Great Palace of Constantinople

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Great Palace of Constantinople

The Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
Great Palace of Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece...
, (Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
: Büyük Saray), also known as the Sacred Palace (Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
: sacrum palatium, ), was a large palace complex, located in the south-eastern end of the peninsula where the city lies. It served as main residence of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine emperors from 330 to 1081 and was the centre of imperial administration for over 800 years.

History
When Constantine I moved the Roman capital to Constantinople in 330, he planned out a palace for himself and his heirs.

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Encyclopedia

The Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

Constantinople

Turkish language

Latin

History

When Constantine I moved the Roman capital to Constantinople in 330, he planned out a palace for himself and his heirs. The palace was located between the Hippodrome

Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a Race track that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire and the largest city in Europe....
and Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former Patriarchate basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture....
. It was rebuilt and expanded several times, especially under the emperors Justinian I

Justinian I

Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus , AD 482 or 483 ? 13 or 14 November 565, was the second member of the Justinian Dynasty and List of Roman Emperors from 527 until his death....
and Theophilos

Theophilos (emperor)

Theophilos or Theophilus or Theophilou , was Byzantine emperor from 829 to 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty....
.

Until the early 13th century, the Great Palace served as the primary administrative and ceremonial centre of the city, although from the early Comnenian era

Komnenos

The Komnenos or Comnenus was a romioi noble family and an important ruling Dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, as they are widely considered to have reversed the decline of the Byzantine Empire for over a century, from c.1081 to c.1185....
the palace of Blachernae

Blachernae

Blachernae was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople. It was the site of a spring and a Church of St. Mary of Blachernae were built there, notably by Pulcheria in the 5th century and by Justinian I in the 6th century....
was favoured as an imperial residence. During the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade

Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade was originally designed to conquer Islam Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christianity city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire....
, the Palace was plundered by the soldiers of Boniface of Montferrat

Boniface of Montferrat

Boniface of Montferrat , was Marquess of Montferrat and the leader of the Fourth Crusade. He was the third son of William V, Marquess of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg, born after his father's return from the Second Crusade....
. Although the subsequent Latin emperors

Latin Empire

The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire after their sack of Constantinople in 1204 and ended in 1261....
continued to use the Palace complex, they lacked money for its maintenance. The last Latin emperor, Baldwin II

Baldwin II of Constantinople

Baldwin II of Courtenay was the last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.He was a younger son of Yolanda of Flanders, sister of the first two emperors, Baldwin I of Constantinople and Henry of Flanders....
, went as far as removing the lead roofs of the Palace and selling them.

Consequently, when the city was retaken by the forces of Michael VIII Palaeologus

Michael VIII Palaiologos

Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaeologos dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
in 1261, the Great Palace was in a bad state. The Palaeologus

Palaiologos

File:Palaeologoi eagle.jpgThe Palaiologos or Palaeologus was a romioi noble family and the last ruling Dynasty of the Byzantine Empire....
emperors largely abandoned it, ruling from Blachernae, so that when Mehmed II

Mehmed II

Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from February 1451 to 1481. At the age of 21, he Fall of Constantinople, bringing an end to the medieval Byzantine Empire....
entered the city in 1453, he discovered it to be ruined and abandoned. As he wandered its empty halls and pavilions, he allegedly whispered a quote from the Persian

Persian people

Persian identity, at least in terms of language, is traced to the ancient Indo-Iranians , who arrived in parts of Greater Iran circa 2000-1500 BCE....
poet, Ferdowsi

Ferdowsi

Hakim Abu'l-Qasim Firdawsi Tusi , more commonly transliterated as Ferdowsi , was a highly revered Persian people poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran as well as other Persian communities in other countries....
:

"The spider spins his web in the Palace of the Caesars,
An owl hoots in the towers of Afrasiyab."

Much of the palace was demolished in the general rebuilding of Constantinople in the early years of the Ottoman era

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
. However, an early 20th century fire uncovered a section of the Great Palace. On this site prison cells, many large rooms, and possibly tombs were found. Contemporary excavations are continuing in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, List of metropolitan areas in Europe by population, and List of cities proper by population in the world with a population of 12.6 million....
on the Great Palace. So far, less than one quarter of the total area covered by the palace has been excavated; total excavation is not feasible since the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and its adjoining buildings cover some of the area. Most of the unearthed mosaics have been housed in the Great Palace Mosaic Museum.

Description

The Palace was located in the southeastern corner of the peninsula where Constantinople is situated, behind the Hippodrome

Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a Race track that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire and the largest city in Europe....
and the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former Patriarchate basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture....
. The Palace is considered by scholars to have been a series of pavilions, much like the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

Topkapi Palace

The Topkapi Palace or in Ottoman Turkish language: ?????? ?????, usually spelled "Topkapi" in English)is a palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans, from 1465 to 1853....
that succeeded it. The total surface area of the Great Palace exceeded .

The main entrance to the Palace quarter was the Chalke

Chalke

The Chalke was a large gate that lead to the Great Palace of Constantinople from the Augustaion. It was heavily damaged during the Nika riots and reconstructed under Justinian I....
gate at the Augustaion. The Augustaion was located on the south side of the Hagia Sophia, and it was there that the city's main street, the Mese

Mese (Constantinople)

The Mese was the main thoroughfare of ancient Constantinople . The street was the main scene of Byzantine imperial processions. Its ancient course is largely followed by the modern Divanyolu Avenue....
("Middle Street"), began. To the east of the square lay the Senate house or Palace of Magnaura

Magnaura

The Magnaura was a large building in Constantinople. It is equated by scholars with the building that housed the Byzantine Senate, and which was located east of the Augustaeum, close to the Hagia Sophia and next to the Chalke gate of the Great Palace of Constantinople....
, where the University

University of Constantinople

The University of Constantinople, sometimes known as the University of the palace hall of Magnaura in the Byzantine Empire was recognised as a University in 848, although it had been founded in 425 and is considered by several scholars to be the first university in the world....
was later housed, and to the west the Milion

Milion

The Milion , was a monument in Constantinople. It was the origin and start of measurement of distances for all the Roman road leading to the cities of the Byzantine Empire, and had the same function which the Milliarium Aureum of Rome still has today....
(the mile marker, from which all distances were measured), and the old Baths of Zeuxippus

Baths of Zeuxippus

The Baths of Zeuxippus, built sometime between 100 to 200, destroyed by the Nika revolt of 532 and then rebuilt several years later, were popular public baths in the city of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire....
.

Immediately behind the Chalke Gate, facing southwards, were the barracks of the Palace Guards, the Scholae

Scholae

Scholae is a Latin word, literally meaning "schools" that was used in the late Roman Empire to signify a unit of Imperial Guards. The unit survived in the Byzantine Empire until the 12th century....
. After the barracks stood the reception hall of the 19 Accubita

Accubita

Of Ancient Roman furniture, accubita was the name of couches used in the time of the Roman emperors, instead of the triclinium, for reclining upon at meals....
("Nineteen Couches"), followed by the Palace of Daphne, in early Byzantine times the main imperial residence. It included the Octagon, the emperor's bedchamber. From the Daphne, a passage led directly to the imperial box (kathisma
Kathisma

A Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Church Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine rite....
) in the Hippodrome

Hippodrome of Constantinople

Justin II

Flavius Iustinus Augustus was Eastern Roman emperor from 565 to 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I, and husband of Sophia , the niece of the late empress Theodora , and therefore member of the Justinian Dynasty....
, and expanded and renovated by Basil I

Basil I

Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine Empire. He was perceived by Byzantines as one of their greatest emperors, the founder of one the most splendid imperial dynasties of Byzantium, the Macedonian dynasty , and the initiator of a Macedonian Renaissance of Byzantine art....
. To its north lay the Triconchos palace, built by the emperor Theophilos

Theophilos (emperor)

Theophilos or Theophilus or Theophilou , was Byzantine emperor from 829 to 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty....
and accessible through a semicircular antechamber known as the Sigma. To the east of the Triconchos lay the lavishly decorated Nea Ekklesia
Nea Ekklesia

The Nea Ekklesia was a church built by Byzantine Emperor Basil I the Macedonian in Constantinople between the years 876?80. It was the first monumental church built in the Byzantine Empire capital after the Hagia Sophia in the 6th century, and marks the beginning of middle period of Byzantine architecture....
("New Church"), built by Basil I

Basil I

Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine Empire. He was perceived by Byzantines as one of their greatest emperors, the founder of one the most splendid imperial dynasties of Byzantium, the Macedonian dynasty , and the initiator of a Macedonian Renaissance of Byzantine art....
, with five gilded domes. The church survived until after the Ottoman conquest. It was used as a gunpowder magazine and exploded when it was struck by lightning in 1490. Between the church and the sea walls lay the polo

Polo

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score Goal s against an opposing team. Riders score by driving a small white plastic or wooden Ball game into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet....
field of the Tzykanisterion.

Further to the south, detached from the main complex lay the seaside palace of Bucoleon. It was built by Theophilos, incorporating parts of the sea walls, and used extensively until the 13th century, especially during the Latin Empire

Latin Empire

The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire after their sack of Constantinople in 1204 and ended in 1261....
(1204-1261) whose Catholic emperors from Western Europe favoured the seaside palace. A seaward gate gave direct access to the imperial harbour of Bucoleon.

Literature

Cyril Mango
Cyril Mango

Cyril Alexander Mango is a United Kingdom scholar in the history, Byzantine art, and Byzantine architecture of the Byzantine Empire. He is a former King's College London and University of Oxford professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature....
: The Brazen house: a study of the vestibule of the Imperial Palace of Constantinople (Kopenhagen 1959).
Cyril Mango: The Palace of Marina, the Poet Palladas and the Bath of Leo VI. In: E. Kypraiou (Hrsg.), Eufrosynon: Afieroma ston Manoli Hatzidaki (Athens 1991), pp. 321-330
Cyril Mango: Ancient Spolia in the Great Palace of Constantinople. In: Byzantine East, Latin West: Art-Historical Studies in Honor of Kurt Weitzmann
Kurt Weitzmann

Kurt Weitzmann was born in Klein Almerode, Germany on May 7, 1904 and died in Princeton, New Jersey on June 7, 1993. He was a highly influential art historian who studied Byzantine and medieval art....
(Princeton 1995), pp. 645-649.
Jonathan Bardill: The Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors and the Walker Trust Excavations. In: Journal of Roman Archaeology 12 (1999), pp. 216-230.

External links

Computer reconstruction
Gate of the Great Palace
"In Istanbul, luxury hotel amid Byzantine ruins stirs debate over Turkey's heritage" July 10, 2008