Istanbul’s Place in Art History: From Byzantion to Constantinople — The Ancient and Roman Legacy

The art and architectural history of Istanbul rests upon a millennium of ancient accumulation, spanning its founding as a modest Megarian colony named Byzantion in the 7th century BCE to its elevation in 330 CE as Constantinople, the new capital of the Roman Empire. This foundational arc—extending to the mid-fifth century—presents a remarkably cohesive narrative, illuminated by ancient historiography, surviving monuments, and the transformative archaeological discoveries of the past two decades.

At the heart of this urban and artistic development lies a crucial imperative: Constantine I and his successors transformed the city into a curated “open-air museum of antiquity” by systematically requisitioning statues and monuments from across the empire. This deliberate policy of spolia grounded the political and cultural legitimacy of New Rome in the sacred, historical, and aesthetic imagery of the ancient world. The monuments of the Hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square remain the most tangible witnesses to this state strategy.

This historical trajectory encompasses the foundation of Byzantion, its Classical and Hellenistic phases, Septimius Severus’s urban interventions, Constantine’s imperial vision, the Hippodrome’s monumental program, collected sculptural ensembles, the urban transformation under the Theodosian dynasty, and recent archaeological breakthroughs.

The Founding of Byzantion

Classical and Byzantine traditions trace Byzantion’s origin to Megarian colonists from near Athens, assigning its legendary foundation to circa 667 BCE, shortly after Megarians established Khalkedon (modern Kadıköy) on the opposing shore.

The fullest account of this foundation myth survives in the 6th-century Patria of Constantinople by Hesychius of Miletus. The text preserves layered traditions: one attributing the foundation to Argives guided by the Delphic oracle, another to Megarians under Byzas, and a third identifying Byzas as the son of the local nymph Semystra.

According to the prevailing narrative, King Nisos of Megara consulted the Delphic oracle and dispatched his son Byzas to find a realm “opposite the land of the blind.” Reaching the confluence of the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara, Byzas concluded that Khalkedon’s founders were “blind” to the vastly superior strategic and geographical advantages of the European peninsula, prompting him to settle at Sarayburnu.

This “blindness” motif predates the oracle legend; Herodotus notes that the Persian general Megabazus deemed the settlers of Khalkedon blind for overlooking such an ideal site. Strabo and Tacitus later codified the oracular version.

From an art-historical perspective, Byzas’s enduring power lies in his survival within collective memory as an oikistes (founding hero). Literary sources record that the Byzantines erected statues of Byzas and his wife Phidaleia, daughter of a Thracian king, in a prominent public space. His idealized portrait subsequently featured on civic coinage under Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180 CE). While the name Byzantion likely holds Thracian roots—a theory supported by the name Lygos in Pliny’s Naturalis Historia—modern scholarship, notably Thomas Russell’s Byzantium and the Bosporus, emphasizes that pre-Greek Thracian settlements preceded the colony, revealing an origin narrative woven from myth and history.

The natural topography proved foundational to all subsequent artistic and architectural developments: Byzantion controlled the maritime passage between the Black Sea and the Aegean, while the Golden Horn offered an exceptional sheltered harbor.

Byzantion in the Classical and Hellenistic Eras

Byzantion evolved primarily as a mercantile powerhouse commanding the sole entrance to the Black Sea, eventually extending its dominion over Khalkedon. This geopolitical importance rendered it a perpetual target for rival powers.

The Persian Era. Incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire during Darius I’s Scythian campaign in 513 BCE, the city became part of the Skudra satrapy. Though Persian control fluctuated, Byzantion—alongside Sestos—remained one of Persia’s primary European ports on the Straits until the Spartan general Pausanias liberated it after the Persian Wars, bringing it into the Delian League.

Between Athens and Sparta. During the Peloponnesian War, Sparta seized the city in 411 BCE to sever Athens’ vital grain corridor, only for Athenian forces to reclaim it in 408 BCE—a conflict underscoring the city’s strategic centrality to the Aegean world.

The Siege of Philip II and the Cult of Hecate. In 340 BCE, Byzantion and its Athenian allies repelled a siege by Philip II of Macedon. Legend holds that a surprise nocturnal assault under dark, rain-swept skies was thwarted when a brilliant light suddenly illuminated the night sky. Attributing their salvation to Hecate, the Byzantines erected a statue of Hecate Phosphoros (“Light-Bringer”)—an event preserved by Hesychius of Miletus, Stephanus of Byzantium, and Eustathius.

This event left a permanent imprint on the city’s visual identity and numismatic memory. Civic coins minted from the 1st century BCE onward bear the head of Artemis with bow and quiver alongside a crescent and eight-pointed star—a motif widely interpreted as an outgrowth of the Hecate–Artemis cult.

Religious and Cultural Milieu. Pre-Constantinian Byzantion harbored vibrant cults dedicated to Rhea, Hecate, Artemis-Selene, Aphrodite, Apollo Zeuxippos, Athena, Hera, Zeus, Hermes, Demeter, and Kore, with inscriptions and coinage under Caracalla revealing additional traces of Isis and Serapis. These sanctuaries clustered around the acropolis at Sarayburnu (now Topkapı Palace). The city also fostered intellectual figures such as the engineer Philo of Byzantium (c. 280–220 BCE) and the Alexandrian lexicographer Aristophanes.

The Roman Period and Septimius Severus

During Rome’s eastern expansion, Byzantion maintained a steadfastly pro-Roman stance, earning the status of civitas libera et foederata. The defining turning point in its Roman history, however, occurred during the imperial succession crisis of 193 CE.

Siege and Destruction (193–196 CE). Byzantion allied with Pescennius Niger against Septimius Severus. Even after Niger’s defeat and death, the city refused to yield, falling to starvation in 196 CE after a grueling three-year siege. Severus punished the city severely; the 10th-century encyclopedia Suda records that Byzantion was stripped of its theaters, baths, and adornments, demoted to a village under the jurisdiction of Perinthus (Suda On Line, Σ 181). Its civic privileges were later restored through the intervention of Caracalla, whom the grateful citizens named archon.

Reconstruction. Following its destruction, Severus initiated a sweeping urban rebuilding campaign. At its heart lay the Tetrastoon (later the Augustaion, in front of Hagia Sophia), a square bounded by four porticoes. Around it rose the Baths of Zeuxippus and the adjacent Hippodrome; acropolis temples, the theater, and the amphitheater were restored, while a gymnasium was added to the western slope. Severus issued coins hailing himself as the city’s new founder and protector.

The Origin of “Zeuxippus”. The 6th-century chronicler John Malalas attributes the name Zeuxippon to a bronze Helios statue in the Tetrastoon, noting that Thracians addressed the sun as the god of “galloping horses” (Zeuxippos). The Suda, by contrast, traces it to a neighboring sanctuary of Zeus.

Origins of the Hippodrome. According to the Suda, Severus initiated the Hippodrome by purchasing private properties, clearing orchards, and decorating the structure with ship decks and rostra. Though Severus broke ground, his son Caracalla completed the build. While scholars long debated the primary builder, Engin Akyürek’s 2021 study confirms that Severus initiated construction and Constantine subsequently expanded it.

The Late 3rd Century. The post-Severan era proved turbulent; the Germanic Heruli sacked Byzantion in 267 CE. During the Tetrarchy, though overshadowed by Diocletian’s capital at Nicomedia (İzmit), the Tetrastoon–Hippodrome–Mese axis established by Severus formed the physical and symbolic spine of Constantine’s New Rome.

The Foundation of Constantinople (324–330 CE)

Following his defeat of Licinius at Chrysopolis (Üsküdar) in 324 CE, Constantine I became sole emperor and designated Byzantion as his new capital, drawn to its easily defensible, sea-girt topography. Dedicated in 330 CE as Nova Roma (New Rome), the city quickly became known as Constantinople (“City of Constantine”).

Urban Expansion. Constantine pushed the city’s boundaries west, erecting a new land wall that vastly expanded the urban footprint from 6 km² to what would become 14 km² under Theodosius II. To secure legitimacy through symbolic continuity, Constantine adopted the traditional founding date recorded by Herodotus, celebrating Byzantion’s millennium in 333–334 CE with lavish ceremonies and commemorative silver coinage.

The Mese and Urban Axis. The city’s main thoroughfare was the colonnaded Mese (modern Divan Yolu), extending west from Severus’s Tetrastoon. Imperial forums along the Mese mirrored the urban armature of Rome. The Tetrastoon was reconfigured as the Augustaion, named after Helena, the Emperor’s mother; around this central plaza clustered the Great Palace, the Hippodrome, and the Baths of Zeuxippus, forming the core of imperial authority.

The Forum of Constantine and the Column of Constantine (Çemberlitaş). Positioned at the juncture between the new city and old Byzantion, the oval Forum of Constantine was surrounded by porticoes and adorned with masterpiece sculptures, housing the first Senate house of Constantinople.

At its center stood a monumental column of Egyptian porphyry mounted on a white marble base, dedicated during the opening ceremonies on May 11, 330 CE. Originally rising between 37 and 50 meters, its imperial purple porphyry served as an unambiguous symbol of absolute power.

Crowning the column was a colossal bronze statue depicting Constantine as Helios/Apollo, adorned with a seven-rayed crown, holding a spear in his right hand and a globe in his left—a visual composition echoing the Sol Invictus imagery of his early coinage. Fifth-century ecclesiastical historians Socrates Scholasticus and Philostorgius explicitly identify the statue as Constantine, whereas Eusebius’s Life of Constantine references the inauguration without mentioning the column. This syncretic blend of pagan solar iconography and Christian imperial image stands among the most defining artistic artifacts of Late Antiquity.

Inaugural Rituals and Subsequent Centuries. Imperial processions moved along the Mese to the Forum of Constantine, where statues and relics were ceremonially installed. Each May 11th, a gilded wooden copy of the statue featured in annual anniversary celebrations. Reinforced with iron hoops after an earthquake in 416 CE, the statue collapsed during a storm in 1106 CE and was replaced with a cross by Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180). Ottoman restorations in 1515 and under Mustafa II gave the column its Turkish name, Çemberlitaş (“Hooped Stone”), while its fire-blackened shaft earned it the Western designation “Burnt Column.”

The Hippodrome and Its Monuments

The Hippodrome served not merely as a venue for chariot racing, but as the primary stage for imperial ceremonial and public politics. Its central barrier (spina) was adorned with imperial trophies modeled on Rome’s Circus Maximus. Three monuments survive today in Sultanahmet Square, preserving the precise alignment of the ancient spina.

The Serpent Column. Cast from melted Persian spoils, this bronze column of intertwined serpents was originally dedicated at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi to commemorate the Greek victory at Plataea (479 BCE). Herodotus documents its origin; between the 12th and 3rd coils, the names of 31 Greek city-states led by Sparta, Athens, and Corinth are incised. The three serpent heads originally supported a golden tripod, lost before Pausanias visited Delphi in the 2nd century CE. Lead piping at the base of the column and the Walled Obelisk indicates that both monuments functioned at times as monumental fountains (nymphaea). Over centuries, the monument’s political-military significance evolved into an apotropaic charm guarding the city against snakes and vermin, as recorded by Evliya Çelebi and depicted in Matrakçı Nasuh’s 16th-century miniature. The serpent heads broke off around 1700; the upper jaw fragment unearthed during 1848 excavations is now displayed at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.

The Obelisk of Theodosius. Erected in the 15th century BCE by Thutmose III for the Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak, this Egyptian monolith features hieroglyphs detailing Syrian campaigns and divine offerings. In 390 CE, Theodosius I re-erected it in the Hippodrome, explicitly emulating Augustus, who had installed an obelisk in the Circus Maximus in 10 BCE. Broken during transit, the surviving top two-thirds rests on four bronze cubes above a carved marble base. Transported under Constantius II or Julian, its erection was achieved only under urban prefect Proclus in 390 CE.

The monument’s principal art-historical significance lies in its marble base—a manifesto of Late Antique style. Reliefs on four sides depict Theodosius I and his court observing races from the imperial box (kathisma), flanked by lower registers depicting chariot races and the engineering feat of the obelisk’s erection. These reliefs rank among the most crucial dated benchmarks of Late Antique sculpture. The frontal composition, hierarchical scaling, and vertical layering mark a decisive departure from Classical naturalism toward the abstract, symbolic visual language of Byzantine art. Inscriptions in Latin and Greek declare that the monument was raised in 32 days, proclaiming that all creation yields to Theodosius and his lineage.

The Walled Obelisk. Rising approximately 32 meters, this ashlar masonry obelisk completed the dual-obelisk arrangement of the spina. A Greek inscription on its base records its restoration in 944 CE by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, when it was clad in gilded bronze plates illustrating the military triumphs of his grandfather, Basil I. Its original construction remains debated, attributed variously to the Severan/Constantinian era or the 10th century.

Lost Sculptures and the Horses of San Marco. The Hippodrome once housed dozens of ancient bronze masterpieces, including depictions of Herakles, Athena, the Calydonian Boar, and the She-Wolf with Romulus and Remus. Most were melted down for coinage during the Fourth Crusade in 1204—a destruction poignantly cataloged by Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates. The four famous bronze horses gracing the facade of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice were looted from the towers above the Hippodrome’s kathisma.

The Requisitioning of Ancient Sculpture

From its inauguration to its fall in the 15th century, Constantinople maintained an unprecedented public assemblage of ancient sculpture. The definitive study mapping this spatial disposition and its socio-political reception is Sarah Bassett’s The Urban Image of Late Antique Constantinople. Bassett systematically maps these display centers: the Augustaion, Senate, Zeuxippus and Constantinian Baths, Chalke Gate, the Imperial Forums, the Golden Gate, the Hippodrome, Milion, and the Palace of Lausos.

Constantine’s Spolia Policy. To fashion an imperial identity for New Rome, Constantine systematically transferred iconic statues from pagan sanctuaries across the empire—a strategy epitomized by the Serpent Column. Bassett argues that Constantinian collections constructed a cosmopolitan civic identity, whereas late 4th- and 5th-century Theodosian installations shifted toward dynastic propaganda. She interprets each ensemble programmatically: victory in the Hippodrome, ethical ideals in the Senate (Zeus, Athena, Muses), and paideia in the Baths of Zeuxippus.

While widely influential, this programmatic reading has invited methodological critique for isolating Constantinople from broader Mediterranean trends and imposing overly rigid ideological intentions onto sculptural groupings. Nevertheless, the public display of pagan statuary in a Christianizing capital underscores Byzantium’s sophisticated intellectual engagement with its Greco-Roman heritage.

The Baths of Zeuxippus. Reconfigured under Constantine into a vast sculptural gallery, the bath complex is documented primarily through the Ekphrasis of Christodorus of Coptos (c. 500 CE), a verse catalog describing 80 bronze statues of Homeric heroes, poets, philosophers, and historical figures. Anthony Kaldellis offers a critical counterpoint, reading the text as a Late Antique literary construct rather than a literal inventory. Destroyed during the Nika Riots in 532 CE, the site was later quarried for the construction of the Fatih Mosque in the 1460s. Excavations in 1925 and 1927–1928 exposed its foundations and confirmed its identity through inscribed statue bases.

The Lausos Collection. In the early 5th century, the court eunuch Lausos assembled an extraordinary private art collection in his residence along the Mese. Requisitioned from closed eastern temples, these masterpieces were stripped of their religious functionality and appreciated purely as aesthetic works. The collection featured Pheidias’s chryselephantine Zeus from Olympia (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and Praxiteles’s Aphrodite of Knidos, alongside the Hera of Samos, Athena of Lindos, Eros, and Kairos.

Sources describe a deliberate spatial scheme: Zeus occupied the apse of the main hall, flanked by Eros and Kairos, while wall niches paired Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera in a nod to the Judgment of Paris, alongside allegorical and fantastical animal bronzes. Michael Vickers reads this layout as Neoplatonic allegory, a view Bassett approaches with caution. The entire collection perished in the catastrophic fire of 475 CE. Cyril Mango identified the rotunda and hall ruins near the Palace of Antiochus as the Palace of Lausos—remains still visible in Sultanahmet today.

The Theodosian Dynasty and the Late Antique Metropolis

Under Theodosius I (r. 379–395 CE) and his successors, Constantinople expanded beyond its Constantinian limits into a sprawling metropolis spanning the entire Historical Peninsula. Its monumental architecture retained Roman triumphal language while infusing it with Christian symbolism.

The Forum of Theodosius (Forum Tauri). Originally built by Constantine as the Forum Tauri, this second major plaza on the Mese was transformed by Theodosius I into a grand triumphal forum. His son Arcadius erected a spiral relief column in its center, topped by a statue that fell in the 478 CE earthquake. A monumental triple-arched gate, reminiscent of Roman triumphal arches and crowned with statues of Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, marked the entrance. Carved architectural blocks from the forum survive today as spolia in Beyazıt Square and within the foundations of the Beyazıt Bath.

The Column of Arcadius. Commissioned in 401 CE atop the Xerolophos (Cerrahpaşa) hill, this monument commemorated Arcadius’s victory over the rebellious Gothic general Gainas. Modeled on Trajan’s and Marcus Aurelius’s columns in Rome, its shaft was wrapped in a continuous helical relief frieze circling 14 times around an internal spiral staircase. Rising nearly 50 meters, its base depicted Arcadius and his Western co-emperor Honorius triumphing over barbarians under victory angels bearing a cross—an explicit assertion of divine legitimacy. The inclusion of Honorius was an ideological fiction, as he played no role in the campaign.

Due to earthquake damage and structural risks, Ottoman authorities dismantled the column down to its base in 1715 (or 1719). Its original appearance is preserved in the Freshfield Album (1574–1575) at Trinity College, Cambridge. The column’s massive core base remains standing among modern residential buildings in Cerrahpaşa, known locally as Avrat Taşı.

The Theodosian Walls. Built under Praetorian Prefect Anthemius in 413 CE, the land walls spanned the peninsula from the Marmara shore to the Palace of Blachernae on the Golden Horn. Following a devastating earthquake on November 6, 447 CE, Urban Prefect Kyros organized a monumental restoration completed in just 60 days, adding an outer wall (proteichisma) and a moat to create a formidable triple-layered defense. The walls protected the city for over a millennium until 1453 and were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1985.

The Golden Gate (Porta Aurea). Constructed at the southern terminus of the land walls on the Via Egnatia, the Golden Gate served as the ceremonial state entrance for imperial triumphs. Originally built as an independent triumphal arch under Theodosius I, it was subsequently integrated into the Theodosian land walls. During the Ottoman period, it was incorporated into the Yedikule Fortress.

The Column of Marcian (Kıztaşı). Erected under Emperor Marcian (r. 450–457 CE), this single granite monolith featuring Nike reliefs on its base represents the continuation of Late Antique public column tradition, surviving alongside Çemberlitaş and the Column of the Goths in Gülhane Park.

Archaeological Evidence

Knowledge of ancient Constantinople long depended on literary accounts and surviving surface monuments. Because the city remained continuously inhabited, ancient strata lay buried under modern urban layers. Large-scale 21st-century infrastructure projects fundamentally altered this picture.

Yenikapı–Marmaray Excavations. Initiated in 2004 by the Istanbul Archaeology Museums under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, rescue excavations uncovered the Harbour of Theodosius—the vital Early Byzantine port constructed under Theodosius I to receive grain shipments from Egypt.

Over eight years across Yenikapı, Sirkeci, and Üsküdar, archaeologists documented roughly 60,000 cataloged artifacts, including 37 wooden shipwrecks dating from the 5th to the 11th centuries—the largest medieval shipwreck assemblage globally. Experimental archaeologists crafted a full-scale replica of one vessel, Yenikapı 12, and launched it into the sea. Eurasia Tunnel works further revealed well-preserved wooden breakwater systems protected by anaerobic silt.

An Antiquity Beyond Byzantion. Deep trenching beneath the harbor silt exposed a Neolithic settlement, burial grounds, wooden canoes, and footprints dating to circa 6500 BCE (8,500 years ago). Subsequent subway excavations in Beşiktaş yielded 6,000-year-old Neolithic/Chalcolithic remains. These finds prove that Megarian colonists encountered a deeply inhabited landscape with millennia of human history, providing empirical grounding for the Thracian Lygos tradition.

Museum Projects and Ongoing Research. Plans for a Shipwreck Museum and a 500,000 m² Archaeopark at Yenikapı passed municipal approvals and spurred an international architectural competition, though implementation remains pending. Finds are currently conserved at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.

Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Formed under Osman Hamdi Bey, the museum houses crucial monuments of Byzantion and Constantinople, including the upper jaw of the Serpent Column, Late Antique sculptures, inscriptions, a Tetrarchic statue torso from near the Golden Gate, and Yenikapı artifacts. The museum reopened in 2022 following extensive restoration.

Hippodrome Excavations. Initial systematic excavations in 1927–1928 verified the location of the Baths of Zeuxippus via inscribed statue bases, while 1855–1856 excavations around the Serpent Column exposed the incised Greek city names. Deeper stratigraphic investigations into the Severan phases around the Hippodrome and Zeuxippus remain incomplete.

Concluding Note

The ancient and Roman heritage of Istanbul forms the physical and conceptual bedrock of its Byzantine and Ottoman artistic identity. Urbanization begun under Byzantion evolved under Constantine into a systematic program of civic display and imperial legitimacy.

Three key insights emerge from this historical trajectory:

1. The Tetrastoon–Hippodrome–Mese axis established by Septimius Severus defined the monumental core through Roman, Eastern Roman, and Ottoman eras; Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, and the Sultanahmet Mosque continue to occupy this ancient topographic alignment.

2. Requisitioned statues and monuments transformed the city into Late Antiquity’s grandest open-air museum, sustaining New Rome’s authority through the symbolic capital of Delphi, Karnak, and Olympia.

3. Monuments such as the pedestal of the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Column of Constantine, and the Column of Arcadius provide tangible benchmarks of the stylistic shift from Classical naturalism to medieval hierarchical abstraction, setting the aesthetic foundation for Byzantine mosaic and icon painting.

Debates surrounding the architectural phases of the Hippodrome, the exact dating of the Walled Obelisk, and the thematic programs of public statuary remain vibrant within art history. Complete publications of the Yenikapı findings and future museum developments will continue to expand our understanding of ancient Constantinople.