Kitabı oku: «The Antiquities of Constantinople», sayfa 13

Chap. V.
Of the Seventh Ward

THE Antient Description of the Wards tells us, that the Situation of the seventh Ward, in Comparison with the sixth, is more upon the Level, altho’ at the Extremity of one of its Sides, it falls with a greater Declivity into the Sea; and from hence I concluded, that there could be little Difficulty in discovering where this Ward stood. But this Description of it is not peculiar to it, but common also to other Wards. For as to what the Author adds, that this Ward stretches it self with very long Portico’s from the Right Hand of the Pillar of Constantine, to the Forum of Theodosius; as it does also on the other Side of it down to the Sea-Shore, extended in the same Manner: I could make no more Observations from this Account of it, than I could from the Buildings which are mentioned to be contained in it, since the very Remembrance of them is entirely lost. I therefore considered with my self, what the Author might probably be understood to mean by the Right Hand of the Pillar of Constantine. In this Difficulty I had Recourse to Livy, who says, that Romulus has determined all the Wards, which reach from East to West, to be the Right Hand Wards, and all the Wards which extended from South to North to be Left Hand Wards. But I could not explain the Difficulty this Way; for by this Means I had made this Ward to stretch it self Southward; whereas I shall shew plainly in another Place, that it extended it self to the North. Nor could the Geographical Method give me any Light into this Matter; for when these Gentlemen take the Altitude of the Pole, they look full North, so that the East lies directly on their Right Hand. Varro, who has defined to an Exactness the four Parts of the Heavens, following the Astrological Scheme, has given me some Insight into this Matter: He tells us, that the South lies directly before us, and the North behind us, so that the East lies to the left Hand, and the West to the Right. I judged by this Division of the Heavens into four Parts, that the seventh Ward was situate Westward of the Pillar of Constantine; and yet was in Suspence, whether the Author of the Description followed the Division of Romulus, or that of the Astrologers. I was therefore under greater Hesitation than I was before, till after a diligent Enquiry I made a Discovery where the Column of Theodosius stood, and of some Footsteps of the Churches of Anastasia and Hirena, by which I perceived that the seventh Ward descended from the Top of the Promontory down to the Bay, and that this Author had described its Situation more distinctly, had he told us, that as you go from East to West, the seventh Ward extends it self on the right Hand, from the Pillar of Constantine, to the Forum of Theodosius. In this Ward antiently were erected several fine Buildings, which stood on the same Ground where the most famous Place of Merchandize in the City, by the Turks called Bezestan, or their Exchange, stands at present, and where the most valuable Goods of all Kinds are kept, as they were in the Reigns of the Christian Emperors, in the Building called the Lampterum, which I believe formerly stood in another Place. I am prevailed upon to be of this Opinion, when I consider the Ruines occasioned by the Fire, which happened in the Reign of Justinian; and which, as Cedrinus relates, destroyed, among other Edifices, the Church of St. Sophia, the Place where they kept the Records of it, the Octogon, the Baths of Zeuxippus, and the famous Structure of the Lampterum, so called, by reason of the Lights burning there every Night. This Building was roofed with Wood, where the most costly Commodities, such as Silks, Velvets, and the richest Brocades were reposited. In short, this Fire consumed every Thing, which the former Fire had spar’d. I might not improperly have called it λαμπτῆρες, which in Latin signifies Lucernæ, as ’tis confirmed by the Authorities of Livy and Pliny.

Chap. VI.
Of the Street called Taurus, the Forum of Theodosius, the Pillar of Theodosius with Winding Stairs, of the Tetrapylum, the Pyramidical Engine of the Winds, the Statues of Arcadius and Honorius, of the Churches of Hirena and Anastasia, and the Rocks called Scyronides

WHEN I was quite out of Heart as to Discovery of the seventh Ward, and the Taurus, without which no Discovery could be made of the eighth Ward, I made the best Enquiry I could after some other Buildings, which might lead me into the Knowledge of them. And after I had searched for the Situation of the Pillar of Theodosius for a considerable Time, I was informed by some antient Persons, that it stood on the Top of the Promontory, where the Plain of the third Hill extends it self, which is near the New Bagnio built by Bajazet the Emperor, who had demolished that Pillar above forty Years before I came to Byzantium, that he might build his Bagnio with more Convenience. Beyond that Bath, Northward, there is a broad Way, where there are three Booksellers Shops, and an antient Cistern; more towards the South is the Seraglio. This broad Way widens Eastward into a large Area, at the farther End of which is the Sepulchre of Bajazet the Emperor, with a Mosque, and a Caravansera. Cedrinus relates, that this Pillar of Theodosius is, in all Parts, like that which was erected by Arcadius, and is still standing in the Xerolophum, which I shall have Occasion to describe hereafter. Zonaras writes, that the Pillar in the Taurus, erected at the Expence of Theodosius, whereon were expressed the Trophies he took, and his well-fought Battles with the Scythians, and barbarous Nations, with his own Statue at the Top of it, was thrown down by an Earthquake, the same Year that Old Rome was taken. Anastasius the Emperor ordered many curious Pieces of Brass Workmanship to be demolished, and new cast into his own Statue. Among these was a famous Statue of Constantine the Great, which, with other Statues, made a large Equestrian Statue, which was gilded, dignified with his own Name and Title, and placed on the same Pillar, where before had stood the Statue of Theodosius. I would observe here by the By, that the Street called the Taurus was the same Place, where the Pillar of Theodosius stood; and from hence I would observe farther, that the seventh Ward stood on the Top and Sides of the third Hill. And although the seventh Ward does not contain the Forum of Theodosius, yet it is not improbable that it was but at a small Distance from it, not only if we consider how exactly Constantinople emulated Old Rome; but also, if any Dependence may be had on the Authority of Evagrius, who asserts, that the Fire which happened in the Reign of Leo, burnt down all the Edifices from the Forum of Constantine, to the Forum of Taurus. An antient Native of Constantinople informed me, that in his Time the Forum of Taurus, and the Pillar of Theodosius stood in the same Place, and that it was like the Hippodrom, full of wild and uncultivated Trees. And because it was only a Shelter for Thieves and Robbers, the Emperor Mahomet, who took the City, voluntarily bestowed the Ground on those who would build upon it. That the Forum Pistorium, or Bread-market, stood on Part of the Ground of the Forum of Theodosius, or at least was very near to it, I conjecture from Zonaras, who says, that as the Emperor Nicephorus Phocas was coming out of his Palace, situate at the Golden Fountain, and near the Porta Aurea, the People pursued him grievously with Railery and Invective from the Forum Pistorium, as far as the Pillar of Constantine. The unknown Author of the History of Constantinople is of the same Opinion, as to the Situation of the Taurus, and the Pillar, and tells us, That the Pillar stood in a paved Court, near the Forum Pistorium; and adds, that in the same Place there was a square Building, with four Gates, and four Portico’s round it, which he calls the Tetrapylum, which before was called Quatrivium. Cedrinus places the Tetrapylum not far from the Forum of Taurus, when he tells us, that the Fire in Leo’s Time, destroyed two large Churches, adorned with all Kinds of curious Stones; one not far from the Tetrapylum, the other adjoining to the Forum of Taurus. The same Author, speaking of another Fire, which happened in the same Emperor’s Reign, writes, that it consumed all the Buildings from the Tetrapylum, covered with Plates of Brass, to the Church. The Author of the Description of the Wards writes, that there was in Constantinople one gilded Tetrapylum, but does not mention in what Ward it stood. Johannes the Rhetorician (as he is cited by Evagrius) tells us, that in the Reign of Zeno the Emperor, one Mamianus, an eminent Senator, built at Constantinople some handsome Portico’s, and that between two of them he built a Tetrapylum, as a Boundary to both, which he splendidly adorned with Brass and Marble Pillars; and adds, that in his Time the Portico’s bore the Name of some Emperor, and that large Stones of Proconnesian Marble, the Reliques of their antient Beauty and Magnificence, lay on the Ground, but that there was not the least Sign of the Tetrapylum remaining. The unknown Author abovementioned says, that in this Tetrapylum, over the Pillars, there was a Chamber, where the Empress, and the Relations of the Emperor deceased, received the News of his Death; and having their Faces veiled, bewailed his Departure till six o’ Clock in the Evening, when meeting the Corpse passing by, they attended it to the Church of the Apostles, where they usually buried their Emperors. The Tetrapylum seems to me to have formerly been the Temple of Janus Quadrifrons, and stood near the Capitol. It had, like that of Old Rome, four Doors, denoting the four Seasons of the Year. For Janus takes his Name ab eundo, and therefore all Passages are said to be sacred to him, and the Doors of all Temples are called Januæ. Some Authors tell us, that in the Forum Pistorium there was a quadrilateral Pyramid. Cedrinus defines this Tetrasceles to be a quadrilateral Engine, invented to shew in what Point of the Compass the Wind stood, and adds, that Theodosius the Great erected a Machine in the Form of a Pyramid, adorned with several Figures of Animals, of Plants, of Fruits, of gilded Bunches of Pomegranates, and naked Cupids, in Basso Relievo. Some of these Cupids were cut in a gay smiling Humour, some of the Uppermost were wantoning, and playing their little Tricks with those who were below them, while others were dancing. There was carved upon it a Set of young Fellows playing upon brazen Pipes. On the Top of the Pyramid was a Vane, or Weathercock, which shewed in what Corner the Wind sat. The Statues of Arcadius and Honorius were placed near the Statue of Theodosius their Father; that of Arcadius in an Eastern, and that of Honorius in a Western Nich. Socrates, who has wrote the History of the Christians, tells us, that Valens the Emperor built out of the Ruines of Chalcedon, a large Aqueduct, which he brought into the City, and which supplied a very capacious Cistern, built by Clearchus, who was Prefect of Constantinople, and which, in his Time, was called the Cistern, or, as the original Word in Socrates seems more properly to signifie, the Lake of Theodosius. Zonaras and Cedrinus call this Lake a Nympheum, and add to the Authority of Socrates, that the Prefect of the City celebrated there a great Festival, and very splendidly entertained all the People. I would remark from these Citations, that the Place which Socrates calls the Forum of Theodosius, is called by Zonaras and Cedrinus, the Taurus, and that they are both the same Forum, and that the Nympheum here mentioned is different from the Nympheum which is situate near the Forum of Constantine, over against the Senate-House, and where they usually solemnized their Weddings, as has been observed before. The Author of the Antient Description, &c. writes, that the Carosian Bagnio’s were so called from Carosia, the Daughter of the Emperor Valens; but he does not tell us in what Part of the third Hill they stood, nor could I discover when I was at Constantinople, whether they are entirely in Ruines, and others built in the Room of them, (as there are very large ones at present on the Top and the Sides of the third Hill, which the Turks have built) or not. The same Author places the Churches of St. Hirena and Anastasia in the seventh Ward, but does not mention in what Part of it. Nor is it possible to find out their Situation, but from the Historical Accounts we have received of it, which say, that when the City was taken by the Franks and the Venetians, a Fire began at the Synagogue of the Saracens, in that Part of the City which declines towards the Sea Northward, very near to the Church of St. Hirena. That this Church stood within the Precinct of the Seraglio, I was first informed by some antient People of the City; I afterwards took Notice of a lofty Tower which stood without the Precinct of the Seraglio, which was situate on the East Side of the third Hill. It was a square Building, and is still called by the Vulgar Hirene; but whether it was the Church of St. Hirene, or the Empress Hirena, I cannot tell. I find among the Monuments of antient Learning, that there were three Churches at Constantinople dedicated to St. Hirena. The first was called the Old Church of St. Hirena, which, as Socrates writes, was built by Constantine the Great, and stood near the Church of St. Sophia. The second, I am now speaking of, stood on the third Hill; and the third, as Procopius says, was built by Justinian, at the Mouth of the Bay called Ceras, or Cornu, and was called the Church of St. Hirena the Martyr. Some Authors write, that the Church of Anastasia was built in that Place, where the new Bezestan, or new Basilica now stands: Others that it was situate near the Cistern, supported with Abundance of Marble Pillars, and stands between the Basilica’s of the Forum, and the Tomb, and Caravansera of Bajazet the Emperor. Sozomen writes, that when St. Gregory went from Nazianzum to Constantinople, he preached in a small Church built by his Auditors, which was afterwards very much enlarged by succeeding Emperors, and was also beautified and adorned in the most expensive Manner, and was called the Church of St. Anastasia. Whether it was so called, because St. Gregory by his Sermons preached in this Church had revived the Constitutions and Decrees of the Council of Nice; or whether, as he adds, it went by that Name, because a Woman big with Child, falling from the upper Gallery, and dying upon the Spot, was restored to Life again by the joint Prayers of the Congregation then present, I shall not determine. However ’tis plain from this Passage of Sozomen, that those Historians are grievously in the wrong, who say, that this Church was built in Memory of St. Anastasia, a Roman Saint. In my Treatise of the Thracian Bosporus, I have shewn, that on the North Side of the third Hill there rise some Rocks from the lowermost Eminencies of it, which were call’d Scironides, by those who first transplanted a Colony from Megara and Corinth, to Byzantium. These Rocks were so call’d, because of the Resemblance they bear to the Scironides, which grow between Corinth and Megara. I shall take the Freedom here just to mention what’s worth observing on the third Hill. On the Top of it stands the Tomb of Bajazet the Emperor, near a Caravansera, and a large Mosque which was built by him, after the Likeness of the Church of St. Sophia, which is roof’d with Brick-work, and cover’d with Lead. It has a large Porch or Vestibule, pav’d with white Marble, and is surrounded with four Portico’s, which are supported with Columns of the choicest Marble. In the Middle of it is a fine Fountain, which falls into a large Bason, which emits the falling Water through several little Cocks. The Mosque and Vestibule is surrounded on three Sides with a large Area, which is enclosed partly with Walls, and partly with a Caravansera; and on the fourth Side ’tis encompass’d with a Garden adjoining, in the Middle of which is the Tomb of Bajazet, in a small Edifice built in a cylindrick Form. On the Top of the third Hill stands the Seraglio, where the Emperor’s Concubines constantly reside; ’tis enclos’d with a high Wall, which, at my first Arrival at Constantinople, was more than two Miles in Compass. The present Emperor Solyman has taken up a Place in the Middle of this Precinct, where he is laying a Foundation for a Caravansera, and his future Sepulchre, which are now building with the most elegant Marble, brought from several Parts of the Turkish Dominions, so that you may see infinite Kinds of it lying about the Building, not lately dug out of the Quarry, but such as for many Ages has been used in the Palaces of several Princes and Emperors, not only at Byzantium, but in Greece, and all Ægypt. In the seventh Ward I saw three ancient Cisterns, not taken Notice of in the Description of the Wards; one in the Forum of Taurus, another between the Tomb of Bajazet and the Bezestan, both of which are supported with Marble Pillars. The third was built on a Clift of the third Hill, which faced the North, of which there are yet remaining six Corinthian Pillars, very large and tall, made of Arabian Marble, and curiously wrought. Below the Base of the Pedestal was lay’d an Earthen Pipe which convey’d Water into a Cistern made of Brick, whose Roof also, which is Brick-work, is supported with twenty square Brick Pillars. A little above the Cistern there was formerly a Court belonging to a Christian Church, which the Turks demolish’d, to repair and beautify their own Houses. On that Side of the Hill which extends itself Westward, there stands a Mosque, whose Vestibule is supported with twelve Pillars, six of which are of Arabian Marble. Above this Mosque there stands another, which is also supported with Pillars, and was formerly a Church dedicated to St. Theodorus. This however is not the same Church which Procopius says Justinian built in a Place call’d Rhessium. There is another Christian Church, now a Mosque, standing between the Seraglio, and the Tomb which the Emperor Solyman built for his Son Mahomet, which is incrusted with several Kinds of Marble, curiously variegated.

Chap. VII.
Of the eighth Ward, and the Hind-part of the third Hill

I Cannot find by the Ancient Description of the Wards, that the eighth Ward was situate on the South Side of the third Hill, though it says, that the eighth Ward, on the Side of the Taurus, is not bounded by the Sea, and may be look’d upon to be rather a narrow than a broad Piece of Ground, though this Defect is sufficiently amended by its great Length. For by this Description of it, I am left altogether in Suspence, whether it lye North or South. But I discover the Situation of the eighth Ward from hence, that the Author of the Description tells us, that it contained part of the Forum of Constantine, and a Portico on the left Side of it, as far as the Taurus, and that the seventh Ward stretch’d itself from the right Hand of the Pillar of Constantine, to the Forum of Theodosius. I observe from these Authorities, that part of the Promontory, which reaches from Sea to Sea, situate between the Porphyry Pillar and the Taurus, was divided into the North and South Side, and that the Portico’s on the right and left extending themselves from the Pillar of Constantine to the Taurus, parted the seventh and eighth Ward, the former of which contain’d the right Hand Portico’s, and the latter, the left. There’s nothing to be seen of these Portico’s at present, but only the broad Way which runs from the Church of St. Sophia to the Land-Wall. This Ward contains also the Capitol, and the Basilica of Theodosius both of which, ’tis very probable, stood near the Pillar and Forum of Theodosius. It is no less evident from Zonaras and Cedrinus, that the Fire in Leo’s Time consumed the Senate-House, built for the Dispatch of publick Business by the great Council of the Empire, and for the Conveniency of the Emperor, when Consul, to preside over them. This Senate-House, as the same Authors add, had twelve Pillars curiously variegated, made of Trojan Marble, which were twenty five Foot high, the Roof of it being supported with four Arches. This House, according to these Writers, was about two hundred and forty Foot long, and a hundred and fifty Foot broad. I am inclin’d to believe, from what I have mention’d upon this Occasion, that it was either the Capitol, or the Basilica of Theodosius. For it is plain from modern Historians, that these two Structures, by whomsoever they were rebuilt after the Fire, lost their Names, and they tell us, that in the Taurus there was a Palace, and a Place for the Entertainment of Strangers. And these Authorities are strengthen’d by some ancient People of Constantinople, who attest, that in their Remembrance, near the Mint-House, where they now coin their Money, there stood a spacious Palace, inhabited, as some say, by Mahomet who took the City, before he built the great enclosed Palace which stands upon the first Hill, and that some of the Sultans have since beautified their Palaces out of the Ruins of the former. The Place of Entertainment, or rather the Church, which stood to the South-west of the Taurus, I saw entirely demolish’d, and the Pillars of it carried off, to build a Caravansera, which the Emperor Solyman erected in Memory of his Son, whom he dearly lov’d. I leave it to the Greek Priests to make the Enquiry, whether this was not the same with the Church of St. Paul, which stood in the seventh Ward, though I could never yet meet with one of them, who could give me Insight into this Matter.