Mythic Constantinople

As Christian spaces and agents assumed prominent positions in civic life, the end of the long span of the fourth century was marked by large-scale religious change. Churches had overtaken once-thriving pagan temples, old civic priesthoods were replaced by prominent bishops, and the rituals of the city were directed toward the Christian God. Such changes were particularly pronounced in the newly established city of Constantinople, where elites from various groups contended to control civic and imperial religion. Rebecca Stephens Falcasantos argues that imperial Christianity was in fact a manifestation of traditional Roman religious structures. In particular, she explores how deeply established habits of ritual engagement in shared social spaces—ones that resonated with imperial ideology and appealed to the memories of previous generations—constructed meaning to create a new imperial religious identity. By examining three dynamics—ritual performance, rhetoric around violence, and the preservation and curation of civic memory—she distinguishes the role of Christian practice in transforming the civic and cultic landscapes of the late antique polis.

This volume is devoted to the history, monuments and topography of Byzantine Constantinople, and includes two specially written pieces, as well as up-dates to the studies reprinted. Many of the articles deal with the imperial constructions of the first centuries of the City's existence - for instance, the columns of Constantine and Justinian, the Mausoleum of the Holy Apostles and the churches of St Sophia, St John of Studius, and Sts Sergius and Bacchus - structures which provided the basic monumental framework around which Constantinople developed and its life was lived. In his reconstruction of these monuments and their history, Cyril Mango demonstrates how much can be achieved by combining the information gained from meticulous examination of the written sources, whether contemporary or from post-medieval travellers, with that provided by the surviving buildings themselves and the remains that have been excavated. Ce volume, voué à l'histoire, aux monuments et à la topographie de Constantinople la Byzantine, comprend deux études rédigées pour l'occasion, ainsi qu'une mise à jour des travaux qui y sont re-publiés. Bon nombre des études traitent plus particulièrement des constructions impériales datant des premiers siècles d'existence de la cité - tels, les colonnes de Constantin et de Justinien, la Mausolé des Saints Apà ́tres et les églises de Ste Sophie, St Jean de Studius, ou de Sts Serge et Bacchus; un ensemble de structures qui apportèrent la base monumentale autour de laquelle Constantinople s'est développée et a vécu. Au travers de cette reconstruction des monuments et de leur histoire, Cyril Mango démontre combien peut Ãatre atteint en combinant l'information acquise à partir d'un examen méticuleux des sources écrites - que celles-ci soient contemporaines ou proviennent des voyageurs post-médiévaux - à celle que l'on peut tirer des bâtiments-mÃames qui ont survécu, ainsi que des restes qui été re

This substantial account of Constantinople — or Istanbul as it is known today — is both a history and a guide to that magnificent and fabled metropolis where east and west have met for many centuries. Written in 1915 when, as Stamboul, the city was the last stop on the Orient Express, it is illustrated with many rare period photographs. This book for the general reader evokes all the colour and richness of the ultimate oriental city, ancient capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, captured on the brink of modernization in the first years after the revolution. The author describes everyday life in the city, - the features of permanent interest such as mosques, gardens, fountains, the traces of Byzantium and the quays of the Golden Horn as well as the feasts, custom’s, festivals and holidays that once enlivened Constantinople but are now only a memory. The work concludes with an account of the revolution and of the effects of World War I on the city. This is a portrait of the Istanbul that all travellers hope to find - and still can, in the pages of this book.

The transformation from the classical period to the medieval has long been associated with the rise of Christianity. This association has deeply influenced the way that modern audiences imagine the separation of the classical world from its medieval and early modern successors. The role played in this transformation by Constantine as the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire has also profoundly shaped the manner in which we frame Late Antiquity and successive periods as distinctively Christian. The modern demarcation of the post-classical period is often inseparable from the reign of Constantine. The attention given to Constantine as a liminal figure in this historical transformation is understandable. Constantine’s support of Christianity provided the religion with unprecedented public respectability and public expressions of that support opened previously unimagined channels of social, political and economic influence to Christians and non-Christians alike. The exact nature of Constantine’s involvement or intervention has been the subject of continuous and densely argued debate. Interpretations of the motives and sincerity of his conversion to Christianity have characterized, with various results, explanations of everything from the religious culture of the late Roman state to the dynamics of ecclesiastical politics. What receives less-frequent attention is the fact that our modern appreciation of Constantine as a pivotal historical figure is itself a direct result of the manner in which Constantine’s memory was constructed by the human imagination over the course of centuries. This volume offers a series of snapshots of moments in that process from the fourth to the sixteenth century.

Jonathan Harris' new edition of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, Constantinople, provides an updated and extended introduction to the history of Byzantium and its capital city. Accessible and engaging, the book breaks new ground by exploring Constantinople's mystical dimensions and examining the relationship between the spiritual and political in the city. This second edition includes a range of new material, such as: * Historiographical updates reflecting recently published work in the field * Detailed coverage of archaeological developments relating to Byzantine Constantinople * Extra chapters on the 14th century and social 'outsiders' in the city * More on the city as a centre of learning; the development of Galata/Pera; charitable hospitals; religious processions and festivals; the lives of ordinary people; and the Crusades * Source translation textboxes, new maps and images, a timeline and a list of emperors It is an important volume for anyone wanting to know more about the history of the Byzantine Empire.

Imagining Emperors in the Later Roman Empire offers new critical analysis of the textual depictions of a series of emperors in the fourth century within overlapping historical, religious and literary contexts.