Journey into the Past in Istanbul

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x0x Journey into the Past in Istanbul

By Prof. Dr. METIN AND

Byzantine Istanbul was filled with statues and monuments of
many kinds, but over the centuries many of these were damaged or
destroyed in earthquakes, fires and looting, or carried off when the
city was sacked. Huge quantities of valuables and works of art were
plundered or disappeared when the crusaders attacked and captured
Istanbul in 1204. Some of the works of art which adorned Istanbul were
depicted by Europeans or Ottoman miniature painters in past centuries,
especially those in the Byzantine hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square.

THE BYZANTINE HIPPODROME

Watching the chariot races at the hippodrome were the only occasions
when the Byzantine emperor made public appearances in the city. Of the
monuments which stood on the spina which ran along the centre of the
hippodrome, three have survived to the present day: The Serpent
Column, the Stone Column, and the Egyptian Obelisk.

The bronze Serpent Column, which consisted of three entwined
serpents, was brought from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi by the
Emperor Constantine. The three serpent heads were intact until the
18th century, when according to various sources they were chopped off
either by a janissary or by an enraged Pole. One of these heads was
recovered in excavations in the 20th century and placed in Istanbul
Archaeological Museum. Today this monument is 5.3 metres in height,
but was originally higher. The Stone Column has a Greek inscription on
the plinth, which consists of three steps, explaining that it was
repaired by Romanus II and his son in the 10th century. This column is
approximately 21 metres in height, and built of square ashlar blocks.

The Egyptian obelisk was erected on this spot in the year 390 by
Theodosius the Great. The plinth is Byzantine and has relief pictures
on all four faces, and inscriptions on two faces, one in Latin the
other in Greek. Unfortunately these have suffered badly from
weathering.

VENICE'S HORSES

In the place where the German Fountain stands today were four statues
of horses cast in bronze, each on its own column. They were brought to
Istanbul by Theodosius II in the 5th century, and were originally
gilded. In 1204 the Latin crusaders who occupied Istanbul carried
these statues to Venice, where they were placed on the facade of St
Mark's Church. To prevent damage from erosion, the original horses
have now been placed inside the church, and reproductions put in their
place on the facade. An Ottoman miniature by an anonymous artist
depicting these horses is in a 16th century manuscript entitled
`Wonders of Art and Nature' at the British Library in London. The
miniature was evidently painted from descriptions rather than life,
since there are three instead of four horses, and four instead of
three serpent's heads on the Serpent Column.

THE HIPPODROME IN OTTOMAN TIMES

A 16th century illustration in the Freshfield Album in Trinity College
Library at Cambridge University depicts the hippodrome with all the
realism of a photograph. It shows the three monuments that are still
standing there today, and behind them a building which must have been
one of the vezir's palaces that stood where Sultanahmet Mosque is
today. To the left of Haghia Sophia is a large red building of which
no trace now remains. This was the magnificent Zeuksippos Bath built
in Roman times, and named after the Temple of Zeus which stood next to
it. Inside this building were statues of philosophers, poets and
soldiers.

In Istanbul University Library there is another miniature dating from
the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent showing the hippodrome in
detail. At the bottom of the picture is Ibrahim Pasa Palace, which has
a tower with a conical cap. During festivals and ceremonies the
sultan, his ministers and foreign guests would watch the spectacles
from the balconies of this palace.

Today the remaining section of the palace houses the Museum
of Turkish and Islamic Art. At the south end of the hippodrome was a
semicircular colonnade known as a sphendone.

The 17 columns of the sphendone was still standing in the reign of
Suleyman the Magnificent. Another miniature In Istanbul University
Library depicts the celebrations of the circumcision of the sons of
Suleyman the Magnificent held in the hippodrome in 1530. In this
miniature we see two columns. Sultan Suleyman is watching the
festivities from Ibrahim Pasa Palace. One acrobat is climbing the
Stone Column, and another the Egyptian obelisk, while a third is
balanced at the top of a pole. In the background food is being served
to the spectators. As in the Freshfield miniature, the Zeuksippos Bath
is also depicted.

STATUE OF THE EMPEROR JUSTINIAN

A 16th century miniature in Istanbul University Library shows the
equestrian statue of the Emperor Justinian, the three monuments in the
hippodrome, and Haghia Sophia. The statue of Justinian on horseback
originally stood in the forecourt of Haghia Sophia. The emperor held a
globe symbolising his victory over the world in one hand, while with
the other he pointed to the Eastern or non-Christian world. This
statue was placed in the courtyard at Topkapi Palace, but later melted
down to make cannon.