CHAP. I.
_Of the Eleventh Ward, and of the Fourth and Fifth Hills._
I had been at a Loss to discover the eleventh _Ward_, (which, tho’
the _ancient Description_ of the _Wards_ mentions to have been wider
in Compass than the Tenth, and in no Part of it bounded by the Sea;
as also that it partly consisted of a Level, and partly of a rising
Ground) unless the Author had subjoin’d, that it contain’d also
the Church of the _Apostles_, And tho’ at present there’s nothing
remaining of that Church, yet I was inform’d by some ancient People of
_Constantinople_, who told me, that they remembred it stood upon the
Back of the fourth Hill; which fell upon a Hill of the third Valley,
near the _Sadlers Shops_, and the Sepulchre of _Mahomet_ the Emperor.
I observe from hence, that the eleventh _Ward_ was Part on the Top of
the same Hill, and Part on the North Side of it. I shall shew by what
follows, that this _Ward_ reach’d to the _Land-Wall_ of the City, which
divided the Eleventh, from the fourteenth _Ward_, and which was also
itself divided from the City by an intermediate Space of Land. I shall
convince the Reader presently, that this _Ward_ was situate on the
sixth Hill, without the Walls of the City, and was afterwards wall’d
round by _Theodosius_ the _Less_. The Walls built by _Constantine_
are said to have reach’d as far as the Churches of St. _Anthony_, and
St. _Mary_, who was call’d _Rabdos_, and from thence to have risen to
a _Land-Wall_ call’d _Exacionion_, which took its Name from hence,
_viz._ That without the _Land-Wall_ there stood a Pillar, on which was
erected the Statue of _Constantine_ the _Great_. Some modern Writers
will have it, that he built a Church which he dedicated to the _Holy
Trinity_ in a Place call’d the _Exacionion_, now call’d the Church of
the _Apostles_; for, if I am not mistaken, the Walls of _Constantine_
were built upon the Borders of the fourth and fifth Hill, near the
_Exacionion_, _Cedrinus_ writes, that the Walls of the City, the
beautiful Churches, the fine Houses seated in the _Exacionion_ were
thrown down by a dreadful Earthquake. They tell us in other Places,
tho’ not consistently with themselves, that there were _Portico’s_
which reach’d from the _Miliarium_ to the Street call’d _Taurus_, and
to the Gates of St. _John_ the _Baptist’s_ Church near the _Hippodrom_,
which are more than a thousand _Roman_ Paces distant from the Church of
the _Apostles_, and as far from the Walls of the City which were built
by _Constantine_, as may be gather’d from the following Passage of
_Sozomen_. _Theodosius_, says this Author, _leading his Army against_
Eugenius, _went a Mile out of the City to the Church of St._ John,
_which he had built in the_ Hepdomum. This _Hepdomum_ was a Part of
the Suburbs of the City, but is now enclos’d within the Walls, as
will appear when I come to speak of it. If the Pillar from whence the
_Exacionion_ took its Name, was the same with that high Pillar which
stood on the Top of the fifth Hill, and was seen not long since at a
great Distance from the City, above all the Houses, we might easily
discover, that the Walls built by _Constantine_ did not reach beyond
this Pillar, which stood about half a Mile’s distance from the _Church_
of the _Apostles_. I saw this Pillar took to Pieces, and remov’d for
building a Mosque, by Order of _Solyman_ the Emperor. The _Base_,
the _Pedestal_ and the Foundation of it were of white Marble. The
Foundation-Stone alone was so high, that I could not climb it without
a Ladder. The _Pedestal_ was four Foot and nine Digits high, and the
_Plinth_ one Foot, and six Digits. The _Greeks_ and the _Turks_, each
in their Dialect, call’d it the _Pillar_ of the _Virgin_, which I
take to be that celebrated by our modern Writers, which they say was
erected upon a Hill, and supported the Statue of _Venus_, carv’d in
Stone. When the _Ancient Description of the Wards_ tells us, that the
eleventh _Ward_ is no Ways bounded by the Sea, it must be so understood
as to mean, that the Plain situated between the Bay of _Ceras_, and
the Foot of the fourth Hill, was not within the Walls, since the same
_Treatise_ mentions, that the City was six thousand one hundred and
fifty Foot broad; that is, a Mile and two hundred and thirty Paces; for
the Latitude of the _Isthmus_, which stretches itself over the fourth
and seventh Hill, thro’ which the old Wall extended itself, exceeds the
Breadth abovemention’d. But _Zosimus_, an ancient Historian, says, that
_Constantine_ the _Great_ so wholly surrounded the City with a Wall,
that it cut off the _Isthmus_ from Sea to Sea. So that upon the whole,
there is a Necessity to place the Plain, situate between the Bay, and
the Bottom of the fourth Hill, in the tenth _Ward_.
CHAP. II.
_Of the Church of the Apostles, the Sepulchre of_ Constantine _the
Great, the Cistern of_ Arcadius _and_ Modestus, _of the Palace of_
Placilla, _and the_ Brazen Bull.
’Tis attested by _Eusebius_, That _Constantine_ the _Great_ built the
Church of the _Apostles_ to a great Heighth, that he incrusted it with
all Sorts of variegated Marble, which cast a beautiful Lustre from Top
to Bottom; that he adorn’d it with small gilded Roofs, and cover’d
it with Plates of Brass deeply gilt, which cast a blazing Reflexion
to a great Distance. The upper Part of this venerable Structure, was
curiously wrought all round it with Brass and Gold, and was enlightned
with Abundance of Lattices and Windows. Round the Church there was
a fine Court lying open to the Air. The _Portico’s_ which enclos’d
it, stood in a Quadrangular Manner. Near the _Portico’s_ stood the
Palace, the _Bagnio’s_, the Cloysters, and many other Houses and
Buildings belonging to the Ecclesiasticks, and other Ministers of the
Church. These bountiful Benefactions has the pious Emperor handed
down to Posterity in Memory of the _Apostles_ of the blessed Saviour
of Mankind, to whom also he consecrated twelve Purses of Gold. The
Coffin in which he intended to be buried after he was dead, was
plac’d by his Order in the Body of the Church, and guarded with the
twelve _Apostles_ in Effigy. ’Tis added by _Socrates_, that the Body
of _Constantine_ lying in a golden Coffin, was brought into the City
by his intimate Friends, and buried in the Church of the _Apostles_.
I am inclin’d to believe, that _Zonaras_ never read _Eusebius_, when
he tells us, that ’twas buried in the Cloyster of the Church of
the _Apostles_, which, he says, was built by _Constantius_ for the
Interrment of his Father. Near the broad Way which stretches itself
along the Top of the _Promontory_, from the Church of St. _Sophia_,
to the Gate of _Adrianople_, (hard by the Place where stood the
Church of the _Apostles_,) there is shewn to this Day, a Coffin made
of _Porphyry_ Marble, empty; and without a Cover, ten Foot long, and
five Foot and a half broad, which the _Greeks_ and _Turks_ say, was
the Coffin of _Constantine_ the _Great_; but I cannot vouch for the
Truth of it: Yet the Authorities of _Socrates_ and _Eusebius_ seem
to be somewhat doubtful, who tell us, that he was buried in a golden
Coffin, unless perhaps the golden Coffin was inclos’d in that of the
_Porphyry_ Marble. _Zonaras_ is of Opinion, that _Theodora_, the Wife
of _Justinian_, built the Church of the _Apostles_; and adds, that
there was anciently in the same Place a _Church_ of the _Apostles_,
but much Inferior in Beauty and Magnificence to that which stands at
present, on the same Ground. _Procopius_ says, that there had been
for some Ages, a Church at _Constantinople_ which was much impair’d
by Time, and likely to fall, which _Justinian_ order’d to be taken
down, rebuilt, and enlarg’d, and made in the Figure of a Cross, the
Body of the Church pointing East, and West, and the Part crossing it,
North, and South. This Church is well wall’d, and adorn’d within with
Ranges of Pillars standing one above another: _Evagrius_ therefore
seems to be mistaken, in attributing the Building of this Church to
_Justinian_, when it is evident it was built by _Constantine_ the
_Great_; and _Procopius_ too grosly flatters _Justinian_ in ascribing
to him the Building of many fine Structures, whereas, in reality, he
only repair’d them when they were old, or rebuilt them when fall’n too
much to decay, or destroy’d by Fire. There’s nothing remaining of this
Church at present, no, not even of its Foundation. You see only the
Ruines of an old _Cistern_, which supply’d the Church, and the Clergy
with Water. There are now standing upon the same Spot of Ground about
two hundred _Sadlers Shops_, and _Work-houses_, where they make and
sell not only all kinds of Horse-Geer, but also Leathern Bucketts,
Quivers, and Trunks. A little above this _Cistern_, stands a Mosque,
with a _Caravansera_ adjoining to it, situate on a Plain, which was
built with square Stone, after the Form of the Church of St. _Sophia_,
out of the Ruins and Sacrilege of the Church of the _Apostles_, and
other Christian Churches by _Mahomet_, who took the City. The Roof is
of a Semicircular Figure, made of Brick-Work, and cover’d with Lead,
as are all the publick Buildings of the _Turks_. ’Tis beautify’d with
a very elegant square Porch as broad as the Church itself, pav’d with
the finest Marble, and adorn’d with square _Portico’s_. The Arches of
them, which bear up the Roof, are supported with very large Pillars of
Marble, curiously variegated. In the Middle of it is a Fountain with
nine Pipes, whose Waters fall into a great Bason. Round the Mosque is
a spacious Court, Part of which is enclos’d with Walls, and Part with
long kind of Houses, some of which are inhabited by their Priests, and
School-Masters. In the Eastern Part of this Court there’s a Garden,
in the Middle of which stands the Sepulchre of _Mahomet_, built in a
Cylindric Form of the whitest Marble. ’Tis covered with Lead, lighted
with Windows, and has a Door of Entrance into it. In the Middle of
this Structure is the Coffin of _Mahomet_, cover’d with Velvet, placed
on the Ground on a rich Carpet. The Ground is wholly covered with the
most costly Carpets, where the Priests continually sit, and guard
the Body Night and Day. A little without the Court are several large
_Caravansera’s_, built also with square Stone, which have Court-yards
in the Middle of them, and _Portico’s_ surrounded with Marble Pillars.
These _Caravansera’s_ have large Gardens adjoyning to them. In short,
this Mosque, with the adjacent Buildings round the Court, with the
_Caravansera’s_ and Gardens, take up a Space of Ground six Furlongs
in Compass. _Mahomet_, the same Emperor, built in this Place, where
had formerly been the Old _Cistern_ of _Arcadius_, or _Modestus_, the
largest _Bagnio’s_ in all the City. These Baths were of two Kinds,
some for Men, and some for Women. They adjoin to each other, but have
different Entries without any Passage out of one into the other. I
shall only describe the Mens Baths; because the Womens are like them.
The first Place you enter is the Room where they undress. From hence
you pass into the hot, and from thence into the cold Bath. They all
stand in one Range, and are only separated by Walls from each other.
The Room where they undress is a square Structure, built of square
Stone up to the Roof, which is arch’d and built with Brick; the Inside
of which, measuring two hundred and fifty eight Foot in compass, is
surrounded with an Ascent of Stone, above six Foot broad, and three
Foot high. The Wall of this Room, from the Pavement to the Bottom of
the arch’d Roof is thirty seven Foot high. In the Middle of the Floor,
which is pav’d with Marble, there’s a large Marble Bason, which is
thirty seven Foot in compass, and three Foot deep, which is always
supply’d from a Fountain of Spring Water. There are two Doors out of
the stripping Room into the hot Bath. This Apartment is a hundred Foot
in compass in the Inside of it, and is supported with four Arches,
which bear up a _Dome_ at the Top. It contains eight _Cells_ or bathing
Rooms; one of which, not above half so large as the rest, has some
Privies behind it, which are cleans’d by an Efflux of all the Waters
which are turn’d out of the Bath. Six of these _Cells_ have, each of
them, a bathing Cistern, and are built in such a Manner, that two of
these Arches hang each of them over one bathing Room; from whence you
may pass, on the Right and on the Left, into another. The _Cells_ under
the other two Arches are so form’d, that that Arch which is nearest
the Doors which lead out of the stripping Room into the hot Bath, hangs
over a very large bathing Room. ’Tis pav’d with Marble, and the _Turks_
wash their Linen in this Place. A plain Wall arch’d at top parts the
hot from the cold Bath. In the Middle of the hot Bath there is a Bason
with a Fountain playing. There is but one Door which leads out of the
hot into the cold Bath. This Apartment has eight Arches which support
its _Dome_, and contains eight bathing Places, which project beyond the
Sphere of its _Dome_, and encircle the whole _Bagnio_, which is about
ninety Foot in compass. The whole Pavement of it is lay’d with Marble,
and in the Middle of it is built an Ascent in the Form of an _Octagon_,
which is fifty seven Foot, and nine Inches in Circumference, and two
Foot and four Digits high. Round the _Octagon_ there runs a Channel of
Water, which is of the same Depth with the Height of the _Octagon_.
The four inward bathing Rooms are situate in four Angles, and are each
of them every Way eleven Foot and three Digits broad, and these are
call’d the _Hot-Houses_ or _Sweating-Bagnio’s_. The Dimension of the
two Bathing Rooms, which are situate without the two Arches, is the
same. The other six Bathing Rooms are of a Semicircular Figure, and
stand under six Arches within the Circle of the _Dome_ of the hot Bath.
At the Bottom of the Pillars which support the Arches, they are eleven
Foot in length, and five Foot nine Inches in breadth. Every one of
these Bathing Rooms has a Marble _Cistern_ wherein they bath; and in
one of them above the rest, there is erected a stately Marble Throne.
There are no Lights in the Walls either of the hot or cold Baths, tho’
the _Domes_ of them are wholly illuminated with Glass-Windows. The
_Stoke-Hole_, which is two Foot and a half in compass, and of the same
height, is built without the Baths. They keep a constant Fire in it,
which heats a Brazen Vessel, whence it emits its warm Steams thro’
Pipes laid in a strait, and an oblique Manner, by that means heating
the Bottom of the _Cisterns_ in which they bath. There is a Rivulet
in a Field of the Suburbs, about six Foot in breadth, which runs near
the _Stoke-Hole_. There are Pipes laid in this Brook, which convey the
Water thro’ the Walls of these Baths into all Parts of them. One of
these Pipes which passes thro’ a heated Earthen Vessel, upon turning
a Cock, supplies the _Cisterns_ with hot Water; the other Pipe which
rises higher, upon the turning of an other Cock, tempers the hot Water
according to the Pleasure of the Person who baths in it. But I shall
treat of the Use of Bathing, and the Way of building _Bagnio’s_ among
the _Turks_ in another Place. I return now to the eleventh _Ward_,
which _Procopius_ takes Notice of, when he tells us, that _Theodora_
the Consort of _Justinian_ address’d herself to him in the following
Manner: _We have, may it please your Imperial Majesty, other Palaces
still remaining, which are call’d the Palaces of_ Helena, _as we have
also those of_ Placilla, _the Wife of_ Theodosius _the Great. For as_
Justinus _honour’d his Empress with several noble Palaces, which,
after her own Name, were call’d the Palaces of_ Sophia, _so it is
highly probable that_ Theodosius _did_ Placilla _the same Honour in
building a Palace for her, which was call’d the Palace of_ Placilla.
_I am induc’d to believe this, because he passionately lov’d her, and
by Reason of that strong Resentment he bore to the People of_ Antioch,
_whom he subjected to the Dominion of the_ Laodenses, _for demolishing
the Statues of_ Placilla, _plac’d in his own_ Forum, _because he lay’d
an additional Tribute upon them_. This Palace may not improperly be
call’d also the Palace of _Flacilla_, of whom _Claudian_ speaks in the
following Lines:
_’Tis_ Spain _alone, subject to potent_ Rome,
_Which pays her Tribute in her Emperours.
Provision, Taxes, and Confederate Bands_
Rome _by her Arms in ev’ry Nation raises,
Which bows its Head to her superiour Greatness_.
Spain _only furnishes a Race of Princes,
Wise, Bold, and Warlike, form’d for Empire,
And fit to rule the Mistress of the World.
Nor pleas’d alone to send her valiant Sons,
Unless a second Offering she made,
Of princely Mothers, noble Empresses_,
Flacilla, Maria, _pious, humble, good;
And fair_ Serena, _full of blooming Charms_.
The _Brazen Bull_ was plac’d in the eleventh _Ward_. In what Part of
that _Ward_ it was plac’d might easily be conjectur’d from a large
_Cistern_, which, the modern Historians write, was built near it by
_Nicetas_ an Eunuch, in the Reign of the Emperor _Theophilus_, if that
_Cistern_ was now in being. If the _Bull_ itself was remaining, or the
_Forum_ where it stood, I had heard something of it. _Tzetzes_ in his
History writes, that the _Forum Bovis_ was so call’d from the _Brazen
Bull_. This _Bull_ is more particularly describ’d by _Zonaras_, who
says, _that the Body of the unhappy Tyrant_ Phocas _was burnt at a
Place call’d_ Bos, _where there was a Stove, or Fire-Place set up in
the Form of a Bull, which was brought from_ Troy. _Cedrinus_ relates,
that _Antypas_ the _Martyr_ was burnt to Death in this _Bull_. It is a
plain Instance of the Cruelty and Tyranny of some of the Emperors of
_Constantinople_, that they us’d to punish Malefactors with a Death
so tormenting. The like Example of Barbarity we have in _Perillus_,
or rather _Perilaus_, a Brazier of _Attica_, who made a _Brazen Bull_
for the Execution of _Phalaris_, but first suffer’d in it himself.
This Piece of Workmanship, says _Pliny_, was preserv’d a long Time,
that those, who saw it, might curse the Hand that made it. I am more
inclin’d to believe, that this _Bull_ was brought from _Sicily_, or
_Italy_. I enquir’d after it, but could hear nothing of it, altho’ the
Inhabitants are not ignorant, that there was formerly such a _Bull_ at
_Constantinople_, and are us’d to boast of a Prophecy, which has been
handed down to them from their Ancestors, concerning such a _Bull_,
and lastly, altho’ they believe their own Interpretation of it to
be more agreeable to Truth than that of _Tzetzes_, who explain’d it
above three hundred and seventy Years ago in the following Manner.
There was a mighty Talk of a Prophecy at _Constantinople_ some Time
ago, which run in these Words: Βοῦς βοήσει τε, καὶ Ταῦρος δὲ θρηνήσει,
_Bos mugiet, Taurus lugebit_. The People conjectur’d from hence, says
he, that great Calamities should befall the City, that they should be
perplex’d with amazing Fears, that an innumerable Army of _Germans_,
and other Nations, should come against the Town; and that they should
be all terrify’d and affrighted with strange Dreams, by Reason of the
Plundering and Destruction of their City. Upon which, the Wife of
the _Grand Hetæriarch_ being in great Consternation, and her Fears
and Fancies being encreas’d by some fabulous Verses made upon the
Occasion, she imagin’d she dream’d of all that had been the Town-Talk
for some Time before. She dream’d that _Constantinople_ was wall’d
round with Brick, that near the _Forum Bovis_, or the Place call’d
_Bos_, she saw infinite Numbers of arm’d Forces drawn up in Battle
array, and that hard by the Street call’d _Taurus_, she saw a Man in
a melancholly Posture expressing his Grief in a mournful Tone, and
beating his Breast. The credulous Woman believing the Destruction of
the City was at hand, told her Dream to _Tzetzes_, who thus interpreted
it: _The Brick Walls_, says he, _which you saw denote great Plenty of
Provision to_ Constantinople. _You are sensible, Gentlemen_, says he,
(speaking to those who stood by him) _how wonderfully that Part of
the Prophecy was accomplish’d at that Time. As to that Clause of it,
which mentions that abundance of armed Forces shall stand round the_
Bull, _and that a Man in a disconsolate and forlorn Condition shall
sit down by the_ Bull, _which is principally intended by the Prophecy,
tho’ not yet fulfill’d; this may prove beneficial, and advantageous
to every Citizen of us. Therefore hear, O_ Constantinople, _and tell
it to others, that this is the Interpretation of_ Tzetzes. _The same
Word, which among us_ Greeks _signifies a Bull, signifies also a Cow,
and sometimes a Heifer, and by the Word_ Taurus _or_ Bull, _the_ Latins
_call the_ Italian _Bull. Our Cow therefore, which is the famous
City of_ Constantine, _and which was built by the_ Roman _Bulls of_
Italy, _full of Arms, abounding with Forces, and Plenty of Provision,
shall sound an Alarm against our Enemies; and the_ Italian _Bull,
which is the Army of the_ Latins, _shall look Pale with Fear, and
mourn_. _Tzetzes_, without Question, was a very learned Man, and this
Interpretation of the Prophecy was cunning enough; besides that it was
a fine Compliment to the Empress, and at the same Time the Historian
pleas’d his own Humour in it, in interpreting the Prophecy according
to his own Wishes. See how ingenious is the Weakness of Man to impose
upon himself! But at that Time there was another Interpretation of this
Prophecy, which, in the Event, was much more agreeable to Truth, tho’
_Tzetzes_ took a great deal of Pains to confute, and expose it; and it
was the general Opinion of the People of _Constantinople_, that the
Army of the _Latins_ would besiege their City, as it happen’d a little
Time after, ravaging, burning, destroying every where; throwing some of
the Ring-leaders of an arbitrary Party from the Top of _Theodosius_’s
Pillar into the Street call’d _Taurus_, and burning others to Death
in the _Brazen Bull_. The same Author is no less mistaken in the
Interpretation of another Prophecy, which is as follows: _Wo be to
thee, O_ Constantinople, _seated on seven Hills, thou shalt not
continue a thousand Years_. His Explanation of it is this: _Altho’ it
be not thy Fate, O_ Constantinople, _to endure a thousand Years, but
to be totally demolish’d, yet this ought to be no Occasion of Grief to
thee, but the Cause of Joy; for thou shalt rise again from thy Ruines
more beautiful, and more enlarg’d. For thou shalt be destroyed, ev’n
to the Advantage of those who shall destroy thee._ This Interpretation
is a downright Flattery of the principal Leaders of the several
_Factions_ (or Companies of Charioteers) when they were struggling
for the Government. But take this Interpretation which Way you will,
it seems to be a very wild one. For whether the City was demolish’d
by its own Inhabitants, or any foreign Power, it could neither Way be
any reasonable Cause of Joy to them. This Prediction of the Oracle
was seconded by another Prediction of the _Astronomers_ to the same
Purpose. Some Historians have attested, as ’tis confirm’d by _Suidas_,
that _Constantine_ the _Great_, after he had finish’d the City, sent
for one _Valens_ an _Astronomer_ of great Skill, and commanded him to
enquire what Star had the _Ascendant_ at the Birth of the City, and by
that means inform him of the Duration of it. _Valens_ predicted that
the City would continue six hundred and ninety Years; but that Time is
past and gone. Therefore, says _Zonaras_, I must conclude, that this
Prophecy of _Valens_ was erroneous, and that there’s little Dependance
to be had upon the Rules of _Astronomy_, or otherwise that _Valens_
only meant the Time of her Prosperity, when the Laws of Polity were
strictly obey’d, when the publick Peace was preserv’d, when their
_Senate_ was in high Estimation among the People, when the Empire
flourish’d and was under a regular Administration, and there was no
such Thing as Tyranny, and Arbitrary Power among them. But to finish
the Oracular Predictions concerning this City, I come now to _Zosimus_,
a very ancient Historian, if compar’d with _Tzetzes_, and _Zonaras_.
This Author writes, that _Constantinople_ was arriv’d to such a State
of Grandeur, and Magnificence, that no City in the World was to be
compar’d with it, in point of Greatness, or Prosperity. _And yet_, as
he proceeds, _when after a long Search I could find no divine Oracle,
or Prophecy presignifying any Increase of Happiness to_ Constantinople,
_I at last accidentally, having read many Historians, and other Authors
for that Purpose, met with an Oracular Prediction of a Sibyl, nam’d_
Erythræa Phaelles, _or_ Phaenno _of_ Epirus. _This Woman, they tell
you, being inspir’d, utter’d Oracles, to which_ Nicomedes, _the Son of_
Prussias, _conforming himself, especially in such Predictions as might
be some Advantage to himself, enter’d into a War with his Father_. The
Oracle runs thus:
_Attend, great King of_ Thrace, _and learn thy Doom;
Thy stately City soon thou must depart,
And thy defenceless Sheep shall follow thee;
The Savage Lion’s irresistless Power
Shall plunder thee, and ravage all thy Stores.
Thou from thy princely Grandeur soon shalt fall;
The Dogs which now in State stand round thy Throne
Shall rouze the sleepy Wolf, bold to assert
His Liberty, nor drag thy servile Chain._
Bithynia’s _Realm shall then become a Prey
To fierce devouring Wolves, and_ Jove’s _Decree
Transfer thy Empire hence to fair_ Byzantium.
_Happy, thrice happy Monarch would’st thou be,
Could’st thou repel with Force the rav’nous Wolf,
Thus timely warn’d by me: For I am forc’d
To speak, and tell the Will of Heav’n to Man.
Wide Desolation now attends thee_, Thrace;
_A heavy Vengeance waits; long hast thou try’d,
And daringly provok’d the Neighbouring States;
And now a Cloud of Woe hangs o’re thy Head,
Which daily swelling to a larger Size,
Shall burst in Blood, and ruine all about thee_.
This Oracle or Prophecy, says _Zosimus_, truly fore-tells, tho’ in
an Ænigmatical Manner, all the Calamities which would befall the
_Bythinians_, by Reason of an excessive Tribute which had been demanded
of them, and presignifies also their speedy Subjection to the Empire of
_Constantinople_. And tho’ this did not happen till a long Time after,
yet let no Man from thence infer, that the Time of the Accomplishment
of the Prediction was expired before it came to pass. For all Time is
but for a Moment with God, who is eternal. _This Interpretation of the
Oracle_, says the Historian, _I observed to be true, by comparing the
Event of Things with the Words of the Prophecy_; and adds, _that if
any other Interpretation seems more agreeable, any one is at his own
Liberty to follow it_. And to confirm the more this Explication of it,
he tells us, how _Constantine_ the _Great_ and his Sons, oppress’d not
only _Bithynia_, but the whole World with severe Exactions, so that
whole Cities, unable to pay the Levies, remained desolate. The learned
_Tzetzes_ before-mentioned, explains this Oracle in another Manner,
and says, that it was delivered by _Phaenno_. _This Sybil_, says he,
_was long ago famous for her Oracles, and foretold same Things many
Ages since, which were accomplished but a little before the Times we
live in; as the Conquest of_ Persia _over the Empire, the Slavery and
Subjection of the Emperor to them, his Dethronement by his People and
Nobles, the Wars of the_ Scythians _with the Eastern Empire, by whom
she seems to mean the_ Turks. Thus far _Zosimus_. This Oracle, tho’ it
be very antient, yet, amidst the present Ruins of _Constantinople_, it
never appeared so manifest as now.
But to proceed in my Narration of other Monuments of Antiquity; On
the Brow of the fourth Hill, which lies Eastward, you see a Church
built to the Honour of Almighty God, which has been much celebrated
in the Writings of modern Historians. The Walls of it within side
are incrusted with several Kinds of Marble: It has two Porches or
_Vestibules_, many lesser _Cupola’s_ covered with Lead, the largest of
which is supported with four Pillars of red Marble variegated, each of
which Pillars measures seven Foot in Circumference. There’s another
_Cupola_ which bears upon four Arches, which are supported with four
Pillars of _Thebaic_ Marble. On the South Side of the fourth Hill there
is erected a Pillar, which nearly resembles that, which was lately,
as I observed, standing in the _Exacionion_, but is now removed into
the Precinct of the _Seraglio_. Round the _Basis_ of it there runs a
Wreath of Laurel-work, and the Standard of the Cross, curiously cut in
_Basso Relievo_. At the Foot of the fifth Hill is a double Wall, which
encloses a Street now called _Phanarium_, because as the Inhabitants
tell you, when the City was formerly besieged, it was built in the
Space of one Night by Candle-light. I am induced from the Authority
of _Dionysius_ to believe, that _Mellacopsas_ stood near this Street;
the Reason why it was so called I have shewn in my _Treatise of the
Bosporus_. On the Top of the fifth Hill stands the Palace of _Selimus_
the _Grand Signor_, with a _Caravansera_, and his Tomb. Near it is a
very large _Cistern_, in a pleasant Meadow, which is despoiled of its
Roof and Pillars.
CHAP. III.
_Of the Sixth Hill, and the Fourteenth_ Ward.
The Author _of the Description of the Wards_ relates, that the
fourteenth _Ward_, though it is looked upon as a Part of the City,
yet because it is divided from the other _Wards_ by an intermediate
Space of Land, and enclosed with its own Walls, makes the Figure of a
small City by it self; and adds, among other Particularities, that the
Entrance of it, at the Gate, is somewhat upon the Level; but the right
Side of it, rising into an Ascent, almost to the Middle of the broad
Way, falls into a deep Ascent, and contains a Church, the Palace, _&c._
It is very probable, one would think, or at least it looks to be so,
that any one who had never seen _Constantinople_, could learn from this
Description in what Part of the City stood the fourteenth _Ward_. But
since, nothing of the antient Buildings are remaining there at present,
no not so much as the Bridge, or the very Channel of the River; there
is some Room for Enquiry, where was the Place of its Situation. For
I am entirely ignorant of the Gate whence its Entrance begins, which
is somewhat upon the Level. It is possible that I might also discover
the Situation of it, if I knew where the right Side of the _Ward_ was,
which rose into an Ascent. ’Tis plain that this _Ward_ did not stand
on the fifth Hill from hence, that the Author tells us, that it was
divided from other _Wards_ by some intermediate Space. Had this _Ward_
been divided from other _Wards_ by a small Tract of Land only, it had
been very injudicious in the Inhabitants to have enclosed it with a
Wall by it self, when it stood so near the Walls of the City. I would
observe farther, that ’tis inconceivable that there could be any Bridge
on the fifth, sixth, or seventh Hills of the City, or without the Walls
of the City; nor is there any Valley running between the fifth or the
third Hill, where there’s any Bridge, or any Water, unless it can be
imagined that it had any small Creek, which is now filled up, with
a Bridge over it. If it could be supposed that there formerly stood
any Bridge beyond the sixth Hill, in the Street called _Avasarius_,
we could conclude it to be no other than what was built over the Bay
of _Ceras_, near which are still seen the Piles of a Bridge. And in
all Probability the sixth Hill was wholly inhabited, by Reason of the
Nearness and Goodness of its Roads from _Thrace_. This is the more
probable, if it be considered, that the Suburbs called the _Hepdomum_,
were seated on the sixth Hill, which excited _Theodosius_ the _Less_,
by Reason of its Nearness to _Constantinople_ to enlarge the Walls of
the City.
CHAP. IV.
_Of the_ Hepdomum, _a Part of the Suburbs; of the_ Triclinium _of_
Magnaura; _of the_ Cyclobion; _of the Statue of_ Mauritius, _and his
Armory; and of the Place called the_ Cynegium.
The Suburbs, call’d the _Hepdomum_, stood upon the third Hill, which
is now enclosed within the Walls of the City. This is plain from the
Situation of the Church of St. _John Baptist_, whom, even at this Time,
the _Greeks_ call the Πρόδρομος, or _Fore-runner_ of our Saviour.
This Church is seated on the Eastern Side of the City. ’Tis almost
entirely demolished by the _Mahometans_, and nothing of it remains but
a few Marble Pillars, expecting the last Effort of their Sacrilege.
This was a costly and magnificent Building, as appears, among other
Tokens, from the _Cistern_ of _Bonus_, which was built by a Nobleman
of that Name, and seated a little above it. It was three hundred Paces
long; its Roof and Columns are entirely ruined, and its Situation at
present is turned into a Garden. _Sozomen_ says, that _Theodosius_ the
_Great_ brought over the Head of St. _John Baptist_, from a Village
call’d _Coslaus_, near _Pantichium_, in _Chalcedon_, and placed it
before _Constantinople_ in the _Hepdomum_, and there built a large and
handsome Church to the Honour of God. The same Author attests, that
_Theodosius_, when he marched his Army against _Eugenius_, as soon
as he came out of the City, offered his Prayers to God, in St. _John
Baptist_’s Church, which he had built in the _Hepdomum_. _Procopius_
pays too great a Compliment to _Justinian_, when he reports him to have
built this Church in the forementioned Suburbs. _Zonaras_ tells us,
that in the Reign of _Constantine_ surnamed _Pogonatus_, the _Hagarens_
besieged the City with a numerous Fleet, which extended itself from
the _Promontory_ situated in the _Hepdomum_ Westward, as far as the
_Cyclobion_. Other _Historians_ mention the same Thing; namely, that
they had their Station from the said _Promontory_, or the _Triclinium_
of _Magnaura_, as far Easterly as the Palace call’d _Cyclobion_. From
which Passage I would observe by the By, that _Magnaura_ was a Place in
the _Hepdomum_. _Cedrinus_ asserts, that _Philip_ of _Macedon_, built
there a round Solar, and placed in the Court of it his own Statue,
and built an Armory there. Others write, that _Mauritius_ the Emperor
built the _Triclinium_ of _Magnaura_, and that he erected his Statue,
and built the Armory there. Over the _Triclinium_ are inscribed these
Verses;
Upon the _Triclinium_ of _Magnaura_.
Heraclius _and his Son_ Constantine,
_With Conquest crown’d, and loaden with Success,
Under th’ auspicious Influence of the_ Cross,
_Built, with surprizing Speed, this beauteous Structure._
The _Cistern_ of _Magnaura_, which stood near the Palace, was
demolished by _Heraclius_; and, as _Cedrinus_ relates, was afterwards
cleansed, and rebuilt by Order of _Philip_, King of _Macedon_. Some
attest, if not consistently with Truth, yet more appositely, that
the Emperor _Anastasius_, when he was expiring at that Place, by a
terrible Storm of Wind, Lightning and Thunder, cried out with a loud
Voice; _Magnâ perimus aurâ_. _Pulcheria_ the Sister of _Theodosius_
the _Less_, being removed from the Administration of the Government,
retired into the _Hepdomum_, and lived privately. _Zonaras_ relates,
that _Nicephorus_ the Emperor, surnamed _Phocas_, as he came near
to the City, was received by the _Prasine_ Faction, with great
Acclamations, and that he was crowned Emperor in the _Hepdomum_ by
the _Patriarch_ of _Constantinople_. The Reason why those Suburbs are
called the _Hepdomum_, is taken from the Number _Seven_, which was
formerly the Number of them. They retained their antient Names, even
after they were inclosed within the City. _Procopius_ has it, that
_Justinian_, in that _Ward_, which ought to be called the Second,
built a Church to St. _Anne_. An unknown Writer of the Empire of
_Constantinople_ gives a Reason why it may be called the Second. _In
the Place_, says he, _called the_ Second, _there stood the Statue
of_ Justinian Rhinometus. Bardus Cæsar Michael, _the Grandfather
of_ Theophilus, _demolished and broke it to Pieces_. This Place is
called the Second, because when _Justinian_ was banished by _Leo_ the
_Patrician_ to _Cherso_, after he had continued there ten Years, he
applied himself to _Terbelus_, King of the _Bulgarians_, whose Daughter
_Theodora_ he married. The King gave him an Army, which he marched
against _Constantinople_ to recover his Empire. But the Inhabitants
denying him Entrance, he privately stole into the City through the
Passage of an _Aqueduct_ to a Place where was still remaining the
Foundation of a Pillar he had set up, and which his Adversary had
destroyed. Having recovered his Dominions a second Time, he erected
there a second Pillar, and built in the same Place a Church, which
was dedicated to St. _Anne_. But, as I observed a little before,
_Procopius_ relates, that _Justinian_ built this Church in the second
_Ward_, where, I am of Opinion, before the Reign of _Theodosius_
the _Less_, who built the Walls of the City, stood the Suburbs of
the seventh Hill, that is, according to _Cedrinus_ and others, in
the twelfth _Ward_. There were, say these Writers, most dreadful
Earthquakes, which overturned the Wall of the City in the _Exacionion_,
and levell’d many beautiful Houses and magnificent Churches in the
_Porta Aurea_ of the City; and add that in the second _Ward_, the Shock
was felt as far as St. _Anne_’s Church. I mentioned this Observation
to many of mine Acquaintance, lest any one should imagine that the
δεύτερον χώριον was one of the fourteen _Wards_ mentioned in the
_Treatise_, entitled, an _Antient Description of_ Constantinople. I
am surprized that _Procopius_, who was so exact in describing so many
Buildings of the City, never mentions them, since they are taken Notice
of by _Justinian_ in his _Constitutions_. There’s a Church situate
on the seventh Hill, between the Palace of _Constantine_, and the
_Adrianopolitan Gate_, which though for many Ages it stood within the
Walls, yet on three Sides of it, it formerly stood without the Walls of
the City, as it was customary to build the _Greek_ Churches. There’s
a _Portico_ runs round it. The Walls of it within are incrusted with
square Pieces of several Kinds of Marble, the _Fissures_ of which are
covered from Top to Bottom with _Modules_ of _Astragals_, some of which
are adorned with Berries, and others are work’d round without them.
Above these _Incrustations_ rise three _Fasciæ_, and three Ornaments
resembling an _Astragal_, two of which are round, and the uppermost of
them is of a square Figure. Higher yet are three _Fasciæ_, above these
are the _Dentils_, and over the _Dentils_, a _Corinthian Foliage_.
It will evidently appear from what I shall mention hereafter, that
the Suburbs called the _Hepdomum_, were in the fourteenth _Ward_ of
the City, where also stood a Palace. There remains at present, out
of many antient Palaces, not so much as the Name of one of them,
except that seated on the seventh Hill, which is called the Palace of
_Constantine_, besides a few Pillars, and a _Cistern_ in which the
Grand _Signor_’s Elephants are stabled. In the Plain upon the Shore,
situate at the Foot of the sixth Hill Eastward, is the _Palatine_ Gate
called _Cynegion_. Without the Gate is a fine Growth of Plane-Trees.
Near the Gate, within the Wall, were formerly three large Arches, now
fill’d up, through which the Inhabitants used to sail their Three-oar’d
Galleys, into a Creek built within the City for the Conveniency of the
neighbouring Palace. This Creek is now entirely ruin’d, and turn’d into
a Garden. The _Cynegion_, according to modern Writers, is a Place of
some Note, so that even _Suidas_ himself thought it not impertinent
to insert in his _Lexicon_ the following Story. _Criminals_, says he,
_condemned to dye were thrown into the_ Cynegion, _which was adorned
with some Statues_. Theodorus, _the Town-Clerk, going thither with_
Imerius _Keeper of the Records, saw a short, but a very thick Statue.
Look upon the Man, says_ Imerius, _meaning himself, who built the_
Cynegion. _I returned in Answer, that_ Maximinus _built it, and that_
Aristides _measured out the Ground; when immediately one of its Pillars
fell, which crushed_ Imerius _to Pieces, so that he died on the Spot.
Being terrified at the Sight, I hastened to the Church, where I told
what had happened. I attested the Fact with an Oath to those who
questioned the Relation. Some of the Emperor’s Domesticks and Servants,
when their Attendance was over, walked with me to the Place. Being
surprized at the Death of_ Imerius, _and the Fall of the Pillar, a
certain Philosopher named_ Johannes, _told ’em, that he had discovered
from a small Animal, that a Man of some Note should dye_. Philip
_of_ Macedon _believing him, ordered the little Creature to be bury’d
in the Place, where this Accident happened_. _Justinus_ the _Third_
commanded _Tiberius_ and _Leontius_, after they had reign’d three
Years, to have their Chains taken off, ty’d Body to Body, dragged thro’
the _Forum_ and the _Theatre_ by Horses; and after he had trampled upon
the Necks of them, he ordered them to be slain in the _Cynegion_, in
the Sight of the People. I look upon this _Theatre_ to be that which
was called _Theatrum Venatorium_. For as there was such a _Theatre_
at _Rome_, so there was at _Constantinople_. For _Procopius_ reports,
that the _Theatres_, _Hippodroms_, and the _Cynegia_, were greatly
neglected, and fell to Ruine, thro’ the Avarice of _Justinian_.
CHAP. V.
_Of the_ Blachernæ, _the_ Triclinium _of the_ Blachernæ, _the_
Palace, _the_ Aqueduct _and many other Places of Antiquity_.
The Author of the Book entitled, _The antient Description of the_
Wards attests, that there stood in the fourteenth _Ward_, a Church, but
does not name it; nor does he take Notice of the _Blachernæ_, although
it was called so before the taking of _Constantinople_ by _Severus_,
as I shall immediately make appear. The _Blachernæ_ stood without the
Walls, not only in the Time when that Book was wrote, but even in the
Reign of _Justinian_, who, as _Procopius_ writes, built a Church, which
he dedicated to the _Virgin Mary_, before the Walls of the City, in a
Place called the _Blachernæ_. _The Spectator_, says he, _when he enters
this Church, will admire its large and bulky Building, yet secure
from the Danger of falling by the Strength of its Foundation. You may
behold in it_, adds he, _a stately Magnificence, without any Mixture of
Gaiety, and too much Embellishment_. ’Tis my Opinion, that _Justinian_
only repaired this Church: For _Zonaras_ reports, that _Pulcheria_, the
Wife of _Marcian_, built a Church in the _Blachernæ_, and dedicated
it to the _Virgin Mary_. _Pomponius Lætus_ tells us, that this Church
was built by _Theodosius_. _Cedrinus_ writes, that _Justin_ the Nephew
of _Justinian_, added two Arches to the Church in the _Blachernæ_. So
that ’tis plain from what _Procopius_ has wrote upon this Occasion,
that the _Blachernæ_ stood without the Walls of the City, as it is no
less evident from the Testimony of _Agathius_. _When the barbarous
Nations_, says he, _approached_ Constantinople, _by the Permission
of_ Justinian, _all the Churches situate without the Walls, from the_
Blachernæ _to the Black-Sea, were stripp’d of their Armaments, which
were kept within the City_. There is at present to be seen, near the
Gate called _Xylon_, and the Western Angle of the City, between the
Foot of the sixth Hill, and the turning of a Mosque, situate within
the City, (which the People say was dedicated to the _Virgin Mary_) a
Spring now running, which the _Greeks_ tell us was consecrated to her.
The Place, where the Spring is, is call’d the _Blachernæ_. Upon my
first coming to _Constantinople_, some Remains of it were to be seen,
but now there nothing appears even of its Ruines. From the Bottom of
the sixth Hill, which rises above the Church in the _Blachernæ_, there
shoots an _Aqueduct_ with two Pipes; one of which is stopp’d with a
Cock, and the other flows in a constant Stream. I took Notice before,
that _Andronicus_ the Emperor brought this _Aqueduct_ from the River
_Hydrales_, into the _Ward_ of the _Blachernæ_, where there was no
River Water till his Time. The Emperor _Anastasius_ built the great
_Triclinium_ in the _Blachernæ_, which went under his Name, even in the
Time of _Suidas_. _Zonaras_, and others assure us, that the Emperor
_Tiberius_ built the publick Bath in the _Blachernæ_. ’Tis certain
from some modern Histories, that there was in the Time of _Zonaras_,
even down to the Reign of _Manuel_ the Emperor, an Imperial Palace in
that Place. The Reason why ’tis called the _Blachernæ_, is mentioned
by _Dionysius_ a _Byzantian_, in his _Navigation of the Bosporus_,
from whom I shall just touch upon some Places described by him, which
reach from the Foot of the fifth Hill, to the furthermost Angle of the
City, and the sixth Hill. _Beyond Mellacopsas_, says he, (this, I took
Notice of before, was at the Foot of the fifth Hill) _there are two
Places which afford good Sport in Fishing, all the Year. One upon the
Shallows under the Promontories, the other under the deep hollow Shores
which are never ruffled by the Wind. The first of these is called_
Indigenas, _from some great Man who was a Native there; the other_
Pyracius, _from_ Pyræus, _a Port of_ Athens; _or as some believe, from
some antient Inhabitant. There’s a Place between them called_ Cittos,
_from the great Plenty of Ivy it produces._ There is also a steep Place
called _Camara_, which adjoins that of _Pyracius_. ’Tis much exposed to
the Wind, and therefore often feels the Roughness of the Sea. Thence,
up higher, stands _Thalassa_, which is the Boundary of the _Ceratine
Bay_, where the Rivers begin to flow into it. ’Tis thus called, either
by Reason of their Nearness to the Sea, whose Salt Waters they mingle
with their Freshness, or because it stands steddy, and more out of
the Wind; or rather, because the constant Influx of the Rivers into
it, brings down daily a muddy Substance into the Sea, which very much
thickens it; though it serves for Nourishment to the Multitudes of Fish
with which it abounds. The first Place that stands upon this calm Sea
is called _Polyrrhetius_, from a Man named _Polyrrhetus_: The next is
_Vateiascopia_, so called from the deep Sea that is about it; a third
is the _Blachernæ_, which is a barbarous Word; and the last Place is
the Marshes.
CHAP. VI.
_Of the Bridge near the Church of St._ Mamas; _of his_ Hippodrom; _of
the Brazen Lyon, and the Sepulchre of the Emperor_ Mauritius.
Not only some Historians, but also _Suidas_ the Grammarian, have
handed it down to us, that near the Church of St. _Mamas_, there stood
a Bridge, which had twelve Arches; for there was a great Floud of
Waters at that Place. There was also set up at the same Place a brazen
Dragon; because ’twas reported that a Serpent had some Time liv’d
there, which had deflour’d many Virgins. This Story was occasion’d by
the Name of a Man, who was call’d _Basiliscus_, one of _Numerianus
Cæsar_’s Life-Guard, who liv’d there, and built a Church, which _Zeno_
afterwards pull’d down. _Constantine_, call’d _Iconomachus_, because
he was a profess’d Enemy to Images, order’d one _Andreas_ a Statuary,
a Man of some Note in the _Blachernæ_, to be whipt to Death in the
_Hippodrom_ of St. _Mamas_. _Zonaras_ tells us, that _Mauritius_ the
Emperor was buried in the Church of St. _Mamas_, which was built
by _Pharasmenes_, an Eunuch, and Gentleman of the Bed-chamber to
_Justinian_. _Cedrinus_ writes, that the Church of St. _Mamas_ stood
near the Gate call’d _Xylocercon_. Others report, That _Crunna_, King
of the _Bulgarians_, surrounded _Constantinople_ with an Army from
the _Blachernæ_ to the _Porta Aurea_, and distrusting the Strength of
his Forces to take the Town, he hasten’d to this Church, set Fire to
a Palace that was near it, and that upon his Retreat, he carry’d off
a Brazen Lyon plac’d in the _Hippodrom_, a Bear, a Dragon, and some
curious Pieces of Marble. _Sozomen_ speaking of those Persons who were
banish’d on St. _Chrysostom_’s Account, says, that when they were got
without the Walls they met in a Place situate before the City, which
_Constantine_ order’d to be cleans’d, to be pal’d round, and made it
into a _Hippodrom_. This, I take it, was the Place which was afterwards
call’d the _Hippodrom_ of St. _Mamas_. _Zonaras_ adds upon this
Occasion, that _Leo_ the Emperor, scar’d by a Fire, which then rag’d
in the City, flew to the Church of St. _Mamas_, and continu’d there
for some Time. _Cedrinus_ mentions, that the Emperor diverted himself
with Horse-racing, near the Church of St. _Mamas_ the Martyr, situate
in the _Stenon_. ’Tis plain from the Authorities abovemention’d,
that this Church was seated in the _Blachernæ_, and that there was a
Bridge there, as is farther confirm’d by _Johannes Tzetzes_ in his
_Variâ Historiâ_, where he says, that the Sea extending itself from
the Streights of _Abydus_, to the Bridge of the _Blachernæ_, is call’d
the _Hellespont_. ’Tis also evident, that this Bridge stood, where
the Stone Piles of the old Bridge (when the Water is low, as ’tis in
Summer) are seen at present, and stand between the Suburbs call’d the
_Blachernæ_, and the Suburbs, which the _Turks_ call the _Aibasarium_.
This, I am confident, is the same Bridge which the ancient Treatise
_of the Wards of the City_, calls the Wooden Bridge, and places it in
the fourteenth _Ward_, in which, as I observ’d, was the Suburbs call’d
the _Hepdomum_. I desire the Reader to remark one Thing from _Suidas_,
that St. _Mamas_ Bridge had either twelve Stone Arches, or else, that
he was writing of another Church of St. _Mamas_, situate in another
Place.
CHAP. VII.
_Of the seventh Hill, the twelfth Ward, and of the Pillar of_
Arcadius.
I take it for granted, from the Situation of the Pillar of _Arcadius_,
now standing on the seventh Hill, call’d the _Xerolophon_, (which
is divided from the other six Hills by a broad Valley,) that That
is the twelfth _Ward_, which lies a great Way upon the Level, from
the Entrance of the City at the _Porta Aurea_, and is lengthen’d, on
the Left Side of it, by a gentle Descent, and bounded by the Sea. It
contain’d the _Porta Aurea_, the _Trojan Portico’s_, the _Forum_, and
Haven of _Theodosius_, and a Pillar with winding Steps in the Inside,
built in the _Xerolophon_ by _Arcadius_. The Hill still preserves
the same Name. Upon this Pillar the Emperor plac’d his Statue, which
was thrown down, in the Reign of _Leo Conon_ by an Earthquake, which
shook the whole City, overturn’d many Churches and Houses, and buried
Multitudes of People under it. _Cedrinus_ assures us, that this
Pillar was in all respects like that of _Theodosius_ erected in the
_Taurus_. It has a _Base_, a _Pedestal_, and a _Capital_. The _Shaft_
of the Pillar, with its _Pedestal_ and _Capital_, consists of twenty
one Stones. Above the _Capital_ are two Stones. The _Pedestal_ alone
is built with five Stones, so closely cemented together, that if the
Pillar had never felt the Shocks of an Earth-quake, or the Decays of
Time, it had appear’d to have been one entire Stone. These Stones are
plac’d one above another, and are hollow in the Inside. Each of them
is the whole Compass of the Pillar, out of which are cut the Steps and
Windows which beautify and enlighten it. I took upon me to measure the
Compass of the _Shaft_ from the Stone which covers it at Top, down to
the lowest Step of the _Pedestal_. This Stone therefore, thro’ which
there is cut a Door, by which you ascend above the _Abacus_ of the
_Capital_, is about thirteen Foot nine Inches high, and is itself the
Roof and Arch of the whole Pillar. The Door is six Foot two Digits
high, and three Foot nine Inches broad. The second Stone is six Foot
high, in which is cut the uppermost Step above the _Abacus_ of the
_Capital_. The third is five Foot and four Digits high, and contains
the _Abacus_ and the whole _Capital_. The fifth is five Foot in
height, wanting two Digits. The Sixth is four Foot nine Inches high.
The Seventh five Foot and two Digits. The Eighth four Foot and four
Digits. The Ninth is six Foot high. The Tenth five Foot. The Eleventh
four Foot and fourteen Digits. The Twelfth four Foot nine Inches.
The Thirteenth five Foot. The Fourteenth five Foot two Digits. The
fifteenth five Foot and a half. The Sixteenth the same. The Seventeenth
five Foot and ten Digits. The eighteenth six Foot and a half. The
Nineteenth five Foot and four Digits. The Twentieth six Foot and a
half. The Twenty first, where the _Shaft_ of the Pillar begins, six
Foot and four Digits high. The _Pedestal_ consists of six Stones. The
uppermost of which is four Foot nine Inches high. The Second is the
same height. The Third four Foot. The Fourth four Foot six Inches. The
Fifth the same. The Sixth and last is four Foot high. It has in all
fifty six Windows, and two hundred thirty three Steps of two kinds.
For some rise in square, others in circular Windings, after the Manner
of some Shell-Fish. You ascend the _Pedestal_ by five square Winding
Steps. Every Winding has at the Top of it a small Floor, which leads
you from one Winding to another. The first and second Windings have
six Steps each; the third eight; the fourth and fifth, nine each; the
lowest of them all, which lies level with the Threshold of the Door,
is ten Digits high, twelve Inches broad, and two Foot nine Inches
long. The other square Windings are like this, and the Floor at the
Top of each of them is two Foot nine Inches square. Upon the fifth
Winding stands the _Shaft_ of the Pillar, the first Steps of which are
ten Digits high; near the Wall they are a Foot broad, in the Middle a
Foot and nine Inches, and in Length they are two Foot nine Inches. The
Steps above them, are all of them, nine Digits high. The Inside of
the _Shaft_ of the Pillar measures twenty eight Foot in Circumference.
The Wall which encloses the Steps, in the lowest Part of it, is two
Foot and three Digits, in the highest, ’tis one Foot nine Inches thick.
If I should be thought too curious, in taking the Dimensions of every
Stone, this Character with more Justice belongs to that Man, (and yet
_Thucydides_ highly commends him for it) who by counting the Rows of
Bricks of which they were built, took the height of the Enemies Walls.
I was under some Apprehensions from the Savageness of the Inhabitants,
lest they should catch me dropping my Line, had I measur’d it without,
so that I lay under a Necessity of taking the Dimensions within; and by
joining the height of one Stone to the height of another, I discover’d
its Altitude. There are two Steps consisting of many Stones, which
first shew themselves from the Surface of the Earth. Above them is the
third Step, which is cut out of a Stone three Foot and four Digits
high, and thirty three Foot and a half in Circumference. Upon the Stone
which makes the third Step, stands the _Pedestal_. The first of the
five Stones of which it consists, from the Threshold of the Door, is
five Foot and a half high. Its Ornaments are a plain _Plinth_ three
Foot five Digits high, a small _Tore_ five Digits high, an _Apophyge_
with a _Reglet_ nine Inches, another _Reglet_ above it two Digits,
and a _Cornice_ engrav’d, which is nine Inches high. The _Frieze_, on
three Sides, is curiously engrav’d with Trophies; the Northern Side of
it, where the Door is, is not engrav’d at all. The _Cornice_ of the
Pedestal bends downwards. At the bottom of it is a _Reglet_, above that
an _Astragal_, adorn’d with Berries; then an _Ovolo_, and above that
an _Astragal_ wreath’d like a Rope. Higher yet is a _Folial_ Bandage.
There projects beyond the _Pedestal_ a kind of _Abacus_; on each side
of which there are two _Fasces_ of Laurel-work, the largest of which
is incurvated even to the bottom of the _Abacus_. On the Sides of this
_Abacus_ there is a Sculpture of seven naked Boys, holding each of them
in his Hand a Laureated _Fascis_. At every Angle of this _Abacus_ there
stands an Eagle, and above it is the _Plinth_ of the Pillar, adorn’d
with a _Foliage_, which projects very little. Above the _Plinth_ is
a _Tore_, adorn’d with Laurel-work, which is filletted with a spiral
Bandage. Above the _Tore_ there rises an _Apophyge_, upon which Stands
the Shaft of the Pillar, which is carv’d with the Scenes of War, and
of Battles. The Sculpture is much like that which adorns the Pillar of
_Trajan_ in Old _Rome_. The _Trachelium_, or Top of the _Shaft_, is
fluted perpendicularly. The lower part of its _Capital_ is adorn’d with
_Apophyges_, an _Ovolo_, and an _Abacus_, which projects beyond the
_Shaft_ two Foot and fourteen Digits. The _Abacus_, on all sides of it,
is seventeen Foot, and nine Inches round. Above the _Abacus_ there is a
Door, above which the Pillar rises in the Form of a _Cone_, where there
is another Door above ten Foot high. We may look upon this Pillar to be
of the _Tuscan_ Order, because both the _Base_, and the _Capital_ of
it, are finished after the _Tuscan_ manner.
CHAP. VIII.
_Of the Statues, and the antient_ Tripos _of_ Apollo, _standing in
the_ Xerolophon.
_Suidas_ writes, that the _Xerolophon_ was formerly call’d _Thema_,
because it was a kind of Repository, and contained in it fifteen
winding Apartments, the Statue of _Diana_, and _Severus_, who built
it; besides a _Thermation_, a _Tripos_ from whence many Oracles were
deliver’d. In this Place, the Founder of it us’d to offer Sacrifices;
and among others he sacrificed a Virgin. _Priscian_, whom I find
mention’d by _Benedictus Ægius_, indefatigably curious in his Search
of Antiquity, observes, That the _Azoles_ sometimes inserted in a Word
the Letter Ϝ, as I have taken Notice of in some Inscriptions of a very
antient _Tripos_ of _Apollo_, still remaining in the _Xerolophon_; the
Words of which are written after this Manner; Δημοφάϝων, Λαϝονάϝων.
He tells us, that ’tis customary in another Place, meaning among the
_Æolians_, to place an Ϝ between two Vowels of the same Word; as in
ὄϝις, _ovis_, Δάϝος, _Davus_, ὦϝον, _ovum_. I have seen, says he,
the same in some old Inscriptions, in very antient Characters, on
some _Tripos’s_, especially on the _Tripos_ of _Apollo_, which is at
_Constantinople_; as Δημοφόϝων for Δημοφόων, Λαϝοκόϝων for Λαοκόων.
Others add, that there were the like Insertions in the _Xerolophon_, a
little above the _Basis_ of the Pillars of _Marcian_, _Valentinian_,
and _Theodosius_ the _Less_. _Zonaras_ tells us, that _Simeon_, a
Prince of the _Bulgarians_, a Man of a cruel and turbulent Spirit,
march’d an Army against the _Chrobatians_; when he was conquer’d, and
lost his Army, partly by the Badness of the Roads, some Body inform’d
the Emperor that the Statue plac’d above the Arch in the _Xerolophon_,
looking Westward, was carv’d for the Statue of _Simeon_ of _Bulgaria_,
and that if any one cut off the Head of the Statue, _Simeon_ should
immediately die. The Emperor commands the Head of the Statue to be
chopt off, and soon received the News that _Simeon_ was dead of a
violent Pain of the Stomach. For he watch’d to a Minute the Time
of his Death. As to the Port of _Theodosius_, that was in the same
Place where the Gardens, which are now call’d the _Blancha_, stand at
present. These Gardens are enclos’d with a Wall, and are seated in a
Plain, adjoyning to the Shore of the _Propontis_, at the Foot of the
sixth Hill. The Mouth of the Port stood Eastward, from whence the Pier
extended it self Westward, in a direct Line, where at present stand
the Walls of the City. The Pier was twelve Foot in Thickness; and, as
I found by walking it, ’twas six Hundred of my Paces in length. ’Tis
now entirely ruin’d. The Gardens, which are very spacious, abound with
Sallets and Potherbs, but have very few Fruit-Trees. These Gardens
are water’d with Pools, which they have within them, and which are
the Remains of the old Port. I discover’d by the Pier, and Situation
of the Place, that ’twas above a Mile in compass. In the Mouth of the
Port, not altogether unfit for Ships at present, without the City
Wall, you still see a Fortress in its Ruins, surrounded by the Sea.
The unknown Writer of _the Empire_ of _Constantinople_ asserts, That
it was first called _Thema_, afterwards the _Forum_ of _Theodosius_;
tho’ it seems to me rather to be the _Forum_ of _Arcadius_, by Reason
the Pillar of _Arcadius_ joyns to it. For the _Forum_ of _Theodosius_,
in all Probability, stood near the Port of _Theodosius_. This is no
more than what is conformable to the Rules of Architecture, which
prescribe, that a Market should be built near a Port. I am of Opinion,
that it was formerly call’d the Port of _Eleutherius_, if we may credit
those Writers who affirm, That _Constantine_ the _Great_ built a Wall
from the Ridge of the first Hill to the Port of _Sophia_, and the
Port of _Eleutherius_, built by _Constantine_ the _Great_, to prevent
the Inundations of the Sea. ’Tis called the Port of _Eleutherius_,
because, when ’twas built, he was Surveyor of the Works. It was for
this Reason, that there was a Marble Statue erected to him in that
Port, bearing on his Shoulders a Basket of Marble, and holding in
his Hand a Marble Spade. They add further, that _Irena_, and her Son
_Constantine_, built him a noble Seat; and that from that Seat, as
far as the _Amastrianum_, reach’d the _Hippodrom_, which was built by
_Theodosius_ the _Great_, and was demolish’d by _Irena_. _Zonaras_
writes, that _Irena_, after she was remov’d from the Government by
_Constantine_ her Son, liv’d in a House which she built in the Port
of _Eleutherius_. The _Portico’s_, which the _ancient Description
of the Wards of the City_ names with the Epithet _Troadeæ_, others
mention with that of _Troadesiæ_, and tell us, that _Constantine_
the _Great_ built the Walls of the City as far as the _Portico’s_
call’d _Porticus Troadesiæ_ (that is, the _Trojan Portico’s_) and the
_Porta Aurea_, which stood in the twelfth _Ward_. I am of Opinion,
that they were call’d the _Trojan Portico’s_, because they contain’d
some Things of the like Kind with that which was called the _Porticus
Varia_. ’Tis reported, says he, that in the _Portico_, formerly call’d
_Plesiactia_, and now _Pæcilla_, or _Porticus Varia_, a celebrated
Painter drew the Face of _Laodice_, on the Picture of _Elpinica_. I
had not known it by the Name it goes at present, had it not been for
a Spring near it which they call Χρυσοπηγὴ, as deriving its Name from
the _Porta Aurea_. This Spring, to this Day, constantly flows, and is
drank with great Devotion by the _Greeks_, who hold all Springs, near
their Churches, to be sacred. There’s nothing of the Church remaining
at present, tho’ _Procopius_ takes Notice of it. _Justinian_, says
he, _built two Churches to the_ Virgin Mary, _before the Walls of the
City one in the_ Blachernæ, _the other in a Place call’d_ Πηγὴ, _where
there is a large Wood of Cypresses, a verdant Meadow, and a delightful
Garden, which produces a great Store of fine Fruit, and where there
is also a gentle Spring, which affords very good drinking Water. One
of the Churches stood near the Sea-shore, the other near the_ Porta
Aurea. _Both of them_, he adds, _were near the end of the City Walls,
and were upon Occasion impregnable Fortresses to it_. From hence I
would remark, that in the Time of _Justinian_, the Angle of the City,
which they call the Angle of the seven Towers, was not within the City;
but that the Land-wall from the _Porta Aurea_, straitned the Angle of
the City into a more narrow Compass, as appears from the Situation of
the Monastery of _Studius_, which stood upon a piece of Ground, which
was formerly look’d upon to be in the Suburbs, but now stands further
within the Walls, than the Angle of the seven Towers. He proceeds,
and tells us, that _Justinian_, at a vast Expence, upon the Entrance
of the _Porta Aurea_ on the right Hand, rebuilt the Temple of _Ja_,
(which Time had wholly defac’d) for the Service of the True GOD. The
Observation I would make from hence is, that the _Porta Aurea_ stood
near the seventh Hill, call’d the _Xerolophon_, which is also confirm’d
by _Zonaras_, who writes, That in the Time of _Leo_, many Churches
and Houses, the Statue of _Arcadius_, plac’d upon a Pillar in the
_Xerolophon_, and the Statue of _Theodosius_ the _Great_, placed upon
the _Porta Aurea_, as also the City Walls, reaching to the Continent on
the Field side, were overthrown by an Earthquake. _Cedrinus_ asserts,
that the Statue of _Victory_, near the _Porta Aurea_, was overturn’d
by the same Earthquake. Other Historians mention, that by the same
Earthquake, which happen’d the Vᵗʰ of the _Calends_ of _November_,
many sacred Buildings, and many others of common Use, with Multitudes
of People, were destroy’d; and that the Statue of _Constantine_ the
_Great_, which stood upon the Gate of _Attalus_, with the Gate it self,
was demolish’d by it. It is therefore a great Mistake in those, who
take the _Porta Aurea_ to be the same Gate which is now call’d _Oria_,
and is seated in the Northern Part of the City, which, as I observ’d
before, was called the Port of _Neorius_, since ’tis plain from what
I have mentioned, that the _Porta Aurea_ was in the Western Part of
the City. This is also evident from the _antient Description_ of the
_Wards_ of _Constantinople_, which tells us, that the Length of the
City, from the _Porta Aurea_ to the Sea-shore, in a direct Line, is
fourteen Thousand and seventy five Feet. _Cedrinus_ takes Notice, that
the Elephants stabled in the _Porta Aurea_, were much of that Kind,
with which _Theodosius_ made his publick Entry into the City. ’Tis
said that _Theodosius_ the _Less_ who built the Walls of the City
as far as the _Blachernæ_, brought the Statues of those Elephants,
which are plac’d upon the _Porta Aurea_, from the Temple of _Mars_ at
_Athens_. _Cedrinus_ asserts, that _Philip_ King of _Macedon_ built
the great Church of _Mocius_ the Martyr, and a Church to St. _Anne_ in
a Place call’d _Secundus_. _Procopius_ says, that both these Churches
were built by _Justinian_. I have seen some Remains of the Church of
_Mocius_, near a large _Cistern_, built by _Justinian_, on the Top of
the seventh Hill. All its Pillars are standing, and it goes still under
the Name of _Mocius_. Some Historians, and _Suidas_ the _Grammarian_
say, that this _Cistern_ was built by _Anastasius Dicorus_. It may be
worth Enquiry, whether the _Moneta_, which the _antient Description
of the Wards_ places in this Ward, was the Temple of _Juno Moneta_,
or the Treasury. For the _Grand Seignor_, to this Day, makes use of
the Castle with seven Towers for a Treasury. _Suidas_ writes, that the
Statue of _Juno_ was supported by a Brazen Arch, made somewhat in Form
of a Pair of Barbers Scissars, but takes no Notice where it stood; so
that I desire the Reader would lay no great Stress upon what I have
said of the _Moneta_.
CHAP. IX.
_Of the Columns now remaining on the Seventh Hill._
The Church standing here is called _Studios_, because it was built by
one _Studius_ an eminent Citizen of _Constantinople_. It was he, says
_Suidas_, who built this Church with a handsome Monastery. _Justinian_,
in his _Constitutions_, takes Notice of him, when he says, That there
were two Biers plac’d in the sacred Treasury; one to the Memory of
the Famous _Studius_, and the other to the Memory of the Magnificent
_Stephanus_. The Monastery built by _Studius_ was call’d _Studium_,
which is entirely demolish’d. The Church remains, tho’ converted
into a Mosque. In its Porch are four Pillars with a _Trabeation_
curiously finish’d. In the Inside of the Mosque, there are on each
side seven green Pillars, streak’d with black Veins, and look as if
they were inlay’d with Pieces of Stone of another kind. Each of them
measures in Circumference six Foot and six Digits. Their _Capitals_,
and _Architraves_, are finish’d after the _Corinthian_ Manner, as
are those which stand in the _Vestibule_. In the upper Part of it
stands another Order of six Pillars. In the Courts of the Mosque is a
_Cistern_; the Roof of it, which is Brick-work, is supported by twenty
three lofty _Corinthian_ Pillars. The Monastery of _Studius_ is now
within the Walls of the City, tho’ it formerly stood without it, near
the way you go from the Pillar of _Arcadius_ to the Gate of the seven
Towers. The Passage of this Gate is at present fill’d up; the Jambs
of it are two _Corinthian_ Pillars of spotted Marble, streak’d with
green Veins, which sustain eight smaller Pillars, which support three
Arches above. On the left Side of the Gate are six Marble Tables, all
of which are enclos’d, some with round, some with square Pilasters,
upon which are carv’d many fine Statues. They are all of them Naked,
of exquisite Workmanship, in a fighting Posture, with Clubs in their
Hands, the tallest of which have engrav’d over them winged _Cupids_.
On the right Side of the Gate are six more Tables, enclos’d as the
former. Upon the lowest of these there lies a young Man, with his
Face upwards, and his Legs folded, holding a musical Instrument in
his Hand. There hangs over him a little Figure, in the Likeness of a
_Cupid_, and above the _Cupid_ there rises a Woman. Upon the highest
Table there’s carved a naked Statue, with a Club in his Hand; his
right Arm is cover’d with a Lyon’s Skin, and with his left Hand he is
leading Dogs. Above him is the Statue of a Lyoness with full Dugs.
Upon another Table are carv’d two Husbandmen carrying Baskets full of
Grapes; and upon another is the Statue of a flying Horse. The Bridle is
held by a Woman, behind whom stand two Women more: At the Top of the
Table there’s another Woman in a recumbent Posture, and opposite to
her a young Man lying on the Ground. I took particular Notice of these
Figures, by Reason of the Antiquity, and the admirable Sculpture of
them. I saw also upon the seventh Hill, among others, four Mosques of
curious Workmanship. Their _Vestibules_ and Pillars were all of Marble.
Three of them stood on the Eastern Side of the Hill, two of whose
_Vestibules_ were adorn’d with six lofty and large Pillars; two of
which were of _Thebean_ Marble, and the other four of different kinds
of Marble, vein’d with a dark green. The other stands near the Pillar
of _Arcadius_, lately built by the Consort of _Solyman_ the _Grand
Seignor_, (with a handsome _Caravansera_, and a College, where the
_Turkish_ and _Arabian_ Learning is profess’d) in which I counted more
than sixty Pillars of different kinds. On the Top of the Hill there are
two other Mosques, one of which has _Bagnio’s_, and Colleges joyning to
it. The _Vestibule_ of it is beautify’d with six Pillars of _Thebean_
Marble, which measure each six Foot in Circumference. Their _Bases_ and
_Capitals_ are finish’d after the _Turkish_ Manner. The _Shafts_ of
the Pillars are very ancient, especially of those two which face the
Door of the Mosque, whose _Hypotrachelions_ at Top are more slender
than the _Shafts_, tho’ in the lower Parts of them, they are equal to
them, as a Man’s Neck is less in Circumference near the Head, than the
Shoulders. ’Tis adorn’d with one _Annulet_, which rises in the manner
of a Ring. Above it there’s another _Annulet_, which is broad and flat.
I saw no _Hypotrachelion_, all the Time I was at _Constantinople_,
which came so near the Model of _Vitruvius_, as this; who delivers it
as his Judgment, that the _Hypotrachelion_ ought to be contracted in
the upper Part of it, as you may see in his third Book _de Ionicis_.
There’s another Mosque on the same Hill, the _Vestibule_ of which is
beautify’d with six very lofty Pillars; in the College Court there are
fourteen, and as many in a _Portico_ adjoyning to it.
CHAP. X.
_Of the Thirteenth_ Ward _of the City, call’d the_ Sycene Ward, _of
the Town of_ Galata, _sometimes nam’d_ Pera.
The _Antient Description of the Wards of the City_ takes Notice, that
_Galata_ was formerly a Part of the City. The Thirteenth _Ward_ of _New
Rome_, says the Author, is the _Sycene Ward_, which is divided from it
by a narrow Bay, and preserves an Intercourse with it, by Boats and
Shipping. It is seated on the Side of a Hill, except a broad Tract
of Land at the Foot of it, which lies upon the Level. _Stephanus_
says, that the Town of _Sycæ_ was situated against _New Rome_, and
that it was call’d in his Time _Sycæ Justinianæ_, but does not give
the Reason why it was call’d so. Probably it was, because _Justinian_
either repair’d or rebuilt it; for which Reasons principally Cities
frequently change their Names. I wonder that _Procopius_ never took
Notice of this Place, since he has given us an exact Description of all
the Edifices of the Bay, call’d the _Chrysoceras_, which were either
built or repair’d by him; unless perhaps the Mistake be in _Procopius_,
by inserting the Word _Jucundianæ_ instead of _Justinianæ_, when he
tells us, that _Justinian_ rebuilt the Palaces of the Suburbs in the
_Chalcopratia_, as also in the Place call’d _Sycæ Jucundianæ_. If
the Fault be not in _Procopius_, ’tis an Errour of _Stephanus_, who
writes _Justinianæ_ for _Jucundianæ_. But ’tis plain, that _Stephanus_
wrote long before the Time of _Justinian_; so that if there be any
Blunder, ’tis none of _Stephanus_, but _Hermolaus_, a Grammarian of
_Constantinople_, who abridg’d the Commentaries of _Stephanus_, and
dedicated them to _Justinian_. If I might give my Opinion, I should
rather call it _Sycæ Justinianæ_, than _Jucundianæ_, because it
appears to me it should be so, not only by comparing some Books of
_Procopius_ and _Justinian_ which have been publish’d, but also by the
Authorities of several MSS. _Justinian_ asserts in his _Constitutions_,
_That ’tis agreeable to Equity, if a Corpse be carried to the Grave
to a great Distance, that the Deacons attending it, should have some
Acknowledgment_. He subjoyns a little after, _That he is of the same
Opinion, if the Corpse be bury’d within the new Walls of the City
or this Side of the_ Sycæ Justinianæ. This is but a small Procession,
and it requires not much Time or Pains to walk thither; _but_, says
he, _if the Body be carried beyond the Walls of this flourishing City,
or beyond any other Stairs, than those which lead to_ Sycæ——There’s
no Occasion to add what follows. I would only have the Reader observe,
that the Word πέρασμα which the _Latins_ interpret _Terminus_, or a
Boundary, signifies properly _Trajectus_, a Ferry, or the _Stairs_ from
whence you sail from one Place to another. ’Tis evident, from what
I have quoted, that the Town call’d _Sycæ_ is on the other side of
the Bay facing _Constantinople_, altho’ _Stephanus_ has not declar’d
against what Part of the City it lies. I observe notwithstanding from
the _Treatise_ above mention’d, that the sixth _Ward_ reach’d from
the _Forum_ of _Constantine_ to the Ferry against _Sycæ_, which is
now call’d the Ferry of _Pera_, or _Galata_. As I would pay a just
Regard to the Authorities of some more modern Historians, I hall
produce several Testimonies from them. They assert, that _Absimarus_,
the Commander in Chief of the Forces which besieg’d _Constantinople_,
harbour’d in the Port of _Sycæ_ against the City. _Evagrius_ writes,
that the Heads of _Longinus_, and _Theodorus_, stuck upon Poles,
were sent to _Constantinople_ by _Johannes_ a _Scythian_, and by the
Emperor’s Command were fix’d upon the Shore of _Sycæ_, opposite to
_Constantinople_; a pleasant Spectacle to the Inhabitants of the City!
He adds further, That _Vitalianus_ made an Incursion as far as _Sycæ_,
and that when he came to an Anchor there, the Emperor _Anastasius_
sent _Marinus_ an _Assyrian_ Admiral to fight him. Both Fleets prepare
for the Engagement; the one facing _Constantinople_, the other _Sycæ_.
For some Time they kept their Stations; after some small Skirmishes,
and Attacks on both Sides, the Fight began near the Places call’d the
_Vitharia_. _Vitalianus_ having lost most of his Men, was forced to
bear off, so that there was not the least Appearance of an Enemy in all
the _Bosporus_. Nor am I induc’d to change my Opinion by the Authority
of _Strabo_, who seems to place _Sycæ_ at some Distance from the Bay.
_The_ Bosporus, says he, _straitning it self from the Promontory into
the Measure of five_ Stadia, _or Furlongs, widens at the Harbour plac’d
below_ Sycæ _into thirty Furlongs, and from_ Sycæ _to the_ Chrysoceras
_it contracts it self again into five Furlongs_. Nor would this Opinion
any ways contradict what I have said before, if my Author had meant by
the _Ceras_ of the _Byzantians_, what _Pliny_ ’tis plain did, _viz._
the _Bosporian Promontory_ where _Byzantium_ stood. But _Strabo_
immediately subjoins, that the _Ceras_ was a Bay which was sixty
Furlongs in length; and therefore it appears to me, that the Mistake
lies either in _Cod. Strabon._ or in the Historian himself, as is fully
evident from the Authority of _Dionysius_, a very ancient Writer of the
History of _Constantinople_, which was his Native Place. This Author
has recorded it, that _Sycodes_, or _Sycæ_, is the same Place near the
Bay call’d _Ceras_, where _Galata_ stands at present, as I have more
evidently shewn in my _Treatise of the Bosporus_. The People of _Pera_
therefore are grosly in the wrong, when they tell us, that _Pera_ was
first built by the _Genoese_; when it is plain that _Pera_ was built
long before they were suppos’d either to have purchas’d the Town,
or to have receiv’d it as a Reward of their Sea-Services, from some
Emperor of _Constantinople_; since _Justinian_ places _Sycæ_ within
the Walls of the City, and _Agathius_ assures us, it was enclosed with
Walls, when he writes, that the People of _Constantinople_ were in
such a Consternation upon the Approach of the Enemy, that the Forces
of _Justinian_ were obliged to climb the Walls of _Sycæ_, to make a
more vigorous Defence. _Sycæ_, by _Stephanus_, is call’d a City, as it
is also by some modern Writers; but more antient Authors, who liv’d
before _Galata_ was taken by the _Genoese_, call it the Cittadel of
_Galata_. They tell us farther, that a Fleet of the _Saracens_ was
station’d from the _Magnaura_ to the _Cyclobion_; and that after it had
continu’d two Days in that Station, Part of it was driven by a Storm to
the Cittadel of _Galata_, as far as the _Clydion_, where the Emperor
of _Constantinople_ destroy’d it, from _Acropolis_, with liquid Fire.
_Zonaras_ writes, that when _Michael_ the Emperor was besieged both by
Sea and Land, he was so terribly distrest, that he was forc’d to lay a
Boom across the Sea from _Acropolis_, to a small Town on the opposite
Shore. There is at this Day a Gate at _Galata_, which is call’d the
_Boom-Gate_. ’Tis however beyond Dispute, that _Galata_ was more than
once enlarg’d by the _Genoese_: This appears from the Walls, which at
several Times they have built about it, being fortified on the East by
Double, and on the West by Treble Walls, denoting the gradual Increase
of the Town. You may see at present the antient _Sycæ_, enclos’d in the
middle of _Galata_, situate against the sixth _Ward_, and the _Sycene_
Ferry, all built on the Side of a Hill, just as ’tis represented in
the _Antient Description_ of the _Wards_, except one broad Piece of
Ground, which lies upon a Level on the Shore at the Foot of the Hill.
This Tract of Land was at least a hundred _Roman_ Paces broad. For at
present, between the Hill and the Bay, there is a Plain to be seen of
an equal, if not of a larger Breadth; because, in such a Length of
Time, it is widen’d, as may be observ’d daily, by the Abundance of
Filth and Nastiness, which is cast about it. To make it subside at the
Bottom, the Inhabitants have fix’d wooden Troughs upon Piles, which
they drive into the Earth by an Engine, much like a Rammer. By this
Means the Plain upon the Shore is enlarg’d, and made more commodious
for Havens. But that the Reader may understand more perfectly where
the _Sycene Ward_ stood formerly, I will describe the Situation of
_Galata_, as it stands at present.
CHAP. XI.
_A Description of_ Galata; _of the Temples of_ Amphiaraus, Diana,
_and_ Venus; _of the Theatre of_ Sycæ, _and the_ Forum _of_ Honorius.
The _Sycene Ward_, which is commonly called _Galata_, or _Pera_,
ought more properly to be called the _Peræan Ward_. Thus it is that
_Josephus_ calls _Judæa_, because it lay on the _other Side_ of the
River _Jordan_: And thus it is, that _Strabo_ calls that Part of the
Countrey which lies on the _other Side_ of _Euphrates_. The Reason
alledg’d by the Inhabitants, why ’tis call’d _Galata_, is, as they
tell you, (being impos’d upon by the Allusion of the Name) that _Milk_
was formerly sold there: And I make no Question of it, did they but
know, that _Galata_ was formerly call’d _Sycæ_, they would derive its
Name from the Word _Fig_; and pretend to justify their Mistake from
the Authority of _Dionysius_ their Countryman, who says, that it was
originally call’d _Sycæ_, from the Fairness and Abundance of that
Fruit which grew there. But their Conjectures had been grounded upon a
better Foundation, if they had deriv’d the Name of _Galata_ from the
_Galatæ_, back’d by the Authority of _Johannes Tzetzes_ (a Citizen of
_Constantinople_, and a very industrious Grammarian) in his _Var.
Hist._ written above four hundred Years ago. This Author tells us,
that _Brenus_ a _Gaul_, and Commander in Chief of the _Gauls_, whom
the _Greeks_ call Γαλάται, _pass’d over the Sea_ from thence to a
Place of _Byzantium_, and that this Place for this Reason was call’d
_Pera_, which was after their Arrival call’d _Galata_. This Place is
seated partly on a Hill, and partly on a Plain at the Foot of it. This
Hill is enclosed on the East and West by two Valleys, each of which
is about a Mile in length. The Ridge of the Hill shoots from North to
South, and is in no Part of it less than two hundred Paces broad, and
of equal Length with the Valleys that enclose it, and joins to the
Plain upon the Continent. The South Side of this Hill, and the Plain
below it, is bounded by the Bay of _Ceras_, which makes it almost a
_Peninsula_ of a semicircular Figure, in the Form of a drawn Bow,
with this Difference only, that the Western Point of it is larger by
half; and not quite so long as the Eastern. _Galata_, as ’tis enclos’d
with a Wall, is four Thousand and four Hundred Paces in Compass. It
varies, in many Places, as to its Breadth. In the middle of the Town
’tis six hundred Paces broad. The Bay and the Walls stand at twenty
Paces Distance. The Plain that runs between the Bay and the Hill, is a
hundred and eighty, and the Hill it self four hundred Paces broad. The
Eastern Side of _Galata_, at the first Entrance of it, is four hundred
Paces in breadth; after which it contracts it self into the Breadth
of two hundred and sixty Paces only. The Western Side of it, which
stands without Old _Galata_, rises upon a moderate Ascent, which winds
Southward, and adjoyns to a small Descent, which terminates Westward
near the Walls of Old _Galata_. The Town therefore of _Galata_ stands
upon a Treble Descent; one of which winds from North to South, another
falls Easterly, and another at West. The Declivity which crosses the
Breadth of it, stretches from North to South; and is so steep, that in
many Places you are forced to climb it by Steps; so that you ascend
the first Floor of the Houses, which stands upon a Level, by Ladders.
The Eastern and Western Side of _Galata_ have a double Declivity; one
from North to South, the other to East and West; so that not only those
Parts of it which lie in a strait Line, but those Ways also which are
winding, or lie Cross-ways, have their Descents; but the Eastern Side
of the Town is more upon the Declivity than the Western Side of it. To
be short, _Galata_ is of such a Steepness, that if all the Houses were
of an equal Height, the upper Rooms would have a full View of the Sea,
and of all the Ships sailing up and down in it. And not only _Galata_,
but almost the whole City of _Constantinople_ would have the same
Privilege, if that Law, which was first made by _Zeno_, and afterwards
ratify’d by _Justinian_, was in full Force. This Law expressly forbids
any Man to hinder or obstruct an open and entire View of the Sea, or
indeed a Side Prospect of it, and enjoyns the Inhabitants to build at
least at a hundred Paces Distance from it. The Level Part of the Town,
which runs between the Bottom of the Hill and Bay, is, in no Place of
it, less than two hundred Paces broad. Towards the Ends of it ’tis
much broader; and, in some Places, it widens to the Length of five
hundred Paces. The Town is thrice as long as it is broad. It extends
it self in Breadth from North to South, in Length from East to West.
The Western Side of it is broader than the Eastern, and almost of an
equal Breadth with the middle of the City. For in a Length of five
hundred Paces, ’tis no less than five hundred Paces broad. The Eastern
Side of _Galata_ is more narrow, where it is no more than two hundred
and sixty Paces broad. The Shore round the Town is full of Havens.
Between the Walls and the Bay is a Piece of Ground, where are Abundance
of _Taverns_, _Shops_, _Victualing-houses_, besides several _Wharfs_,
where they unlade their Shipping. It has six Gates, at three of which
there are _Stairs_, from whence you sail over to _Constantinople_.
_Galata_ is so situate to the North of _Constantinople_, that it faces
the first, second, and third Hills, and the first and second Valley of
that City; having in Front the Bay of _Ceras_, and _Constantinople_,
and behind it some Buildings of the Suburbs. For many of these
Buildings stand partly on the Top of the Hill, and partly on the Sides
of it. The Town, it self does not rise to the Ridge of the Hill. Where
_Galata_ rises highest, there is yet standing a very lofty Tower, where
there is an Ascent of about three hundred Paces, full of Buildings,
and beyond that is the Ridge of the Hill upon a Level, about two
hundred Paces broad, and two thousand Paces long. Thro’ the middle of
it runs a broad Way full of Houses, Gardens, and Vineyards. This is
the most pleasant Part of the Town; from hence, and from the Sides of
the Hill, you have a full View of the Bay of _Ceras_, the _Bosporus_,
the _Propontis_, the seven Hills of _Constantinople_, the Countrey of
_Bithynia_, and the Mountain _Olympus_, always cover’d with Snow. And
besides these, there are many other additional Buildings, which adorn
the Hills, and Vales adjoining to this Town. It has the same Number of
Hills and Vales as _Constantinople_ it self; so that the Inhabitants,
whenever they please, can make the Town one third larger than it is
at present; and if the Grandeur of the _Byzantian Empire_ continues a
hundred Years longer, _Galata_, it is not improbable, may seem to rival
_Constantinople_ it self. They who write that _Byzas_, the Founder of
_Byzantium_, built the Temple of _Amphiaraus_ in _Sycæ_, are somewhat
in the wrong, tho’ not grosly mistaken. For _Dionysius_ a _Byzantian_
tells us, that behind _Sycæ_ stood the Temple of _Amphiaraus_, which
was built by those who transplanted a Colony to _Constantinople_, under
the Command of _Byzas_. Both the _Grecians_, and the _Megarians_,
honour’d _Amphiaraus_ as a God. But altho’ the Temple of _Amphiaraus_
did not stand in the Place which _Dionysius_ calls _Sycæ_; yet the
Word _Sycæ_ signified a larger Tract of Ground, after it was made a
City; so that the Temples of _Amphiaraus_, of _Diana Lucifera_, and of
_Venus Placida_, all stood within the Limits of it, as I have fully
made it appear in my _Treatise_ of the _Bosporus_. But there are no
Remains of these Buildings at present, nor of those Edifices, which,
the _Antient Description of the City_ tells you, were in the _Sycene
Ward_. The oldest Man now living cannot so much as tell where those
Temples antiently stood, nor ever read or heard, whether there was
ever such a Place as the _Sycene Ward_. Thus far only we can guess
from the Rules and Usuage of _Architecture_, that the _Theatre_, and
_Forum_ of _Honorius_, stood at the Bottom of the Hill upon a Plain,
where _Theatres_ are generally built, as I frequently observ’d in
my Travels thro’ _Greece_. There was standing a _Forum_, in a Level
Ground, (near to the Haven, where is now built a _Caravansera_, in
the Ruines of a Church dedicated to St. _Michael_) when first I came
to _Constantinople_. This _Forum_ was well supply’d with Water by an
ancient subterraneous _Aqueduct_. In short, there is nothing to be seen
at present of old _Sycæ_. Those antient Pillars we see in some Mosques
at _Galata_, are said to have been imported by the _Genoese_: Some of
them are of very antient Workmanship, and well finish’d. The _Cistern_
of St. _Benedict_, now despoil’d of its Roof, and three hundred
Pillars, which supported it, (now turn’d into a _Cistern_ for watering
the Priest’s Gardens) shews it to be a very antique and expensive Work.
From what has been wrote upon this Subject, the Reader may learn how
renown’d _Constantinople_ has been for its Monuments of Antiquity. It
would take up another Volume, to enlarge upon the Publick Buildings
of the _Mahometans_ at present, and to explain for what Uses they
were intended. I shall just touch upon a few Things, which are the
most remarkable. The City, as it now stands, contains more than
three hundred Mosques, the most magnificent of which were built by
their Emperors and _Basha’s_, and are all cover’d at Top with Lead
and Marble, adorn’d with Marble Columns, the Plunder and Sacrilege of
Christian Churches, as these were before beautify’d with the Spoils
of the Heathen Temples. It has above a hundred publick and private
_Bagnio’s_, fifty of which are very spatious, and of two Lengths, much
like those I have describ’d, built by their Emperour _Mahomet_. Their
_Caravansera’s_, and publick Inns, are much above a Hundred; the most
famous of which, in the Middle of their Court-yard, are furnish’d
with Fountains of Water, brought from the Fields adjoyning to the
City. Their Emperors have peculiarly distinguish’d themselves in this
Respect. Thus does _Eusebius_ enlarge in the Praise of _Constantine_:
In the middle of their _Fora_, says he, you may see their Fountains
adorn’d with the Emblems of a good _Pastor_, well known to those who
understand the Sacred Writings; namely, the History of _Daniel_ and the
_Lyons_ figur’d in Brass, and shining with Plates of Gold. _Valens_,
and _Andronicus_, at a vast Expence made Rivers, at a remote Distance,
tributary to the Town; partly by directing their Courses under Arches,
at this Time appearing above Ground, and partly by Channels dug
under it. Several other Emperors, with no less Cost, made themselves
Fish-ponds, and subterraneous Lakes, by after Ages call’d _Cisterns_,
in every Ward of the City, and that principally to supply them with
Water in Case of a Siege. But the Enemies of _Constantinople_ lie at
present at such a Distance from them, that they have either entirely
ruin’d their _Cisterns_, or converted them to another Use. I shall take
no Notice of the stately Houses of their Noblemen and _Basha’s_, nor
of the Grand _Signor_’s Palace, which spreading it self all over old
_Byzantium_, is constantly supply’d with Rivers, which flow in upon
it, from distant Parts of the Neighbouring Countrey. I pass by their
Lakes and Conduits, seated in every Part of the City, which serve them
not only with Water to drink, but likewise carry off the Filth of it
into the Sea, and wash away those Impurities of the Town, which clog
and encumber the Air, and for which great Cities are generally look’d
upon as unwholsome. I shall not mention at present, that almost all
the Buildings of _Constantinople_ are low, and made out of the Ruines,
which the Fire and Earthquakes had spar’d; that many of them are not
two Story high, rebuilt with rough Stones, or with burnt, and sometimes
unburnt Bricks. I omit also the Houses of _Galata_, built by the
_Genoese_. The _Greeks_ who profess Christianity, have lost their six
hundred Churches, and have not one left, of any Note, except the Church
belonging to the Monastery, where their _Patriarch_ dwells. The rest
are either entirely ruin’d, or prostituted to the _Mahometan_ Worship.
The _Francks_ have about Ten, the _Armenians_ only Seven. The _Jews_
have upwards of Thirty Synagogues, which are scarce sufficient to hold
the numerous Congregations of that populous Nation. The Reader will
view in a better Light the antient _Monuments_ of _Constantinople_,
when he shall peruse the _Antient Description of the Wards of the
City_, finished before the Time of _Justinian_, and annex’d at the End
of this Book. When this _Treatise_ was first wrote, _Constantinople_
was so fully peopled, that those who inhabited the _Fora_, and the
broad Ways were very straitly pent up; nay, their Buildings were so
closely joyn’d to one another, that the Sky, at the Tops of them,
was scarce discernible. And as to the Buildings in the Suburbs, they
were very thickly crowded together, as far as _Selymbria_, and the
_Black Sea_; and indeed some Part even of the neighbouring Sea, was
cover’d with Houses supported by Props under them. For these, and
many other _Monuments_, was _Constantinople_ antiently renown’d; none
of which are remaining at present, except the _Porphyry_ Pillar of
_Constantine_, the Pillar of _Arcadius_, the Church of St. _Sophia_,
the _Hippodrom_ now in Ruines, and a few _Cisterns_. No Historian has
recorded the _Antiquities_ of Old _Byzantium_, before it was destroy’d
by _Severus_; altho’ it is reasonable to believe, there were very
many of them, especially if it be consider’d, that it long flourish’d
in those Times of _Heroism_, when Art and Ingenuity were in high
Estimation, and when _Rhodes_, no ways preferable to _Byzantium_, was
beautify’d with no less than three thousand _Monuments_. ’Tis easy
to form a Judgment, from the Strength and Proportion of its outside
Walls, what beauteous Scenes of Cost, and Workmanship were contain’d
within. This we know however for a Certainty, that _Darius_, _Philip_
of _Macedon_, and _Severus_, demolish’d many of their _Antiquities_,
and when they had ravag’d the whole City, that the _Byzantians_ made
a noble Stand against the Forces of _Severus_, with Statues, and
other Materials, which were Part of the Ruines of the City. I have
already in Part accounted for the Ruines of these _Curiosities_; I
shall at present briefly mention some other Causes which contributed
thereto; the Principal of which was the Division of their Emperors
amongst themselves; frequent Fires, sometimes accidentally, sometimes
designedly occasion’d, not only by their Enemies from abroad, but by
their own Factions, and civil Dissensions among themselves; some of
which burnt with a constant Flame three or four Days together. These
Fires were so raging and terrible, that they did not only consume what
was purely combustible, but they wasted the Marble Statues and Images,
and Buildings made of the most tough and solid Materials whatsoever;
nay, so fierce were they, that they devour’d their own Ruines, and
laid the most mountainous Heaps of Rubbish even with the Ground. Nor
were the antient _Monuments_ of Old _Byzantium_ demolish’d only by
their Enemies, but even by those Emperors who had the greatest Regard
and Affection for the City; the Chief of whom was _Constantine_ the
_Great_, who, as _Eusebius_ reports, spoil’d the Temples of the Heathen
Gods, laid waste their fine Porches, entirely unroofed them, and took
away their Statues of Brass, of Gold and Silver, in which they glory’d
for many Ages. And to add to the Infamy, that he expos’d them by way
of Mockery and Ridicule, in all the most publick Places of the City.
To disgrace them the more, he tells us, that he fill’d it with his
own Statues of Brass, exquisitely finish’d; and then concludes, that
he was so far incensed against the _Heathen Monuments_, that he made
a Law for the utter Abolishment of them, and the entire Destruction
of their Temples. How far _Eusebius_ himself, and other _Christian_
Authors were provoked against them, is plainly discernible in their
Writings; namely, that they inveigh’d with the same Severity against
the Images of their Gods, as they do at present against our Statues.
The Emperors _Basilius_ and _Gregorius_, were bitterly enrag’d not only
against the Images themselves, but against those who wrote too freely
in Justification of them. I shall not mention many other Emperors,
Successors of _Constantine_, who were so much exasperated even with
the Images of the _Christians_, that they not only destroy’d them, but
proceeded with such Rigour against those who devis’d, or painted, or
engrav’d them, that they were entitled the _Iconomachi_, or Champions
that fought against them. I shall say nothing of the Earthquakes,
mention’d in History, which happen’d in the Reigns of _Zeno_,
_Justinian_, _Leo Conon_, _Alexius Comnenus_, whereby not only the most
considerable Buildings of _Constantinople_, but almost the whole City
with its Walls were demolish’d, so that they could scarce discover
its antient Foundation, had it not been for the _Bosporus_, and
_Propontis_, the eternal Boundaries of _Constantinople_, which enclose
it. I pass by the large _Wards_ of the City, which through the Poverty
of the Inhabitants, after frequent Fires, and the Ravage of War, lay
a long Time in Ruins, but were at last rebuilt; tho’ the Streets are
promiscuously huddled up without Regularity, or Order. These were the
Causes, as _Livy_ relates of Old _Rome_, after it was burnt down, that
not only the antient common Shores, but the _Aquæducts_ and _Cisterns_,
formerly running in the open Streets, now have their Courses under
private Houses, and the City looks rather like one solid Lump of
Building, than divided into Streets and Lanes. I shall not mention how
the large Palaces of their Emperors, seated in the middle of the City,
nor the Seats of the Nobility enclosing great Tracts of Land, nor how
the old Foundations still appearing above Ground, nor the Remains of
Buildings, discover’d by the nicest Discernment under it, are almost
entirely defac’d. Had I not seen, the Time I liv’d at _Constantinople_,
so many ruinated Churches and Palaces, and their Foundations, since
fill’d with _Mahometan_ Buildings, so that I could hardly discover
their former Situation, I had not so easily conjectured, what
Destruction the _Turks_ had made, since they took the City. And tho’
they are always contriving to beautify it with publick Buildings, yet
at present it looks more obscurely in the Day, than it did formerly in
the Night; when, as _Marcellinus_ tells us, the Brightness of their
Lights, resembling a Meridian Sun-shine, reflected a Lustre from their
Houses. The Clearness of the Day now only serves to shew the Meanness
and Poverty of their Buildings; so that was _Constantine_ himself
alive, who rebuilt and beautify’d it, or others who enlarg’d it, they
could not discover the Situation of their antient Structures. The
Difficulties I labour’d under in the Search of Antiquity here were very
great. I was a Stranger in the Countrey, had very little Assistance
from any Inscriptions, none from Coins, none from the People of the
Place. They, as having a natural Aversion to any thing that’s valuable
in Antiquity, did rather prevent me in my Enquiries, so that I scarce
dar’d to take the Dimensions of any Thing, being menac’d, and curs’d
if I did, by the _Greeks_ themselves. A Foreigner has no way to allay
the Heat and Fury of these People, but by a large Dose of Wine. If
you don’t often invite them, and tell them _you’ll be as drunk_ as
a _Greek_, they’ll use you in a very coarse manner. Their whole
Conversation is frothy and insipid, as retaining no Custom of the old
_Byzantians_, but a Habit of fuddling. It is not the least, among these
Inconveniencies, that I could not have Recourse to so many Authors in
describing _Constantinople_, as a Writer may have in describing Old
_Rome_. They are so fond of Change and Novelty, that any Thing may be
called _Antique_ among them, which is beyond the Memory of them, or
was transacted in the first Stages of Humane Life. And not only the
magnificent Structures of antient Times have been demolish’d by them,
but the very Names of them are quite lost, and a more than _Scythian_
Barbarity prevails among them. The _Turks_ are so tenacious of their
own Language, that they give a new Name to all Places, which are
forc’d to submit to their Power, tho’ it be never so impertinent and
improper. They have such an Abhorrence of _Greek_ and _Latin_, that
they look upon both these Tongues to be Sorcery and Witchcraft. All the
Assistance I had was my own Observation, the Memory, and Recollection
of others, and some Insight into antient History. By these Assistances
principally I discovered the Situation of the fourteen _Wards_ of the
City. The Inhabitants are daily demolishing, effacing, and utterly
destroying the small Remains of Antiquity; so that whosoever shall
engage himself in the same Enquiries after me, though they may far
exceed me in Industry and Application, yet they will not be able to
make any farther Discoveries of the _Monuments_ of the fourteen Wards.
But it is not my Intention to prefer my self above other Writers; if I
can any way be assistant to future Times, my End is answered. I hope I
need make no Apology for recording in History such _Monuments_ as are
falling into Ruines; and if my Stay at _Constantinople_ was somewhat
longer than I intended, I hope it will not be any Imputation upon me,
as it was occasioned by the Death of my Royal Master. It was by his
Command that I travelled into _Greece_, not with any Design of staying
long at _Constantinople_, but to make a Collection of the antient
_Greek_ MSS. Not with any Intention of describing only that City; but
as a farther Improvement of Human Knowledge, that I might delineate
the Situation of several other Places and Cities. Upon the Death of my
King, (not having Remittances sufficient) I was forc’d, with a small
Competency, to travel thro’ _Asia_, and _Greece_, to this Purpose; and
I can assure the Reader, that I did not undertake this Voyage upon
any Prospect of sensual Pleasure, any View of worldly Interest, or any
Affectation of popular Applause; no, I could have liv’d in Ease, more
to my own Advantage; and in a much better State of Health, as to all
Appearance, in my own Countrey. Not all the Dangers and Inconveniencies
of a long and a laborious Voyage could ever move me to a speedy Return.
How I came to engage my self in such unfortunate Travels I know not.
I was very apprehensive of the Troubles and Dangers, which I must
necessarily undergo, and which indeed have befallen me, before I
ventur’d upon such an Undertaking; yet I would willingly persuade my
self, that my Resolutions herein were Good, and my Design Honourable;
being confirm’d in the Opinion of the _Platonists_, That _we ought to
be indefatigable in the Search of Truth_; and, _That ’tis beneath a Man
to give over, when his Enquiries are Useful, and Becoming_.
[Illustration: Page Decoration]
[Illustration: _The_ Thracian Bosporus _with_ Constantinople _divided
into Wards_.]
[Illustration: CONSTANTINOPOLIS
_The_ DELINEATION _of_ CONSTANTINOPLE _as it stood in the Year 1422
before it fell under the Dominion of the Turks_
_From Du Fresne Lib. 1. p. 1._
1. _Ecclesia Apostolorum._
2. _Ecclesia Sanctæ Sophiæ._
3. _S. Joh. de Studio._
4. _Portus Palatii._
5. _Hodegetria._
6. _S. Demetrius._
7. _Porta Iudæa._
8. _Porta Piscaria._
9. _Contoscalium._
_J. Tinney Sculp._]
[Illustration: _The Ichnography or Groundplot of the Church of_ Sancta
Sophia _from Du Fresne_.
1 _The outward Porch._
2 _The inward Porch._
3 _The 2 Doors of the outward Porch._
4 _The 5 Doors of the inward Porch._
5 _The 8 principal Pillars._
6 _The Centre._
7 _The Holy Doors._
8 _The Holy Table._]
[Illustration: _The whole view of the Church of_ Sancta Sophia _from Du
Fresne Lib. 3. Pag. 5_.
_J. Tinney Sculp._]
[Illustration: _The outside Prospect of the Church of_ Sancta Sophia
_from Du Fresne Lib. 3. Pag. 1_.
_J. Tinney Sculp._]
[Illustration: _The inside Prospect of the Church of_ Sancta Sophia
_from Du Fresne Lib. 3. Pag. 1_.
_J. Tinney Sculp._]
[Illustration: _The Plan of the Church of the Apostles. Lib. 4. Cap. 2._
_aa. Propilæum or Church porch._
_b. The Nave, or body of the Church._
_cccc. The circuit of the Chancel._
_d. The holy Table._
_e. The holy Chair._]
[Illustration: _The_ Hippodrom _with the_ Thebean Obelisk _and_ Engines
_by which it was erected_.
_From Sʳ. G. Wheler._]
[Illustration: _The Serpentine Pillar.
Lib. 2. Cap. 13._
_The Porphyry Pillar.
Lib. 3. Cap. 3._
_The Pillar of the Empʳ._ Marcian.
_Lib. 4. Cap. 8_.
_From Sʳ. G. Wheler._]
[Illustration: THE HISTORICAL PILLAR
_from Du Fresne Lib. 1 Pag. 79._
_J. Tinney Sculp._]
[Illustration: _The SERRAGLIO POINT of_ CONSTANTINOPLE.
A _The Entrance into yᵉ. Serraglio from yᵉ. City._
B _Lodging for the Guards._
C _The great Hall for publick Audience._
D _The Grand Signors Lodgings._
E _The Womens Lodgings._
F _Pleasure Houses._
G _The Grand Signors Barge-houses._
H _Part of Constantinople called Balat._
I _The Entrance into the Serraglio from Sea._
K _Sancta Sophia now yᵉ. Grand Signors Mosque._
L _Part of Asia Shoar._
M _The Bosporus wᶜʰ. divides Europe from Asia._
_From B. Randolph._]
[Illustration: Page Header Decoration]
_APPENDIX._
_The following Piece was communicated to me by a Gentleman of the
University of_ Oxford, _who had copy’d it from the latter End of
the Second Book of_ Nicetas Choniat, Concerning the Destruction of
Constantinople. _I had no sooner perus’d it, but I found it so curious
in it self, and so well suited to the Subject of my Author, that I
perceiv’d the Obligations I was under for that Favour; and judg’d it
worthy of a Translation. I would only farther advertise the Reader,
that the following Passage is not to be met with in any of the Printed
Copies of_ Choniat, _but is a Transcript from him in that Part of his
Book, where he writes, concerning the Statues of_ Constantinople,
_which the_ Romans, _when they took that City, caused to be melted
down, and coyn’d. The Passage may be found in a_ MS. Cod. Bodl. fol.
447. _l._ 25. _and runs thus_:
* * * * *
The _Roman_ Conquerours, who were of an with avaritious Temper, even
to a Proverb, practis’d a new Method of Rapine and Plunder, entirely
unknown to those who had taken the City before them. For breaking open
by Night the Royal Sepulchres in the great Grove of the _Heroum_, they
sacrilegiously rifled the Corps of those Blessed Disciples of _Jesus
Christ_, and carry’d off whatsoever was valuable in Gold, Rings, and
Jewels, which they could find in these Repositories of the Dead. But
coming to the Body of the Emperor _Justinian_, and finding his Coffin
untouch’d, tho’ it was publickly known for some Years that it was nobly
enrich’d, aw’d with in Fear and Admiration, they forbore to disturb the
Imperial Ashes. And as they express’d no Reverence and Regard to the
Dead, so were they equally Savage and Inhuman in their Treatment of
the Living; even to those who were their own Countreymen. They spar’d
neither the House of GOD, nor his Ministers, but stripped the great
Church (_Sancta Sophia_) of all its fine Ornaments and Hangings, made
of the richest Brocades, of inestimable Value: But still continuing
unsatiable in their Avarice, they no sooner cast their Eyes upon the
brazen Statues, than they order’d them to be melted down. The fine
_Statue of Juno in Brass_, which stood in the _Forum_ of _Constantine_,
they chopt in Pieces, and threw it into the Forge. The Head of this
Statue was so large, that four Yoke of Oxen could scarce drag it into
the Palace. Upon the _Base_ of it was cut, in _Basso Relievo_, the
Figure of _Paris_, _Venus_ standing by him, presenting her with the
Apple of Discord. The noble _Quadrilateral Pillar_, supported with
several Ranges of Pillars, and which by its Height overlook’d the
whole City, and was both the Wonder and the Delight of the curious
Spectator, shared the same Fate. This lofty Column was adorn’d with
rural Representations of all kinds of singing Birds, Folds of Cattle,
milking Pails, of Sheep bleating, and of Lambs frisking and playing,
_&c._ There was also engrav’d upon it a View of the Sea and Sea-Gods;
some of whom were catching Fish with their Hands; others ordering
their Nets, then diving to the Bottom; whilst some in a wanton
Manner, were throwing Balls at one another. This Pillar supported a
_Pyramid_ at the Top of it, upon which was plac’d the _Statue of a
Woman_, which turn’d about with the Wind, and was therefore called
_Anemodes_. This excellent Piece was also melted down for Coinage, as
was also an _Equestrian_ Statue, fixed upon a Quadrilateral _Pedestal_
in the _Taurus_. This was a bold Figure, of an heroic Countenance,
and surprizing Stature. It was reported by some, that he was one
of the Spies, who was sent by _Joshua_ the Son of _Nun_. With one
Hand he pointed Eastward, with the other to the West, and the Coast
of _Gabeon_. But this Statue was generally believed to represent
_Bellerophon_, (born and brought up at _Peloponnesus_) sitting upon
_Pegasus_; for the Horse was without a Bridle, as _Pegasus_ is mostly
figur’d, scouring the Plain, despising a Rider, flying and driving
about in a headstrong manner. There is an old Report, which at this
Day is in every Body’s Mouth, that there was stampt in the Breast-Plate
of this Horse, with great Skill, the Figure of a Man, which appear’d
outwardly; this Image was either one of the _Venetici_, the
_Epizophurii_, or the _Bulgari_, who were not, at that Time, conquer’d
by the _Romans_. This Horse and his Rider were also melted down. In the
Accoutrements of this Horse was likewise found a small brazen Image,
wrapp’d up as it were in Wool, which the _Romans_ look’d upon to be
of little or no Value, and therefore threw that also into the Fire.
Neither did the Resentment of the barbarous and unpolite Soldiers stop
here, but they expressed the utmost Fury against the finest Statues,
and most curious Pieces of Workmanship in the _Hippocum_, cutting
the largest of them, which cost immense Sums, into small Coins of
little Value. The great Statue of _Hesperian Hercules_, fix’d upon a
magnificent _Pedestal_, clothed in a Lyon’s Skin, which seem’d to live,
and affright the Spectators with his tremendous Voice, felt the Marks
of military Power. He was not here arm’d with his Quiver, his Bow, or
his Club, but stretching out his right Leg and Arm, he kneeled upon
his left Knee, and leaning upon his left Elbow, with his Hand open, he
supported his Head in a thoughtful Manner, and seem’d to lament his
Misfortunes; uneasy above all at those which _Eurystheus_ out of mere
Envy had impos’d upon him. This Figure was broad-chested, the Shoulders
were large, his Hair long, curl’d, and reaching to his Waste; his Arms
were brawny, and as long as those of the Original made by _Lysimachus_,
which was the first and last Master-piece of his Skill. In short, of
such a stupendous Size was this Statue, that his Wrist was as thick as
a Man’s Body, and the Length of his Leg equal in height to that of any
ordinary Person. This noble Statue, I say, did not escape the Rage of
these mighty Pretenders to native Virtue and Honour: Beside this, they
also carry’d away the _Image of the Loaded Ass_ and his _Driver_. These
Figures were set up originally by _Augustus Cæsar_ at _Actium_, of
whom the Fable goes, that when he went out privately in the Night Time
to take a View of _Anthony_’s Army, he met a Man driving an Ass; and
asking him “_Who he was_, and _whither he was going_? He answered, _my
Name is_ Nichon, _and my Ass’s_ Nichander, _and I am going to Cæsar’s
Army_”. The _Statues_ also of the _Hyæna_, and the _Wolf_ which suckled
_Romulus_ and _Remus_, underwent the same Fate, and were coyn’d into
little brazen _Staters_. The _several Statues_ also of a _Man_ fighting
with a _Lyon_, of the Horse _Neilôus_, cover’d with Scales behind, of
an _Elephant_ with a moving _Proboscis_, of the _Sphinx’s_, beautiful
as Women, and terrible as Beasts; which can occasionally walk, or fly
in the Air, to fight with Birds of Prey. There was also the _Statue_
of a _wild Horse_, pricking up his Ears, snorting, curvetting, and
prancing; this, and _old Scylla_ were served in the same injurious
Manner. She was figur’d like a Woman to the Waste, with a grim
frightful Look, just as she appear’d, when she sent her Dogs to destroy
_Ulysses_. There was also plac’d in the _Hippocum_ a _brazen Eagle_,
which was the Invention of _Apollonius Tyanæus_, and a celebrated
_Monument_ of his Sorcery. This Impostor, when he was once requested
by the _Byzantians_, to heal them of the Bitings of Serpents, which
was then a common Malady among them, immediately using some diabolical
Charms, and heathenish Ceremonies, he plac’d this Eagle upon a Pillar;
it was a pleasant Sight enough, and deserv’d the Curiosity of being
more narrowly inspected; for it made an agreeable Harmony, and less
dangerous than that of the _Syrens_. Its Wings were stretch’d out, as
ready for Flight, and it was trampling upon a _Serpent_, wreathing it
self about him. The Serpent seem’d to make the utmost Effort to bite
the Eagle, but its Venom had no Power to hurt him. The Eagle seem’d
to gripe him so hard in his Talons, that he was forced to hang down
his Head quietly, and seem’d either to be unwilling, or unable to spit
his Venom at him. The _Eagle_, on the other Hand, look’d brisk and
sprightly, and having obtain’d the Victory, seem’d to be in Haste, to
bear him through the Air in Triumph, denoting by the Sprightliness
of his Look, and the Feebleness of the Serpent, that the Serpents,
that tormented the _Byzantians_, would hurt them no more, but suffer
themselves even to be handled and strok’d by them. But these were not
the only Curiosities observable in this _Aquiline_ Statue. It was also
very remarkable, that the _twelve Hours_ were engraven under its
Wings, under each Wing six, which shew’d the Hour of the Day, by the
Rays of the Sun darting thro’ a Hole in each Wing, artificially made
for that Purpose. But what shall I now say of the fine Proportions
of _Helen_, who engag’d all _Greece_ in her Quarrel, and for whose
Sake _Troy_ itself was laid in Ruines? No Wonder that when living
she could charm the most stubborn, and soften the most impenetrable
Heart, when in breathing Brass she captivated all that saw her. Her
Habit sat loose upon her, which discover’d too great an Inclination
for Gallantry. Her Hair, which seem’d to wave in the Wind, was long
and delicate, braided with Gold and Jewels. Her Robe was girt about
her, falling down to the Knee. Her Lips seem’d like the opening Roses,
you would fancy they mov’d, and such an agreeable Smile brightned her
Countenance, as entertain’d the Eye of the Spectator with Pleasure. It
is impossible for me to describe the Sweetness and Chearfulness of her
Looks, the Arches of her Eyes, and the perfect Symmetry of the whole
Statue. Take it therefore as it is given us by Poets and Historians.
_Helen_ the Daughter of _Tyndarus_ was the Perfection of Beauty, the
Child of Love, the Pride, and the Care of _Venus_; the Master-piece of
Nature, the great Prize of the _Grecians_ and _Trojans_. Where is now
your _Nepenthe_, the secret Charm to guard you from all Evils? Where
are your irresistible _Philtrums_? Why did you not use them against
these barbarous Invaders, with the same Success as you did formerly?
But I suppose it was determined by the Fates, that you should fall
by the Force of Fire, who have rais’d such Flames in the Breasts of
those who came to behold you; or perhaps these our new Conquerours,
who pretend to be descended from the _Trojans_, threw your Statue into
the Fire, to revenge the burning of that City, of which you was only
the innocent Cause. But I can neither think nor speak with Patience of
these avaritious Monsters, who have demolish’d the most valuable, the
most curious, the most costly Statues in the whole World; Fellows, who
would have sold their Wives for Money; who behav’d themselves rather
like Birds of Prey, than a regular well-disciplin’d Army; only with
this Difference, that they spent their Prey as loosely, as they got
it ingloriously, and would willingly venture their Lives to support
their Extravagance. Hear these Verses of _Homer_, who is well known
to the _Greeks_ and the _Barbarians_; to the Learned, and Unlearned,
concerning _Helen_.
—_No Wonder such Celestial Charms,
For ten long Years should hold the World in Arms._
Pope.
Pardon this Digression:—There was also plac’d upon a Pillar a more
_modern Statue_ of a _Woman_, which was very curious and agreeable. Her
Hair hung down behind, combed close down from the Forehead backwards,
not breaded up, but bending to the Hand of the Spectator. Upon the
right Hand of this Statue stood the _Equestrian Statue_ of a _Man_.
The Horse stood upon one Leg, the other bore a Cup with a mix’d Potion.
The Rider was of a large Size, his Body compleatly arm’d, his Legs
and his Feet were cover’d with Greaves, his Air was manly, rough, and
warlike. The Horse was mettlesome, and high courag’d, pricking up
his Ears, as tho’ he heard the Trumpet. His Neck was high, his Look
fierce, his Eyes sparkling, as eager for the Battle; he rear’d up
his Fore-feet, and pranced like a War-Horse. Near this Statue, hard
by the Eastern Goal, call’d _Rusius_, were a Range of _Statues_ of
_Charioteers_, dextrous in driving the Chariot, and turning the Goal.
They were very busy in managing their Bridles, and smacking their
Whips, and directing their Horses, with their Eyes fix’d steddily upon
the Goal. In short, there seem’d to be describ’d in these _Figures_
all the Tumult and Fury of a Chariot Race, with the most vigorous
Struggle for Victory and Success. This Description of these Statues
may seem imperfect; for it never was my Intention to describe them
all. But what gave me the most agreeable Pleasure, and seem’d to me
the most admirable Piece of Workmanship, was a large _Pedestal_, upon
which was plac’d _an Animal cast in Brass_, as large as an Ox, having
a short Tail, and a moderate Dewlap, something like the _Ægyptian_
Cattle. It had no Hoofs; but held in its Teeth, ready to strangle it,
another _Animal_, cloth’d all over with Scales, almost impenetrable. It
seem’d to be a _Basilisk_, and had a Mouth somewhat like a Serpent’s.
It was taken by many to be an Ox of the _Nile_, and by some to be a
_Crocodile_. But I forbear to give the several Conjectures upon it.
These Figures however seem’d to represent an odd Sort of Fight, each
of them furiously striving for Victory. The Creature which seem’d to
be the _Basilisk_ was in Colour like a Frog, and was all over bloated
from Head to Foot. He was casting out his Venom upon his Antagonist,
with an Intent to destroy him. This _Animal_ was carv’d as bearing upon
one Knee, and in a languishing Condition. This Observation gave the
Spectators occasion to believe it fallen dead backward, if the _Base_
where he stood had not supported him. There was also the _Figure_ of
another _Animal_, in whose Jaws was represented a Smaller Creature,
whose Mouth was open as almost choak’d by the Teeth which held him,
struggling to get loose, but to no Purpose. His Tail, which was very
Short, seem’d to tremble; his Shoulders, his fore Feet, and the hinder
Part of his Body, were hid in the Mouth of his Enemy, and mash’d by
his Jaws. These _Animals_ also mutually kill’d each other. Thus we
may observe, that these Poisonous Creatures, so destructive to Man,
are no less noxious to each other. And this, many Times, is the Case
of Nations, and Kingdoms, as was exemplify’d in the _Romans_, when
they made War upon us; killing, and destroying one another, through
the Power of _Christ_, who rejoyceth not in Blood, and disperseth the
Nations that delight in War; who maketh the Just to walk upon the
Adder, and the Basilisk, and treadeth the Lyon and Dragon under his
Feet.
* * * * *
_In the Beginning of this_ MS _upon a large Folio Page, are inscrib’d
the following Words, in the Benefactor’s own Hand_. “_Sir_ John
Roe, _Bart. Ambassador from His Majesty of_ Great Brittain _to the_
Grand Seignior, _as a perpetual Testimony of his Gratitude to the
University_, (Oxon) _gave this Book, which he met with in his Travels,
to the Publick Library_, 1628.”
[Illustration: Page Decoration]
[Illustration: Page Header Decoration]
AN EXPLANATORY INDEX.
A.
ABACUS from ἄβαξ, which signifies a square Trencher. It is the four
square Table, that makes the Capital on the Top of a
Column, _p._ 148
ACROPOLIS, is that Point of Land where Old _Byzantium_ stood, 157
ÆGYPTIANS, how they adorn their Pillars, 175
ALPHABETS, _Assyrian_ and _Greek_, 77
ANNULETS, are little square Parts turn’d round in the _Corinthian_
Capitals, 264
ANTIQUITY, a famous Piece of it, 154
APOPHYGE, it comes from the _Greek_ Word ἀποφυγὴ, and signifies that
Part of a Column, where it seems to _fly_ out of its _Base_, 253
AQUEDUCT of _Valens_, 197
Of _Valentinian_, 212
Other _Aqueducts_, 213
ARCHITRAVE, this Word is a Compound of two Languages, ἀρχὴ and
_Trabs_, and denotes the first Member of the _Entablature_, 113
ARIUS, his miserable Death, 177
ARMATION, a Place of Arms, 28
ASTRAGAL, is deriv’d from the _Greek_ Word Ἀστράγαλος, and signifies
the little Joynts in the Neck. It is a Member of Architecture
joyn’d to _Bases_, _Cornices_, and _Architraves_, 242
AVASARIUS, a Street in _Constantinople_, 238
B.
BAGNIO’S, of _Achilles_, 20
Of _Arcadius_, 79
Of _Anastasia_, 208
Of _Bajazet_, 193
Of _Carosia_, 198
Of _Constantius_, 210
Of _Honorius_, and _Eudocia_, 169
Of _Zeuxippus_, 97
BASE. This signifies the Foot of a Pillar, which supports it; as
also that Part, upon which the Shaft of the Pillar bears, 109
BASILICA, is derived from Βασιλεὺς, a King, and was a large
Building, made at first for Kings and Princes; afterwards
they were turn’d into Courts of Justice, and sometimes into
Churches. _In Constantinople_ it contain’d the Imperial Library,
consisting of six hundred Thousand Volumes; was also a Seat of
Learning, and a Place of Traffick, 145
BEZESTAN, in the _Ottoman_ Language, is their Grand Exchange, 48
BLACHERNÆ, a Part of the Suburbs, 63
BRAZEN-BULL, 228
BYZANTIUM, founded by _Byzas_, 13
The _Megarians_ its first Inhabitants, 14
Rebuilt by the _Lacedæmonians_, 15
Afterwards call’d _Antonina_, ibid.
After that _New Rome_, _Constantinople_, and _Anthusa_, or
_Florentia_ by _Constantine_, ibid.
Its Revolutions, _ibid._
Its Walls, Towers, Gates, Ports, 17
Taken by the _Romans_, 19
Its Antient Situation and Extent, 20
The greatest City in all _Thrace_, 21
Rebuilt by _Constantine_, 23
Its seven Towers, 71
Its Old Castle where built, 76
C.
CAPITAL, the Top of a Pillar, 113
CAPITOL; This was a large Temple, where they celebrated their
Festivals and Triumphs, and to which they repair’d upon publick
Occasions, 203
CAPOCHEE’S, the drudging Porters among the _Turks_, 38
CHALCA, a Description of it, 134
CHALCOPRATIA, the Places where they worked their Brass, 148
CARAVANSERA, a Place built like an Inn for the Reception of Strangers
and Travellers, 52
CERAS, or CHERAS, a Bay which divides _Galata_ from the City, and is
so called, because it winds round like a _Horn_, 20
CHRYSOSTOM St., banish’d, 102
CHURCH of St. _Anthony_, _Blessed Virgin_, St. _John Baptist_, 28
Of _Anastasia_ and _Hirena_, 192
Of St. _Agathonicus_, 80
Of the _Apostles_, 221
Of the _Blachernæ_, 63
Of _Bacchus_, and _Sergius_, 117
Of St. _Euphemia_, 124
Of St. _Irene_, 101
Of St. _Marcian_, 114
Of St. _Mina_, of _Mocius_ and St. _Anne_, 260
Of St. _Peter_ and St. _Paul_, 117
Of St. _Paul_, 204
Of St. _Polyclete_, 124
Of _Procopius_, of the Martyr _Theca_, 121
Of St. _Theodore_, 202
And of St. _Thomas_, 120
CHURCH, without the Walls of the City. This Church was called
Χριστὸς χώρας, that is, a Church sacred to _Christ_, in a
Monastery call’d _Chora_; because when first built it stood in
the Suburbs, 242
See _Cantacuzenus_.
CHURCH of St. _Sophia_, situate in the Imperial Precinct, 81
By whom built, 82
By what Architects, 84
Its Length, Breadth, and Height, 86
Incrusted with elegant Marble of all Kinds, 87
Its Roof, Pillars, and Arches, _ibid._
The whole Architecture of it describ’d from _Page_ 87, to 95
CIRCUS MAXIMUS, a Place of a large oblong Figure, built for the
Exercise of Martial Sports, with Seats for the Spectators, 103
CISTERN, of _Bonus_, 28
Of _Mocisia_, 66
Imperial Cistern, whose Roof is supported with 336 Marble
Pillars, discovered by the Author, 147
More Cisterns, 162
Cistern of _Theodosius_, 169
Of _Arcadius_ and _Modestus_, 124
Of _Justinian_, 260
Of St. _Benedict_, 275
COCHLIA, This was a Gate of the City, and so call’d, as I conceive,
because it had winding Stairs within it, 116
COLOSSUS, Its Description and Size, 108, 109
COLUMNA VIRGINEA, 58