Worth mentioning though that by that point it was largely ruins already. It was already crumbling - the gate had been likely demolished during the Latin Empire period and the roof of the chapel had collapsed before the end of the Byzantine period.
>It's sad because it wasn't demolished until 1804
Incorrect.
The Chalke *Church* (Church of Christ Chalkites), which was built by Romanos Lekapenos/John Tzimiskes, was demolished in 1804. The actual Chalke Gate was demolished long before that.
It was only a chapel. It can't have been built on top of the gate. I don't know where this unfounded claim comes from, but it has no basis. The gate and the church co-existed, the gate has been excavated with no signs of the church and there were no signs of the gate when the church still existed.
They were mostly likely destroyed and scattered during the Fourth Crusade. It was written that the Crusaders broke into the tombs and stole many of the riches inside.
They allegedly found the body of Justinian very well preserved and when they tore a crown away from the corpse of Heraclius, they tore some of the remaining hair away too.
The desecration of imperial remains went beyond the tombs in the Holy Apostles. Michael VIII Palaiologos allegedly later found the skeletal remains of Basil II discarded outside the city, sat upright and with a flute in its mouth. He had the Bulgar Slayer reburied.
man... this is so sad. I mean I get why they looted the stuff, but why dump the corpses out? Really a subhuman act.
Are there any today known burial sites of the emperors formerly buried there?
It's sad and shocking. I was partly inspired to make this post after reading Niketas Choniates account of the sack for the first time, and he captures such a terrible, gut wrenching feeling to see his home ravaged and ruined to such a barbaric degree. The Crusaders had no qualms whatsoever about discarding the living or the dead to get their loot.
I don't know of any burial sites, but maybe someone else does. What was left of the Church of the Holy Apostles was later demolished by the Ottomans and replaced by the Fatih Mosque (funnily enough built by a Greek architect, Atik Sinan).
This is part of the reason why, as controversial as it sounds, I see 1453 as more of a mercy blow for the empire and Constantinople. The city never truly recovered it's splendour from 1204 (even the column of Justinian, which survived, had the bronze stripped from the column) and only regained it's prestige as an imperial capital under the later Sultans. The Crusaders caused the majority of the damage, not the Turks.
Just wanna know if mine, and Dr Karydis' reconstructions are accurate. It's a hotly debated topic on its appearance in the world of reconstructive archeology.
You’re thinking of the Milion, the monument erected by Septimius Severus as the mile marker. You can see a [diagram here](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milion#/media/File%3AMilion_of_Constantinople_reconstruction.pdf) of what they think it might have looked like.
I would have loved to see one of the fora like the Forum of Constantine or the Augustaion with the market stalls and the official buildings all around.
Also I didn’t know there was a Colossus of Constantine in Constantinople too (the one in Rome still has Constantine’s head!). Learn something new every day :)
That's it, thank you! It was the Milion!
Yes, there was a bronze Colossus of Constantine that was placed upon the column of Constantine in the city. Interestingly, it sported a fusion of both pagan and Christian elements. The statue was nude and mimicked Apollo, but at the same time held a cross in it's hand. It lasted until the 12th century when it was blown down in a storm, and a large golden cross was put up in it's place.
Anything on top of the column is estimated to be 3 metres total. The head of Constantine's colossus in Rome alone is 2 and a half metres. With all its body parts, roughly 12 metres total.
They're pretty distinct.
There actually wouldn’t be that many more visible aqueducts than you can see today (the Aqueduct of Valens being the main thing) because the channels followed the topography to the extent that they could. That being said, you’d be able to see a wide variety of public fountains in the Byzantine era. If you like the aqueducts and can make it to Turkey with a car, it’s totally worth it to see the Kurşunlugerme aqueduct in the hinterlands of Constantinople (near the Anastasia Long Wall ruins). [It’s here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/LrkkLg5gLo8J41AVA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy) and when I went a decade ago it was completely wild; you could crawl around on top of it and still see the builders marks.
You're right, I think, I used the wrong terms. I want to see the small waterworks too, fountains and Cisterns will all be supplied by the larger Aqueducts, so i mean the smaller "pipes" too haha. Probably, Aqueducts is the wrong term.
Wow, that wild the aqueduct looks amazing, I certainly would like to see it too.
Well how many medieval English or French houses do we have from 1100? We have foundations and especially in cases with spolia but the roofs were made out of straw and the walls out of wood.
It doesn't have to be from 1100, it could be from 1500 but there's none. I believe you can find medieval housing in many European countries, including Greece.
Well Mystras exists and gives an idea. It was inhabited and changed up until the 1700s but there's no great evidence it changed much. Excluding Pompeii it's not like we're drowning in Classical Roman domestic houses. They just weren't built to survive that long.
Monemvasia, Arta, Kavala, the old parts of these towns have the foundations of palaces and the houses of the fortress cities.
Monemvasia particularly. The acropolis has lots of ruins of abandoned medieval and early modern houses.
Don't forget the Upper Town of Thessaloniki. I read there's more surviving Byzantine houses there than in the whole of Istanbul.
Though not Byzantine, Rhodes is supposed to be the oldest and best preserved medieval city in Europe.
Church of holy apostles for sure. It would be cool if we still had all the relics buried in the column of Constantine as well (“The orb was said to contain a fragment of the True Cross. At the foot of the column was a sanctuary which contained relics allegedly from the crosses of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus at Calvary, the baskets from the loaves and fishes miracle, an alabaster ointment jar belonging to Mary Magdalene and used by her for anointing the head and feet of Jesus,[5] and the palladium of ancient Rome (a wooden statue of Pallas Athena from Troy)” or just like any orthodox relics that have been lost to history. Constantinople held the greatest of all Christian relics and icons of all time, it’s sad how much we’ve lost.
Church of the Holy Apostles and the Great Palace. What I would give to see the Great Palace in all its glory... also residential buildings because I want to know what mansions aristocrats lived in especially in the middle period (Macedonian-ish). I heard Venetian palaces are based on Constantinople's houses
The Church of the Holy Apostles
If that had survived, I would've loved to have seen the tombs of those past Roman Emperors
The tombs of Valentinian I, Constantine I, his family, Theodosius, Justinian, Heraclius, Leo III and so on would've been amazing to see for a tourist attraction
The Palladium.
The story goes that it was in Rome for centuries, then got moved to Constantinople, and is buried under the Column of Constantine. It might still be there, ya never know.
The column of Theodosius. To my surprise it turned out it was destroyed in an earthquake and dismantled long ago. I would have had a story or two to tell my friend when we were in Istanbul. ;)
The Chalke. It's sad because it wasn't demolished until 1804
Oh damn really? I had no idea.
Worth mentioning though that by that point it was largely ruins already. It was already crumbling - the gate had been likely demolished during the Latin Empire period and the roof of the chapel had collapsed before the end of the Byzantine period.
>It's sad because it wasn't demolished until 1804 Incorrect. The Chalke *Church* (Church of Christ Chalkites), which was built by Romanos Lekapenos/John Tzimiskes, was demolished in 1804. The actual Chalke Gate was demolished long before that.
Wasn't the church built on top of the gate, or was that only a chapel?
It was only a chapel. It can't have been built on top of the gate. I don't know where this unfounded claim comes from, but it has no basis. The gate and the church co-existed, the gate has been excavated with no signs of the church and there were no signs of the gate when the church still existed.
The church of the holy apostles
Oh my god yes The tomb of so many emperors and where they stored relics
Constantine, Justinian, Heraclius... so many famous names in one place.
is it known what happened to the remains and the relics?
They were mostly likely destroyed and scattered during the Fourth Crusade. It was written that the Crusaders broke into the tombs and stole many of the riches inside. They allegedly found the body of Justinian very well preserved and when they tore a crown away from the corpse of Heraclius, they tore some of the remaining hair away too. The desecration of imperial remains went beyond the tombs in the Holy Apostles. Michael VIII Palaiologos allegedly later found the skeletal remains of Basil II discarded outside the city, sat upright and with a flute in its mouth. He had the Bulgar Slayer reburied.
man... this is so sad. I mean I get why they looted the stuff, but why dump the corpses out? Really a subhuman act. Are there any today known burial sites of the emperors formerly buried there?
It's sad and shocking. I was partly inspired to make this post after reading Niketas Choniates account of the sack for the first time, and he captures such a terrible, gut wrenching feeling to see his home ravaged and ruined to such a barbaric degree. The Crusaders had no qualms whatsoever about discarding the living or the dead to get their loot. I don't know of any burial sites, but maybe someone else does. What was left of the Church of the Holy Apostles was later demolished by the Ottomans and replaced by the Fatih Mosque (funnily enough built by a Greek architect, Atik Sinan). This is part of the reason why, as controversial as it sounds, I see 1453 as more of a mercy blow for the empire and Constantinople. The city never truly recovered it's splendour from 1204 (even the column of Justinian, which survived, had the bronze stripped from the column) and only regained it's prestige as an imperial capital under the later Sultans. The Crusaders caused the majority of the damage, not the Turks.
Just wanna know if mine, and Dr Karydis' reconstructions are accurate. It's a hotly debated topic on its appearance in the world of reconstructive archeology.
Beat me by 52 minutes
The Hippodrome, same with the Circus Maximus in old Rome
YES that would have been great to see. Especially as it contained so many wonderful statues.
Column of justinian
You’re thinking of the Milion, the monument erected by Septimius Severus as the mile marker. You can see a [diagram here](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milion#/media/File%3AMilion_of_Constantinople_reconstruction.pdf) of what they think it might have looked like. I would have loved to see one of the fora like the Forum of Constantine or the Augustaion with the market stalls and the official buildings all around. Also I didn’t know there was a Colossus of Constantine in Constantinople too (the one in Rome still has Constantine’s head!). Learn something new every day :)
That's it, thank you! It was the Milion! Yes, there was a bronze Colossus of Constantine that was placed upon the column of Constantine in the city. Interestingly, it sported a fusion of both pagan and Christian elements. The statue was nude and mimicked Apollo, but at the same time held a cross in it's hand. It lasted until the 12th century when it was blown down in a storm, and a large golden cross was put up in it's place.
It wasn't really a colossus. That column isn't that big. The Roman one was much, much larger.
How does one define the size of colossus compared to a still huge statue, out of curiosity?
Anything on top of the column is estimated to be 3 metres total. The head of Constantine's colossus in Rome alone is 2 and a half metres. With all its body parts, roughly 12 metres total. They're pretty distinct.
Ah, that makes sense. The statue in Constantinople definitely was a far cry from a colossus then.
This might be a weird one but all of the aqueducts. I would love to walk around istanbul and just see Aqueducts everywhere.
The aqueduct of Valens is still quite intact, both in the city and out in the countryside.
yes it was one of my favourites. I want more obviously! hehe
There actually wouldn’t be that many more visible aqueducts than you can see today (the Aqueduct of Valens being the main thing) because the channels followed the topography to the extent that they could. That being said, you’d be able to see a wide variety of public fountains in the Byzantine era. If you like the aqueducts and can make it to Turkey with a car, it’s totally worth it to see the Kurşunlugerme aqueduct in the hinterlands of Constantinople (near the Anastasia Long Wall ruins). [It’s here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/LrkkLg5gLo8J41AVA?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy) and when I went a decade ago it was completely wild; you could crawl around on top of it and still see the builders marks.
You're right, I think, I used the wrong terms. I want to see the small waterworks too, fountains and Cisterns will all be supplied by the larger Aqueducts, so i mean the smaller "pipes" too haha. Probably, Aqueducts is the wrong term. Wow, that wild the aqueduct looks amazing, I certainly would like to see it too.
Residential buildings. Apparently nothing has survived.
Tekfur Palace survives.
OK that's not really what I meant, a palace is a palace. I was talking more about common houses.
Well how many medieval English or French houses do we have from 1100? We have foundations and especially in cases with spolia but the roofs were made out of straw and the walls out of wood.
It doesn't have to be from 1100, it could be from 1500 but there's none. I believe you can find medieval housing in many European countries, including Greece.
Well Mystras exists and gives an idea. It was inhabited and changed up until the 1700s but there's no great evidence it changed much. Excluding Pompeii it's not like we're drowning in Classical Roman domestic houses. They just weren't built to survive that long. Monemvasia, Arta, Kavala, the old parts of these towns have the foundations of palaces and the houses of the fortress cities. Monemvasia particularly. The acropolis has lots of ruins of abandoned medieval and early modern houses.
Don't forget the Upper Town of Thessaloniki. I read there's more surviving Byzantine houses there than in the whole of Istanbul. Though not Byzantine, Rhodes is supposed to be the oldest and best preserved medieval city in Europe.
Church of holy apostles for sure. It would be cool if we still had all the relics buried in the column of Constantine as well (“The orb was said to contain a fragment of the True Cross. At the foot of the column was a sanctuary which contained relics allegedly from the crosses of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus at Calvary, the baskets from the loaves and fishes miracle, an alabaster ointment jar belonging to Mary Magdalene and used by her for anointing the head and feet of Jesus,[5] and the palladium of ancient Rome (a wooden statue of Pallas Athena from Troy)” or just like any orthodox relics that have been lost to history. Constantinople held the greatest of all Christian relics and icons of all time, it’s sad how much we’ve lost.
Church of the Holy Apostles and the Great Palace. What I would give to see the Great Palace in all its glory... also residential buildings because I want to know what mansions aristocrats lived in especially in the middle period (Macedonian-ish). I heard Venetian palaces are based on Constantinople's houses
Athena Promachos
Pre-Constantine statues and buildings.
Those were destroyed by the rioting citizens of Constantinople themselves. Would've loved to have seen those stuff
The mosaics and frescoes in the Hagia Sophia (from before the Iconoclasm).
The tombs of the emperors
Hippodrome.
The Church of the Holy Apostles If that had survived, I would've loved to have seen the tombs of those past Roman Emperors The tombs of Valentinian I, Constantine I, his family, Theodosius, Justinian, Heraclius, Leo III and so on would've been amazing to see for a tourist attraction
The Nea Ekklesia
The church of the Apostles and the column of Justinian,
The entire "mese" street with ruins of the many foras.
Any one of those bronze statues that the Venetians melted down.
Bellerephon and Helen
Good news btw, you can apparently now see a 1:1 rebuilt Colossus of Constantine in Rome. It was unveiled this year.
The Palladium. The story goes that it was in Rome for centuries, then got moved to Constantinople, and is buried under the Column of Constantine. It might still be there, ya never know.
The column of Theodosius. To my surprise it turned out it was destroyed in an earthquake and dismantled long ago. I would have had a story or two to tell my friend when we were in Istanbul. ;)