The walls


The first city walls built by Constantine the Great extended from the Sea of ​​Marmara to the Golden Horn, cutting off the peninsula from the West. This first line of defence quickly lost its usefulness, as rapid growth very soon led to the city expanding beyond the area it protected.

The new land walls built by Theodosius II and completed in 412-413 conformed to the city’s urban growth, covered a much greater area and were ranged in two lines. The inner wall was 4 metres thick and about 11 metres high, punctuated by strong towers and surrounded by sloping ground that reached down to the outer wall. There were approximately 100 square or polygonal towers every 60 or 70 metres, and battlements on three sides. The outer wall was 2 metres thick and approximately 8.5 metres high, with about 70 towers. The first line of defence, however, was a 15 to 20 metre wide outer moat. All along the wall there were alternating civilian and military gates leading to various parts of the city, the most important of which was the so-called Golden Gate, through which the emperor entered when returning victorious to celebrate the traditional triumphal parade.

The so-called Theodosian walls were the main fortification of Constantinople throughout the Byzantine period. Major additions and modification projects were carried out during the reigns of Emperors Heraclius and Leo V, mainly to repair damage from earthquakes. Heraclius also modified a small section on the northern end of the Theodosian perimeter, so as to extend the walls to include the church of Blachernai and its surroundings.

Besides land walls, the city’s seaward side was protected by walls that stretched for about 12 km along the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Propontis, closely hugging the shoreline. The sea walls were part of Theodosius II’s fortification programme, and were repaired many times thereafter.  
 


Glossary (1)

moats: deep defensive ditches usually filled with water, surrounding castles, forts or cities.


Information Texts (1)

Constantine the Great : Roman emperor from 324 to 337. Born in Naissus c. 272 to Roman Caesar Constantius I Chlorus and Helena. Constantine received military training, took part in campaigns alongside his father and attained the rank of tribuno, head of the imperial bodyguards. After a series of conflicts in which he eliminated all his opponents, he ascended the throne in 324. As sole emperor, Constantine reorganized the administrative and military system, changed the currency and founded Constantinople, which he made new capital of the empire (330). A perceptive man who realized the growing power of the new religion, he lent subtle support to Christianity, and signed the Edict of Milan in 313, establishing the principles of religious tolerance. He took an active part in religious debates and convened the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, which proved crucial to the development of the Christian Church. Through these actions, and above all by supporting Christians and transferring the capital to Constantinople, he was in essence responsible for shaping the future course of the Byzantine Empire.


Bibliography (5)

1. Kazhdan, A.P., The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Washington D.C., 1991

2. Mango, C., Byzantine architecture, New York, 1976

3. Turnbull, S., Dennis, P., The Walls of Constantinople AD 324- 1453, Oxford, 2004

4. Bardill, Jonathan, Brickstamps of Constantinople, Oxford- New York, 2004

5. Κοντσίνα, Ε., Η βυζαντινή πόλη, Βιβλιοπωλείο της "Εστίας", Athens, 2009


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