Column of Constantine
Çemberlitaş
The Column of Constantine was probably erected in 328, before the inauguration of Constantinople as the new capital in 330. It was regularly included in the lists of the “wonders of Constantinople.” It was often called the “porphyry column” in Byzantine sources. After the loss of the statue, it was also known as the “Column of the Cross”, referring to the cross added on top. Its Turkish name Çemberlitaş (“Hooped Stone”) refers to the iron rings added to support the column. It is uncertain when the rings were added, though they may have been installed as early as the fifth century. Its earlier Ottoman name referred to the nearby Tavukpazarı (“Chicken Bazaar”). It was later known as la Colonne Brulée (“The Burnt Column”) by foreign visitors due to the damage caused by fires over the centuries.
The current height of the column is 34.80 m above modern street level. Its original height is uncertain, but it could have been as tall as 40 m. The column shaft is made of seven separate porphyry drums, which are 2.90 m in diameter. Each drum weighs around 60 tons. The lowest drum is concealed by the Ottoman masonry base, which was probably added after the fire of 1779. There are laurel wreaths at the joins of the seven drums. Each wreath is decorated with a medallion on the south side. While later Byzantine sources say the column was brought to Constantinople from Rome, the entire column, including the porphyry drums, was likely purpose-built rather than reused.
The column was probably crowned with a large Corinthian capital, which was damaged when the statue fell around 1106. Its current masonry capital dates to the repairs made by Manuel I Komnenos (1143-80) as indicated by the inscription commemorating its restoration. This masonry capital consists of ten courses of Proconnesian marble blocks with a marble block on top. The inscription, of which traces of its lead filling have partially survived, runs along the third course. The marble block appears to be the remnants of the original Corinthian capital and its abacus. The holes at the top of the block include irregular holes that likely supported the cross, which was later added to the top. There are also two large cuttings around 150 cm long and 16 cm deep, which seem to be the footprints of the statue of Constantine.
The current bulbous base obscures its platform and pedestal. However, several historic images, along with a partial excavation, allow for a reconstruction of its original appearance. Its platform, which had a height of approximately 2 m, is completely below the modern street level. The foundations were cut into the remains of earlier tombs from the necropolis just outside the old city of Byzantion. Its square platform consisted of five steps, with its lowest platform measuring around 11.25 m x 11.25 m. It had a marble pedestal resting in the middle of the stepped socle. It seems that there was a relief on one side of the pedestal. The lowest porphyry drum rested on an Attic base, both of which are now concealed by the masonry base. It is possible that its base had an inscription, which would have been in Latin even though it was only recorded in a Greek translation.
Excavations carried out in 1929-30 exposed the steps of the platform, the column’s foundations, and Proconnesian marble pavement slabs of the forum. The corners of the upper platform were cut out in a symmetrical fashion, suggesting it supported arches surrounding the pedestal. These arches, recorded in the fourteenth century, were perhaps added during the restoration of Manuel I Komnenos. The column was restored by Istanbul Municipality in 1971-1975 and 2001-2009.
The Statue of Constantine
The statue of Constantine seems to have been a very large statue that became one of the major symbols of imperial power in Constantinople. It even seems to have become a symbol of the city itself. While the details are debated, various account allow for us to have a general idea of what it looked like. Nonetheless the exact depiction of Constantine is not completely clear and its significance can even be controversial, leading directly to the question of Constantine’s religious status. There is also the question of its origin. It is unknown whether it was newly cast or a reused statue, though some accounts record it originated in Troy or Athens.
Sol Invictus (the “Unconquered Sun”) became Constantine’s favored god from 310 onward and regularly appeared on his coins until 325. It seems that the statue of Constantine resembled the image of Sol Invictus as appearing on his coin. Interestingly it reportedly faced east, towards the rising sun. The Tabula Peutingeriana depicts Constantine in the nude, though some have suggested the statue was dressed in military attire. It seems to recall imperial colossi, such as the Colossus of Nero in Rome (that gave the Colosseum its name). Records indicated Constantine bore a radiant crown adorned. In addition he held a spear or possibly a scepter in the right hand and in the left hand a globe that was surmounted by a winged Victory, Tyche of Constantinople or possibly a cross. The spear (or scepter) reportedly fell after an earthquake in 557, while the globe seems to have fallen off in 869.
Since the details of the statue are not certain, it is impossible to firmly interpret its significance. However if the statue was modeled on the sun god, then it has important implications. This statue suggests the Constantine viewed his profession of Christianity and his self-representation as the sun god were compatible through his entire reign. It also indicates that he continued the practice of depicting the emperor has a heroic-divine figure. Placing this ambiguous statue at the center of the New Rome does not seem to make his new capital the radical counterpoint to the pagan Old Rome as it is sometimes held.
Relief of the pedestal
The pedestal was evidently decorated with an elaborate relief, which is depicted in the 1561 drawing of a pedestal by Melchior Lorichs. However, it has also been argued that this relief belonged to another column, such as the Column of Leo I. No other image or account document this relief, though it could have been hidden by temporary structures built against the base. The Lorichs drawing shows part of a stepped socle, pedestal, and Attic base. It depicts a relief with two winged Victories bearing trophies flanking a smaller seated female figure at the center. A crowned bust of an emperor within a wreath is between the heads of the Victories. The Victories receive bowed barbarian boys offering tribute with two adult barbarians behind them. The 1574 Freshfield drawing also shows a register of fleurons at the bottom of the pedestal.
The Sculptured Pedestal of a Column
Melchior Lorck (1561) / SMK
The Statue and the Founding of Constantinople
The statue of Constantine in the Forum of Constantine was recorded as playing an important role in the inaugural ceremony of the foundation of Constantinople. A gilded wooden statue, which seems to have been a replica of the original statue, also was important in celebrating the anniversary of the official founding of Constantinople on May 11, 330.
We are told that the ceremonies for founding the city of Constantinople were in two phases. First, there was an official procession on the Mese that ended in the Forum of Constantine, when the statue and holy relics were placed on the Column. The festive procession was composed of Christians, led by priests, chanting hymns and entrusting Constantinople to God’s care with the words of a prayer.
The second phase of the foundation ceremony, called pompa circensis (“circle parade”) that took place in the Hippodrome on May 11, 330. On the command of Emperor Constantine himself, this ceremony was repeated annually on the same day in order to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the city. A gilded wooded statue, possible a replica of the one on the column, was solemnly brought in a chariot into the hippodrome. It was accompanied with soldiers holding white candles. The chariot carrying the statue circled the hippodrome and stopped in front of the imperial box, where the currently reigning emperor rose and gave a deep bow before the statue. This was followed by the people chanted hymns. It ended with the chariot carrying the statue, starting a triumphal run, setting off from carceres, circling the spina and coming to a stop in front of the imperial tribune.
Inscription
[Τὸ θ]εῖον ἔργον ἐνθάδε φθαρὲν χρόνῳ καινεῖ Μανουὴλ [ε]ὐσεβὴς αὐτοκράτω[ρ]
Manuel, the pious ruler, restored this God’s work destroyed by time
Possible lost inscription
“To Constantine, who shines like the sun.”
Κωνσταντίνῳ λάμποντι ἡλίου δίκην
If this records its actual inscription, it is a Greek translation of the original imperial Latin inscription.
From poem on the Column of Constantine by Constantine of Rhodes
...that then took second rank,
that column indeed of marvellous porphyry
set up in the forum with good auguries long ago,
55 the one that most powerful Constantine raised up
(for this was the first tall pillar
set up in this city and on its most famous hill,
when in the past this city, desired by the whole world,
took command of the world and the widely-hymned power
60 and grasped the imperial crown,
and the sceptre and the diadem of Rome).
It bears the very great and marvellous statue of a man
on its shoulders, as does Atlas the arc of heaven,
the gloriously-triumphant and wise Constantine
65 who first strengthened the worship of Christ
and the same who first fortified this city
and first set up this porphyry pillar
and also this great statue of a man
that shines brightly with its gold on the entire city.
70 He wrote on it these four lines:
‘You, O Christ, are Emperor and Lord of the world;
to You, I hand over this city as your servant,
and its sceptre and all the power of Rome.
Guard her, and preserve her from all harm.’
75 And he also placed at the base of the pillar
twelve woven and plaited withy baskets
which were previously witnesses of the wonders,
the miracle-working of those five loaves
that fed the five thousand,
80 excluding the women and virtuous children,
so that the city might be abundant in resources
and might never in any way be in need of bread.
This column is a conspicuous sight
and its great splendour equalling the stars
85 is an adornment to those at home and a wonder to strangers,
both a joy and a glory for the whole world,
which ever astonishes my heart
and does not allow my very tongue to be silent
whenever I behold these works filled with wonder.
Constantinople depicted in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a twelfth or thirteenth century copy of a late fourth or early fifth century Roman map
Bronze statuette (Constantine as Sol?)
From The Patria (Hesychios of Miletus)
In his time [Constantine], the water supply channel was also added to the city. In addition they built the two arches at the so-called Forum and the conspicuous porphyry column, on which is set [the statue of] Constantine, whom we see shining like the sun upon the citizens.
Forum of Constantine depicted on the Column of Arcadius
Anonymous, from the Freshfield Album (1574)
From the history of Zosimus
Constantine built a circular forum where the gate used to be and surrounded it with double-roofed porticoes. He set two huge arches of Proconnesian marble opposite each other, through which one could enter the portico of Severus or go out of the old city. To make the city much larger, he surrounded it with a wall fifteen stades beyond the old one, cutting off the whole isthmus from sea to sea.
Solidus of Constantine I with Sol (316)
Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum in Rome
Medallion with Constantine wearing a crown of rays (321) Reused in pendant
Sol from the Arch of Constantine in Rome
Helios in quadriga
From the Temple of Athena in Ilion/Troy (c. 300 BC)
The “Flowering” (Anthousa) Tyche of Constantinople with turreted crown and cornucopia
Furniture ornament with the Tyche of Constantinople (c. 330-370)
Constantinople (?), late 5th-early 6th century Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna
Plan by Mamboury
Relics of the Column
The Column of Constantine was recorded as containing a large number of relics in the plinth and atop the column. Many authors claim that Constantine moved the Palladium, a protective statue of Athena that was first in Troy and later in Rome, to Constantinople and placed it under the Column of Constantine. Christian traditions later records lists of relics connected to the column. The number and variety of these claims, which grew over the centuries, included a portion of the True Cross, baskets from the multiplication of bread, the ax used by Noah to make the ark, the rock from which water sprang at the command of Moses, nails from the Passion of Christ, and wood from the crosses of the two thieves. Some of these traditions clearly involve retelling, such as the account that rays of the radiant crown are the nails of the Passion of Christ. A chapel dedicated to Constantine was later built at the base of the column. The statue became a sort of relic; it was said Constantinople would never fall to any of its enemies as long as the sculpture remained in place.
Reconstruction of the Chapel of St. Constantine and imperial ceremonies by Mango
Sts. Sergius and Bacchus and the Column of Constantine from the Marmara Sea
Forum of Constantine
The Forum of Constantine was once one of the important locations in Constantinople. Built front of the city gate of Byzantium at the top of the second highest hill of the peninsula, it was part of a series of major construction works by Constantine to expanded Byzantium into the new Roman capital. As the central forum of the city, it also had important structures located on site, including the Column of Constantine (at the center), the Senate House (on the northern side) and a nymphaeum (a monumental fountain on the southern side). Later in the late 9th century a small chapel dedicated to Constantine was built at the base of the column.
Built before the city’s official inauguration in 330, the Forum of Constantine was one of the chief ideological spaces for imperial rule. It was central to the celebrations of the founding of the city on the 11th of May and was located on the triumphal procession, which led from the Golden Gate to the Great Palace. The porphyry Column of Constantine was erected at the center of the circular forum and crowned by a large statue of Constantine, which was knocked off the column by a violent wind in 1106.
Unlike the rectangular forums in Rome, the Forum of Constantine was circular in shape. While unique, circular forums do exist, such as the oval forum in Jerash built around the same time. Dyrrachion (modern Durrës) also had a circular forum built towards the end of the 5th century, which might have alluded to the Forum of Constantine.
The Column of Constantine is virtually the only remaining trace of the city’s founder, Constantine. A few minor archaeological finds have also survived, which were excavated in 1930. A section of its foundations were found about 70 meters from the column, suggesting that the circular forum had a diameter of 140 meters. Also among the findings were Proconnesian marble paving slabs. However most of what is known about the Forum of Constantine comes from written records. The forum had had two stories of colonnades and two arches of Proconnesian marble leading along the Mese, the main street of Constantinople.
The Senate House in the Forum of Constantine was one of two in Constantinople - the other one was located near the Augustaion. On the northern side of the forum, it had a porch of porphyry columns. We are told that the Senate had huge bronze doors depicting the gods and giants at war (which might have been brought from the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus). It is possible that it housed a gilded statue of Constantine that was central to the city’s anniversary ceremonies celebrated on the 11th of May. On the opposite side of the forum was the nymphaeum, a monumental fountain decorated with a series of statues. Both the Senate House and the nymphaeum were severely damaged by a fire around 464.
The forum was also decorated by a large number of statues. The statue that captured the most attention and is most reliably attested was a colossal bronze Athena standing outside the Senate House. It has been suggested that this statue was the Athena Promachos or Parthenos from the Athenian Acropolis. Several sources also say that Constantine brought the Palladium to Constantinople and placed it under the Column of Constantine. The Palladium was a protective statue that supposedly was first in Troy and later moved to Rome. This was not the only emphasis on Troy; there was also a statue group depicting the Judgment of Paris where the prince of Troy Paris judged which goddess was the most beautiful. There were many other statues, including two bronze female statues on the forum’s western arch which were popularly identified as “the Hungarian” and “the Roman” in the 12th century.
Oval Forum in Jerash
Photo by Azurfrog
Reconstructions of the Forum by Bauer and Lavan
Based on map by Magdalino
Triumph of Basil II in the Forum of Constantinople (989)
From 12th century Madrid Skylitzes
Christoforo Buondelmonti (c. 1465-1475)
Detail from copy of map by Christoforo Buondelmonti (c. 1485-1490)
Region of Çemberlitaş and the Hippodrome
Matrakçı Nasuh (1533)
From Prospect of Constantinople by Melchior Lorck (1559)
Detail of a map by Vavassore (1520)
Detail of a map by Braun-Hogenberg (1572)
Heinrich Hendrowski (1575-1600)
From the Freshfield Album (1574)
From Dryden Album (17th century)
Heinrich Hendrowski (1575-1600)
From Johannes Löwenklau (late 16th century)
From Salomon Schweigger (1608)
G. Wheler (1729)
From Grelot (1680)
From panorama of Cornelius Loos (c. 1710)
View Of The Column Of Constantine And The Principal Street Of Constantinople
Domenico Pronti (c. 1790s)
Cosimo Comidas (1794)
John Auldjo (1835)
From Panorama of Constantinople by Henry Aston Barker (1813)
W.H. Bartlett (1838)
Gurlitt (1912)
W. J. J. Spry (1906)
Robertson & Beato (1854)
Guillaume Berggren (c. 1875)
Vassilaki Kargopoulo (c. 1875)
Pascal Sébah (1885)
Sébah & Joaillier (1878)
Abdullah Fréres (1880s)
Postcard
Sébah & Joaillier (c. 1890)
Anonymous (c. 1890s)
Martel, Charles (1918)
Christian Paier
Charles W. Cushman (1965)
Indiana University Archives
Istanbul Archaeological Museums
Marble Head of Tiberius
Reused in the Forum of Constantine during the reign of Constantine
1st century AD, Roman
The Illustrated London News (May 8, 1869)
Gorgon capital found at the Forum of Constantine in 1869
References
Porphyry Column of Constantine (Oxford Last Statues of Antiquity)
Primary Sources
Schaff, P. and Wace, H. (ed) Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2: Socrates, Sozomenus. Church Histories
Ridley, R. (trans) Zosimus: New History
Jeffreys, E., Jeffreys, M. and Scott, R. (trans) The Chronicle of John Malalas
Dewing, H. (trans) Procopius: History of the Wars
Whitby, M. and Whitby, M. (trans) Chronicon Paschale 284-628
Cameron, A. and Herrin, J. (ed) Constantinople in the Early Eighth Century: The Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai
Mango, C. and Scott, R. (trans) The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813
Kaldellis, A. (trans) Genesios: On the Reigns of the Emperors
Wahlgren, S. (trans) The Chronicle of the Logothete
Berger, A. (trans) Accounts of Medieval Constantinople: The Patria
Featherstone, M. and Codoñer, J. (trans) Chronographiae Quae Theophanis Continuati Nomine Fertur Liber VI
James, L. (ed) Constantine of Rhodes, On Constantinople and the Church of the Holy Apostles
Moffatt, A. and Tall, M. (trans) Constantine Porphyrogennetos: The Book of Ceremonies
Ryden, L. (trans) The Life of St Andrew the Fool
Kaldellis, A. and Krallis, D. (trans) Michael Attaleiates: The History
Banchich, T. and Lane, E. (trans) The History of Zonaras: From Alexander Severus to the Death of Theodosius the Great
Sewter, E. (trans) Anna Komnene: The Alexiad
Wortley, J. (trans) John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057: Translation and Notes
Magoulias, H. (trans) O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniatēs
Majeska, G. (trans) Russian Travelers to Constantinople in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
Macrides, R., Munitiz, J. and Angelov, D. Pseudo-Kodinos and the Constantinopolitan Court: Offices and Ceremonies
Magoulias, H. (trans) Doukas: Decline and Fall of Byzantium to the Ottoman Turks: An Annotated Translation of Historia Turco-Byzantine
Ball, J. Pierre Gilles: The Antiquities of Constantinople
Kahraman, S. and Dağlı, Y. (ed) Evliya Çelebi. Günümüz Türkçesiyle Evliyâ Çelebi Seyahatnâmesi 1.1, İstanbul
Resources
Column of Constantine/Çemberlitaş Photo Album (Byzantine Legacy Flickr)
Columns and Monuments of Constantinople Photo Album (Byzantine Legacy Flickr)
