In the Year 330, Constantine the Great Established a City on the Bosporus, What Had Been a Sleepy Town Called Byzantium

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

In the Year 330, Constantine the Great Established a City on the Bosporus, What Had Been a Sleepy Town Called Byzantium In the year 330, Constantine the Great established a city on the Bosporus, what had been a sleepy town called Byzantium. He christened the new city New Rome, but it came to be known as the City of Constantine—Constantinople. Famed for its near-impenetrable defenses, its gorgeous architecture, and its general splendor, the city on the Bosporus became the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman empires. As capitals of the country and homes to the imperial family, cities were vital to the success of empire, and thus took on a mystical quality. In particular Constantinople was personified in the celestial pantheon. Just as Athena was the protector of Athens, so did the protector of “New Rome” take on female form. Constantine I, The Great, issued a very different type of commemorative coin to dedicate his namesake city on the Bosporus. The obverse is a personification of the city itself, with the helmeted city goddess bearing a resemblance to the Roman war goddess Minerva, and the legends CONSTAN/TINOPOLIS. The reverse shows a winged goddess Victory with foot on prow of a vessel―symbolizing both the city's strategic maritime location and the earlier nearby naval victory of Constantine's son Crispus over rival Licinius. These coins were minted during the period after 330, when Constantinople—the Nova Roma or New Rome—was dedicated. W: 1.4-2.5g |D:15-19 mm. Box packaging available. Shown in AU The coin images used are not to scale and are for illustration purpose only. Available as a single NGC certified slab or beautifully displayed in a deluxe case. The box case is accompanied with a story card, certificate of authenticity, and a black gift box. * Available in various grades. * Slab box measures: 4 21/64" x 5 9/32 " x 1 3/8" .
Recommended publications
  • The Concept of the Third Rome and Its Political Implications
    THE CONCEPT OF THE THIRD ROME AND ITS POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS ALAR LAATS ■ In the first half of the sixteenth century an obscure Russian monk from Pskov wrote a number of letters in which he spoke about Moscow as the third Rome. The name of the monk was Filofei (Filotheos) and his letters were sent to the Pskov representative of the Moscow grand prince Vassilij III (1479–1533), to Vassilij himself and to Ivan IV the Terrible (1530–1584). In his letters Filofei explained that Rome had deviated from the true faith through the Apollinarian1 heresy. According to Filofei therefore Rome has been imprisoned by the devil. Constantinople, the second Rome has also fallen. The crucial passage is this: “I would like to say a few words about the existing Orthodox empire of our most illustrious, exalted ruler. He is the only emperor on all the earth over the Christians, the governor of the holy, divine throne of the holy, ecumenical, apostolic church which in place of the churches of Rome and Constantinople is in the city of Moscow, protected by God, in the holy and glorious Uspenskij Church of the most pure Mother of God. It alone shines over all the earth more radiantly than the sun. For know well, those who love Christ and those who love God, that all Christian empires will perish and give way to the one kingdom of our ruler, in accord with the books of the prophet, which is the Russian empire. For two Romes have 2 fallen, but the third stands, and there will never be a fourth.” The idea that Moscow is the third Rome did not come out of blue.
    [Show full text]
  • Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy Charles Matson Odahl Boise State University
    Boise State University ScholarWorks History Faculty Publications and Presentations Department of History 1-1-2007 Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy Charles Matson Odahl Boise State University Publication Information Odahl, Charles Matson. (2007). "Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy". Connections: European Studies Annual Review, 3, 89-113. This document was originally published in Connections: European Studies Annual Review by Rocky Mountain European Scholars Consortium. Copyright restrictions may apply. Coda: Recovering Constantine's European Legacy 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Constantine the Great and Christian Imperial Theocracy Charles Matson Odahl, Boise State University1 rom his Christian conversion under the influence of cept of imperial theocracy was conveyed in contemporary art Frevelatory experiences outside Rome in A.D. 312 until (Illustration I). his burial as the thirteenth Apostle at Constantinople in Although Constantine had been raised as a tolerant 337, Constantine the Great, pagan polytheist and had the first Christian emperor propagated several Olympian of the Roman world, initiated divinities, particularly Jupiter, the role of and set the model Hercules, Mars, and Sol, as for Christian imperial theoc­ di vine patrons during the early racy. Through his relationship years of his reign as emperor
    [Show full text]
  • Radoslav Bužančić Diocletianʼs Palace
    Radoslav Bužančić DIOCLETIANʼS PALACE Tο< òAspalCοu kCstrοn,̉íper palCtιοu mιkrín UDK: 728.8(497.5 Split) Radoslav Bužančić Ministarstvo kulture Konzervatorski odjel Trogir From the beginnings of the construction of the Roman imperial palaces to the early medieval royal residences of the Carolingian age, the architectural parts of the residences have retained, in east and west, a similar morphology and function. Their names are defined through concepts from literary references in which the imperial buildings are defined. The formal features and architectural organisation of the imperial palaces are mentioned most often in the works of Christian writers of Late Antiquity. For Christianity the earthly palace of the pagan, divinised king was but a feeble pic- ture of the heavenly palace that in the descriptions of the Church Fathers retains the names for the individual parts and their distribution. Thus for example in the martyrdom of St Thomas a paradisal palace is mentioned which the apostle sees in his sleep during his stay in India. According to the text given in Passio S. Tomae, the apostle was supposed to build a royal residence for King Gundaforus.1 The text of the passion, from the early Middle Ages, contains a detailed description of the palace that, among its many imaginary elements, also contains architectural parts of the real buildings that served the writer of the work as a model. Other sources, too, in which individual parts of the palace are described, contain concepts in which the functional units of imperial residences are defined. They have Latin and Greek roots, sometimes used at the same time, mostly to mark the functions of different rooms.
    [Show full text]
  • Istanbul, Not Constantinople: a Global City in Context
    Istanbul, Not Constantinople: A Global City in Context ASH 3931 Section 8ES5 / EUH 3931 Section 8ES5 / EUS 3930 Section 19ES Monday, Wednesday, Friday periods 5 Virtual office hours T R 1-3pm University of Florida Fall 2020 Course Description This is a course about why Istanbul is a global city and how it remains to be one. This particular city makes a central node in all the five utilities of global flow – defined by theorist Arjun Appadurai as ethnoscapes, technoscapes, financescapes, mediascapes, and ideoscapes. In this course, we take a multidisciplinary, transhistorical look at the city in three parts: 1) Pre-modern political, religious, commercial, and military exchanges that reflected and shaped the city landscape, 2) Modern cultural norms, natural disasters, and republican formations that caused the city to shrink on a logical and dramatic scale, and, 3) Artists, athletes, politicians, and soldiers that claimed the space in the city. Overlapping and standing alone at times, the topics to be explored likewise relate to various topics, including authority, civic nationalism, gender, migration, poverty, public health, and religion all in traditional and national, global and local ways. Beside others, students interested in European Studies, International Studies, Religious Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies are welcome and encouraged to join this survey course. Sophomore standing or the instructor’s approval is a prerequisite. Course Objectives By the end of the course, you should be able to: - Recognize and analyze the significance of Istanbul in discussions about geography, history, culture, politics, and sociology, - Present an informed understanding of global cities in comparative context, - Discuss specific developments that correlate Istanbul to political, social, economic, and other developments in the larger world, and, - Reconsider the nuanced dynamics that created and transformed Istanbul across time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Expansion and Fall of Rome
    Chapter The Expansion 2 and Fall of Rome Before You Read: People Search Use the following sentences to conduct a search for classmates who have the following information: • Find someone to explain who Caesar Augustus was. • Find a person who knows something about the Byzantine Empire. • Find someone who can point to a modern-day legacy of Rome. Record what you learn in your notebook. Big Ideas About Ancient Rome Government Governments create law codes and political bodies to organize a society. The Romans built a large and powerful empire. They held their empire together with military force and a highly organized government. After Rome’s fall, the Byzantines created a long-lasting empire. Integrated Technology INTERNET RESOURCES • Interactive Maps Go to ClassZone.com for • Interactive Visuals • WebQuest • Quizzes • Starting with a Story • Homework Helper • Maps • Research Links • Test Practice • Internet Activities • Current Events 284 Diocletian 330 becomes emperor. Emperor Constantine 476 L (gold coin showing moves capital from Western Roman Diocletian) Rome to Byzantium. Empire falls. 300s Aksum kingdom in East Africa reaches its height. (ruin of Aksum tower) L 42 P 10°W 0° 10°E 20°E 30°E 40°E Roman Empire, A.D. 120 North Sea BRITAIN London The Romans built the Pantheon as a tribute to their 50°N gods. The attached dome measures 142 feet in diameter and was the largest built until modern times. ATLANTIC GAUL OCEAN Massilia ITALY Black Sea Rome Byzantium SPAIN 40°N GREECE ANATOLIA M e d Ephesus i Athens Carthage t e Antioch r r SYRIA a n e a n S e a Jerusalem Alexandria 30°N AFRICA EGYPT Tropic of Cancer N Red Sea 0 300 600 miles W E 0 300 600 kilometers The Arch of Titus was completed in the late S 20°N fi rst century to honor the emperor Titus and his most famous military victory, the conquest of Jerusalem in A.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Orthodox Church Addresses the Climate Crisis
    The Orthodox Church addresses the climate crisis The Orthodox Church Addresses the Climate Crisis The Orthodox Church Addresses the Climate Crisis Theodota Nantsou & Nikolaos Asproulis (eds.) WWF GREECE & VOLOS ACADEMY PUBLICATIONS ATHENS & VOLOS, 2021 ISBN: 978-618-5375-11-9 Cover painting: Fr. Stamatis Skliris, Nature Graphic design & typesetting: Costis Drygianakis Digital Printing: Alphabet SA, Athens Copyright: WWF Greece & Volos Academy Publications, 2021 Volos Academy Publications an imprint of Volos Academy for Theological Studies Melissiatika, Volos, Greece P.O.B. 1308, Volos GR-38001, Greece Tel. +302421093553, fax +302421077115 http://www.ekdotikidimitriados.org, http://www.acadimia.org e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] [email protected] Facebook: Volos Academy Theological Studies Twitter: @VolosAcademy1 Instagram: VolosAcademyTheologicalStudies Table of Contents THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW Foreword ................................................................................. 11 THE PATRIARCH OF THE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, IRINEJ (†) Statement ................................................................................ 15 LAURENCE TUBIANA Foreword ................................................................................. 21 MARCO LAMBERTINI Foreword ................................................................................. 25 NIKOLAOS ASPROULIS & THEODOTA NANTSOU Introduction ..........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Capital = Constantinople • Continued As the New ROME • Kings Saw Themselves to Still Be Considered ROMAN Emperors
    • Capital = Constantinople • Continued as the New ROME • Kings saw themselves to still be considered ROMAN emperors Constantinople • Survived because it was far away from the Germanic tribe invasions • It was the crossroads of trade so it was successful • Preserved Greco- Roman culture Justinian • Justinian was a serious emperor who worked from dawn to midnight • He helped rebuild and re-conquer Rome • Had ABSOLUTE POWER = controlled both government and church Byzantine Under Justinian • He wanted a re-conquest of the Roman territories that were lost through Germanic invasions Justinian’s Accomplishments • Sent Best general Belisarius to take North Africa from the Vandals • 2 Years later Belisarius took Rome back from the Ostrogoths • Justinian won back nearly all the territory Rome used to rule. Justinian Code • Justinian set up a panel of legal experts to look through 400 years of Roman law. –Some laws were outdated –Justinian wanted to create a single, uniform code • This became known as the Justinian Code that was used for 900 years after his death Justinian Expands Trade • The main street that ran through Constantinople was called the MESE which means “Middle Way” –It ran from the imperial palace to the outer walls Justinian Expands Trade • There was a giant open-air market where shoppers could buy –Tin from England –Wine from France –Cork from Spain –Ivory and gold from Africa Byzantium Preserves Learning • Families valued education –Sent children to monastic or public schools –Hired private tutors –Greek and Latin grammar, philosophy and rhetoric • They preserved Greek and Roman great works Justinian’s Building Program • Launched the most ambitious public building program the Roman world had ever seen.
    [Show full text]
  • 27 Constantine.Key
    Roman Civilization 27: Constantine Administrative Stuf Paper III • Tesis and Topic Sentences: Due Now Midterm II • Tursday! Class website • htp://www.unm.edu/~cjdietz/romanciv/ • Updated. Administrative Stuf Paper III • Due: May 10, 5:30 p.m. Course Evaluations • Your feedback is requested. • You should have received an email from UNM. Check your email. Fall Semester: • Greek Civilization • MW 5:30-6:45 • Registration is open! • Tell your fiends! Questions? Te Dominate Starting with Diocletian Diocletian November 20, 284 - May 1, 305 Rise to Power • Born: December 2, 244 in Spalatum (Split, Croatia) • Emperor on November 20, 284 • Te Dominate (fr. Dominus) Te Dominate Starting with Diocletian Principate to Dominate • Imperator to Dominus • No longer concerned with any illusions of a republic • Dominus as divine • Proskynesis • Luxury palaces • Diocletian’s Palace Diocletian’s Palace, Split, Croatia Diocletian November 20, 284 - May 1, 305 Tetrarchy • Knew empire was too big to manage efectively • In 286, named Maximian co-emperor Tetrarchy Caesares and Augusti Tetrarchy March 1, 293 Empire was too big to manage, even with two emperors • Tetrarchy = tetra + archy (cf. monarchy) • East • Augustus: Diocletian • Caesar: Galerius • West • Augustus: Maximian • Caesar: Constantius Te Tetrarchy Confusing Tetrarchy Caesares and Augusti East West Augustus Diocletian Maximian Abdicated: May 1, 305 Abdicated: May 1, 305 Caesar Galerius Constantius Confusing Tetrarchy Caesares and Augusti East West Augustus Galerius Constantius Died July 25, 306 Caesar
    [Show full text]
  • Constantinople As Center and Crossroad
    Constantinople as Center and Crossroad Edited by Olof Heilo and Ingela Nilsson SWEDISH RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN ISTANBUL TRANSACTIONS, VOL. 23 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................... 7 OLOF HEILO & INGELA NILSSON WITH RAGNAR HEDLUND Constantinople as Crossroad: Some introductory remarks ........................................................... 9 RAGNAR HEDLUND Byzantion, Zeuxippos, and Constantinople: The emergence of an imperial city .............................................. 20 GRIGORI SIMEONOV Crossing the Straits in the Search for a Cure: Travelling to Constantinople in the Miracles of its healer saints .......................................................... 34 FEDIR ANDROSHCHUK When and How Were Byzantine Miliaresia Brought to Scandinavia? Constantinople and the dissemination of silver coinage outside the empire ............................................. 55 ANNALINDEN WELLER Mediating the Eastern Frontier: Classical models of warfare in the work of Nikephoros Ouranos ............................................ 89 CLAUDIA RAPP A Medieval Cosmopolis: Constantinople and its foreigners .............................................. 100 MABI ANGAR Disturbed Orders: Architectural representations in Saint Mary Peribleptos as seen by Ruy González de Clavijo ........................................... 116 ISABEL KIMMELFIELD Argyropolis: A diachronic approach to the study of Constantinople’s suburbs ................................... 142 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS MILOŠ
    [Show full text]
  • "The History of Constantine the Great"​ Tapestry Series
    "The History of Constantine the Great"​ tapestry series. Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish, 1577-1640 Pietro da Cortona, Italian, 1596/7 - 1669 Creation: 1623-1640 Tapestry Series. Makes use of many gold and silver threads alongside the threads of wool place emphasis on the wealth associated with the figures depicted, also suggesting the religious significance. Louis the XIII is amongst the previous owners of the tapestries, however it should be noted that he nearly immediately gave away seven of the tapestries as gifts to the pope in order to secure favor. "The History of Constantine the Great"​ details various events from the life of Emperor Constantine, who amongst changing the name of Byzantium to Constantinople was the first Emperor to embrace Christianity, albeit while on his deathbed. Such has changed im into a holy symbol for Christianity, and signalled a further shift from the traditional gods idolized by the republic and the later empire. Thus, it may come as no surprise that many later Christian individuals seek to elevate him and make note of his accomplishments, placing heavy focus on his own alignment with Christianity, as well as emphasizing the means in which he stood out as a pinnacle of the now more religiously aligned Roman culture as well. The use of gold and silver threads within the tapestry point towards the decadence (or one might say, splendor) that accompanied late Roman and Byzantine people of office. Further, the tapestry titled “Constantine Fighting the Lion” seeks to instil some of the virtus that was held by previous leaders, through strength of combat, generally amongst soldiers The tapestry “Fight Against Licinius further shows the value of combat and military prowess, as Constantine is shown victorious over his foe in the sea, cementing his place as ruler over the Eastern and Western reaches of the empire.
    [Show full text]
  • New Rome, New Theories on Inter-Regional Exchange. an Introduction to the East Mediterranean Economy in Late Antiquity1
    Chapter 1 New Rome, New Theories on Inter-Regional Exchange. An Introduction to the East Mediterranean Economy in Late Antiquity1 Sean Kingsley and Michael Decker The Later Roman Empire’s exchange patterns have long held a fascination for scholars working on the history and archaeology of the western Mediterranean. The wide variety of tools which serve as an interface to examine the economy – historical texts, industrial and agricultural installations, inscriptions, papyri, pottery sherds, ship- wrecks, and comparative sources – have been integrated in recent decades to forge a remarkably stimulating field, where even the most phlegmatic individual can be caught expressing flashes of passion. The inclusion of a section discussing the economy in a recent summary of the most pivotal topics of contemporary research into Roman society further reflects its ever-increasing centrality to understanding antiquity.2 The situation in the East Mediterranean, by contrast, is conspicuously different to that in the West. Although the quantity of archaeological data available continues to increase rapidly, syntheses of the economic landscape of Late Antiquity in this half of the Mediterranean basin are few. Why this is the case is not immediately apparent. Certainly interest in the social and economic life of town and country in ancient times has a long tradition stretching back to the turn of the twentieth century, and even earlier. Travelogues dating between the eighteenth and early twentieth century often described the perceived wonders of ancient agricultural and industrial installations, which were dutifully recorded by representative of the clergy and military, by school teachers, and learned individuals attached to other entourages.
    [Show full text]
  • The Greek Orthodox Church in Turkey: a Victim of Systematic Expropriation
    109th CONGRESS Printed for the use of the 1st Session Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN TURKEY: A VICTIM OF SYSTEMATIC EXPROPRIATION March 16, 2005 Briefing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Washington: 2006 Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 234 Ford House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 202–225–1901 [email protected] http://www.csce.gov Legislative Branch Commissioners HOUSE SENATE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, NEW JERSEY, SAM BROWNBACK, KANSAS, Co-Chairman Chairman FRANK R. WOLF, VIRGINIA GORDON SMITH, OREGON JOSEPH R. PITTS, PENNSYLVANIA SAXBY CHAMBLISS, GEORGIA ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, ALABAMA CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, CONNECTICUT MIKE PENCE, INDIANA RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, WISCONSIN BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, MARYLAND HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, NEW YORK LOUISE MCINTOSH SLAUGHTER, VACANT NEW YORK VACANT ALCEE L. HASTINGS, FLORIDA VACANT MIKE MCINTYRE, NORTH CAROLINA Executive Branch Commissioners VACANT, DEPARTMENT OF STATE VACANT, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WILLIAM HENRY LASH III, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (II) (2) ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE The Helsinki process, formally titled the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, traces its origin to the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in Finland on August 1, 1975, by the leaders of 33 European countries, the United States and Canada. As of January 1, 1995, the Helsinki process was renamed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The membership of the OSCE has expanded to 55 partici- pating States, reflecting the breakup of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The OSCE Secretariat is in Vienna, Austria, where weekly meetings of the partici- pating States’ permanent representatives are held.
    [Show full text]