Forum of Theodosius — Attraction in Fatih

The marble pieces that are located here belong to the Triumphal Arch and the forum built by and named after Emperor Theodosius the Great (4th century CE). The Triumphal Arch was situated on the southwest corner of the Theodosius Forum (today Beyazit Square). This area used to be called "Forum Tauri" (The Bull Square) but in the 4th century CE the name was changed into the "Forum of Theodosius". During this period, the forum was surrounded by marble public and civil buildings decorated with porticoes.

The marble archeological pieces that can be seen today were found between the years 1948 and 1961 during the rearrangements of Beyazit Square and Ordu street. After the discovery of these pieces, an experimental reconstruction was made in spite of the absence of some pieces and finally the probably form of the monument was established. According to this reconstruction, the triumphal arch had a vaulted roof with three passageways. The central one was higher and the ones on either sides lower. It was conceived to be similar to the ones in Rome. In the middle was the statue of Theodosius, while on both sides statues of his sons were put up, Arcadius and Honorarius.

Today the main street that starts from the Hagia Sophia Square is basically in the same direction to the west with the ancient Mese road, which formed the main artery of the old city. The Mese, passing through the Theodosius triumphal arch continued on to Thrace and reached out the Balkan peninsula. The triumphal arch and the surrounding ancient buildings to which some ruins possibly belong were destoryed as a result of invasions and natural disasters like earthquakes from the 5th century on. Thus their destruction was completed long before the conquest of Constantinople by the...

The city of Constantinople was built around large public squares or forums, the largest of which stood on the site of Beyazıt Square. It was once known as the Forum Tauri (Forum of the Bull) because of the huge bronze bull in which sacrificial animals, and sometimes criminals, were roasted. The huge columns, decorated with a motif reminiscent of a peacock’s tail, are particularly striking. When the forum became derelict these columns were reused in the city, some in the Basilica Cistern, and fragments from the forum were built into Beyazıt Hamamı, a Turkish bath further west down Ordu Caddesi,...

Beyazıt Meydanı'nın olduğu alanın Roma dönemindeki adı Theodosius Forumu idi. Geçmişi yüzlerce yıl eski olan bu alanın etrafı geniş sütunlu kilise ve hamamların da yer aldığı mermer yapılı sivil ve kamu binalarıyla çevriliydi. Alandaki en görkemli yerlerden biri de 'Zafer Takı'ydı.

Marmara adalarından getirilen mermer ile yapılmış, üç adet geçiş koridoru bulunan kavisli yapıya sahip Zafer Takı forumun batısında bulunuyordu. Roma’da bulunan bir zafer takına benzer biçimde inşa edilen bu eserin ortasındaki geçiş koridoru kenardakilere göre daha büyüktü. Ortasında I. Theodosius’un heykeli bulunan zafer takının iki yanında I. Theodosius’un oğulları Arcadius ve Honorarius’un heykelleri yer alıyordu. Ortadaki geçiş koridorunu taşıyan ve bu koridorun iki yanında bulunan Herkül figürleri ile süslü dörder adet sütun mevcuttu.

Bugün Ayasofya’nın önünden başlayarak batı yönünde ilerleyen cadde (bugünkü adıyla Yeniçeriler Caddesi) geçmişte şehrin ana hattını şekillendirmekteydi.

Bu cadde Theodosius Zafer Takının içerisinden geçerek Trakya’ya doğru devam ediyor ve Balkanların dışına kadar ulaşıryordu. Şehrin maruz kaldığı istilalar ve 5. yüzyılda meydana gelen deprem gibi bir takım doğal felaketler sonucunda ağır zarar gören Zafer Takı ile Forumu çevreleyen ve bugün hala bir takım kalıntıları bulunan antik yapılar, Osmanlıların İstanbul’u fethinden çok önceleri yıkılmıştı. Ancak, 20. yüzyılda yapılan kazılar sonucu ortaya çıkarılan kalıntıları hala geçmişteki görkemine ilişkin...