memory of the Holy Apostles (containing
their relics) surrounded the emperor’s sarcophagus in the center.

Hippodrome Spina:
longitudinal wall decorated with sculptures

Spolia:
Hellenistic bronze sculpture of 4 horses (Quadrigae), brought from Greece or Asia Minor to decorate the
central gate of the starting boxes

Obelisk of pharaoh Thutmose III:

A tapering stone pillar built during the 18th dynasty by Pharaoh Thutmose III. Constantius II had it
transported along the river Nile to Alexandria to commemorate his 20 years on the throne. Then, the
Obelisk was transported to Constantinople by Theodosius I and was put up on the spina of the
Hippodrome there.

Forum of Theodosius I:
An area in Constantinople located on the mese and built originally by Constantine I. In 393, it was rebuilt
by Emperor Theodosius and renamed after him. The column of Theodosius was located in the middle of
this forum.
Column of the emperor Arcadius:
A monument in the forum of Arcadius in Constantinople that was built in the early 5th century. The
column took about 20 years to build. The marble column supported a very big statue of Arcadius

Palace of Antiochos:
A hexagonal structured palace located west of the Hippodrome in Constantinople. It was built by
Antiochos in the early 5th century as a residence for him.

Church of Saint John the Baptist in the Studios Monastery:

A Greek orthodox monastery in Constantinople founded by the senator Stoudios. It was built between
454 and 463 and became the most important monastery of the capital in the 9th century.

Milion:
A monument that was built in the 4th century AD in Constantinople. It was the byzantine zero-mile
marker, meaning it was used as the starting place for the measurement of distances for all the roads
leading to the cities of the Byzantine Empire.

Augusteion:
An important ceremonial square in ancient Constantinople (now in Aya Sofya Meydanı, Istanbul).
At first it was a public market, then in the 6th century it turned into a closed courtyard, acting as a
linking space between important buildings in the Byzantine capital.

Mese:
The main ceremonial road of ancient Constantinople. It started at the Milion monument and led straight
westwards. It was 25 metres wide and passed many important buildings such as the Hippodrome, the
palaces of Lausos and Antiochus, Forum of Constantine, and Forum of Theodosius.

Palace of Lausos (430):

Domed rotunda, famous for its collection of ancient sculptures, burned down in 476, later becomes the
Church of St. John the Evangelist (early 7th c.)

Palace of Antiochos (410-420):

Number of halls arranged fan-like around a semi-circular portico, later transformed into the Church of
Hagia Euphemia

Basilica:
Large building with two rows of columns and a semicircular apse, used in ancient Rome as a law court or
for public assemblies. The name was then applied to a building of this type used as a Christian Church

The Studios Monastery:

Situated in the Psamathia region, near the Golden Gate, south of the Mese. The oldest preserved
Byzantine church in the city. Originally built to house the relics of Saint John the Baptist.