In 324 Constantine defeated Licinius and became lord of the East; this is the point at which he decided to transform Byzantium into the capital of the Empire.  Work was started immediately, and near forty thousand Goth workers were hired for the purpose.

 The inauguration ceremonies of the new capital city, even though it was not ready by 330 (it was not finished until 336) were celebrated with pagan rites.  From this we can easily deduce that was not Constantine’s intention to convert the capital into a Christian city, and although churches were constructed, existing temples were not destroyed. He did not persecute citizens who were pagans, and according to some sources (Zósimo), new temples were to have been built.

 Monuments and sculptures were taken from other large cities of the Empire to decorate the New Rome. In addition, Constantine’s intent was to attract the most important personalities of Rome to the new capital, For that reason he made several donations of splendid new palaces.

Because Constantinople was the residence of the emperor and of the administration, this great city, in stark contrast to declining Rome, grew little by little to become the master of the Empire.

 Constantinople was built in the image and likeness of Rome, on seven hills. There were fourteen regions, a Forum, the Capitol and the Senate, and its territory would be considered duty free.

For the Roman Empire, Constantinople was the center of life. The new city was the capital and the place where the Emperor’s Palace and the most imposing church (Hagia Sophia) were situated.

There was also a Hippodrome, a place where popular passions were unleashed, where the future of the Empire was discussed, and where the two most influential political forces of the Empire converged: the professional sports leagues known as the Blues and the Greens  The chariot racing competition between the Blues and the Greens was a typically Roman organization.  Under the reign of the emperors in Rome there were four leagues: the Reds, the Blues, the Whites and the Greens. The members of each team wore a sort of scarf with the color of their team, and each city of the Empire had the same lineup of sports teams.

 It was not Constantine who first built the famous Hippodrome, but rather the Roman Emperor, Septimus Severus, who ordered it build in 203 AD. When the new capital was built (between 324 and 330) Constantine the Great enlarged the Hippodrome to accomodate about 50,000 spectators; this was the reason that made this place famous. Once Constantinople became the great, modern and cosmopolitan capital, the rivalries between the sport teams became worse.  It is possible to determine that at some point the White teams were absorbed by the Blues, whereas the Greens absorbed the Reds.

 The Basileus (emperor) reached his seat in the Hippodrome through the gardens of his Palace. His seat was at a considerable height and it was designed to be inaccessible on both sides, in order to assure the Basileus’ safety in case of tumults and slaughters between the sport teams. Ministers’ and generals’ boxes were placed lower than the emperor’s.  The empress and the main ladies watched the performance from a gallery near the boxes.

As strange symbol of free speech within a theocratic empire,  people used to insult the emperors, sitting on their boxes, when popular opinion did not agree with the way the government was being run, or if taxes were raised or a battle was lost. Many times the emperor was insulted by people if he did not belong to their favorite team (Justinian was known as one of the most loyal fans of the Blues). This could not be due solely to the behavior of sports fans.  In fact, it was due to an increasing politicization of the Green and Blue teams.  It was even very common to see bloody battles between Blues and Greens due to political or religious reasons. Each team used to support a “candidate” to become a future emperor. Some historians have written that the society was divided by sport teams, something like Conservatives and Progressives.

Chariot races were the passion of the inhabitants of Constantinople, but not the only one. Many times the Hippodrome was used to hold celebrations for victorious generals or to debate important judicial cases, as well as for the torture and execution of condemned prisoners. 

 Today in the place where the Hippodrome was located there is nothing but a square in the center of Istanbul, and in the middle of that square there are two obelisks.  One of them belonged to the greatest Egyptian Pharaoh of all history, Tutmosis III.

 It is difficult to understand why the most famous city was forgotten by the whole world after its fall and in the midst of the rising Ottoman Empire.

 All the chronicles refer to the capital of de Empire as a magnificent city, synonymous with imperial power, immensely rich and with a high cultural level of its inhabitants, who were educated in the University while the West was dominated by ignorance.

The capital exerted a very great attraction. This was the place where the emperor resided, the representative of God, and the Patriarch, the most important authority of the Church.  It was the economic, commercial, religious and political center of the world, as well as the richest city on Earth; for that reason it was constantly besieged through the years, having resisted attacks from Avars, Persians, Vikings, Bulgarians and Arabs, victorious every time until the crude betrayal of the Fourth Crusade, which, with its fanatic and cruel plunder demolished hat great city’s future hopes for survival.

Nevertheless, everything was not magnificent and shining in the great capital. There were also endless districts of poor people who lived in small brick houses. There were narrow streets where the inhabitants accumulated sweepings and where plagues sometimes arose and the population was drastically devastated. 

There are authors who say that Constantinople had about 1,000,000 inhabitants, which seems an exaggeration.  Others say 400,000 or 500,000 which seems to be about right, but it is very difficult to establish a precise figure.  In any case, the population of the great city was far greater than that of any other city of the West at that time. 

 The population was composed of a great mass of poor people essentially composed of traders (Constantinople was the commercial center of the world so that there was an abundance of very small shops), craftsmen, soldiers (the Empire was frequently at war) servants, and slaves.  Prostitutes and homeless had a special connotation under the Byzantine Empire:  they were respected by all the people and they were protected on the basis of Christian charity.

 As in all organized large cities  (Constantinople was virtually the unique example in the Middle Ages) there was something that we could call a middle class, meaning civilian employees of the Empire, owners of large landed estates, prosperous traders, bankers, and people related to the university (professors, professionals and directors).

 Of course, high society was composed of the nobility and courtiers of the Empire, precisely the ones who gave Byzantium the aura that it had through several centuries.

 The great rivalry between the Palaces of the emperors and their courtiers and the enormous and magnificent villas of the nobility converted this city into something wonderful and unique. Everything was silk, gold, art, jewels, magnificent architecture; in a word, luxury. This city was a demonstration of how poverty and the most exorbitant wealth have always coexisted closer than we would believe. 

 Nevertheless, if one contends that they had a superfluous way of life I must say it is a mistake: the intent was that all the students of the Empire should have the same intellectual, artistic and spiritual education, and for that reason, all students benefited (not only the rich students).

 The wall which protected the city was built during the reign of Teodosius (408/450) and was the best military engineering structure of its time.  It had three separate battlements and consisted of land and sea walls.

 The city was able to survive through the centuries due to those walls, and this also meant the survival of the Empire. The inscription on one of the gates of the city read: “Christ Our God, Triumphant, Breaks the Enemy”, which indicates the great faith that motivated the will of the Empire.

 The idea of the inhabitants of the city about the eternal Empire was something like this: Constantinople is an unconquerable city, so the Empire is also unconquerable. While Constantinople is standing, the Empire will exist in spite of all the vicissitudes that may befall it.

 You can imagine yourself  entering  through an enormous gate, crossing the triple wall,  crossing the city, seeing those incredible and beautiful palaces, the commercial avenues offering the best products (all types of clothes, bazaars, tools, slaves, jewels, adornments, etc.) of the East and the West. People are running in the streets in order to get a good seat in the Hippodrome, where the most famous charioteers compete; several soldiers are chatting in a corner; three or four monks are walking and debating about theological matters. Suddenly, the Emperor and his magnificent retinue cross the avenue in several chariots and are acclaimed by the surprised populace as he proceeds to the magnificent port in order to board a ship to go to another place where the Empire needs him (Thessalonica, Nicomedia, Trebizond, Ephesus, or perhaps Alexandria, Smirna or Miletos).

 Constantinople was a cosmopolitan city, with visitors from the whole world who were attracted because of its culture, spirituality, and commerce. It was strategically located between two continents, Asia and Europe, and it dominated the Straits of the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara, which meant it had control of both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It was principality a natural port and the Byzantine navy was very important; it had ships that controlled the entire region, and they could discover the occasional enemies who used to surround the city. Unfortunately, in the days of the savage Fourth Crusade (1204) the Byzantine navy practically did not exist, due to the subjection of the Empire to Venice and Genoa.  It was a decisive reason for the fall of the city and of the Empire.

 Rolando Castillo

Translated by Silvana Castillo.  Edited by Owen Williamson

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