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Balicka-Witakowska Constantinople.Pdf The Urban Mind Cultural and Environmental Dynamics Edited by Paul J.J. Sinclair, Gullög Nordquist, Frands Herschend and Christian Isendahl African and Comparative Archaeology Department of Archaeology and Ancient History Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden 2010 Cover: NMH THC 9113 Artist: Cornelius Loos Panorama over the southern side of Istanbul facing north east. Produced in 1710. Pen and brush drawing with black ink, grey wash, water colour on paper. The illustration is composed of nine separate sheets joined together and glued on woven material. Original retouching glued along the whole length of the illustration. Dimensions (h x b) 28,7 x 316 cm Photograph © Erik Cornelius / Nationalmuseum English revised by Laura Wrang. References and technical coordination by Elisabet Green. Layout: Göran Wallby, Publishing and Graphic Services, Uppsala university. ISSN 1651-1255 ISBN 978-91-506-2175-4 Studies in Global Archaeology 15 Series editor: Paul J.J. Sinclair. Editors: Paul J.J. Sinclair, Gullög Nordquist, Frands Herschend and Christian Isendahl. Published and distributed by African and Comparative Archaeology, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, S-751 26 Uppsala. Printed in Sweden by Edita Västra Aros AB, Västerås 2010 – a climate neutral company. 341 009 Trycksak 13. Constantinople in the Transition from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages Ewa Balicka-Witakowska Contact details Dr Ewa Balicka-Witakowska Department of Linguistics and Philology Byzantine Studies Uppsala University Box 635 751 26 Uppsala, Sweden <\\\¬<< ABSTRACT This chapter gives an overview of the transformations which took place in Constantinople from the time of its foundation in the early 4th century as a Late Antique metropolis and $#$#Áth century when it was changed to a medieval town, perhaps less splendid in some respects but well adapted to new geopolitical and economic circumstances and still the centre of imperial power. In order to present this complicated process, attention has been given to different aspects of the city’s development: organization; use and design of the urban space, both public and private; the elaborate infrastructure, primarily in regard to sustenance and water supply and their sensitivity to climatic changes; the connections to the hinterland; the growing need of improved defence; and last but not least the social and spiritual life of the inhabitants. The picture emerging from such an approach shows that alongside political and economic transformations the crucial factor responsible for a shift in the general pattern of Constantinople’s urban life was the advancement of Christianity. The new religion not only gradually dislodged old beliefs and customs but also changed people’s mentality, $\ # # $ ! < ` symptomatic that Constantinople, which was founded with the idea of making it the New Rome, appears at the threshold of the Middle Ages as the New Jerusalem. Introduction1 The city of Constantinople, with its continuous history stretching forward to the present time, is without doubt one of the most successful urban achievements in 1 The following works have been consulted during the writing of this chapter but are not directly referred to: Ahrweiler 1966; Bauer 2001; Charanis 1972; Cameron 1974; Dagron ·ÂÁ§·Â¹»·Â¹Â·Âº[·Âº§[}·Âº·[¥·Â¹¨[} & Wixom 1997; Guillard 1967, 1969; Haldon 1990; Hatlie 2007; Jacoby 1961; Janin 1953, 1964; Kaplan 1992; Kazdhan & Constable 1982; Kazhdan et al 1991; Koder 1995; =·Â¨[=·ÂºÂ·Â¹··Âº[=¥Y\·Â¨·[=¥ 329 Plate 1. Panorama of Constantinople: view from Galata towards the old city. Courtesy of Maja Kominko. world history. For nearly two millennia it has not only survived but also held a $}<2 To better understand how Constanti- nople could effectively function and successfully evolve for such a long time, we may start by examining the period that witnessed the transition from a Late Antique Roman city to the Byzantine medieval urban agglomeration of the eighth century. Founded around 3243 as the capital of the East Roman Empire, Constantino- #$ dramatic falls. As a result of such changes in prosperity, the city underwent pro- found transformations not only in terms of territorial extent, size of population, economic power and administrative machinery, but also in terms of a fundamen- tal metamorphosis of people’s mentality. Therefore, it would be interesting to determine what particular characteristics distinguished Late Antique Constan- tinople of from its medieval successor. What lay behind these differences; why and when did the changes occur, in what form, and what results they generated? Documentation of the transformation process on the basis of written records # widely diverging views about the nature of this process and the consequences it engendered. Historians consulting the literary material deal on the one hand with laconic reports deprived of any personal observations, such as the univer- sal Chronicon Paschale 4 covering the period up to 672, and on the other hand with accounts full of rhetorical exaggerations and erudite clichés, as in the De +, the description of Justinian’s building activities written by his historian, Procopius.5 Moreover, for the period of the late seventh and eighth centuries the material is notoriously poor. In addition, very little data provided by the texts can be used for statistical purposes. An exception may be the Notitia urbis Constan- tinopolitanae, an anonymous regional catalogue compiled in Latin between 425 and 430, which describes fourteen regions of the city and points out the most #<6 A similar work, partly based on the 1995; Maraval 1985; Mathews 1971; Miranda 1976; Müller-Wiener 1977; Patlagean 1977; Stathakopoulos 2004; Teall 1959; Volbach 1973; von Milligen 1899. 2 Almost 13 million inhabitants. 3 Inaugurated on 11 May, 330. 4 Chronicon Paschale. 5 Procopius, + 6 Notitia. Notitia$$# of Constantinople and the architectural design of the city. 330 Notitia, was known as the Patria of Constantinople or Scriptores originum Constan- tinopolitanarum, compiled about 995.7 The so-called Book of Eparch 8 forms a valuable source of information about the administration of the city and the responsibilities of capital’s prefect, while ]\Farmer’s Law.9 An interesting panorama of medieval attitudes to Constantinople’s pagan past is found in the anonymous eighth-century work, Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai, or “Brief Historical Notes”, which deals with the monuments of the city and may be treated as a kind of catalogue of its antiquities.10 Some realistic pictures of life in Constantinople can be found in the lives of the saints connected to the city, the most important of which is the collection of miracles of Saint Artemios, an Egyptian martyr enshrined in, among other places, Constantinople.11 Written in the second half of the seventh century, but based on older material, the work provides a detailed account of the everyday life of the city in the sixth and seventh centuries. Also very useful in this respect is the Life of Andrew the Fool, most probably written in the 9th or 10th century.12 Generally speaking, the archaeological evidence concerning Constantinople, and in particular the documentation of the fourth through eighth centuries, is not in abundance either. The little that was left of the antique city has been absorbed into the modern fabric of Istanbul. Although many excavations have ##$ manner to determine a satisfactory chronology of the city’s development. The superimposition of the modern capital has greatly hampered a more advanced investigation of important sites within the ancient part of the city.13 New Rome The Constantinian city: organization of the public space One of the undisputable factors in the successful history of Constantinople is its particularly favourable location: a triangular peninsula protected by the waters joining the Mediterranean and Black Seas and separating the continents of Eu- rope and Asia. It provided excellent natural facilities for defence against military attacks and for the transportation of goods and people. Although the history of the site previously known as Byzantion went back to the seventh century BC, it did not develop into an important city until it was promoted to the position of New Rome.14 As a result of this decision, the old city was extended, rebuilt and populated with new inhabitants who migrated there from areas throughout the empire, at- 7 Scriptores originum Constantinopolitanarum. 8 Book of the Eparch. 9 Farmer’s Law. 10 Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai. 11 The Miracles of St. Artemios. 12 Leontios of Neapolis, Life of St. Symeon the Fool. 13 Mango 1993, 132f. ·» ##$'·Âª ¦··+ who transformed it into a typical Roman city, just as he did with several other places. 331 Fig. 1. Map of Constantinople. Drawing by Alicja Grenberger. tracted by the free distribution of bread, the prospects of employment, and the proximity to the imperial court. Their numbers increased from about 2000 to 350000, as noted at the end of the reign of Emperor Constantine in 337.15 The area of the Constantinian city was enlarged to about seven hundred hec- #\$- tres long.16 Two harbours, the Neorion and the Posphorion, with a joint shoreline of about 1500 metres, as well as the sea walls along the Bosporus inlet known as #=$'|+#< The plan of the city was not unique but followed the standard applied in most towns during the time period. The streets were laid in a regular pattern with two broad main avenues, the emboloi, bordered by colonnades and meeting at right angles. The streets were punctuated with public places, commemorative arches, tetrapylons, squares and communal buildings, all connected to each other by a complex system of annexes and colonnaded passages which also sheltered the shops. 15 Notitia states 4388 houses; it is estimated that at this time 50 people were living in one house. For further discussion on this issue and on the population of Constantinople in general, see Dagron 1974, 518–54, esp. 525ff. 16 In comparison to the old town, the urban territory of the Constantinian city was almost quadrupled.
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