The castle

Glossary (0)

Information Texts (4)

The city: Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was built on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, on the triangular peninsula formed by the Golden Horn, the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara. This was an excellent location that controlled trade routes linking the Aegean to the Black Sea. Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople in 330 AD as a city to rival Rome in splendour, wealth and power. The city grew fast, leading to problems of space and facilities, so Theodosius I extended it to the west by building new strong walls that protected Constantinople until the end of the Byzantine Empire. The city was laid out after Rome. A main road, the Mese Odos, linked the palace to the Golden Gate. On this road was the Forum, a circular plaza with a statue of Constantine mounted on a column, surrounded by public buildings. Theodosius I and Arcadius later built more forums decorated with their own statues. Following the Nika riots in the 6th century, Justinian adorned Constantinople with magnificent edifices, palaces, baths and public buildings. This time also saw the construction of Agia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom), the church which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the Byzantine period. During the 7th and 8th centuries Constantinople faced major problems that threw it into disarray: attacks by the Avars (a siege in 674) and Arabs (attacks in 674 and 717-718); natural disasters (a powerful, destructive earthquake in 740); and epidemics (plague in 747). Limited building activity resumed in the 8th and 9th century, mainly concentrated on strengthening the city's fortifications. With the recovery of the Byzantine Empire from the 9th to the 11th century, Constantinople became the most populated city in Christendom; the majority of inhabitants were Greek-speaking, but many other ethnic groups lived alongside them, such as Jews, Armenians, Russians, Italians merchants, Arabs and mercenaries from Western Europe and Scandinavia. Many public, private and church-owned buildings were erected at the time, with an emphasis on establishing charitable institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages and schools. Higher education flourished, thanks to the care of the state and the emergence of important scholars. This renaissance lasted until the mid-11th century, when economic problems due to poor management set in, compounded by the adverse outcome of imperial operations beyond the borders. The Crusaders left Constantinople entirely unscathed when first passing through, but in the Fourth Crusade of 1204 the Franks conquered and ransacked the city, slaughtering those inhabitants they did not take prisoner or drive out. In 1261 the city was retaken by Michael VIII Palaeologus, who rebuilt most of the monuments and the walls but proved unable to restore the city to its former splendour and glory. Enfeebled as it was, the empire was incapable of checking the advance of the Ottomans, and in 1453 Constantinople finally fell into their hands. The fall signalled the end of the empire. Nevertheless, the Byzantine intellectual tradition remained significant, as many scholars settled in the Venetian dominions of Crete and the Peloponnese, as well as in European countries, conveying Greek learning to the West.
Adrianople: City in western Turkey. Inhabited by the Thracians, in the Roman period it became a centre for transport and commerce, which it was to remain throughout the course of its history. Adrianople was renovated by the Emperor Hadrian, who gave it his name; in Byzantine times it was renamed Orestiada. Following numerous raids during the Crusades, in 1361 it was occupied by the Turkish Sultan Murad I. Although it served as the capital of the Ottoman state up to 1453, Adrianople remained a largely Greek town until the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, when it was permanently granted to Turkey.
Justinian I: Byzantine Emperor (527-565), nephew and successor of Justin I. One of his first acts was to reform the tax system and recode Theodosius’ laws. He was personally involved in religious conflicts and convened the 5th Ecumenical Council (553). Justinian considered himself primarily an orthodox emperor and took harsh measures against the remaining pagans. Many of his political and fiscal actions provoked strong reactions on the part of the senate and the factions and led to the Nika Riots. Justinian instigated numerous building projects, erecting approximately 30 churches in Constantinople, including the famous church of Agia Sophia. Regarding foreign policy, he successfully confronted the Persians and the Vandals in the East and focused on the recovery of the West. This he temporarily achieved, but at such cost that the Empire was left exhausted; the barbarians in the Balkans plundered the Greek peninsula as far as the Isthmus and barbarian tribes settled at the borders. His military operations exhausted Byzantium financially and militarily and had no real effect, as Italy and other areas he conquered were soon lost again. After his death, the weakened empire had to face new attacks, culminating in the Arab conquests, which negated the majority of Justinian’s conquests beyond the borders.
The church of Agios Demetrios : The Church of Saint Demetrius, patron saint of Thessalonica, lies in the historic city centre, where the street of the same name bisects an imaginary line extending from Aristotelous Street. In Roman times the site was taken up by a large bathhouse, at the east end of which is the present day Crypt, on the spot where tradition holds that Saint Demetrios was martyred. After the Edict of Milan the faithful built a small house of worship there. Leontius, Prefect of Illyricum, erected a basilica in the same place in 412, transferring the saint’s grave to a ciborium in the main nave. Originally silver, the ciborium was later replaced by a marble version containing an urn, in all likelihood a cenotaph, and an icon depicting the saint. The fifth century basilica is unlikely to have differed greatly from the present church; its precise form remains unknown, as it burnt down shortly after a major earthquake in 620. It was rebuilt in a remarkably short time, under the supervision of the Bishop of Thessalonica and Leon the Prefect, resulting in a church very similar to that seen today. Even in Byzantine times Saint Demetrios’ renown went far beyond the city limits, for he was credited with protecting Thessalonica against enemy raids. So it was that the celebrations held in honour of the saint’s feast day in October drew pilgrims from many countries in Europe and Asia. In 1493 the church was converted into a mosque, leaving the Christians only a small area in the northwest, where the saint’s cenotaph was moved. In 1912 the building was restored to Christian worship, but suffered extensive damage in the great fire that swept through a large area of the upper city in 1917. The restoration work that followed was completed in 1949. During the work the Crypt was restored, and now houses an exhibition on the monument’s evolution over time. In its present form the church is a prime example of an early 7th century five-nave basilica with transept. Of particular interest is the surviving mosaic decoration which, though fragmented, includes works of great historical and artistic value, illustrating the evolution of Byzantine art in the early Christian period and beyond. There are capitals of many different types, styles and technical development; cornices; marble revetments; opus sectile panels, of which few examples now survive; the marble funerary monument of Luke Spantounis (a fine example of Venetian Renaissance art); mosaic votive representations; offerings from ordinary citizens or city officials; and a small number of wall paintings. Only nine of the mosaics survived the fire of 1917 – these are to be found on the two large pillars in front of the altar and the west wall of the nave, covering the period from the 5th to the 9th century. According to an inscription, the mosaic on the south pillar depicts Agios Demetrios between the bishop of the city and Prefect Leon (sponsors of the church renovation). Of the few surviving wall paintings, that on the south church wall is of historical significance. It depicts an emperor entering the city on horseback, identified by scholars as either Justinian II (7th-8th century) or Basil II (11th cent.) The first pillar in the south colonnade bears a depiction of Agios Demetrios and a prelate in smaller scale holding a censer, identified as Gregorios Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica. The painting dates to 1360-1380 and relates to 14th century theological disputes and the Hesychasm movement in Thessalonica, concerning experiential prayer. Abutting the east side of the south wing of the transept is the Middle Byzantine chapel of Agios Euthymius, in the form of a small basilica. According to an inscription, the chapel murals were sponsored in 1302-1303 by Michael Ducas Tarchaneiotes Glavas, founder of the Pammakaristos Monastery in Constantinople, and his wife Maria Palaeologina. The murals are representative of Palaeologan art and are stylistically very close to the murals in the Protaton on Mount Athos, which have been attributed to the painter Manuel Panselinos.

Bibliography (4)

Comments (0)