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What city was the capital of the Roman Empire? That is a trick question as the capital moved from Rome to Constantinople in today's Turkey. After the division of the Empire, the capital of the Western Empire moved to Milan and then to Ravenna. For a while, Constantinople was the gleaming new capital of the whole Roman Empire, and then it was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire / Byzantine Empire for the better part of a thousand years.

Today there are many Roman ruins to be found in Istanbul (today's Constantinople). Some of these ruins are timeless wonders like the famous Hagia Sophia and the impenetrable Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. If one knows where to look, one can also find the remnants of the massive and famous Hippodrome of Constantinople in the modern Sultanahmet Square.

Stop 7. Istanbul, Turkey
Photo by Hussein Himmati on Unsplash
Stop 7. Istanbul, Turkey

The Hippodrome Of Constantinople - The Sporting Center Of The Empire

The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a Roman circus and the sporting and social center of the great city of Constantinople.

The word "hippodrome" is Greek and from the words "hippos," meaning horse, and "dromos," meaning path or way. The Roman equivalent of a hippodrome was a circus (like the Circus Maximus of Rome). Hippodromes persisted throughout the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine eras. It was used for horse racing and chariot racing (these sports were the sort of NASCAR or Super Bowl events of the day - they were very important to the society of the city).

Huge bets were made on the chariot races (the racing teams were the Blues, Greens, Reds, and Whites). There were up to eight chariots (two chariots per team), and each was pulled by four horses. Today's Soccer riots have nothing on what could come out of these events. The worst was the Nika riots of 532, in which an estimated 30,000 people were killed in the event that nearly overthrew Emperor Justinian. Rebuilding and as a form of penance for this traumatic disaster, Justinian commissioned the beautiful Hagia Sophia, which stands today.

Charioteer Re-Enactor

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Size & History Of The Hippodrome Of Constantinople

The Hippodrome of Constantinople actually predates the city as the new capital of the Roman Empire. It dates from went the city was a small provincial town of moderate importance called Byzantium. It was built in Byzantium in AD 203 by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus.

Over a hundred years later, the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, decided to move the capital of the increasingly difficult-to-maintain empire to the more strategic location of Byzantium (it was at the heart of the empire and on important trade routes). In AD 324, Constantine called the refounded city "Nova Roma" or New Rome - although the name failed to stick, and it became known as Constantinople (i.e., the City of Constantine).

The city was massively enlarged, and the Hippodrome was greatly renovated and expanded. It is thought the Hippodrome of Constantine was some 450 meters or 1,416 feet long and 130 meters or 427 feet wide. It was able to host up to 100,000 spectators. It was filled with statues of emperors, gods, animals, and heroes. One of the most famous statues was the Horses of Saint Mark, which were looted by the Venetians in the Fourth Crusade. Today they are found in Venice, Italy (after briefly being looted by Napoleon and taken to Paris).

The hippodrome was decorated with a number of monuments, including a monolithic obelisk. Today it is mostly just some of these monuments that remain (three of the ancient monuments remain).

Hippodrome the Serpent column and the Obelisk of Theodosius
Francesco Bonino / Shutterstock
Hippodrome the Serpent column and the Obelisk of Theodosius

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What To See Of The Hippodrome Of Constantinople Today

Today most of the hippodrome has been lost. Its chariot racing circuit was still visible in early Ottoman times (although the Ottomans were not interested in chariot racing). They used the hippodrome as a quarry for stone.

Serpent Column

The Serpent Column is one of the few relics of the hippodrome still visible today. It was cast to celebrate the victory of the Greeks over the Persians during the Persian Wars (think 300 Spartans). It was moved from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and set in the middle of the Hippodrome. All that remains of it today is the base (although some parts off the serpent heads that once adorned it can be seen at the Istanbul Archeology Museum).

Obelisk Of Thutmose III

One of the more impressive remains is the Obelisk of Thutmose III. It is an ancient obelisk from Egypt that was set up in the middle of the racing track. It was originally set up in the Temple of Karnak in Luxor by Pharaoh Thutmose III around 1,490 BC. It is around 3,500 years old.

The horses of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice
Shutterstock
The horses of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice

The Walled Obelisk

The Walled Obelisk was installed in the 10th century by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. It was covered with bronze plaques, but they were looted in the Fourth Crusade.

Statues of Porphyrius

There were seven statues of the legendary charioteer Porphyrius the Charioteer (he raced for the Greens and Blues). Only the bases of two of them survive in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.