Reference Librarian
Before Constantinople: Byzantion, Rome and the capitals of the Tetrarchy
The Serpent Column, a part of one of the heads is today in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum
Byzantion
(Βυζάντιον, also Βυζαντίς), name of a Megarian colony at the southern mouth of the Bosporos, reportedly founded ca.660 b.c. The word is of Thracian origin; cf. the town of Bizye, the river Barbyses, etc. Ancient and Byz. legends considered a certain Byzas (the son of the nymph Semestre or a legendary Thracian king) as the founder of the city, sometimes together with the mythical Antes. The Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai often refers to “the days of Byzas and Antes” (e.g., Parastaseis 100.17); a combination of these two names must explain the toponym Byz-Ant-ion.
Constantine I chose Byzantion as the site of his residence, transformed gradually into a new capital. Byz. authors through the 15th C. (e.g., Douk. 43.9) used the name Byzantion for their capital, although the official designation was Constantinople (Gr. Konstantinoupolis, “the city of Constantine”). The Byz. never extended the name Byzantion to their empire, which was termed “of the Rhomaioi”; for them the Byzantioi were the inhabitants of the capital. The term Byzantine Empire was coined by 16th-C. humanists.
Layout and Monuments
Seeing that Byzantion was absorbed into Constantinople without any radical replanning, its layout influenced that of the new city and many of its buildings survived into the Byz. period. The ancient city walls, renowned for their strength, described an arc from the Golden Horn to the Propontis, passing a short distance east of what was to be Constantine's Forum. Demolished by Septimius Severus in 195–96, they were rebuilt in the second half of the 3rd C., probably along the same line. The acropolis of Byzantion, on the site of the present Seraglio, contained the main temples, which were still standing in the 6th C. Two fortified harbors lay within the walls on the shore of the Golden Horn. Next to them was an agora (later the Strategion). A second agora, called Tetrastoon, is represented by the open space south of Hagia Sophia, later the Augustaion. From there a colonnaded street, ascribed to Severus, led westward to the city gate. The theater, amphitheater (in the region of Mangana), the baths of Achilles and Zeuxippos, the aqueduct of Hadrian, and possibly the Hippodrome were further features of the ancient city that survived into the Middle Ages. The cemetery of Byzantion lay west of the city walls. The archaeological remains of Byzantion are very meager except for a good number of inscriptions. Cyril Mango, Alexander Kazhdan
Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.oxfordreference
From Rome to Constantinople by Call Number: DF504.5 .F766 2007ISBN: 9789042919716Publication Date: 2007-08-10This is a collection of articles offered as a tribute to Averil Cameron, the prominent historian of Rome and Byzantium, and Warden of Keble College, Oxford. Opening with an introduction by Peter Brown, who illustrates the sweeping developments in the field and the role of Averil Cameron in them, this volume highlights topics which reflect the breadth of Dame Averil's interests, arranged in following five sub-sections: Historiography and Rhetoric, Christianity in its Social Contexts, Art and Representation, Byzantium and the Workings of Empire, Late Antiquity in Retrospect. Asceticism and monasticism, cults of saints and icons, Mariology, Byzantine historiography, and art history are but a few of the subjects which are discussed here in the English language by some of the leading scholars in the field. The volume also includes a full bibliography of the honorand, as well as indices. It appears as the first volume of the series Late Antique History and Religion, which is dedicated to the study of Late Antiquity and its legacies.
The Antiquities of Constantinople by Call Number: DR720 .G513 1988ISBN: 9780934977012Publication Date: 1988-01-01A first-hand description of Constantinople (Istanbul) by this French humanist and diplomat c. 1550, during the age of Sleiyman the Magnificent. Gilles discusses the city's rich history and describes the hills, palaces, temples and churches, the markets, cisterns, columns, baths and other ancient monuments of this great capital. Illustrated, new introduction, bibliography, index, glossary, and five new maps. Based on John Ball's 1729 translation from Latin.
Two Romes by Call Number: DG63 .G75 2012ISBN: 0199739404Publication Date: 2012-04-03The city of Constantinople was named New Rome or Second Rome very soon after its foundation in AD 324; over the next two hundred years it replaced the original Rome as the greatest city of the Mediterranean. In this unified essay collection, prominent international scholars examine the changing roles and perceptions of Rome and Constantinople in Late Antiquity from a range of different disciplines and scholarly perspectives. The seventeen chapters cover both the comparative development and the shifting status of the two cities. Developments in politics and urbanism are considered, along with the cities' changing relationships with imperial power, the church, and each other, and their evolving representations in both texts and images. These studies present important revisionist arguments and new interpretations of significant texts and events. This comparative perspective allows the neglected subject of the relationship between the two Romes to come into focus while avoiding the teleological distortions common in much past scholarship.
Divine Heiress by Call Number: BT652.R66 L56 1994ISBN: 0415096774Publication Date: 1994-09-22Divine Heiress explores the vital role of the Virgin Mary in the cultural and religious life of Constantinople in late antiquity. It shows how she was transformed from a humble Jewish maiden into a divine figure and supernatural protector of Constantinople.
Vasiliki Limberis examines the cult of Mary in the context of the religious culture of the Mediterranean world and the imperial Christianity of the Roman Empire. The author looks at all the evidence for the cult but pays particular attention to the early hymns to the virgin. These hymns preserved the strong indigenous goddess traditions of Demeter/Persephone, Isis, Hecate and Athena. By studying them the author places the cult of Mary in its historical and cultural context.
Rome, Constantinople, Moscow by Call Number: BX324.3 .M46 1996ISBN: 0881411345Publication Date: 1996-01-01This is a compilation of essays on various historical and theological issues which discuss aspects of the estrangement between the two halves of the Christian world and present an evaluation of several attempts at healing the schism. It incluudes studies of various historical and theological issues which have arisen between East and West, and discusses the problems related to the Fall of Byzantium and the rise of Russia as a major centre of Orthodox mission and thought.
From Mycenae to Constantinople by Call Number: HT114 .T66 1992ISBN: 0415059984Publication Date: 1992-10-22Tomlinson presents studies of selected ancient cities, ranging from the earliest development of urban architecture in Europe to the imperial cities of Rome and Constantinople. It gives an account of their architecture, not merely from the art historical point of view, but as an expression of the social organisation, and political systems employed by the people who lived in them.
The Transformation of Late Antiquity by Call Number: DG77 .T73 2009ISBN: 9780754665533Publication Date: 2009-02-28This book focuses on a simple dynamic: the taking in hand of a heritage, the variety of changes induced within it, and the handing on of that legacy to new generations. Our contributors suggest, from different standpoints, that this dynamic represented the essence of 'late antiquity'.
Byzantium : an introduction to East Roman civilization by Call Number: DF521 .B28 1948Publication Date: 1948The publication of this introduction to east Roman civilization has been described as a major event in the history of Byzantine studies in England. The book contains chapters by authorities of international reputation on all aspects of Byzantine culture, and Professor Baynes's short introduction brilliantly sums up the essence of Byzantium and describes what it gave to the world.
From Byzantion to Istanbul : 8000 years of a capital : June 5-September 4, 2010, Sabanci University : Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul. by Call Number: DR728 .S25 2010ISBN: 9786054348046Publication Date: 2010The exhibition presents the peerless history of Istanbul from its founding until today with over 500 works, some of which are the discoveries from the Yenikapı excavation conducted as part of the Marmaray Project, which goes back 8000 years. The exhibition sheds light on the glorious history of a city that has served as the capital city for the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires from Byzantion to New Rome, from Constantinople to Istanbul, and it brings together treasures scattered among various countries through trade, gifts and historic events such as the looting of the 4th Crusade.
The Urban Image of Late Antique Constantinople by Call Number: NB85 .B375 2004ISBN: 052182723XPublication Date: 2004-11-16From its foundation in the fourth century to its fall to the Ottoman Turks in the fifteenth, the city of Constantinople boasted a collection of antiquities unrivaled by any city of the medieval world. This book reconstructs the collection from the time of the city's founding by Constantine the Great through the sixth century reign of the emperor Justinian. Drawing on medieval literary sources and graphic and archaeological material, it identifies and describes the antiquities that were known to have stood in the city's public spaces.
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Call Number: DG311 .G5 1985ISBN: 0140431896Publication Date: 1983-06-30Gripping, powerfully intelligent, and wonderfully entertaining, Gibbon's classic account of Rome ranks as one of the literary masterpieces of its age. Attacked for its enlightened views on politics, sexuality, and religion, the first volume was nonetheless found on every table and received widespread acclaim for its elegant prose. Famously skeptical about Christianity, unexpectedly sympathetic to the barbarian invaders and the Byzantine Empire, constantly aware of how political leaders often achieve the exact opposite of what they intend, Gibbon captured both the broad pattern of events and the significant revealing detail.
Le développement urbain de Constantinople, IVe-VIIe siècles by Call Number: NA9230.I8 M3 2004ISBN: 2701800226Publication Date: 2004Dans ces quatre conférences données au Collège de France, l'auteur tente de montrer comment Byzance est devenue Constantinople, comment ensuite la grande capitale de Justinien traverse la crise démographique des 7e-8e siècles pour aborder le Moyen Age. Contient un addenda de l'auteur sur les découvertes archéologiques récentes.
Byzantion : Byzas'tan Constantinus'a antik Istanbul : antik edebi kaynaklarCall Number: DR729 .Y38 2014ISBN: 9786054642304Byzas’tan Constantinus’a Antik İstanbul, Antik Edebi Kaynaklar, günümüz İstanbulu’nun nüvesini oluşturan antik çağın komşu şehir-devletleri Byzantion (Tarihi Yarımada) ve Kalkhedon’un (Kadıköy), kuruldukları MÖ 700’lerden MS 4. yüzyıla uzanan tarihsel süreçlerini derleyen bir çalışma. Başlangıçta, Karadeniz-Ege eksenli ticari faaliyetlerin kontrol merkezlerinden olan Byzantion’un, zaman içinde, stratejik konumunun getirdiği siyasal, toplumsal, kültürel değişim ve dönüşümlerle Bizans İmparatorluğu’nun başkenti Konstantinopolis’e evriliş öyküsünü antik çağ tarihçilerinin metinleri üzerinden okumamıza olanak veriyor.
Byzantium and the Bosporus by Call Number: DR741.B7 R87 2017ISBN: 9780198790525Publication Date: 2017-01-24A historical study of the city of Byzantium before the foundation of Constantinople, covering the period before the foundation of the city in the Archaic period and Constantine’s choice of the site for his new capital. This book explores the relationship between the city and the Bosporus strait, outlining how life along the Bosporus was shaped in a variety of ways by the waterway. In particular, it investigates the history of economic predation and taxation in the region, with a special focus on the Athenian Empire’s attitude to the strait and on the economic history of the region in the third century BC. Additionally, the book explores the local myths and traditions of the area, including foundation myths relating to the colonial history of the city, to create a cultural history of the city and of its Thracian neighbours. Finally, the book explores the local economic resources of the region, particularly the fishing industries of the Bosporus in antiquity. The result is a meditation on regional particularism, in which the pervasive impact of the Bosporus strait on the city of Byzantium throughout its history is revealed.
