The Hippodrome of Constantinople | Sultanahmet Square of Istanbul
Blue Mosque and Obelisk in Sultanahmet Istanbul Old City
Seeing people enjoying their Sunday afternoons on the calm lush green lawns of Hippodrome, it is quite difficult to believe that this is the same place where numerous royal celebrations, chariot races and deadly massacres took place many centuries ago.
And when the park is adorned with white lights during the month of Ramadan along with elephant rides arranged for kids, all the signs of its complex past are completely wiped away. It has been aptly named as ‘At Meydani’ or ‘Sultanahmet Meydani’ (Horse Square or Horse Grounds in Turkish) due to its function in the Ottoman period.
The word hippodrome owes its name to the two Greek words namely ‘hippos’ meaning horse and ‘dromos’ meaning racing path or track. The face that the favorite pastimes of the people in the ancient times were chariot racing and horse racing made hippodromes a peculiar and prominent feature of almost all the Greek cities in the Byzantine, Roman and even the Hellenistic periods.
The first Hippodrome was built in the Greek times when the city was called Byzantium. The Hippodrome was the heart and soul of not just the political life but also the sporting life of Constantinople (the city of Constantine the Great). It was a Greek stadium that was a venue for several horse races as well as polo games on the track built by Septimus Severus between 203 A.D. and 324 A.D.
Constantine the Great enlarged and renovated the Hippodrome that was modeled on Rome’s the Circus Maximus. He used several stone walls and vaults for providing support. The Hippodrome continued to be a scene of riots and games in the 500 years of the history of Ottoman Empire.
The only difference between the two hippodromes was that just four chariot races could be organized at a time in the Roman Circus while the Greek hippodrome had the capacity to hold more than ten races at a time as the size of the latter was larger than the former, measuring nearly 400 feet.
The Hippodrome was nearly 427 feet wide and 1476 feet long. It had 40 rows of seats and a capacity of accommodating nearly 100,000 supporters. Due to political rivalries between the various merchant guilds including Greens, Blues, Reds and Whites. The result was the Nika Revolt in 532 A.D. which eventually caused extensive damage to the Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) Church and the imperial palace.
More than 30,000 people were massacred as a punishment on the orders of Justinian the Great after he regained power. Later on during the Fourth Crusade, the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453. These Turks had simply no interest in horse racing and did not bother to do any restoration efforts for the Hippodrome. Instead, they started using the Hippodrome as a marble quarry and the Hippodrome was forgotten slowly and gradually.
During its peak glory, the Hippodrome was adorned with a huge collection of historical monuments and trophies that were either made by skilled artisans of the city or brought from different corners of the Ottoman Empire.
The Column of Constantine or the Walled Obelisk (Magnetic Column/the Colossus) is located at the southern corner of the park. It was built on the instructions of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the 10th century and was decorated with brass plates and bronze plaques. However, these embellishments were melted to mint coins in 1204 by the Crusaders.
Situated at a short distance away is the Serpentine Column originally erected in front of Delphi’s Temple of Apollo by Greek city-states to celebrate their win over the Persians. However, the column is only 25 percent of its original size of 8 m. the column is made of bronze and has three intertwined serpents. Earlier, it had a gold bowl that was provided support by heads of three gold serpents. However, the heads were believed to have been lost until one head was rediscovered during the restoration work of the famous Ayasofya.
Another outstanding monument of architecture in the city happens to be the Obelisk of Tutmosis III. The obelisk weighing 60 tons was brought by Emperor Theodosius I. it is made of granite with hieroglyphics depicting the glory of the god Horus and the pharaoh. It was brought to the square in 390 A.D. nearly two millennia after the time of its carving. Almost two-third of the obelisk was damaged or lost during transportation. At present, the obelisk is nearly 65 feet high.
In the north corner of the Hippodrome lays the Fountain of Willhelm II, also known as Alman Cesmesi. It was built originally in Germany and later on assembled in the city of Istanbul to mark the emperor’s city visit in 1895. One can find the signatures of Sultan Abdulhamid and the German monarch in golden mosaics inside the dome of the fountain.
The statue of four bronze horses happened to be the crowning glory of the Hippodrome. However, it was looted and taken away to the Basilica of St. Marco in Venice during the lootings in the city in the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
Another exquisite monument of historical architecture located in the northern corner of the Hippodrome is the Million Stone. Modeled on the Millaiarium Aureum, it was erected by Julius Caesar in Rome.
The Hippodrome was a favorite venue for numerous important and lavish occasions including circumcision ceremony of Sultan Ahmed III’s sons which spanned for days together.
Hagia Sophia ( Ayasofya )
The Church of St. Sophia is one of the ancient church of Istanbul built during the ruling of Constantine, the son of Constantine the Great. It is located in front of the famous Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet district of the modern day Istanbul. It had a wooden roof and was known by the name of Megala Ekkleisa. However, it was only in the V century that the church came to be known as Hagia Sophia, the church of Divine wisdom. It is believed that the original church was burnt twice and was rebuild by Emperor Justinian in 530 AD under his personal supervision.
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus were the architects of this church. Nearly ten thousand apprentices accompanied by thousand masons were involved in the construction of this building as the target was to complete the work at the earliest. The work began in 532 AD and was accomplished in nearly five years. Emperor Justinian consecrated the church on 27th December, 537.
St. Sophia has the layout of a typical Byzantine church. Saint Sophia was made a mosque in 1453 when the Turks conquered Constantinople. Hence, four minarets were added to the mosque. It suffered severe damages due to several earthquakes and had to be restored a number of times.
The church was famous for its massive dome. It has a central dome having a diameter of 31 meters. The dome was badly damaged and collapsed during an earthquake in 558. It again suffered partial damage in 989 and then in 1346. As you enter inside, you can feel the influence of the Islamic and Catholic cultures and religions in the frescos and decors of this building. The interiors are made of white and green porphyry with brick encrusting and there are important artifacts and mosaics belonging to different periods. The church once had decorations of marble, granite, terra cotta, glass, gold and silver.
The Church of St. Sophia had a wide collection of holy relics and was the seat of Constantinople’s Patriarch as well as the religious hub of the Orthodox Church for several thousand years. However, when Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, the church was made a mosque and a number of mosaics were plastered over. Also, the minbar and the mihrab were added to give it an identity of typical Islamic religious building.
It is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest historical monuments and the surviving example of architecture of Byzantine times. It served as a model for a number of Ottoman mosques including the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Sultan Ahemd Mosque, the Rustem Pasha Mosque and the Kilic Ali Pasa Mosque. Presently, the famous St. Sophia Church functions as a museum. It is still one of the most exclusive and unique monuments of late antiquity.
Serpentine Column and the Constantine Column
The Serpentine Column, also known as Plataean Tripod, is one of the most ancient columns made of bronze. Constantine the Great brought to Istanbul from the temple of Apollo (Delphi), Greece where it was originally erected way back in 479 B.C. This 8 m high column with serpent heads was quite intact till the 17th century.
Serpintine Column in Sultanahmet (Hippodrome) istanbul old city
This ancient piece of Greek antiquity is believed to have the longest literary history, probably more than 2.487 years old. Originally, this ancient column was an offering or a trophy made in 478 BC to the Apollo at Delphi comprising of a golden bowl and a golden tripod. The offering was made following the victory of the Greeks over the Persians in the Battle of Plataea to pay respect to Apollo for this stupendous win.
The original bronze column has names of 31 Greek cities inscribed on its base. These were the cities that took part in the battle against the Persians. There column also had a gold pot on the heads of the snakes. Although, originally, the Serpent Column was nearly 8 m in height, now, just 5.30 m survives. The Serpent Column was brought in the 4th century AD to the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) by Constantine the Great for decorating the Hippodrome. It was placed at Delphi just near the Altar
Herodotus had stated in his Histories that in 479 B.C.E., following the end of the Battle of Plataea, “...when all the treasure had been collected, they reserved a tenth of it for the god of Delphi, a tenth for the god of Olympia, and a tenth for the god of the Isthmus. From the first tenth was dedicated a golden tripod which sits on the bronze three-headed serpent very close to the altar..." 4.
The Serpent Column happens to be not just the most ancient but also the most referenced artifacts of the history. Some of the prominent writers who referred to this great artifact include Herodotus, Edward Gibbon, Thucydides and Pausania the traveler.
There are a number of stories revealing the story of how actually the heads of this Serpent Column were broken from the column with one of the stories saying that it was Mehmed II who broke the column as he entered the city. According to yet another story, the Latin crusaders took away the golden tripod along with numerous works of art along with them following the sacking of the city of Constantinople. Meanwhile, one can still see one of the heads of the serpent preserved in the Archeological Museum of Sultanahmet.
Constantine Column (Cemberlitas Column) was also brought by Constantinus I from the Temple of Apollo between the period 325-328 AD. Erected just in the centre of Forum Constantini and located on a hill in the city, this column is a symbol of the end of the tradition of Pagans on the lands of Byzantine.
Although, originally this column was nearly 35 m in height. However, following its devastation due to extreme weather and fires over the years, this column was re-enforced with iron rings by Sultan Mustafa II. The restoration work of this column is underway with the Metropolitan Municipality.