Public square in Constantinople
The
Strategion
(
Greek
:
τ? Στρατ?γιον
) was a public square and market located in
Constantinople
. The square was the equivalent of
Campus Martius
for Rome, while the market was one of the most important of the city.
Origin of the name
[
edit
]
The name possibly comes from the military exercises which took place there, akin to those in Rome's
Campus Martius
,
[1]
[2]
or from the victorious generals (
Greek
:
στρατηγ??,
pl.
στρατηγο?
, pr. strategos) who received military honors in this place.
[2]
Location
[
edit
]
The square was located in the
fifth region of Constantinople
, in the valley separating the first hill from the second.
[1]
Based on an account by
Pierre Gilles
, a French traveler of the 16th century, who claimed to have seen a
granite
Theban
obelisk
near the
glassmakers
' house that stood at the north end of the
Topkapı Palace
, the Strategion was thought to be located on the north side of sultan's palace.
[3]
[4]
More recent research, based on the
surveying
of the region by
Ernest Mamboury
, has set its location at the bottom of the north slope of the
first hill of the city
, near the
Neorion
and
Prosphorion Harbours
along the
Golden Horn
.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
The Strategion possibly predated the foundation of
Constantinople
in 330 AD, and had an
Hellenistic
origin.
[6]
According to one tradition, the square was created by
Alexander the Great
(
r.
336 BC ? 323 BC
),
[6]
and was restored by
Septimius Severus
(
r.
193?211
) after the destruction of
Byzantium
.
[7]
The square was possibly included inside the walled city of
Byzantion
, and was the first
agora
of the city. People coming from the sea met the Strategion as soon as they entered the
city walls
, after crossing the gate of Eugenius (
Turkish
:
Yalıko?ku kapısı
).
[8]
The Strategion could also be accessed from land, after crossing the gate of Urbicius.
[8]
Originally conceived as a
military parade
ground, it was turned into a public square by
Constantine
(
r.
306?337
),
[6]
and renewed by
Theodosius I
(
r.
379?395
), who possibly transformed its representative part into a
forum
and gained a market in a smaller section.
[9]
Over time, the importance of the Strategion as a representative center diminished, and in the eleventh century the square had became only a large market place.
[10]
Description
[
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]
About its layout not much is known, but it was possibly rectangular, like those of other
Hellenistic
foundations, like
Miletus
,
Priene
and
Palmyra
.
[11]
The Strategion was divided in two zones, with different functions: a larger one ("mega strategion"), devoted to representative duties, and a smaller one ("mikron strategion"), commercial.
[12]
The structure was adjacent to two small harbors lying along the south shore of the
Golden Horn
: the
Neorion
, which connected the city with the suburb of
Sykae
, on the northern shore of the gulf, and the
Prosphorion
, which was the terminal of the sea traffic with
Chalcedon
, on the Asian shore.
[13]
Its original military function is confirmed by several military monuments in its premises: a statue of
Constantine the Great
, another of
Emperor
Leo I
(
r.
457?474
) erected in the
mikron
strategion, a bronze
tripod
and a statue of the
Fortuna
goddess bearing a
cornucopia
over an
arch
.
[14]
Near the statue of Constantine lay a stone
obelisk
bearing an inscription where the Emperor proclaims the city as the
new Rome
.
[6]
According to a tradition, a statue of Alexander the Great, originally erected by his soldiers in
Chrysopolis
to thank him for having received double salary, stood on the square after being moved there by Constantine.
[2]
[6]
A sculpture group called
pelargos
(
Greek
:
Πελαργ??
, "
stork
" in Greek), representing three storks facing each other, and carved by
Apollonius of Tyana
, was erected at the Strategion. The group was displayed there to ward off the storks, because the birds used to drop the remains of caught snakes in the nearby water cisterns, polluting the water.
[15]
The forum had also a representational function: when the emperor landed at one of the two harbors, and wanted to climb the hill to go to the
Hagia Sophia
and the
great Palace
, entering the city through one of the two gates cited above, the
senators
with the
Eparch
greeted him at the Strategion, offering him crowns.
[16]
The forum was also the arrival point of imperial processions: in fact the Emperor, standing on top of a
chariot
and accompanied by a mounted escort, descended regularly from its palace to the Strategion to inspect the grain depots.
[17]
During one of these processions, Emperor
Theodosius II
(
r.
402?450
) was attacked with stones by a hungry mob because of lack of bread.
[17]
The most important function of the Strategion was the commercial one: along the square lay four warehouses: the
horrea olearia
and the
horrea troadensia
,
valentiaca
and
costantiaca
, respectively oil (the first) and wheat (the latter three) depots, whose content fed the population of the city.
[18]
[19]
In the square converged several arcaded roads (
Greek
:
?μβολο?, pl. ?μβολοι
pr. embolos) devoted to commerce.
[20]
Moreover, the square hosted two markets (
Latin
:
macellum, pl. macella
), devoted to meat and fish:
[18]
[3]
butchers came there to buy livestock
branded
for sale by the
Praefectus urbi
, and until the beginning of
Lent
merchants of sheep were allowed to sell there their animals, while from
Easter
until
Ascension
lambs were sold at the
Forum Tauri
.
[21]
Along or near the Strategion lay the churches of the
Theotokos
, built by the
strategos
Urbicius
,
[19]
Aghios Epiphanios
,
Aghios Philemon
, which contained chapels dedicated to
Aghios Anastasion of Persia
and Aghios Sabas, a
martyrion
dedicated to Aghios Photios and Aniketos, and Aghios Andreas.
[19]
[22]
Also one of the most important baths of the city, the Baths of Achilles, lay in its immediate vicinity.
[19]
Near the Strategion lay also the city's first prison, predating Constantine's reign and abandoned because of its filthy conditions by
Phocas
(
r.
602?610
) .
[23]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Janin (1950) p. 19
- ^
a
b
c
Janin (1950) p. 396
- ^
a
b
Westbrook (2013), p. 12
- ^
Mamboury (1953) p. 66
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 3
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Westbrook (2013), p. 5
- ^
Janin (1950) p. 23
- ^
a
b
Westbrook (2013), p. 7
- ^
Mango (2000), p. 192
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 10-11
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 9
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 4
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 4-5
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 6
- ^
Janin (1950) p. 105-106
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 8
- ^
a
b
Westbrook (2013), p. 10
- ^
a
b
Mango (2000), p. 198
- ^
a
b
c
d
Westbrook (2013), p. 11
- ^
Westbrook (2013), p. 16
- ^
Janin (1950) p. 96
- ^
Janin (1950) p. 48
- ^
Janin (1950) p. 166
Sources
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Roads and squares
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Palaces and mansions
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Harbours
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Public buildings
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Column monuments
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Water supply
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