One of my favorite historical objects in Istanbul is an attraction that many tourists visit, but strangely, don't actually "see" - the hippodrome, or horse and chariot racetrack . [The name is derived from the Greek words hippos (ἵππος; ("horse") and dromos (δρόμος; "course").]
Why can't the tourist see it? It's difficult to imagine a huge racetrack when there's hardly anything remaining of it today. The environment is flat and doesn't extend above ground level. There are only a few markers indicating it's presence - an Egyptian obelisk and smaller Greek obelisk. Nearby Turkish tourist shops don't offer a model or picture, and there are no signs, so it's really difficult to envision. In fact, as the tourists...
...run around the Sultanahmet, they simply overlook it. I'd estimate that only about 5-10% of them look for it with some fervor. Hopefully, this website will help.
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| http://byzantinemilitary.blogspot.com/2015/04/osu-professor-byzantines-were-romans.html |
The Hagia Sophia is portrayed in gray - behind it and to the right. Almost everything else that represents the Byzantine period is gone - leveled, destroyed or greatly modified.
Guide to locating the hippodrome:
Notice the two obelisks standing in the open area near the present-day Blue Mosque (below). These are your most important clues.
The oval-shaped race track was located in the area running around these obelisks. Unfortunately, all of the structural components - especially the spectator stands, and end of the course with the Quadriga, and the buildings connected to the palace - were completely destroyed, except one section that I'll tell you about below.
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hippodrome_of_Constantinple_1.jpg |
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| Cliff_Emerson |
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| http://www.byzantium1200.com/ |
"Many statues and monuments were located from other parts of the Roman Empire. Three of these monuments can still be found on location: the Egyptian obelisk, the Masonry Obelisk and the Serpent Column. The most impressive is the Egyptian obelisk, originally built by Thutmose III about 3500 years ago.
The Masonry Obelisk was originally covered with bronze plates.
There is also the bronze Serpent Column, built to celebrate the Greek victory over the Persians almost 2500 years ago. Today only the column remains, since its serpent heads fell off centuries ago. (one of these is available for viewing in Istanbul's Archaeology Museum) It might have been built by Constantine or his immediate successors to give the hippodrome its two obelisks as those located in the Circus Maximus in Rome. In addition, there was also the Triumphal Quadriga, the four bronze horses now located in Venice at the St. Mark's Basilica, which came from the Hippodrome as well." https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/hippodrome
The track ran around these - closed-in by the grandstands - and are covered today mostly with buildings.
In the picture below, you can see one long stretch of the track that ran down the side where the paved road is located.
When visiting, it's imperative to use your imagination - and a pictorial guide if possible - to envision it. Again, there are no signs on the premises with pictures. Too bad. Most tourists walk across the area that was once the racetrack, look at the obelisks, and wonder exactly what it was they've seen.
Below is a view of whole complex, including the palace:
Click on this link for some terrific computer-generated pictures that depict details of the hippodrome in its original condition.
Here's an excellent YouTube video (13:46) entitled A Tour through Ancient Rome in 320 C.E.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAgA6G75XsI
...which features the city of Rome during the early days of Byzantium. It will help you understand Roman/Byzantine urban construction of this period which represents essentially the same culture.
Throughout the Byzantine period, the Hippodrome was the center of the city's social life. Some seats in the hippodrome were free for the poor, and the wealthy paid for shaded seats with a better view. Huge amounts of money were bet on chariot races.
This was the only place where the emperor showed himself to the public, which sometimes demonstrated its collective affection or anger for him and his establishment. The imperial box, called the pulvinar - visible in some of these computer-generated pictures - was directly connected to the imperial palace. He could retreat to safety into the palace if the crowds got out-of-hand in the hippodrome.
By 77 BC, the rivalry between the Red and the Whites was already developed. Later, four teams dominated the races, each sponsored by a different political party within the Byzantine Senate:
The chariot driver's clothing was color-coded according to his sponsors.
Each team could have up to three chariots in a race. Teams were enormously competitive. Members of the same team often collaborated against the other teams and could force them to crash into the spina [center line]. On numerous occasions violent clashes of the spectators would break out between the Blues and Greens. The Reds and the Whites gradually weakened and were absorbed by the other two factions. Chariot drivers were able to switch teams, much like professional athletes today. (Wikipedia.org)
In January of 532, angry crowds entered the hippodrome to view some races. The emperor, Justinian, presided over the races and watched from the safety of his box in the palace. The spectators hurled insults at him. By the end of the day - during race #22 - the chants of the partisans had changed from "Blue" or "Green" to a unified Nίκα ("Nika", means "Win!" or "Conquer!" - derivation of the same Greek word adopted by the sports equipment manufacturer), and riots broke out.
The crowds assaulted the palace, and held it under siege for the next five days. Many fires were started during the tumult and resulted in the destruction of much of the city, including the Hagia Sophia church (which Justinian would later rebuild). The emperor called in his troops and slaughtered about 30,000 of the rioters who were gathered in the hippodrome, quelling the riots and keeping the city and the Byzantine Empire under his control. (widipedia.org)
The computer-generated picture, below, shows the middle strip with obelisks and various artifacts, the emperor's viewing porch on the right side, and the Hagia Sophia church in the background. (The view looks basically to the north.)
Here's an excellent video about the hippodrome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjrnvDn2tcA
Take notice of the modern-day architectural reconstructions when the video opens and closes.
The hippodrome runs longitudinally, left of center, behind the Byzantine palace complex in the reconstructed image below. This part of the peninsula is Istanbul's historical heart - the Sultanahmet.
During my last visit, I walked up to the sea-side end of the hippodrome (seen in the initial scenes in the video above), and discovered the retaining wall of the hippodrome. (Notice the modern pink structure on top of it!).
In an earlier photo, you can see that the finished, facing stone was stripped away...
...leaving the wall exposed to the elements...
...but recognizable with the characteristic Byzantine architectural alternation of red bricks and natural rock.
A restaurant is built into one stretch of this wall, close to the hippodrome track. As you can see, nothing has been done to protect or preserve the wall.
A closer look reveals a row of arches, with red bricks set in concrete, vegetation growing and crumbling bricks and mortar.
In the night-time panorama below, the hippodrome is located between the Hagia Sophia (left) and the Blue Mosque (behind the pillar). The racetrack was located in the area in front of the mosque - a park with trees.
In the picture below, you can see one long stretch of the track that ran down the side where the paved road is located.
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Below is a view of whole complex, including the palace:
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| http://phdiva.blogspot.com/2011/08/hippodrome-in-constantinople.html |
Here's an excellent YouTube video (13:46) entitled A Tour through Ancient Rome in 320 C.E.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAgA6G75XsI
...which features the city of Rome during the early days of Byzantium. It will help you understand Roman/Byzantine urban construction of this period which represents essentially the same culture.
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| http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/clasdram/chapters/161latertheatre.htm |
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| http://byzantineempire.info/Hippodrome.htm |
- the Reds were dedicated to Mars
- the Whites to the Zephyrs
- the Greens to Mother Earth or spring, and
- the Blues to the sky and sea or autumn.
The chariot driver's clothing was color-coded according to his sponsors.
Each team could have up to three chariots in a race. Teams were enormously competitive. Members of the same team often collaborated against the other teams and could force them to crash into the spina [center line]. On numerous occasions violent clashes of the spectators would break out between the Blues and Greens. The Reds and the Whites gradually weakened and were absorbed by the other two factions. Chariot drivers were able to switch teams, much like professional athletes today. (Wikipedia.org)
In January of 532, angry crowds entered the hippodrome to view some races. The emperor, Justinian, presided over the races and watched from the safety of his box in the palace. The spectators hurled insults at him. By the end of the day - during race #22 - the chants of the partisans had changed from "Blue" or "Green" to a unified Nίκα ("Nika", means "Win!" or "Conquer!" - derivation of the same Greek word adopted by the sports equipment manufacturer), and riots broke out.
The crowds assaulted the palace, and held it under siege for the next five days. Many fires were started during the tumult and resulted in the destruction of much of the city, including the Hagia Sophia church (which Justinian would later rebuild). The emperor called in his troops and slaughtered about 30,000 of the rioters who were gathered in the hippodrome, quelling the riots and keeping the city and the Byzantine Empire under his control. (widipedia.org)
The computer-generated picture, below, shows the middle strip with obelisks and various artifacts, the emperor's viewing porch on the right side, and the Hagia Sophia church in the background. (The view looks basically to the north.)
Take notice of the modern-day architectural reconstructions when the video opens and closes.
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| http://www.platos-academy.com/archives/nika_riots.html |
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| Cliff_Emerson |
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| http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Hippodrome_Sphendone_Constantinopel_March_2008panoc.jpg |
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| Cliff_Emerson |
A restaurant is built into one stretch of this wall, close to the hippodrome track. As you can see, nothing has been done to protect or preserve the wall.
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| Cliff_Emerson |
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| cliff_emerson© |
If you click here for a link to the same photo, and then click on it a second time. Hopefully you'll see an over-sized panorama photo which can be scrolled horizontally and vertically.
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sulthanamet_panorama.jpg I hope to create another post on this fascinating topic. Stay tuned... Click here to return to the Table of Contents
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