Walking Through Constantinople At Its Peak: What Would You Have Seen? — Transcript

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1. 0:00Constantinople,
2. 0:02queen of cities, one of the most
3. 0:05impressive cities of the ancient world,
4. 0:08capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for
5. 0:11more than a thousand years.
6. 0:13But how can we imagine life to have been
7. 0:16in Constantinople at its zenith in the
8. 0:19age of the Emperor Justinian? Imagine
9. 0:22you could time travel back to the year
10. 0:24565 AD.
11. 0:26What would you have seen had you visited
12. 0:28Constantinople in that year? What
13. 0:31sights, what landmarks would you have
14. 0:33seen? What could you have done in that
15. 0:35magnificent capital of the Eastern Roman
16. 0:37Empire? Visiting the famous baths of
17. 0:40Zeuxippus,
18. 0:41seeing impressive fora and old temples,
19. 0:44marveling at spectacular giant nymphaea,
20. 0:48or seeing the entrance to [music] the
21. 0:49Imperial Palace, going to a tavern and
22. 0:53have a feast and maybe drink a bit too
23. 0:54much wine.
24. 0:56Join me today and let's find out what
25. 0:58you would have seen if you could have
26. 1:01visited that magnificent city in its
27. 1:04prime, when it was at its most
28. 1:07impressive.
29. 1:11The year is 565 AD. The city of
30. 1:14Constantinople is at its peak. About
31. 1:17half a million people live in the city.
32. 1:20Let's imagine you are a visitor and you
33. 1:22visit Constantinople for the first time
34. 1:24arriving by land. Entering through the
35. 1:27Golden Gate in the lower right part of
36. 1:28the city in this view, the first thing
37. 1:31you [music] would see would be the
38. 1:33massive and impressive Theodosian Land
39. 1:35Walls. [music] Then you would arrive at
40. 1:38the Golden Gate.
41. 1:40This impressive gate would be truly
42. 1:42marvelous to look at, clad in white
43. 1:45marble and decorated with golden statues
44. 1:48on top, the gates themselves being
45. 1:50covered in gold. The sight must have
46. 1:53been truly impressive.
47. 1:56We now have entered the city and
48. 1:58continue on the Mese.
49. 2:00This was a very large colonnaded street
50. 2:02that ran through the entire city.
51. 2:05However, at first you wouldn't have seen
52. 2:07many buildings as this region was never
53. 2:09densely built on and consisted mainly of
54. 2:12farmland.
55. 2:15You would now have slowly walked towards
56. 2:18the central part of the city. As you
57. 2:20would continue walking on the Mese, you
58. 2:22would at some point enter the first
59. 2:25Imperial Forum.
60. 2:26This was the Forum of Arcadius. [music]
61. 2:30It was built in 403 AD in the reign of
62. 2:33the Emperor Arcadius, son of Theodosius.
63. 2:36The Forum was rectangular and in its
64. 2:38midst there was a triumphal column with
65. 2:40a statue of Arcadius on top.
66. 2:43As you would leave this Forum, you would
67. 2:45continue on the Mese and pass the old
68. 2:48city walls from Emperor Constantine's
69. 2:50time. And then you would enter the Forum
70. 2:52of the Ox. This was a rectangular Forum
71. 2:55with many shops built at some point in
72. 2:58the 4th century AD. In its center there
73. 3:01was a bronze statue of an ox. Just a few
74. 3:03years before you visit, the Forum was
75. 3:06damaged in a fire, so therefore we can
76. 3:08imagine that by 565
77. 3:10it would have been restored and would
78. 3:12have thus possibly looked surprisingly
79. 3:14new. You would then continue your walk
80. 3:17along the Mese and you would then arrive
81. 3:19at the Forum Amastrianum.
82. 3:22On one side there was a round temple,
83. 3:24the Temple of Helios, but by 565
84. 3:28it was most certainly converted into a
85. 3:30church or used as something else because
86. 3:33the pagan cults had been suppressed. On
87. 3:36the other side of that splendid Forum
88. 3:38was the Capitolium. This was an old
89. 3:41pagan temple, but after the suppression
90. 3:43of paganism the temple was converted
91. 3:46into a place of higher learning.
92. 3:48Now would be a good time to take a
93. 3:50detour to a truly magnificent site, the
94. 3:53famous Church of the Holy Apostles.
95. 3:56Second in magnificence only to the Hagia
96. 3:58Sophia, this church was started by
97. 4:00Emperor Constantine and finished by his
98. 4:03son the Emperor Constantius II in the
99. 4:05340s AD. It was built in the shape of a
100. 4:08cross.
101. 4:10Nearby you would find the Aqueduct of
102. 4:12Valens running through the city. This
103. 4:15impressive structure was built during
104. 4:17the reign of the Emperor Valens,
105. 4:18finished in 368 AD, and it supplied
106. 4:21Constantinople with fresh water from 120
107. 4:24km away. Walking further along the
108. 4:27aqueduct, you would find at its very end
109. 4:29an impressive nymphaeum dedicated to the
110. 4:32nymphs and so it contained a lot of
111. 4:34pagan statues in the old days, which by
112. 4:37the time of your visit had been replaced
113. 4:39with more neutral statues of Roman
114. 4:42emperors or philosophers. So going back
115. 4:45from the Church of the Holy Apostles
116. 4:46along the Valens Aqueduct, turning right
117. 4:49at the nymphaeum, you would arrive at
118. 4:51the next magnificent Forum, the Forum of
119. 4:54Theodosius. This rectangular Forum was
120. 4:56originally built in the time of
121. 4:58Constantine, but it was later rebuilt by
122. 5:00Emperor Theodosius in 393. It had very
123. 5:04beautifully decorated triumphal arches
124. 5:06and also a triumphal column.
125. 5:09You would continue your way on the Mese
126. 5:11where you would approach the central
127. 5:13part of the city, where there was the
128. 5:15highest density of buildings and which
129. 5:17contained the most spectacular buildings
130. 5:20and fora. In this view here, you would
131. 5:22come from the left along the Mese and
132. 5:24you would enter the round or oval Forum
133. 5:26of Constantine. When you would enter
134. 5:29this impressive Forum, you would be
135. 5:31absolutely awestruck. On one side of the
136. 5:34Forum there was another nymphaeum, which
137. 5:36was not as large as the Great Nymphaeum,
138. 5:38but still impressive enough. But the
139. 5:40real impressive sight was the statue of
140. 5:43Athena Promachos, the one and same
141. 5:45Athena Promachos that had stood on the
142. 5:47Acropolis of Athens. It was brought to
143. 5:50Constantinople around the year 465
144. 5:53and erected in the Forum of Constantine.
145. 5:56You would then turn around and you would
146. 5:58see the triumphal column of Constantine,
147. 6:01on top of which there was a golden
148. 6:02statue of Constantine as the god Apollo.
149. 6:05On the other side you would see the old
150. 6:08Senate House. This building had the form
151. 6:10of a rotunda temple, but by the time you
152. 6:13would visit it was not used anymore as
153. 6:15the assembly place of the Senate. It is
154. 6:18unknown as what it was used in 565,
155. 6:21but it might have been used as a general
156. 6:23assembly place.
157. 6:25You would now exit the spectacular Forum
158. 6:28and walk along the Mese towards the
159. 6:30heart of the city.
160. 6:31Now the density of people, of shops, and
161. 6:33of merchants would increase even more.
162. 6:36It would have been quite crowded.
163. 6:39Merchants from all over the Eastern
164. 6:41Roman Empire would bring wares to sell
165. 6:43them in the great city.
166. 6:45The territory of the Eastern Roman
167. 6:47Empire was at its peak in 565
168. 6:50encompassing many territories from the
169. 6:52former Western Empire. Therefore, the
170. 6:55activity in Constantinople must have
171. 6:57been incredible. Now you would already
172. 6:59see the column of Justinian on which an
173. 7:01equestrian statue of him was placed. And
174. 7:04of course you would see the incredible
175. 7:05Hagia Sophia Church in the distance.
176. 7:09Now you would have finally arrived at
177. 7:11the Hippodrome.
178. 7:12The Hippodrome of Constantinople was
179. 7:14only a bit smaller than the one in Rome,
180. 7:17but still very impressive, 450 m long
181. 7:20and 130 m wide and capable of holding
182. 7:23100,000 spectators. The racing factions,
183. 7:26the whites, the greens, the reds, and
184. 7:28the blues were always fervently battling
185. 7:31each other in spectacular races and not
186. 7:34seldomly would these rivalries erupt
187. 7:36into open rebellions leading often to
188. 7:39chaotic and tumultuous scenes of chaos
189. 7:41throughout the city.
190. 7:44After witnessing this insane spectacle,
191. 7:47you would go on to the Augustaeum,
192. 7:49[music] which was the central Forum of
193. 7:51the city.
194. 7:52Here was not only the Hagia Sophia and
195. 7:55many triumphal columns, among those the
196. 7:57tallest one of Justinian, but many shops
197. 7:59as well. And it was a meeting place of
198. 8:02great activity.
199. 8:05You could go to one of the many
200. 8:06merchants and haggle for some impressive
201. 8:08wares from far away lands and maybe you
202. 8:12would be able to catch a good price and
203. 8:14even buy a rare item.
204. 8:24Also at the Augustaeum were the largest
205. 8:27baths of Constantinople, of which the
206. 8:29city had many, but these were truly
207. 8:31impressive. They had been rebuilt after
208. 8:34having been badly damaged in the Nika
209. 8:36Riots in 532 AD and now had a much more
210. 8:39Christian and less pagan look. But there
211. 8:42were still many statues of Greek heroes
212. 8:44and of philosophers in there.
213. 8:46There were separate rooms and off most
214. 8:48separate hours for women and men as the
215. 8:51moral rules had become much stricter
216. 8:54under Christianity.
217. 8:55There were many beautiful mosaics as
218. 8:57well adorning the many chambers of this
219. 9:00large bathing complex.
220. 9:12Leaving the baths back to the
221. 9:14Augustaeum, you would see the Magnaura.
222. 9:17This building was completely rebuilt
223. 9:19after the riots of 532 had destroyed the
224. 9:22previous building.
225. 9:23At the time of your visit, it was brand
226. 9:26new and was used as the new Senate Hall
227. 9:28for meetings and the [music] old
228. 9:30illustrious order of senators.
229. 9:32Nearby you would find the Chalke,
230. 9:34completed not too long before your
231. 9:36visit. It must have been a splendid
232. 9:39building and served as the ceremonial
233. 9:41entrance to the Imperial Palace.
234. 9:45Now finally the time had come to visit
235. 9:47the grandest of the buildings that the
236. 9:49[music] Emperor Justinian had built, the
237. 9:51Church of the Holy Wisdom, also known as
238. 9:54Hagia Sophia, which is still standing
239. 9:56today. This structure had been also
240. 9:59built by the Emperor Justinian, who was
241. 10:01a prolific builder. The dome had a
242. 10:03diameter of around 33 m and an interior
243. 10:06height of 55.6 [music] m. On the inside,
244. 10:10you would have seen a brand new golden
245. 10:12plating of the entire upper area, which
246. 10:14must have looked absolutely [music]
247. 10:16incredible.
248. 10:17Now, after seeing this, you might maybe
249. 10:19have wanted to visit the old Acropolis
250. 10:22of the old Byzantium. Here, people had
251. 10:25worshiped the ancient Roman and Greek
252. 10:26gods in many temples hundreds of years
253. 10:28ago,
254. 10:29>> [music]
255. 10:29>> but by the time of your visit, most of
256. 10:31these temples had been dismantled and
257. 10:33their building materials had been reused
258. 10:35for other buildings. And so, you now
259. 10:38might have wanted to cheer yourself up
260. 10:40from that sad sight.
261. 10:41>> [music]
262. 10:42>> And so, you might have wanted to visit
263. 10:43one of the hundreds of taverns that were
264. 10:46scattered throughout the city. Not only
265. 10:49would you find food there, but also
266. 10:51great company and wine to certainly
267. 10:53cheer you up.
268. 10:54>> I propose a toast to our host and to
269. 10:57enduring friendship.
270. 10:59>> Here, here.
271. 11:01That's the funniest thing I've heard.
272. 11:03Drink up, the night is young. More wine
273. 11:06over here.
274. 11:13Look at me.
275. 11:15Drink up, my friend.
276. 11:17>> [music]
277. 11:27>> After this tavern visit might have
278. 11:29escalated a bit, you might have wanted
279. 11:32to refresh yourself the next morning at
280. 11:34one of the many fountains found
281. 11:36throughout the entire city.
282. 11:38And so, your time in Constantinople
283. 11:39would draw to an end, and you would
284. 11:41stroll along the streets soaking in one
285. 11:44last time the sights and sounds of the
286. 11:46city.
287. 11:48Let's say you would want to leave
288. 11:49Constantinople by ship. The city would
289. 11:52have a large number of harbors varying
290. 11:54in size. Many ships would arrive at the
291. 11:57ports of Constantinople from all over
292. 11:59the Roman Empire, but especially from
293. 12:01the war-torn west, from where many
294. 12:04people, especially from old Rome, would
295. 12:07seek refuge here in the booming capital.
296. 12:10And so, leaving Constantinople by ship,
297. 12:13you would look back onto the impressive
298. 12:15skyline of the city. You would see the
299. 12:17many cupolas glittering in the sun, most
300. 12:21impressively, of course, the one of the
301. 12:22Hagia Sophia.
302. 12:24You had now witnessed Constantinople in
303. 12:26its prime, when it was probably the most
304. 12:29impressive-looking city.
305. 12:31Truly sights that you would never forget
306. 12:34in your life.
307. 12:40This, dear friends of late Roman
308. 12:41history, is how I would have imagined a
309. 12:45visit to Constantinople in the year 565
310. 12:48AD. I hope you enjoyed this visit to
311. 12:51Constantinople, one of the most
312. 12:53impressive cities that ever existed. If
313. 12:56you like this type of content, please
314. 12:57subscribe to this channel, and you can
315. 12:59also consider supporting this channel
316. 13:01via Patreon. It is thanks to our
317. 13:03Patreons that I can still make videos
318. 13:05about late Roman history. Some of these
319. 13:07scenes are partially based on Antoine
320. 13:10Helbert's artworks, to whom I want to
321. 13:13thus give particular credit. I put a
322. 13:15link to his site into the video
323. 13:17description.
324. 13:18I wish you a wonderful day, dear friends
325. 13:20of late Roman history. Gratias tibi ago
326. 13:23and benevalete.
327. 13:25>> [music]