Monumental column in Istanbul, Turkey
The
Column of Marcian
(
Greek
:
Στ?λη του Μαρκιανο?
,
Turkish
:
Kızta?ı
) is a
Roman honorific column
erected in
Constantinople
by the
praefectus urbi
Tatianus (450 ? c. 452)
[1]
and dedicated to the Emperor
Marcian
(450?57). It is located in the present-day
Fatih
district of
Istanbul
. The column is not documented in any late Roman or Byzantine source and its history has to be inferred from its location, style and dedicatory inscription.
History
[
edit
]
The column is carved from red-grey
Egyptian
granite
, in two sections. The quadrilateral basis is encased by four slabs of white
marble
. Three faces are decorated with
IX monograms
within
medallions
, and the fourth with two
genii
supporting a
globe
. The column is topped by a
Corinthian capital
, decorated with
aquilae
. The inscription confirms that the capital was originally surmounted by a statue of Marcian, in continuation of an imperial architectural tradition initiated by the
Column of Trajan
and the
Column of Marcus Aurelius
in Rome. The basis of the column is orientated northwest/southeast, while its capital is aligned north/south, possibly so that the statue could look towards the nearby
Church of the Holy Apostles
.
A
Latin
dedicatory inscription is engraved on the northern side of the basis. Its lettering was originally filled with bronze, which has since been removed.
[2]
The inscription reads:
[PR]INCIPIS HANC STATUAM MARCIANI | CERNE TORUMQUE |
[PRAE]FECTUS VOVIT QUOD TATIANUS | OPUS
(Behold this statue of the
princeps
Marcian and its base,
a work dedicated by the prefect Tatianus.)
The Turkish name
Kızta?ı
, "the column of the girl" (
kız
: "girl" +
ta?
: "stone"), apparently derives from the
genii
on the basis, which during the Ottoman period were the column's most distinguishing features (after the loss of Marcian's statue).
Gallery
[
edit
]
-
Marcian Column Victory at base
-
Istanbul Marcian Column Victory at base
-
Istanbul Marcian Column Victory at base
-
Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles
-
Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles detail
-
Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles
-
The Marcian Column in antiquity
-
Mid 19 century engraving Column of Marcian.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Martindale & Morris (1980) 1053-4, Tatianus 1
- ^
Mango (1951) 62 =
CIL
III, 738
=
ILS
824
References
[
edit
]
- Stillwell, Richard (1940). "Review of Rudolf Kautzsch's "Kapitellstudien. Beitraege zu Einer Geschichte des Spaetantiken Kapitells im Osten vom vierten bis ins siebenten Jahrhundert"
".
American Journal of Archaeology
.
44
(1): 172.
doi
:
10.2307/499613
.
JSTOR
499613
.
- Mango, C. A. (1951). "The Byzantine Inscriptions of Constantinople: A Bibliographical Survey".
American Journal of Archaeology
.
55
(1): 52?66.
doi
:
10.2307/501180
.
JSTOR
501180
.
- Martindale, John Robert; Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Morris, John (1980),
The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume II: AD 395?527
, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
ISBN
978-0-521-20159-9
External links
[
edit
]