COLUMN OF CONSTATINE

Description

Essentials about the Column of Constantine in brief

The Column of Constantine is a late Roman monumental column and one of the few surviving monuments from the founding period of Constantinople. It originally stood on the Constantine Forum and is now located in Yeniçeriler Caddesi in the Old City of Istanbul.

The history of the Column of Constantine

The column was erected in 328 and inaugurated in 330 at the inauguration ceremony of Constantinople. It was part of the new cityscape that Emperor Constantine had planned for his new capital. The original column consisted of seven porphyry drums standing on a pedestal decorated with reliefs. It supported a statue holding a spear in its left hand and a globe in its right. Nevertheless, little else is known about the statue and accordingly much has been speculated about it. However, it is considered certain that the column was intended to appeal to both the pagan majority and the Christian minority of the population through a mixture of various faith elements.

The history of the Column of Constantine is one of continuous destruction by man and nature. In 416, the column was so damaged by a lightning strike that the iron hoops that give it its name today were added to stabilize it (in Turkish, the column is called “Çemberlitaş” from çemberli “ringed/hooped” and taş “stone”), as otherwise it was feared the entire structure would topple. Another lightning strike demolished the column in 1079, and in 1106 a violent storm swept down the top three drums along with the statue. The statue of the emperor was not erected again but replaced by a cross.

The column of honor was not spared from the looting by the crusaders in 1204. Bronze inserts between the drums were broken out by crusaders. The cross was removed by the Ottoman conquerors after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. According to the chronicler Dukas, many citizens of Constantinople gathered under the column shortly before the fall to the Ottomans to await the saving angel of the Lord, which was predicted by many contemporary prophets – but, as is known, failed to materialize.

The legends about the Column of Constantine

There are also many legends about the Column of Constantine. Constantine himself is said to have stored various Christian and sacred objects in a cavity under the column, including a splinter from Christ’s cross, Noah’s axe, a piece of rock from which Moses struck water, and the baskets of the feeding of the five thousand. It is also said that nails from the crucifixion of Christ were incorporated into the rays of the crown of the former statue.