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41°0′27.7″N
28°56′34.8″E
/
41.007694°N 28.943000°E
/
41.007694; 28.943000
Structure in Istanbul
The
Forum of Arcadius
(
Latin
:
Forum Arcadii
,
Greek
:
Φ?ρο? το? ?ρκαδ?ου
), was built by the Emperor
Arcadius
in the city of
Constantinople
, now
Istanbul
.
Built in 403, it was built in the Xerolophos area and was the last
forum
before reaching the
Constantinian city walls
and the Golden Gate in a line of forums, including the
Forum of Theodosius
, the
Forum of Constantine
, the
Forum Bovis
, and the
Forum Amastrianum
, built westward from the city center along the
Mese
.
[1]
The forum was later converted to a bazaar by the
Ottomans
, referred to as the
Avrat Pazarı
or "Women's Bazaar", which was mistaken
[2]
with the Slave Market at Tavukpazari near Nur-u Osmaniye used for the auctioning of female slaves, otherwise known as 'Cariye', which technically during the period had a completely different social status than regular slaves. This practice was abolished in 1847 during Reshid Pasha's time possibly due to the British influence
Slavery Abolition Act 1833
.
The
Column of Arcadius
, located in the center of the forum, was decorated with spiral bands of sculpture in bas relief representing the triumphs of the emperor, like
Trajan's Column
in Rome. At the top of the column, which was more than 50m high, there was an enormous
Corinthian capital
surmounted by an equestrian statue of Arcadius, placed there in 421 by his son, Theodosius II. This statue was eventually toppled from the column and destroyed during an earthquake in 704. The column itself remained standing for another thousand years until it was deliberately demolished in 1715, when it appeared to be in imminent danger of collapsing on the neighboring houses. Now all that remains are the mutilated base and some fragments of sculpture from the column which are on display in the
Istanbul Archaeological Museum
.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Necipoglu, Nevra. "Byzantine Constantinople: Monuments, Topography and Everyday Life". Leiden, Koninklijke, 2001. p31.
- ^
Ozguven,Burcu Assist. Prof. Dr. "A market place in the Ottoman Empire: Avrat Pazari and its surroundings." Article Ref(18)Sakaoglu (1993). p. 431
- ^
Hilary Sumner-Boyd, John Freely "Strolling through Istanbul, a guide to the city",
ISBN
975-413-045-0
Bibliography
[
edit
]
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