Hippodrome of Constantinople — Attraction in Fatih

Little is left of the gigantic stadium which once stood at the heart of the Byzantine city of Constantinople. It was originally laid out by Emperor Septimus Severus during his rebuilding of the city in the 3rd century AD. Emperor Constantine I enlarged the Hippodrome and connected its kathisma, or royal box, to the nearby Great Palace . It is thought that the stadium held up to 100,000 people. The site is now an elongated public garden, At Meydanı, the Square of the Horses. There are, however, enough remains of the Hippodrome to get a sense of its scale and importance. The road running around the square almost directly follows the line of the chariot racing track. You can also make out some of the arches of the sphendone (the curved end of the Hippodrome) by walking a few steps down İbret Sokağı. Constantine adorned the spina, the central line of the stadium, with obelisks and columns from Ancient Egypt and Greece. Conspicuous by its absence is the column, which once stood on the spot where the tourist information office is located. This was topped by four bronze horses which were pillaged during the Fourth Crusade and taken to St Mark’s in Venice. Three ancient monuments remain, however. The Egyptian Obelisk, which was built in 1500 BC, stood outside Luxor until Constantine had it brought to his city. This carved monument is probably only one third of its original height. Next to it is the Serpentine Column, believed to date from 479 BC, which was shipped here from Delphi Another obelisk still standing, but of unknown date, is usually referred to as the Column of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, after the emperor who restored it in the 10th century AD. Its dilapidated state owes much to the fact that young Janissaries would routinely scale it as a test of their bravery. The only other structure in the Hippodrome is a domed fountain, which commemorates the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II to Istanbul in 1898. The Hippodrome was the scene of one of the bloodiest events in Istanbul’s history. In 532 a brawl between rival chariot racing teams developed into the Nika Revolt, during which much of the city was destroyed. The end of the revolt came when an army of mercenaries, under the command of Justinian’s general Belisarius, massacred an estimated 30,000 people trapped in...

Completed in 330 for Constantine the Great, this U-shaped racetrack once seated 30,000 spectators in 40 rows of seats along its 400m length and 120m width. It was one of the largest Hippodromes of the Roman empire after Circus Maximus in Rome.

Little remains of the site today, and it is now known as Sultan Ahmet square in front of the Sultan Amet (Blue) Mosque.

The only thing that remains are three monuments that lined the Spina, the center divider of the track, as trophies brought from conquered lands of the far flung empire.

The Egyption obelisque was brought by the Byzantine emporer in 390 BC from the Amon temple of Karnak, where it had been riginally erected in 1490 BC.

The Serpentine column brought by Constantine the Great in 360 from Delpi, where it was erected in 479 BC to comerate a Greek victory over the Persians.

The column of Constatine was built on site and later repaired by Emporer...

Eng. Built since the time of ancient Byzantium by the emperor Septimius Severus, the hippodrome did not receive much attention until Constantine the Great, when it was renovated and became a main attraction during various celebrations. Originally over 400 m long and over 120 m wide, the hippodrome could accommodate a huge number of spectators (said to be around 100,000 thousand). After the suppression of the uprising in Nika, over 30,000 people were killed here by order of Emperor Jusinian. After the looting during the Fourth Crusade (when the Venetians stole the statues of the four horses and placed them in front of the church of San Marco), the hippodrome was neglected and fell into disrepair. Today you can still admire the Obelisk of Theodosius the Great (brought by him from the Karnak complex), the walled Obelisk (covered with gilded bronze plates, which were stolen during the mentioned crusade), built during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Seventh and the Serpentine Column (built by the Greeks in honor of the victory over the Persians and placed as a tripod for sacrifices in the temple of Apollo at Delphi), brought to Constantinople by the emperor Constantine the Great. ​Rom. Construit încă din vremea anticului Byzantium de către împăratul Septimius Severus, hipodromul nu a primit o atenție prea mare până la Constantin cel Mare, când a foast renovat și a devenit un principal punct de atracție cu ocazia diferitelor sărbători. Având inițial o lungime de peste 400 m și peste 120 m lățime, hipodromul putea primi un număr imens de spectatori (se spune că aproximativ 100.000 de mii). După reprimarea răscoalei din Nika, aici au fost uciși din ordinul împăratului Jusinian peste 30.000 de oameni. După jafurile produse în timpul celei de a patra cruciade (ocazie cu care venețienii au furat statuile celor patru cai și le-au amplasat în fața bisericii San Marco), hipodromul a fost neglijat și a intrat în paragină. Astăzi se mai pot admira Obeliscul lui Theodosius cel Mare (adus de acesta din complexul Karnak), Obeliscul zidit (acoperit cu plăci din bronz aurit, care au fost furate cu prilejul cruciadei menționate), construit în timpul împăratului Constantinos al Șaptelea și Coloana Șerpuită (construită de greci în cinstea victoriei împotriva perșilor și amplasată ca trepied pentru sacrificii în templul lui Apollo din Delfi), adusă la Constantinopol de împăratul...