COLUMNS AND OBELISKS IN ISTANBUL
THE
OBELISK OF THEODOSIUS
In the centre of the Hippodrome rises the column covered
with hieroglyphics which was brought from the temple of
Karnack in Egypt.
This column was originally erected on one side of the
temple gateway; in 390 A. D. under the Emperor Theodosius
I, the Roman governor of Alexandria had it sent to Byzantium.
The monument is made up of two parts: the stone obelisk,
which is Egyptian, and a Byzantine base. The column rests
on four bronze pedestals set info the base, and the total
height is 25 meters 60.
The porphyry column, marvelous to relate, has retained
all its inscriptions perfectly distinct in the 3400 years
of its existence: on the four sides the God Ammon can
be seen leading a Pharoah by the hand; the important inscriptions
are on eastern side (facing the Blue Mosque) from which
we learn that the Pharoah Tuthmosis III had these columns
placed on either side of the Temple of Karnak in honour
of his brother Amon-Ra.
The southern face of the monument records for the benefit
posterity the massacres he ordanied in the course of his
triumphant progress towards the Euphrates.
After the erection of the column the base was ornamented
with inscriptions and bas-reliefs; besides the Latin inscriptions
there is a sentence in Greek. The principal bas-reliefs
show the Emperor Theodosius with his family and personal
guards, crowning the victors in the Hippie Games. He is
surrounded by dancers and an orchestra of flutists among
whom is the God Pan. On the southern face of the column
the Emperor can be seen in the bosom of his family, distributing
prizes to the winners.
THE COLUMN OF CONSTANTINE PORPHYROGENETUS
The other column in the square is remarkable for its monument
of Constantine V Porphyrogenetus; it is supposed to have
marked the line of demarcation separating the track behind
the stadium; made of rumulitic limestone and 34 feet in
height, it is fashioned from a single block of stone,
covered originally in bronze, the traces of which can
still be discerned. The exact date is not known but it
is believed to belong to the 6th century. Greek verses
are engraved on it, recalling the beauties of the Colossus
of Rhodes and claiming to surpass them. The bronze overlay
was stripped off, melted down and converted into cash
after the invasion of the Franks. There used to be a fountain
at each of the four corners of the base. The declivity
from which the column rises gives us the approximate level
of the ancient.
THE
SEPRENTINE COLUMN
Between the two obelisks described above there is a third,
covered in verdigris and twisted like a cable, which is
one of the most valued antiquities in Istanbul. The former
site of the column, which was buried below ground until
its discovery in 1856, is unknown to us. The Englishman
Newton, who first conducted the excavations there, found
inscriptions in Greek which enabled him to trace the history
of the column.
After their great victory over the Persians at Salamis
the Greeks erected this column at Delphi in the temple
of Apollo to commemorate their triumph, after first parading
it in thirty-one Greek towns, it was subsequently transported
to the Hippodrome of Constantine the Great, or thus it
is supposed. Three interlaced bronze serpents, rising
from a triangular base, spiraled round it, the heads of
which projected outwards at a height of five or six metres,
to support a large gold tripod surmounted by
a gold vase, both together adding three metres to the
height.
Visitors to Istanbul both before and after the taking
of the city by the Turks have fully described this vase
and left interesting sketches of it. In 1700 the column
collapsed; the serpents' heads were damaged and subsequently
disappeared, together with the vase and the stand. All
trace of them has been lost.
THE
BURNT COLUMN
This column is one of the first monuments erected in the
city, dating from 325 A. B. At the death of Constantine
a chapel was build near the monument and endowed with
a wooden carving of Athenea escaped from Troy, the staff
of Moses which brought water gushing from the arid rock,
the axe of the Patriarch Noah, and seven pieces of bread
blessed by Jesus. Thus are assembled here relics true
or false deriving from the Pagan, Jewish and Christian
periods. The head of Constantine, at the summit of the
column, was crowned with a halo with rays of sunlight
radiating from it in the fashion of Apollo, The nails
from the Cross, as well as a piece of the Cross itself
are reputed to have been incorporated in this column.
Theodosius I, in order to strengthen the column, was the
first to encircle it with bands of iron, in 1105 a storm
brought the statue down, killing several people in the
vicinity.
Manuel Comnenos replaced the ruined statue with the capital
of another column surmounted by a cross, and had an inscription
set there in commemoration. However, considerably later,
in the year 1779, the monument was practically destroyed
by fire, and Sultan AbdulHamid, the ruler of the time,
strengthened the column and reinforced it with the huge
hoops of iron we see today.
THE
COLUMN OF MARCIAHUS
This
is one of the oldest monuments in Istanbul, dating from
the Byzantine epoch. When speaking of the antiquity of
Istanbul's monuments, we say "very old" that
means in the region of a thousand years old! This column
was put up by the Emperor Marcianus during the years 450-457.
Right at the top was a statue of him in a sitting position.
The base is in Corinthian marble, the column is in granite
and the summit once again in Corinthian marble. As can
be seen today from the traces which remain, the base of
the column was originally covered with reliefs.
As the topography of the city changed considerably under
the Ottomans this column remained for centuries in the
garden of a great house! In 1908 after the ravages caused
by most extensive fire, area was replanned and the column
is now right in the middle of the square of Fatih.
THE
COLUMN OF ARCADIOS:
This column used to deck one of the main squares of Byzantium.
It was erected in 402, and in 421, Emperor Theodosis had
the statue of his father Arcadios placed on top of it.
The status fell down in the 542 earthquake and the column
itself came down in the 740 earthquake. After the conquest
of Istanbul, the Turks, as they did with the Burnt Column,
tried to strengthen the pillar by banding it with metal
rings. However, because at that time the city was full
of wooden houses which gave easy access to many destructive
fires, this column got ruined in one of these fires in
the eighteenth century. Then it was intentionally destroyed
in 1711 so that it would not fall down on anybody. The
western travelers who came to the city before this date
had done sketches of the column. According to them, the
column was about fifty meters high (not including the
statue). The top could be reached by a staircase inside.
Today, only the pedestal remains. The fact that this column
was called in Turkish Avret tasi misled a lot of people,
making them think that slave women market was located
here. Actually however, the name came from the bazaar
of women (Avret Pazari) here, the reason why it was called
thus being the fact that a lot of women did their shopping
here. The slave women market in Istanbul was in front
of the Covered Bazaar.
