 | Parts of this article (those related to the modern square) need to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2021) |
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Hippodrome of Constantinople" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Hippodrome | |
|---|---|
| Sultanahmet Square (Sultanahmet Meydanı) | |
.jpg) Obelisk of Theodosius in Sultanahmet Square today | |
 | |
| Location | Istanbul, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 41°00′23″N28°58′33″E / 41.00639°N 28.97583°E /41.00639; 28.97583 |
TheHippodrome of Constantinople (Greek:Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως,romanized: Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs;Latin:Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus;Turkish:Hipodrom) was acircus that was the sporting and social centre ofConstantinople, capital of theByzantine Empire. Today it is a square inIstanbul, Turkey, known asSultanahmet Square (Turkish:Sultanahmet Meydanı).
The wordhippodrome comes from the Greekhippos (ἵππος),horse, anddromos (δρόμος), path or way. For this reason, it is sometimes also calledAtmeydanı ("Horse Square") in Turkish.Horse racing andchariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in theHellenistic,Roman, and Byzantine eras.
Although the Hippodrome is usually associated with Constantinople's days of glory as an imperial capital, it actually predates that era. The first Hippodrome was built when the city was calledByzantium, and was a provincial town of moderate importance. In AD 203 the EmperorSeptimius Severus rebuilt the city and expanded itswalls, endowing it with a hippodrome, an arena for chariot races and other entertainment.
In AD 324, the EmperorConstantine the Great decided to refound Byzantium after his victory at the nearbyBattle of Chrysopolis; he renamed itNova Roma (New Rome). This name failed to impress and the city soon became known as Constantinople, the City of Constantine. Constantine greatly enlarged the city, and one of his major undertakings was the renovation of the Hippodrome. It is estimated that the Hippodrome of Constantine was about 450 m (1,476 ft) long and 130 m (427 ft) wide. Thecarceres (starting gates) stood at the northern end; and thesphendone (curved tribune of the U-shaped structure, the lower part of which still survives) stood at the southern end.[1] Thespina (the middle barrier of the racecourse) was adorned with various monuments, including the monolithic obelisk, the erection of which is depicted in relief carvings on its base.
Thestands were capable of holding around 100,000 spectators. The race-track at the Hippodrome was U-shaped, and theKathisma (emperor's lodge) was located at the eastern end of the track. The Kathisma could be accessed directly from theGreat Palace through a passage which only the emperor or other members of the imperial family could use.
The hippodrome was filled with statues of gods, emperors, animals, and heroes, among them some famous works, such as a 4th-century BCHeracles byLysippos,Romulus andRemus with the she-wolfLupa, and the 5th-century BCSerpent Column.[4] Thecarceres had four statues of horses in gilded copper on top, now called theHorses of Saint Mark. The horses' exactGreek orRoman ancestry has never been determined. They were looted during theFourth Crusade in 1204 and installed on the façade ofSt Mark's Basilica inVenice. The track was lined with other bronze statues of famous horses and chariot drivers, none of which survive. In his bookDe Ceremoniis (book II,15, 589), the EmperorConstantine Porphyrogenitus described the decorations in the hippodrome at the occasion of the visit ofSaracen or Arab visitors, mentioning the purple hangings and rare tapestries.[5] According toHesychius of Miletus, there was once a statue ofHecate at the site.[6]
Throughout the Byzantine period, the Hippodrome was the centre of the city's social life. Huge amounts were bet on chariot races, and initially four teams took part in these races, each one financially sponsored and supported by a different political party (Deme) within theByzantine Senate: TheBlues (Venetoi), theGreens (Prasinoi), the Reds (Rousioi) and the Whites (Leukoi). The Reds (Rousioi) and the Whites (Leukoi) gradually weakened and were absorbed by the other two major factions (the Blues and Greens).
A total of up to eight chariots (two chariots per team), powered by four horses each, competed on the racing track of the Hippodrome. These races were not simple sporting events, but also provided some of the rare occasions in which the emperor and the common citizens could come together in a single venue. Political discussions were often made at the Hippodrome, which could be directly accessed by the emperor through a passage that connected the Kathisma with theGreat Palace of Constantinople.
Therivalry between the Blues and Greens often became mingled with political or religious rivalries, and sometimes riots, which amounted to civil wars that broke out in the city between them. The most extreme of these was theNika riots of 532, in which an estimated 30,000 people were killed[7] and many important buildings were destroyed, such as the nearbysecond Hagia Sophia, the Byzantinecathedral. The current (third) Hagia Sophia was built byJustinian I following the Nika riots.
The hippodrome was still used for entertainment in the 10th and 11th centuries with the last recorded chariot race taking place in 1200.[8]
Constantinople never recovered from its sack during theFourth Crusade and even though the Byzantine Empire survived until 1453, by that time, the Hippodrome had fallen into ruin, pillaged by the Venetians who likely took thefour horses now in San Marco from a monument there.[9] The Ottomans, whose SultanMehmed II captured the city in 1453 and made it the capital of theOttoman Empire, were not interested in chariot racing and the Hippodrome was gradually forgotten, although the site was never actually built over. The hippodrome was used as a source of building stone, however.[10]
.jpg)
To raise the image of his new capital, Constantine and his successors, especiallyTheodosius the Great, brought works of art from all over the empire to adorn it. The monuments were set up in the middle of the Hippodrome, thespina. Among these was thesacrificial tripod ofPlataea, now known as the Serpent Column, cast to celebrate thevictory of the Greeks over the Persians during thePersian Wars in the 5th century BC. Constantine ordered the Tripod to be moved from theTemple of Apollo atDelphi, and set in middle of the Hippodrome. The top was adorned with a golden bowl supported by three serpent heads, although it appears that this was never brought to Constantinople. The serpent heads and top third of the column were destroyed in 1700.[11] Parts of the heads were recovered and are displayed at theIstanbul Archaeology Museum. All that remains of the Delphi Tripod today is the base, known as the "Serpent Column".
Another emperor to adorn the Hippodrome wasTheodosius the Great, who in 390 brought anobelisk fromEgypt and erected it inside the racing track. Carved from pink granite, it was originally erected at theTemple of Karnak inLuxor during the reign ofThutmose III in about 1490 BC. Theodosius had the obelisk cut into three pieces and brought it to Constantinople. The top section survives, and it stands today where Theodosius placed it, on a marble pedestal. Thegranite obelisk has survived nearly 3,500 years in good condition.
In the 10th century the EmperorConstantine Porphyrogenitus built another obelisk at the other end of the Hippodrome. It was originally covered with gilded bronze plaques, but they were sacked by Latin troops in the Fourth Crusade.[1] The stone core of this monument also survives, known as theWalled Obelisk.
Seven statues were erected on theSpina of the Hippodrome in honour ofPorphyrius the Charioteer, a legendary charioteer of the early 6th century who in his time raced for the two parties which were called "Greens" and "Blues". None of these statues have survived. The bases of two of them have survived and are displayed in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
.jpg)
The area is officially called Sultanahmet Square. It is maintained by the Turkish government. The course of the old racetrack has been indicated with paving, although the actual track is some 2 m (6.6 ft) below the present surface. The surviving monuments of theSpina, the two obelisks and the Serpentine Column, now sit excavated in pits in a landscaped garden.
TheGerman Fountain ("The Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain"), an octagonal domed fountain inneo-Byzantine style, which was constructed by the German government in 1900 to mark the visit of the German EmperorWilhelm II to Istanbul in 1898, is located at the northern entrance to the Hippodrome area, right in front of the Blue Mosque.
In 1855,Charles Thomas Newton, the English archaeologist who excavatedHalicarnassus andCnidus, excavated the one surviving jaw of a snake from the Serpent Column. The Hippodrome was excavated by the Director of the Istanbul Archeological Museums, archaeologist Rüstem Duyuran in 1950 and 1951.[12][13] A portion of the substructures of thesphendone (the curved end) became more visible in the 1980s with the clearing of houses in the area. In 1993 an area in front of the nearby Sultanahmet Mosque (theBlue Mosque) was bulldozed in order to install a public building, uncovering several rows of seats and some columns from the Hippodrome. Investigation did not continue further, but the seats and columns were removed and can now be seen in Istanbul's museums. It is possible that much more of the Hippodrome's remains still lie beneath the parkland of Sultanahmet.
The Hippodrome was depicted on thereverse of the Turkish 500lira banknotes of 1953–1976.[14]
![The surviving lower walls of the Sphendone, the curved grandstand[15][16] of the Hippodrome](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aHippodrome_Sphendone_Constantinopel_March_2008panoc.jpg)
.jpg)
Byzantine Empire topics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
