Sangarius Bridge | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sangarius Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 40°44′N30°22′E / 40.74°N 30.37°E /40.74; 30.37 |
| Carries | Road fromConstantinople to east inByzantine times |
| Crosses | Çark Deresi (Antiquity: Sangarius) |
| Locale | Close toAdapazarı,Turkey |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Arch bridge Cutwaters on both sides |
| Material | Limestone blocks |
| Total length | 429 m |
| Width | 9.85 m |
| Height | 10 m |
| Longest span | 24.5 m |
| No. of spans | 7 main arches + 5 floodways |
| Piers in water | 6 |
| History | |
| Construction end | 562 AD |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Sangarius Bridge | |
TheSangarius Bridge orBridge of Justinian (Turkish:Justinianos Köprüsü orBeşköprü) is a lateRoman bridge over the riverSakarya (Latin:Sangarius,Greek Σαγγάριος) inAnatolia, in modern-dayTurkey. It was built by theEast Roman EmperorJustinian I (527–565 AD) to improve communications between the capitalConstantinople and theeastern provinces of his empire. With a remarkable length of 430 m, the bridge was mentioned by several contemporary writers, and has been associated with a supposed project, first proposed byPliny the Younger to EmperorTrajan,[1] to construct a navigablecanal that would bypass theBosporus.[2]
The Sangarius Bridge is located in northwesternAnatolia, in the ancient region ofBithynia, ca. 5 km southwest of the town ofAdapazarı.[3] Today, the bridge spans the small Çark Deresi stream (called Melas in Antiquity), which flows from the nearby Sapanca Lake; the modern course of the far wider Sakarya lies 3 km to the East.[3]
In Antiquity and all the way up to the Middle Ages, the bridge served an important purpose: it was the crossing-point of the strategically importantmilitary road from theBosporus to the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, which were threatened by theSassanid Empire.[4] Before the stone bridge was constructed, a woodenpontoon bridge existed, which, according toProcopius, was frequently washed away when the river flooded, costing many men their lives.[5]
The date of construction for the stone bridge can be accurately determined from contemporary sources: two laudatory poems ofPaul the Silentiary andAgathias, dating to the year 562, celebrate its completion, and the chroniclerTheophanes records that the work began inAnno Mundi 6052, which corresponds to 559–560.[6] Conversely, since Procopius states that the bridge was still under construction when he wrote his work on Justinian's building projects (De Aedificiis), this would mean that it was written in the years 560–561 and celebrated in 562, five to six years later than earlier presumed.[7] However, given that Theophanes' dating is somewhat inaccurate, it may well be that the bridge's construction had originally started in ca. 554.[8]
The bridge is built of blocks oflimestone, and, including theabutments at each end, totals 429 m in length, with a width of 9.85 m and a height of up to 10 m.[9] The bridge rests on seven mainarches. The central five arches span ranges from 23 to 24.5 m, with thepiers between them ca. 6 m thick. They are complimented on either side by a smaller arch with a span of ca. 20 m.[3] The Çark Deresi stream flows through one of the western arches today.[9] In addition, there are further five arches (two in the western and three in the eastern ends) of between 3 and 9 m on the banks of the river bed, which served asspillways in case the river overflowed.[10] The eastern part of the bridge has been partially destroyed by the construction of a railway line along the river's course.[9] The seven main piers were apparently decorated with smallChristiancrosses, which, with the exception of two, seem to have been destroyed.[11]
In detail, the width of the main architectural elements (spans inbold, piers in parentheses) are, in meters:[11]
The piers are shaped so as to act ascutwaters, rounded on the upstream and pointed on the downstream side. The only exception is the broadest pier on the western shore, which is wedge-shaped on both sides. This feature of the Sangarius bridge sets it apart from most known Roman bridges, which usually feature pointed cut-waters upstream, and – if existing – also downstream.[11]
On the western entrance atriumphal arch stood, while on the eastern side there are the remains of anapse, whose function is unclear, but possibly served as a religious shrine.[3] The apse features an East-oriented half-dome, and is 11 m high and 9 m wide.[12] The remains of the arch, now vanished, are illustrated in the sketches made in 1838 by Léon de Laborde: they depict an arched doorway, made of stone masonry, lying immediately at the entrance of the bridge.[13] The next sketch provides some measured dimensions: the doorway was 10.37 m high and 6.19 m wide, while the pillars to either side were 4.35 m thick.[14]
The bridge was also adorned by an inscription bearing anepigram ingreek by Agathias. The inscription has not survived, but its content has been preserved in thewritings of EmperorConstantine VII Porphyrogenitus:
Καὶ σὺ μεθ' Ἑσπερίην ὑψαύχενα καὶ μετὰ Μήδων ἔθνεα καὶ πᾶσαν βαρβαρικὴν ἀγέλην, Σαγγάριε, κρατερῇσι ῥοὰς ἁψῖσι πεδηθεὶς οὕτως ἐδουλώθης κοιρανικῇ παλάμῃ· ὁ πρὶν γὰρ σκαφέεσσιν ἀνέμβατος, ὁ πρὶν ἀτειρὴς κεῖσαι λαϊνέῃ σφιγκτὸς ἀλυκτοπέδῃ.
You too, along with proudHesperia and theMedian peoples and all barbarian flocks, Sangarios, whose tempestuous course is broken by these arches, thus by thesovereign's hand has been enslaved. Once impassable by ships, once untamed, you now lie in shackles of unbending stone.
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Media related toSangarius Bridge at Wikimedia Commons
40°44′15″N30°22′22″E / 40.737428°N 30.372853°E /40.737428; 30.372853
