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117-511: The present building was constructed between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, mostly in the last thirty years of the 12th century, and was built on the site of the ruins of the Imperial Byzantine cathedral destroyed in 1156 by William I of Sicily known as the Wicked ( il Malo ); to the right of the transept it is still possible to observe traces of the original pavement which extends under

234-511: A curia . In addition to the Roman curiae, voting assemblies known as curiae existed in other towns of Latium , and similar institutions existed in other parts of Italy. During the republic, local curiae were established in Italian and provincial municipia and coloniae . In imperial times , local magistrates were often elected by municipal senates, which also came to be known as curiae. By extension,

351-543: A call for aid from Alexius , the First Crusade assembled at Constantinople in 1096, but declining to put itself under Byzantine command set out for Jerusalem on its own account. John II built the monastery of the Pantocrator (Almighty) with a hospital for the poor of 50 beds. With the restoration of firm central government, the empire became fabulously wealthy. The population was rising (estimates for Constantinople in

468-626: A center of culture and education of the Mediterranean basin, Constantinople came to be known by prestigious titles such as Basileuousa (Queen of Cities) and Megalopolis (the Great City) and was, in colloquial speech, commonly referred to as just Polis ( ἡ Πόλις ) 'the City' by Constantinopolitans and provincial Byzantines alike. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently. The medieval Vikings, who had contacts with

585-611: A city-state until it was annexed by Darius I in 512 BC into the Persian Empire , who saw the site as the optimal location to construct a pontoon bridge crossing into Europe as Byzantium was situated at the narrowest point in the Bosphorus strait. Persian rule lasted until 478 BC when as part of the Greek counterattack to the Second Persian invasion of Greece , a Greek army led by

702-561: A double wall lying about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west of the first wall and a moat with palisades in front. Constantinople's location between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara reduced the land area that needed defensive walls. The city was built intentionally to rival Rome , and it was claimed that several elevations within its walls matched Rome's 'seven hills'. The impenetrable defenses enclosed magnificent palaces, domes, and towers,

819-797: A dwindling and depopulated city. In 1261, the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos liberated the city, and after the restoration under the Palaiologos dynasty, it enjoyed a partial recovery. With the advent of the Ottoman Empire in 1299, the Byzantine Empire began to lose territories, and the city began to lose population. By the early 15th century, the Byzantine Empire was reduced to just Constantinople and its environs, along with Morea in Greece, making it an enclave inside

936-498: A few of the names of the 30 curiae have been preserved, including Acculeia, Calabra, Faucia, Foriensis, Rapta, Veliensis, Tifata , and Titia. The assertion that the plebeians were not members of the curiae, or that only the dependents ( clientes ) of the patricians were admitted, and not entitled to vote, is expressly contradicted by Dionysius . This argument is also refuted by Mommsen . Each curia had its own sacra , in which its members, known as curiales, worshipped

1053-489: A few purposes by the end of the Republic : to confirm the election of magistrates with imperium, to witness the installation of priests , the making of wills , and to carry out certain adoptions . The term is more broadly used to designate an assembly , council , or court , in which public, official, or religious issues are discussed and decided. Lesser curiae existed for other purposes. The word curia also came to denote

1170-631: A new bodyguard known as the Varangian Guard . They were known for their ferocity, honour, and loyalty. It is said that, in 1038, they were dispersed in winter quarters in the Thracesian Theme when one of their number attempted to violate a countrywoman, but in the struggle she seized his sword and killed him; instead of taking revenge, however, his comrades applauded her conduct, compensated her with all his possessions, and exposed his body without burial as if he had committed suicide. However, following

1287-652: A new city wall in his name, the Severan Wall. Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Having restored the unity of the Empire, and, being in the course of major governmental reforms as well as of sponsoring the consolidation of the Christian church , he was well aware that Rome was an unsatisfactory capital. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, and it offered an undesirable playground for disaffected politicians. Yet it had been

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1404-429: Is ascertainable from the same period. Under the present nave are traces of an ancient church building with an apse, from the period before the first millennium, which had three aisles and square pilasters, and foundations on an axis slightly out of alignment with that of the present cathedral. One of the mosaic pavements bears an inscription with the name of Bishop Andrea (758 - 761) and it seems highly likely that these are

1521-567: Is known about this initial settlement. The site, according to the founding myth of the city, was abandoned by the time Greek settlers from the city-state of Megara founded Byzantium ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιον , romanized :  Byzántion ) in around 657  BC, across from the town of Chalcedon on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. Hesychius of Miletus wrote that some "claim that people from Megara, who derived their descent from Nisos, sailed to this place under their leader Byzas, and invent

1638-413: Is new, rebuilt from stone similar to that of the original, with an elaborate lantern tower and beneath, the dome of the cupola with clear Moorish motifs. Internally the cathedral is divided into three aisles of sixteen columns with arcades. The church, which had been overwhelmed by Baroque additions, has now been restored to the uncluttered beauty of the original Apulian Romanesque in the transept, in

1755-476: Is of Thracian origin. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas . The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honor of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was more likely just a play on the word Byzantion . The city was briefly renamed Augusta Antonina in the early 3rd century AD by

1872-597: Is still used by members of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the title of one of their most important leaders, the Orthodox patriarch based in the city, referred to as "His Most Divine All-Holiness the Archbishop of Constantinople New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch". In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpoli(s) ( Κωνσταντινούπολις/Κωνσταντινούπολη ) or simply just "the City" ( Η Πόλη ). Constantinople

1989-584: Is uncertain. Each curia had a distinct name, said to have been derived from the names of some of the Sabine women abducted by the Romans in the time of Romulus. However, some of the curiae evidently derived their names from particular districts or eponymous heroes. The curiae were probably established geographically, representing specific neighborhoods in Rome, for which reason curia is sometimes translated as ' ward '. Only

2106-460: The comitia centuriata , which gradually assumed many of the curiate assembly's original functions. Since the Roman Kingdom , the meeting-house of the Roman senate was known as the curia. The original meeting place was said to have been a temple built on the spot where the Romans and Sabines laid down their arms during the reign of Romulus (traditionally reigned 753–717 BC). The institution of

2223-887: The British mandate of Palestine at the third election (1931) of the Asefat HaNivharim there were three curiae, for the Ashkenazi Jews , the Sephardi Jews and for the Yemeni Jews . In the United States Supreme Court an interested third party to a case may file a brief as an amicus curiae . Under the Fundamental Law adopted in 2011, Hungary 's supreme court is called the Curia . The Federal Palace of Switzerland ,

2340-786: The Church of John the Baptist to house the skull of the saint (today preserved at the Topkapı Palace ), put up a memorial pillar to himself in the Forum of Taurus, and turned the ruined temple of Aphrodite into a coach house for the Praetorian Prefect ; Arcadius built a new forum named after himself on the Mese, near the walls of Constantine. After the shock of the Battle of Adrianople in 378, in which Valens and

2457-519: The Church of the Resurrection or the New Church. Chariot-racing had been important in Rome for centuries. In Constantinople, the hippodrome became over time increasingly a place of political significance. It was where (as a shadow of the popular elections of old Rome) the people by acclamation showed their approval of a new emperor, and also where they openly criticized the government, or clamoured for

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2574-575: The Curia Hostilia , but extended further south into the comitium. In 52 BC, following the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher , his clientes set fire to the senate house, which was rebuilt by Faustus Cornelius Sulla , son of the dictator. Following this reconstruction, the building came to be called the Curia Cornelia . A generation after Sulla enlarged the senate from 300 members to 600, Julius Caesar increased its membership to 900, necessitating

2691-477: The Curia Hostilia . The building was damaged by fire during the reign of Carinus in 283, and again restored under his successor, Diocletian . The Roman Senate is last mentioned in AD 600. In 630, Pope Honorius I transformed the senate house into the church of Sant'Adriano al Foro , preserving the structure at its full height. In 1923, the church and an adjacent convent were bought by the Italian government. The building

2808-663: The Eastern Orthodox Church , which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate ; the sacred Imperial Palace , where the emperors lived; the Hippodrome ; the Golden Gate of the Land Walls; and opulent aristocratic palaces. The University of Constantinople was founded in the 5th century and contained artistic and literary treasures before it was sacked in 1204 and 1453, including its vast Imperial Library which contained

2925-509: The Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbor. Already then, in Greek and early Roman times, Byzantium was famous for the strategic geographic position that made it difficult to besiege and capture, and its position at the crossroads of the Asiatic-European trade route over land and as the gateway between the Mediterranean and Black Seas made it too valuable a settlement to abandon, as Emperor Septimius Severus later realized when he razed

3042-582: The Pax Romana , for nearly three centuries until the late 2nd century AD. Byzantium was never a major influential city-state like that of Athens , Corinth or Sparta , but the city enjoyed relative peace and steady growth as a prosperous trading city lent by its remarkable position. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean , and had in

3159-415: The comitia curiata was attended by thirty lictors. The comitia curiata voted to confirm the election of magistrates by passing a law called the lex curiata de imperio . It also witnessed the installation of priests, and adoptions, and the making of wills. The Pontifex Maximus may have presided over these ceremonies. The assembly probably possessed much greater authority before the establishment of

3276-637: The curia regis gradually developed into Parliament . In France, the curia regis or Conseil du Roi developed in the twelfth century, with the term gradually becoming applied to a judicial body, and falling out of use by the fourteenth century. In the Roman Catholic Church, the administrative body of the Holy See is known as the Roman Curia . It is through this Curia that the Roman Pontiff conducts

3393-616: The decurions , sat for life. Their numbers varied greatly according to the size of the city. In the Western Empire, one hundred seems to have been a common number, but in the East five hundred was customary, on the model of the Athenian Boule. However, by the fourth century, curial duties had become onerous, and it was difficult to fill all the posts; often candidates had to be nominated. The emperor Constantine exempted Christians from serving in

3510-540: The 12th century vary from some 100,000 to 500,000), and towns and cities across the realm flourished. Meanwhile, the volume of money in circulation dramatically increased. This was reflected in Constantinople by the construction of the Blachernae palace, the creation of brilliant new works of art, and general prosperity at this time: an increase in trade, made possible by the growth of the Italian city-states, may have helped

3627-423: The 12th century. Toward the end of Manuel I Komnenos 's reign, the number of foreigners in the city reached about 60,000–80,000 people out of a total population of about 400,000 people. In 1171, Constantinople also contained a small community of 2,500 Jews. In 1182, most Latin (Western European) inhabitants of Constantinople were massacred . In artistic terms, the 12th century was a very productive period. There

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3744-517: The 13th and 11th centuries BC. The site, according to the founding myth of the city, was abandoned by the time Greek settlers from the city-state of Megara founded Byzantium ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιον , Byzántion ) in around 657 BC, across from the town of Chalcedon on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. The origins of the name of Byzantion , more commonly known by the later Latin Byzantium , are not entirely clear, though some suggest it

3861-510: The 18th century the façade, the nave and aisles, the Trulla (the ancient baptistry of the 12th century, today the sacristy ) and the crypt were refurbished in Baroque style under Archbishop Muzio Gaeta according to designs by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro . The building later underwent a series of refurbishments, demolitions and extensions. The original Romanesque appearance of the interior was restored in

3978-496: The 1950s. The last two restorations were those of, firstly, the late 20th century, which has restored the clarity of the Romanesque structures, and secondly, the 21st century, which has refurbished the interior. Stylistically, this is an important example of Apulian Romanesque . The simple façade has three portals of the 11th century below a rose window , over which is a lintel carved with monsters and fantastic beasts. The campanile

4095-456: The Basilica of St. Nicholas was spared), which took place in 1156. At the end of the 12th century Archbishop Rainaldo began the reconstruction of the cathedral, reusing materials from the preceding church and other destroyed buildings. Consecrated on 4 October 1292, the new cathedral was built in the style of the Basilica of St. Nicholas, which had served as the episcopal seat in the interim. During

4212-551: The Bosporus and plundered the monasteries and other properties on the suburban Princes' Islands . Oryphas , the admiral of the Byzantine fleet, alerted the emperor Michael, who promptly put the invaders to flight; but the suddenness and savagery of the onslaught made a deep impression on the citizens. In 980, the emperor Basil II received an unusual gift from Prince Vladimir of Kiev: 6,000 Varangian warriors, which Basil formed into

4329-658: The Caesar (Emperor)', from the Slavonic words tsar ('Caesar' or 'King') and grad ('city'). This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις ( Vasileos Polis ), 'the city of the emperor [king]'. In Persian the city was also called Asitane (the Threshold of the State), and in Armenian , it was called Gosdantnubolis (City of Constantine). The modern Turkish name for

4446-682: The Danube about this time and advanced into Thrace, but he was deserted by many of his followers, who joined with the Romans in driving their king back north of the river. Subsequent to this, new walls were built to defend the city and the fleet on the Danube improved. After the barbarians overran the Western Roman Empire, Constantinople became the indisputable capital city of the Roman Empire. Emperors were no longer peripatetic between various court capitals and palaces. They remained in their palace in

4563-508: The Doge and the leading Franks were installed in the Great Palace, and the city was given over to pillage for three days. Curia Curia ( pl. : curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet for only

4680-501: The Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211), who razed the city to the ground in 196 for supporting a rival contender in the civil war and had it rebuilt in honor of his son Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (who succeeded him as Emperor), popularly known as Caracalla . The name appears to have been quickly forgotten and abandoned, and the city reverted to Byzantium/Byzantion after either the assassination of Caracalla in 217 or, at

4797-720: The Gate of the Droungarios ( Turkish : Odun Kapısı ) on the Golden Horn. Nevertheless, the destruction wrought by the 1197 fire paled in comparison with that brought by the Crusaders. In the course of a plot between Philip of Swabia , Boniface of Montferrat and the Doge of Venice , the Fourth Crusade was, despite papal excommunication, diverted in 1203 against Constantinople, ostensibly promoting

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4914-512: The Great . On 11 May 330, it was renamed Constantinople and dedicated to Constantine. Constantinople is generally considered to be the center and the "cradle of Orthodox Christian civilization ". From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe. The city became famous for its architectural masterpieces, such as Hagia Sophia , the cathedral of

5031-473: The Great City and sent generals to command their armies. The wealth of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia flowed into Constantinople. The emperor Justinian I (527–565) was known for his successes in war, for his legal reforms and for his public works. It was from Constantinople that his expedition for the reconquest of the former Diocese of Africa set sail on or about 21 June 533. Before their departure,

5148-483: The Ottoman Empire. The city was finally besieged and conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1453, remaining under its control until the early 20th century, after which it was renamed Istanbul under the Empire's successor state , Turkey. According to Pliny the Elder in his Natural History , the first known name of a settlement on the site of Constantinople was Lygos , a settlement likely of Thracian origin founded between

5265-483: The Republic continued, the curiae grew too large to meet conveniently at the Curiae Veteres , and a new meeting place, the Curiae Novae , was constructed. A few of the curiae continued to meet at the Curiae Veteres due to specific religious obligations. In the Roman Empire a town council was known as a curia, or sometimes an ordo , or boule . The existence of such a governing body was the mark of an independent city. Municipal curiae were co-optive, and their members,

5382-491: The Spartan general Pausanias captured the city which remained an independent, yet subordinate, city under the Athenians, and later to the Spartans after 411 BC. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.  150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. This treaty would pay dividends retrospectively as Byzantium would maintain this independent status, and prosper under peace and stability in

5499-440: The Thracian shore at the mouth of the Pontos,     where two pups drink of the gray sea,     where fish and stag graze on the same pasture, set up their dwellings at the place where the rivers Kydaros and Barbyses have their estuaries, one flowing from the north, the other from the west, and merging with the sea at the altar of the nymph called Semestre" The city maintained independence as

5616-407: The Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script. After that, as part of the Turkification movement, Turkey started to urge other countries to use Turkish names for Turkish cities , instead of other transliterations to Latin script that had been used in Ottoman times and the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. The name Constantinople

5733-402: The accession of Theodosius I , emperors had been resident only in the years 337–338, 347–351, 358–361, 368–369. Its status as a capital was recognized by the appointment of the first known Urban Prefect of the City Honoratus, who held office from 11 December 359 until 361. The urban prefects had concurrent jurisdiction over three provinces each in the adjacent dioceses of Thrace (in which the city

5850-428: The beginning of the seventh century AD. The most important curiae at Rome were the 30 that together made up the comitia curiata. Traditionally ascribed to the kings, each of the three tribes established by Romulus , the Ramnes, Tities , and Luceres , was divided into ten curiae. In theory, each gens (family, clan) belonged to a particular curia, although whether this was strictly observed throughout Roman history

5967-428: The blue and green factions, innocent and guilty. This came full circle on the relationship within the Hippodrome between the power and the people during the time of Justinian. Fires started by the Nika rioters consumed the Theodosian basilica of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), the city's cathedral, which lay to the north of the Augustaeum and had itself replaced the Constantinian basilica founded by Constantius II to replace

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6084-434: The business of the Church as a whole. Among older religious orders , the governing council of the Superior General or Regional Superior and his or her assistants is referred to their Curia. The Court of Justice of the European Union uses "CURIA" (in roman script) in its official emblem. The term curia may refer to separate electoral colleges in a system of reserved political positions (reserved seats), e.g. during

6201-455: The capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Nevertheless, Constantine identified the site of Byzantium as the right place: a place where an emperor could sit, readily defended, with easy access to the Danube or the Euphrates frontiers, his court supplied from the rich gardens and sophisticated workshops of Roman Asia, his treasuries filled by

6318-479: The city could no longer be supplied from Egypt as a result of the Persian wars: the population fell substantially as a result. While the city withstood a siege by the Sassanids and Avars in 626, Heraclius campaigned deep into Persian territory and briefly restored the status quo in 628, when the Persians surrendered all their conquests. However, further sieges followed the Arab conquests , first from 674 to 678 and then in 717 to 718 . The Theodosian Walls kept

6435-461: The city impenetrable from the land, while a newly discovered incendiary substance known as Greek fire allowed the Byzantine navy to destroy the Arab fleets and keep the city supplied. In the second siege, the second ruler of Bulgaria , Khan Tervel , rendered decisive help. He was called Saviour of Europe . In the 730s Leo III carried out extensive repairs of the Theodosian walls, which had been damaged by frequent and violent attacks; this work

6552-407: The city is today the largest city in Europe , straddling the Bosporus strait and lying in both Europe and Asia , and the financial center of Turkey . In 324,following the reunification of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, the ancient city of Byzantium was selected to serve as the new capital of the Roman Empire, and the city was renamed Nova Roma, or 'New Rome', by Emperor Constantine

6669-431: The city to the ground for supporting Pescennius Niger 's claimancy . It was a move greatly criticized by the contemporary consul and historian Cassius Dio who said that Severus had destroyed "a strong Roman outpost and a base of operations against the barbarians from Pontus and Asia". He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina , fortifying it with

6786-404: The city was also called 'Second Rome', 'Eastern Rome', and Roma Constantinopolitana ( Latin for 'Constantinopolitan Rome'). As the city became the sole remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew, the city also came to have a multitude of nicknames. As the largest and wealthiest city in Europe during the 4th–13th centuries and

6903-417: The city, İstanbul , derives from the Greek phrase eis tin Polin ( εἰς τὴν πόλιν ), meaning '(in)to the city'. This name was used in colloquial speech in Turkish alongside Kostantiniyye , the more formal adaptation of the original Constantinople , during the period of Ottoman rule, while western languages mostly continued to refer to the city as Constantinople until the early 20th century. In 1928,

7020-453: The city. Constantine laid out a new square at the centre of old Byzantium, naming it the Augustaeum . The new senate-house (or Curia) was housed in a basilica on the east side. On the south side of the great square was erected the Great Palace of the Emperor with its imposing entrance, the Chalke , and its ceremonial suite known as the Palace of Daphne . Nearby was the vast Hippodrome for chariot-races, seating over 80,000 spectators, and

7137-421: The claims of Alexios IV Angelos brother-in-law of Philip, son of the deposed emperor Isaac II Angelos . The reigning emperor Alexios III Angelos had made no preparation. The Crusaders occupied Galata , broke the defensive chain protecting the Golden Horn , and entered the harbour, where on 27 July they breached the sea walls: Alexios III fled. But the new Alexios IV Angelos found the Treasury inadequate, and

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7254-419: The construction of a larger meeting house. Shortly before his death in 44 BC, Caesar began the construction of a new building, which became known as the Curia Julia . This structure covered most of the comitium , and abandoned the original orientation of the previous curiae, pointing slightly northwest. The building featured a large central hall with a daïs for magistrates, and marble benches on one side. There

7371-430: The construction of the Theodosian Walls in the early 5th century, it was extended to the new Golden Gate , reaching a total length of seven Roman miles . After the construction of the Theodosian Walls, Constantinople consisted of an area approximately the size of Old Rome within the Aurelian walls, or some 1,400 ha. The importance of Constantinople increased, but it was gradual. From the death of Constantine in 337 to

7488-413: The curiae, which led to many rich pagans claiming to be priests in order to escape these duties. The concept of the curia as a governing body, or the court where such a body met, carried on into medieval times, both as a secular institution, and in the church. In medieval times, a king's court was frequently known as the curia regis , consisting of the king's chief magnates and councilors. In England,

7605-430: The death of an Emperor, they became known also for plunder in the Imperial palaces. Later in the 11th century the Varangian Guard became dominated by Anglo-Saxons who preferred this way of life to subjugation by the new Norman kings of England . The Book of the Eparch , which dates to the 10th century, gives a detailed picture of the city's commercial life and its organization at that time. The corporations in which

7722-487: The empire through their expansion in eastern Europe ( Varangians ), used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr (from mikill 'big' and garðr 'city'), and later Miklagard and Miklagarth . In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-Kubra (Great City of the Romans) and in Persian as Takht-e Rum (Throne of the Romans). In East and South Slavic languages, including in Kievan Rus' , Constantinople has been referred to as Tsargrad ( Царьград ) or Carigrad , 'City of

7839-402: The empress Irene restored the veneration of images through the agency of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The iconoclast controversy returned in the early 9th century, only to be resolved once more in 843 during the regency of Empress Theodora , who restored the icons. These controversies contributed to the deterioration of relations between the Western and the Eastern Churches. In

7956-528: The fable that his name was attached to the city". Some versions of the founding myth say Byzas was the son of a local nymph , while others say he was conceived by one of Zeus' daughters and Poseidon . Hesychius also gives alternate versions of the city's founding legend, which he attributed to old poets and writers: It is said that the first Argives, after having received this prophecy from Pythia,     Blessed are those who will inhabit that holy city,     a narrow strip of

8073-410: The false matroneum , and in the magnificent pulpit rebuilt from the same material as before. In the crypt are preserved the relics of Saint Sabinus , bishop of Canosa , in the larger altar. These were brought to Bari in 844 by Saint Angelarius , bishop of Canosa, who after the destruction of the city by the Saracens, rescued them from the ruins. The silver bust of Saint Sabinus that used to be here

8190-403: The famed Baths of Zeuxippus . At the western entrance to the Augustaeum was the Milion , a vaulted monument from which distances were measured across the Eastern Roman Empire. From the Augustaeum led a great street, the Mese , lined with colonnades. As it descended the First Hill of the city and climbed the Second Hill, it passed on the left the Praetorium or law-court. Then it passed through

8307-401: The first Byzantine cathedral, Hagia Irene (Holy Peace). Justinian commissioned Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus to replace it with a new and incomparable Hagia Sophia . This was the great cathedral of the city, whose dome was said to be held aloft by God alone, and which was directly connected to the palace so that the imperial family could attend services without passing through

8424-508: The flower of the Roman armies were destroyed by the Visigoths within a few days' march, the city looked to its defences, and in 413–414 Theodosius II built the 18-metre (60-foot)-tall triple-wall fortifications , which were not to be breached until the coming of gunpowder. Theodosius also founded a University near the Forum of Taurus, on 27 February 425. Uldin , a prince of the Huns , appeared on

8541-491: The front and grown long at the back, and wide-sleeved tunics tight at the wrist; and to form gangs to engage in night-time muggings and street violence. At last these disorders took the form of a major rebellion of 532, known as the "Nika" riots (from the battle-cry of "Conquer!" of those involved). The Nika Riots began in the Hippodrome and finished there with the onslaught of over 30,000 people according to Procopius, those in

8658-427: The gods of the state and other deities specific to the curia, with their own rites and ceremonies. Each curia had a meeting site and place of worship, named after the curia. Originally, this may have been a simple altar, then a sacellum , and finally a meeting house. The curia was presided over by a curio ( pl. : curiones ), who was always at least 50 years old, and was elected for life. The curio undertook

8775-490: The greatest works of Greek and Roman art were soon to be seen in its squares and streets. The emperor stimulated private building by promising householders gifts of land from the imperial estates in Asiana and Pontica and on 18 May 332 he announced that, as in Rome, free distributions of food would be made to the citizens. At the time, the amount is said to have been 80,000 rations a day, doled out from 117 distribution points around

8892-558: The growth of the economy. It is certain that the Venetians and others were active traders in Constantinople, making a living out of shipping goods between the Crusader Kingdoms of Outremer and the West, while also trading extensively with Byzantium and Egypt . The Venetians had factories on the north side of the Golden Horn, and large numbers of westerners were present in the city throughout

9009-613: The invaders poured in. Alexios V fled. The Senate met in Hagia Sophia and offered the crown to Theodore Lascaris , who had married into the Angelos dynasty , but it was too late. He came out with the Patriarch to the Golden Milestone before the Great Palace and addressed the Varangian Guard . Then the two of them slipped away with many of the nobility and embarked for Asia. By the next day

9126-507: The late 11th century catastrophe struck with the unexpected and calamitous defeat of the imperial armies at the Battle of Manzikert in Armenia in 1071. The Emperor Romanus Diogenes was captured. The peace terms demanded by Alp Arslan , sultan of the Seljuk Turks, were not excessive, and Romanus accepted them. On his release, however, Romanus found that enemies had placed their own candidate on

9243-496: The late Roman and early Byzantine periods, Christianity was resolving fundamental questions of identity, and the dispute between the orthodox and the monophysites became the cause of serious disorder, expressed through allegiance to the chariot-racing parties of the Blues and the Greens. The partisans of the Blues and the Greens were said to affect untrimmed facial hair, head hair shaved at

9360-524: The latest, the fall of the Severan dynasty in 235. Byzantium took on the name of Constantinople ( Greek : Κωνσταντινούπολις, romanized : Kōnstantinoupolis; "city of Constantine") after its refoundation under Roman emperor Constantine I , who transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium in 330 and designated his new capital officially as Nova Roma ( Νέα Ῥώμη ) 'New Rome'. During this time,

9477-561: The nave. The documented presence of a bishop in Bari goes back to Gervasius, who attended the Council of Sardica in 347, and his successor Concordius, who was present at the Synod of Rome of 465, although names of their predecessors are preserved by tradition, beginning with Saint Maurus in the 1st century. The bishop was elevated to an archbishop in the 6th century, and the presence of a cathedral in Bari

9594-458: The north end of the Comitium , where the comitia curiata and other Roman assemblies met, and was oriented along the four cardinal points . After more than 500 years of service, the building was restored and enlarged by the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BC. Sulla had doubled the senate's membership from 300 to 600, necessitating a larger building, which retained the original orientation of

9711-518: The other. In the sacristy to the right is located an altar with a painting which probably depicts Saint Maurus , named by tradition as the first bishop of Bari, in the 1st century. In the palace of the Curia , adjacent to the cathedral, is situated the Diocesan Museum, where the Exultet is displayed. This is a precious manuscript of Byzantine origin, finely illuminated. The images are upside down from

9828-699: The oval Forum of Constantine where there was a second Senate-house and a high column with a statue of Constantine himself in the guise of Helios , crowned with a halo of seven rays and looking toward the rising sun. From there, the Mese passed on and through the Forum Tauri and then the Forum Bovis , and finally up the Seventh Hill (or Xerolophus) and through to the Golden Gate in the Constantinian Wall . After

9945-415: The people rose again: Alexios IV was imprisoned and executed, and Murzuphlos took the purple as Alexios V Doukas . He made some attempt to repair the walls and organise the citizenry, but there had been no opportunity to bring in troops from the provinces and the guards were demoralised by the revolution. An attack by the Crusaders on 6 April failed, but a second from the Golden Horn on 12 April succeeded, and

10062-712: The places of assembly, especially of the senate . Similar institutions existed in other towns and cities of Italy. In medieval times, a king's council was often referred to as a curia. Today, the most famous curia is the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church , which assists the Roman Pontiff in the hierarchical government of the Church. The word curia is thought to derive from Old Latin coviria , meaning 'a gathering of men' ( co- , 'together' = vir , 'man'). In this sense, any assembly, public or private, could be called

10179-471: The point of view of the priest reading the manuscript. In this way the faithful, when the celebrant was pronouncing the hymn of praise during the Easter Vigil , were able to look at the sacred drawings, and those who were unable to understand Latin could still have some idea of what was going on. Constantinople Constantinople ( see other names ) became the capital of the Roman Empire during

10296-844: The reign of Constantine the Great in 330. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire ; 330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence , the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara . Officially renamed Istanbul in 1930,

10413-431: The religious affairs of the curia. He was assisted by another priest, known as the flamen curialis . When the 30 curiae gathered to make up the comitia curiata , they were presided over by a curio maximus , who until 209 BC was always a patrician. Originally, the curio maximus was probably elected by the curiones , but in later times by the people themselves. Each curia was attended by one lictor ; an assembly of

10530-627: The religious processions of the clergy. He removed Theodora from the Great Palace to the Carian Palace and later to the monastery of Gastria , but, after the death of Bardas, she was released to live in the palace of St Mamas; she also had a rural residence at the Anthemian Palace, where Michael was assassinated in 867. In 860, an attack was made on the city by a new principality set up a few years earlier at Kiev by Askold and Dir , two Varangian chiefs: Two hundred small vessels passed through

10647-409: The remains of the first cathedral, which was destroyed in the 9th or 10th century. In the first half of the 11th century, the then archbishop (1025–1035) ordered the construction of a new episcopal church, which was finished under his successors Nicola I (1035–1061) and Andrea II (1061–1068). This church was then destroyed by William the Wicked (William I of Sicily) along with the rest of the city (only

10764-639: The remnants of the Library of Alexandria and had 100,000 volumes. The city was the home of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and guardian of Christendom 's holiest relics, such as the Crown of Thorns and the True Cross . Constantinople was famous for its massive and complex fortifications, which ranked among the most sophisticated defensive architectures of antiquity . The Theodosian Walls consisted of

10881-401: The removal of unpopular ministers. It played a crucial role during the riots and in times of political unrest. The Hippodrome provided a space for a crowd to be responded to positively or where the acclamations of a crowd were subverted, resorting to the riots that would ensue in coming years. In the time of Justinian, public order in Constantinople became a critical political issue. Throughout

10998-515: The result of prosperity Constantinople achieved as the gateway between two continents ( Europe and Asia ) and two seas (the Mediterranean and the Black Sea). Although besieged on numerous occasions by various armies, the defenses of Constantinople proved impenetrable for nearly nine hundred years. In 1204, however, the armies of the Fourth Crusade took and devastated the city, and for several decades, its inhabitants resided under Latin occupation in

11115-446: The senate was always ascribed to Romulus; although the first senate was said to comprise 100 members, the earliest number which can be called certain is 300, probably connected with the three tribes and 30 curiae also attributed to Romulus. After the original temple was destroyed by fire, it was replaced by a new meeting house by Tullus Hostilius , the third King of Rome (traditionally reigned 673–642 BC). The Curia Hostilia stood on

11232-669: The ship of the commander Belisarius was anchored in front of the Imperial palace, and the Patriarch offered prayers for the success of the enterprise. After the victory, in 534, the Temple treasure of Jerusalem , looted by the Romans in AD ;70 and taken to Carthage by the Vandals after their sack of Rome in 455, was brought to Constantinople and deposited for a time, perhaps in the Church of St Polyeuctus , before being returned to Jerusalem in either

11349-466: The streets. "The architectural form of the building was meant to reflect Justinian programmatic harmony: the circular dome (a symbol of secular authority in classical Roman architecture) would be harmoniously combined with the rectangular form (typical for Christian and pre-Christian temples)." The dedication took place on 26 December 537 in the presence of the emperor, who was later reported to have exclaimed, "O Solomon , I have outdone thee!" Hagia Sophia

11466-461: The throne in his absence; he surrendered to them and suffered death by torture, and the new ruler, Michael VII Ducas, refused to honour the treaty. In response, the Turks began to move into Anatolia in 1073. The collapse of the old defensive system meant that they met no opposition, and the empire's resources were distracted and squandered in a series of civil wars. Thousands of Turkoman tribesmen crossed

11583-419: The title clarus , not clarissimus , like those of Rome. It also lacked the panoply of other administrative offices regulating the food supply, police, statues, temples, sewers, aqueducts, or other public works. The new programme of building was carried out in great haste: columns, marbles, doors, and tiles were taken wholesale from the temples of the empire and moved to the new city. In similar fashion, many of

11700-524: The tradesmen of Constantinople were organised were supervised by the Eparch, who regulated such matters as production, prices, import, and export. Each guild had its own monopoly, and tradesmen might not belong to more than one. It is an impressive testament to the strength of tradition how little these arrangements had changed since the office, then known by the Latin version of its title, had been set up in 330 to mirror

11817-513: The unguarded frontier and moved into Anatolia. By 1080, a huge area had been lost to the Empire, and the Turks were within striking distance of Constantinople. Under the Komnenian dynasty (1081–1185), Byzantium staged a remarkable recovery. In 1090–91, the nomadic Pechenegs reached the walls of Constantinople, where Emperor Alexius I with the aid of the Kipchaks annihilated their army. In response to

11934-450: The urban prefecture of Rome. In the 9th and 10th centuries, Constantinople had a population of between 500,000 and 800,000. In the 8th and 9th centuries, the iconoclast movement caused serious political unrest throughout the Empire. The emperor Leo III issued a decree in 726 against images, and ordered the destruction of a statue of Christ over one of the doors of the Chalke, an act that

12051-607: The view. During Justinian I's reign, the city's population reached about 500,000 people. However, the social fabric of Constantinople was also damaged by the onset of the Plague of Justinian between 541 and 542 AD. It killed perhaps 40% of the city's inhabitants. In the early 7th century, the Avars and later the Bulgars overwhelmed much of the Balkans , threatening Constantinople with attack from

12168-487: The wealthiest provinces of the Empire. Constantinople was built over six years, and consecrated on 11 May 330. Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis. Yet, at first, Constantine's new Rome did not have all the dignities of old Rome. It possessed a proconsul , rather than an urban prefect . It had no praetors , tribunes , or quaestors . Although it did have senators, they held

12285-600: The west. Simultaneously, the Persian Sassanids overwhelmed the Prefecture of the East and penetrated deep into Anatolia . Heraclius , son of the exarch of Africa, set sail for the city and assumed the throne. He found the military situation so dire that he is said to have contemplated withdrawing the imperial capital to Carthage, but relented after the people of Constantinople begged him to stay. The citizens lost their right to free grain in 618 when Heraclius realized that

12402-414: The word curia came to mean not just a gathering, but also the place where an assembly would gather, such as a meeting house. In Roman times, curia had two principal meanings. Originally it applied to the wards of the comitia curiata . However, over time the name became applied to the senate house, which in its various incarnations housed meetings of the Roman senate from the time of the kings until

12519-455: Was a revival in the mosaic art, for example: Mosaics became more realistic and vivid, with an increased emphasis on depicting three-dimensional forms. There was an increased demand for art, with more people having access to the necessary wealth to commission and pay for such work. On 25 July 1197, Constantinople was struck by a severe fire which burned the Latin Quarter and the area around

12636-475: Was also a record office on one side. The building was completed by Caesar's grandnephew, Octavian , the future emperor Augustus, in 29 BC, although he reduced the senate itself to its former number of 600. The Curia Cornelia was demolished, but the precise date is not known. In AD 94, the Curia Julia was rebuilt along Caesar's original plan by the emperor Domitian , who also restored the former orientation of

12753-474: Was fiercely resisted by the citizens. Constantine V convoked a church council in 754 , which condemned the worship of images, after which many treasures were broken, burned, or painted over with depictions of trees, birds or animals: One source refers to the church of the Holy Virgin at Blachernae as having been transformed into a "fruit store and aviary". Following the death of her husband Leo IV in 780,

12870-462: Was financed by a special tax on all the subjects of the Empire. Theodora, widow of the Emperor Theophilus (died 842), acted as regent during the minority of her son Michael III , who was said to have been introduced to dissolute habits by her brother Bardas. When Michael assumed power in 856, he became known for excessive drunkenness, appeared in the hippodrome as a charioteer and burlesqued

12987-508: Was founded by the Roman emperor Constantine I (272–337) in 324 on the site of an already-existing city, Byzantium , which was settled in the early days of Greek colonial expansion , in around 657 BC, by colonists of the city-state of Megara . This is the first major settlement that would develop on the site of later Constantinople, but the first known settlements was that of Lygos , referred to in Pliny's Natural Histories. Apart from this, little

13104-616: Was further restored from 1935 to 1937, removing various medieval additions, to reveal the original Roman architecture. The Curiae Veteres was the earliest sanctuary of the thirty curiae. It is discussed by both Varro and by Tacitus , who mentions it as one point of the Palatine pomerium of Roma quadrata . It is probable that this shrine was located at the northeast corner of the Palatine Hill . Its remains have likely been identified in excavations carried out by Clementina Panella . As

13221-582: Was located), Pontus and Asia comparable to the 100-mile extraordinary jurisdiction of the prefect of Rome. The emperor Valens , who hated the city and spent only one year there, nevertheless built the Palace of Hebdomon on the shore of the Propontis near the Golden Gate , probably for use when reviewing troops. All the emperors up to Zeno and Basiliscus were crowned and acclaimed at the Hebdomon. Theodosius I founded

13338-494: Was served by 600 people including 80 priests, and cost 20,000 pounds of gold to build. Justinian also had Anthemius and Isidore demolish and replace the original Church of the Holy Apostles and Hagia Irene built by Constantine with new churches under the same dedication. The Justinianic Church of the Holy Apostles was designed in the form of an equal-armed cross with five domes, and ornamented with beautiful mosaics. This church

13455-479: Was to remain the burial place of the emperors from Constantine himself until the 11th century. When the city fell to the Turks in 1453, the church was demolished to make room for the tomb of Mehmet II the Conqueror. Justinian was also concerned with other aspects of the city's built environment, legislating against the abuse of laws prohibiting building within 100 ft (30 m) of the sea front, in order to protect

13572-518: Was transferred to the capitular archive, and now the icon of the Madonna Odegitria is venerated here: according to tradition this was brought from the Orient in the 8th century, but in reality it is later, although nevertheless a cult object of great antiquity. In the smaller apses are two sarcophagi : one contains the relics of Saint Columba , which has been restored, and various relics are kept in

13689-434: Was unable to make good the rewards he had promised to his western allies. Tension between the citizens and the Latin soldiers increased. In January 1204, the protovestiarius Alexios Murzuphlos provoked a riot, it is presumed, to intimidate Alexios IV, but whose only result was the destruction of the great statue of Athena Promachos , the work of Phidias , which stood in the principal forum facing west. In February 1204,

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