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PLACES IN THE NEW CAPTIAL
Constantinople basilica cistern

Is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Constantinople According to ancient historians, Emperor Constantine built a structure that was later rebuilt and enlarged by Emperor Justinian after the Nika riots of 532

The name of this subterranean structure derives from a large public square on the First Hill of Constantinople, the Stoa Basilica, beneath which it was originally constructed. Before being converted to a cistern, a great Basilica stood in its place, built between the 3rd and 4th centuries during the Early Roman Age as a commercial, legal and artistic centre

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Constantine the Great
and Christianity

While the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great reigned (306–337 CE), Christianity began to transition to the
dominant religion of the Roman Empire. Historians remain uncertain about Constantine's reasons for favoring
Christianity, and theologians and historians have argued about which form of Early Christianity he subscribed to.
There is no consensus among scholars as to whether he adopted his mother Helena's Christianity in his youth.

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COLOUM OF CONSTANTINE

The Column of Constantine (or Burnt Column) 'hooped' and taş 'stone') is a Roman monumental columnconstructed on the orders of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in 330 AD.

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THE HIPPODROME

Theodosius offers a laurel wreath to the victor, on the marble base of the Obelisk of Thutmosis III at the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

 

THE HIPPODROME IS USUALLY ASSOCIATED
WITH CONSTANTINOPLE'S DAYS OF GLORY

The first Hippodrome was built when the city was called Byzantium, and was a provincial town of moderate importance. In AD 203 the Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilt the city and expanded its walls, endowing it with a hippodrome, an arena for chariot races and other entertainment.
The track was lined with other bronze statues of famous horses and chariot drivers, none of which survive. The hippodrome was filled with statues of gods, emperors and heroes, among them some famous works, such as a Heracles by Lysippos, Romulus and Remus with their wolf and the Serpent Column of the Plataean tripod.The rivalry between the Blues and Greens often became mingled with political or religious rivalries, and sometimes riots, which amounted to civil wars that broke out in the city between them. The most severe of these was the Nika riots of 532, in which an estimated 30,000 people were killed and many important buildings, such as the second Hagia Sophia Church, were destroyed. The current (third) Hagia Sophia was built by Justinian following the Nika Revolt