THE TURKISH CASKET AND ANCIENT GEMS.
The Sultan of Turkey is said to possess many wonderful diamonds
and other gems among the regalia and ornaments treasured up in the
strongholds of the Seraglio; but very little is known, definitely and
positively, concerning them.
In 1840 the Sultan granted a firman to the Duke of Devonshire and a
party of friends, permitting them to examine the court-jewels. One
of this party, my illustrious kinsman Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, has recently
described to me the impression they made upon his memory, more than
thirty years ago. The number of articles was too great, and their
effect too dazzling, for the memory to be able to particularize them
after so long an interval of time. He remembers that in two strongly
built rooms, and displayed on mats, or cushions of velvet, were a
vast number of decorations and insignia, crescents, tiaras, clasps,
and necklaces, etc. Among the latter was one of wondrous beauty and
perfection, which the Sultan wished to present to the Princess of
Wales on her visit to Stamboul. The beautiful Princess wore it at the
reception she gave the Sultan and his cabinet, but for various reasons
was obliged to return the magnificent gift.
Among the arms of former Sultans were the swords of Al-u-deen, and
Solyman the Magnificent. Besides their historical renown, they
were interesting on account of their superb workmanship, and their
decorations with gems of wonderful beauty.
In 1880 an American traveller was admitted to a view of some of the
rooms in the Treasury of the Seraglio, and from memory of what he saw
there wrote the following description:--
“In the centre of the first room is a throne. It is a platform
about two and one half feet square, with a cushion of cloth-of-gold
embroidered with pearls, rubies, and diamonds. Around three sides of
the cushion is a low rail supported by miniature columns, and standing
about eight inches high. The whole body of the throne is overlaid
with plates of gold, and the rail is studded with clusters of rubies
symmetrically arranged. The first thought that strikes one on seeing
this throne is the surpassing value of its jewels, and the second is
the superlative discomfort of the concern viewed as a resting-place.
The rail, which answers for arms and back, is perpendicular and
rectangular, and could rest neither the arms nor the back of the
enthroned Sultan. Uneasy the man that sits the throne, must be the
Turkish equivalent of the proverb concerning the wearer of the crown.
In one corner of the room is another throne, said to be the throne
of Nadir Shah, of Persia. It is of some dark wood, delicately inlaid
with ivory and pearl, and has a canopy of the same materials, from the
centre of which hangs a great gold ball decorated with precious stones.
“In one of the cabinets is the cradle of the imperial babies. It
stands low on its rockers, like the cradles now in use in Turkey. The
two ends rise a foot above the mattress, and are connected at the top
by a bar which runs lengthwise of the cradle. The whole is of solid
gold, and the outside of the cradle is crusted with pearls, diamonds,
rubies, and turquoises.
“In one of the galleries are the effigies of all the Sultans of
Turkey down to Mahmoud the Reformer. The figures are dressed in what
professes to be the state robes actually worn by the Sultans whom
they represent. The costumes are all different, and differ very
much in cut, indicating the changes of fashion during the last five
hundred years. But all these dresses agree in the feature of richness.
Cloth-of-gold and silk brocade are the materials, and many of the
figures are weighed down with jewels. The swords or daggers which all
of the figures wear are especially magnificent in their display of
precious stones. The dagger of Sultan Mahomet II., the conqueror of
Constantinople, has in its handle an emerald full two inches long and
an inch thick. I use the adjective ‘thick’ advisedly, for solidity of
splendor is the impression left on the mind by that emerald. All of
these gentlemen wore large turbans, and bedecked their turbans with
diamonds. The only exceptions are seen in the case of the boy Sultan,
Osman II., who was killed by his janissaries before he had attained
man’s estate, and in the case of Sultan Mahmoud, the Reformer,
who alone of all his kinsmen appears in European broadcloth. His
head-dress is the fez cap, with a plume of bird-of-paradise feathers
fastened in place by a great spray of diamonds.
“But there is no such thing as describing in detail the splendors
of these rooms. There are antique arms and armor heavy with gold
and jewels; there are innumerable horse-trappings and saddles,
covered with plates of gold and studded with emeralds, rubies,
topazes, diamonds, and pearls; there are saddle-cloths embroidered
with precious stones. Several sofa-covers hang in the cabinets as
background to the smaller articles. They are worth $150,000 apiece,
and are heavy cloth-of-gold embroidered with seed pearls. In one of
the cabinets are three uncut emeralds, the largest being the size of
a man’s fist, and the smallest larger than a hen’s egg. The birds of
the palace realized the experience of dwelling in cages of gold, for
here they hang,--these ancient cages of gold wire. Some of the cages
have a clock in the bottom, face downward, so that the royal household
might see the time of day as they lolled on the divans beneath. The
Imperial Princes appear to have gone to school in childhood, for here
are the satchels in which they carried their books,--bags of velvet
embroidered with gold and pearls and diamonds. In another place you
see many mottoes from the Koran, embroidered in diamonds on red
velvet. There are amber mouthpieces for pipes, studded with diamonds
and rubies. There are coffee-sets and tea-sets of all degrees of
magnificence; and vases of crystal and agate and onyx,--some of these
profusely bejewelled. There are inkstands and snuff-boxes innumerable,
all glittering with priceless gems. There are royal knives and forks
and spoons of solid gold, with jewels on their handles. There is an
immense array of clocks. One would suppose that every Sultan had his
private clock, which ceased to tick when his heart stopped beating.
“Among the articles in this imperial treasure-house are many
which must be regarded simply as toys. Of such is a tea-set of
tortoise-shell as thin as paper. Another toy is a lady’s parasol of
white silk exquisitely embroidered with gold, the staff of which is
a single branch of coral so long and true and well adapted to its
purpose that one might search years and fail to find its like. There
are also very many fans of varying degrees of splendor. Another one of
the toys is a figure of a sultan seated on his throne under a golden
canopy ribbed with alternate rubies and emeralds. The whole structure
is, perhaps, six inches high. The body of the figure is a single
huge pearl, the lower extremities are carved from a blue turquoise,
and the turban is a solid mass of diamonds. There is literally no
end to the marvels of this place. After every conceivable use has
been made of jewels, the surplus unmounted stones are gathered by
handfuls into crystal bowls at one end of the cabinets in the second
room. The spoils of all the empires which preceded the Ottoman Empire
are heaped up in these two dingy stone rooms in the old Seraglio at
Constantinople.
“It requires some time fully to realize the enormous wealth of this
treasure-house. But slowly one becomes convinced that these treasures
can only be the accumulation of centuries, and represent the heritage
of the Ottomans from all their predecessors. Once assured of this,
the traveller will find a peculiar fitness in the aspect and attitude
of the guards of the place. They stand, dressed in spotless black
broadcloth, four or five feet apart, in line along the cabinets,
perfectly motionless. And they are solemn of countenance, as if
standing by the catafalque of some deceased monarch lying in state for
the homage of his subjects.
“I first visited this place shortly after the late war with Russia.
The Turkish Government was in sore straits for the means of daily
existence. The Sultan had just sent his gold and silver plate to the
mint to be coined in order to buy up the depreciated paper currency.
The people of whole districts were at the verge of starvation because
the $80,000,000 of paper money in circulation had lost its purchasing
power. I was naturally incredulous as to the reality of what I had
seen. If these jewels were real, their value must be sufficient to pay
off the dishonored bonds of Turkey. It did not seem reasonable that
the Turkish Government could have passed through such straits as those
to which it had been reduced by the war without having recourse to
their treasure-house. Multitudes of articles in those rooms have an
immense antique and artistic value entirely aside from their intrinsic
value.
“I spoke in this strain to one of the officers of the Imperial Ottoman
Bank, and he replied that the jewels were unquestionably genuine.
He said that during the war the Turks borrowed $30,000,000 from
the bank. The loan was to be secured by pledge of jewels from this
treasure-house, and the bank officials were told to help themselves
from its riches. They selected enough of the jewels to guarantee them
amply against loss. These jewels were packed in three small boxes and
removed to the vaults of the bank. But their removal left no gap in
the great accumulation. Afterward I asked a Turk why the Government
did not sell this treasure and be at ease. ‘Sell it?’ said the Turk;
‘why, it is the treasure of all the Sultans! It cannot be sold.’
“So there is this treasure-house to-day--a grand relic of ancient
splendor--in the hands of the broken, ruined remnant of the house of
Osman. The possession of this enormous wealth must be a terrible
temptation at times to the worn man who wears the Sacred Sword of
Turkey. But he clings to it through all his adversity, for it is the
only relic left to the Empire of the glory of its past.”
Two of the oldest authenticated diamonds in Europe belong to the
Sultan. One of them, a beautiful stone of twenty-four karats, and
which adorns the aigrette of the Imperial plume on days of parade, was
found in Constantinople in the time of Mahomet IV. It was picked up
by a poor man upon a heap of dirt not far from the gate of Egrikapon.
The finder had no idea of the value of his treasure, and sold it for a
trifle. Passing through the hands of several purchasers, the gem was
finally brought to the notice of the guild of goldsmiths, when its true
character was made known. It was then seized by the Grand Vizier and
annexed to the Imperial treasures by an edict. The other diamond, which
is of greater beauty and weight, was found by a child playing in the
Haiwanserai, or the Hebdomon, during the reign of Mahomet II., or about
the middle of the fifteenth century. It was believed by the antiquaries
that these gems belonged to the treasures of ancient Byzantium, and
that the last may have adorned the crown of the Byzantine emperors.
This jewel was lost by the fault of the masters of the wardrobe on the
place of the Hebdomon during a triumphal march in the twenty-second
year of the reign of Justinian, or 548 A.D. We can learn nothing more
concerning the condition of these diamonds when found, but infer that
they were polished, otherwise they probably would not have attracted
the notice of the finders.
Lamartine and other historians of the Ottoman Empire allude to its
treasury as in reality a wonderful museum of art, whose wealth is
unknown and perhaps incalculable. They state that in four vast
apartments beneath the Seraglio, vaulted subterraneously to shelter
them from the ravages of fire, are collected the sacred relics, the
jewels, the gems, and a great variety of objects of value that have
accumulated since the origin of the monarchy. The antiquary may well
say in viewing this collection of treasure, “The spoils of the universe
are here represented.” For whatever of value and historic worth was
saved from the wreck of Rome or preserved from the accumulations of
the Greek conquests was gathered at Byzantium. In this fatal Acropolis
at the extreme point of the continent of Europe, the Greek Empire
had indeed collected all its monuments, all its masterpieces, all
its riches, as if to tempt fate and render the prize all the more
glittering to the eyes of the Ottomans.
Many, if not the most, of these priceless relics and treasures fell
into the clutches of the Turks when Constantinople was won. Nothing
escaped at that time. There is no doubt but that many remarkable gems
were captured at this period, but concerning their nature and their
value history has left us but little more than conjecture.
However, the historians speak definitely of the Greek emperors during
their prosperity as displaying a magnificence worthy of the luxurious
periods of Rome. The costumes of these rulers are described as marvels
of art, and their jewels as of inestimable price. The accounts remind
the reader of the descriptions left by Claudian of the treasures of
Theodosius:--
“Sidonian mantles rich with purple fold,
Belts bossed with pearls, robes stiff with gems and gold,
And breastplates shining green with emeralds bright,
And helmets rich with precious sapphires dight.”
That diamonds were then used as gems and held in high estimation may
be inferred from the single remark of the indignant historian, “One
man buys entire Syria with the diamonds of his wife.” Perhaps the word
diamond was thus used figuratively, and the expression referred to gems
and jewels in general.
Besides these accumulations of the Greeks, much of the spoil collected
by Timour in his merciless sack of India and Persia came afterwards
into the possession of the Emirs of Asiatic Turkey, and eventually
drifted to Constantinople. What these treasures were may be imagined
from the glowing descriptions given by the historians of the last
scenes of the life and reign of the great Tatar conqueror. The
magnificent fêtes given by Timour on his return to Samarcand after the
conquest of Arabia and Eastern Turkey, surpassed in historic splendor
even the descriptions of Oriental fable. In the gigantic palace
erected by him during the days of leisure between his conquests, and
which was one of the marvels of the architectural world, he celebrated
in a single day the marriage of six of his grandsons. The spoils of the
universe were displayed in the decorations of the marriage feasts. The
wealth of the Indies had been transferred to the home of the Tatar.
Pearls, sapphires, and diamonds were showered in profusion upon the
married pairs. Nine times did they change their apparel, and, arrayed
in different solid cinctures of a tissue of pearls and diamonds,
present themselves to the view of Timour,--the last festivities of the
great Tatar chieftain.
This wonderful display of mediæval times recalls to the mind of
the antiquary the magnificent marriage feasts of Alexander and his
eighty lieutenants with their beautiful Persian brides. This historic
festivity took place in Persia 324 B. C., when the Greek army returned
from India, and continued for five days. Like that of Timour, it
displayed in its magnificence the gems and art treasures of conquered
Asia. The diamond, however, does not appear. Art evidently had not
then acquired the process by which the natural and rough crystal is
developed into a gem of sparkling and lustrous beauty. And the selected
brides, to enhance their natural charms, wore pearls, emeralds, rubies,
and turquoises wreathed among their tresses of hair, or in their
necklaces, amulets, anklets, and bracelets.
Among the treasures supposed to be gathered in these catacombs, of
an Empire’s wealth at Constantinople, there is one especially dear
to the _dilettante_,--the wondrous ring of Ahmed. Vanquished in the
long, bloody, and desperate battle fought upon the slopes of Olympus
when entire Turkey was the prize, Ahmed offered to his victorious
brother Selim I. a single gem to purchase the honors of a tomb. This
precious stone was set in a ring richly chased in gold, and was the
gift of Bajazet II. to the most beloved of his children. It was as
dear as the ring Solomon wore, and which was gifted with wonderful
powers extending even to the invisible world. But it was as fatal as
that which Polycrates cast into the sea as an offering to the gods for
his long-continued prosperity. History does not mention the nature of
this remarkable treasure, nor relate whether it was diamond, sapphire,
or emerald. However, we may glean some idea as to its rarity and
beauty from the statement that the Genoese jewellers who were then the
gem-venders of the world placed its value at a year’s revenue of all
Asia Minor.
The antiquary may also find among these dusty and forgotten collections
some of the lost gems and beautiful works of art of ancient Rome, or,
perhaps, the rich ornaments brought home by the Macedonian soldiers
from their Eastern triumphs, or the holy relics which the Arabs removed
from the Gothic treasury at Toledo, and concealed in their fortresses
and fastnesses of Syria. In mediæval times the precious stones and all
that was marvellous in decorative art that fell into the hands of the
Genoese and Venetian merchants went to Constantinople to adorn the
magnificence of the Turkish nobles. Whatever the Mamelukes had gathered
together in their treasury in Egypt, rescued from the dust of the
catacombs, or wrested from the isolated strongholds of Western Africa,
was seized by one fell swoop of the Turkish horsemen and transferred to
the Bosphorus.
The extravagance of the Turkish nobility during some of the brilliant
reigns of the Empire was extreme, and seems to belong to the golden
age of fable rather than to the truthful periods of history. We can
form some idea of the wealth of these favorites of the Sultans from the
glowing descriptions left by the Ottoman historians.
Sinan-Pasha, the Turkish Marius, seven times exiled and seven times
consul, yet dying at last at eighty while conducting the army
to Hungary, left a heritage worthy of a king. Among his immense
possessions the historian enumerates thirty-two cuirasses incrusted
with rubies, fifteen strings of huge pearls, sixty bushels of fine
pearls, seven tablecloths bespangled with diamonds, all accumulated
during campaigns in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Another potentate,
the Grand Vizier Sokolli, exhibited a love of magnificence worthy
of the most reckless Roman profligates. His garden, near Tokat, was
the wonder of Asia Minor, and was called the garden of Paradise,
“Djennet-bagni.” Its parterres, instead of being covered with natural
flowers, sparkled with rubies and precious stones imitating the form
of flowers and surpassing them in splendor. This unique display of art
was finally destroyed by the victorious barbarian hordes from Asia,
and the beautiful imitations of flowering vegetation were borne off
to the distant steppes to be transferred into ornaments for arms and
horse-gear.
In forming a conjecture of the value of the treasures of the Turkish
Seraglio, the antiquary naturally and justly recalls to memory the
magnificence of early history and the numerous spoliations of ancient
nations that eventually fell into the grasp of the Greek and Roman
Emperors. Let us follow briefly the historian among some of the
fragments of history which relate to this subject, and seem to indicate
that the treasures of the earth gathered during the last two thousand
years in reality drifted in course of time and by the fortunes of war
to the Greek Capitol. It is the sad epitome of man’s greatness and his
insignificance. For the pillage which graced the triumphs of the Greek
and Roman arms not only represented the peaceful industry of nations,
but they were also often the memorials of the destruction of the
earth’s fairest hopes.
Rome, in the height of her glory, displayed a magnificence worthy of
the valor of her arms and the magnitude of her conquests. Her temples
were profusely decorated with gems, and her nobles vied with each other
in the possession of the rare and the beautiful. At times the Coliseum
exhibited the wealth of the nation and the liberality of its rulers.
The poet who describes the games of Carinus affirms that the porticos
of the immense edifice were gilded, and the extensive circles which
divided the ranks of spectators from each other were studded with a
precious mosaic of beautiful stones,--
“Balteus in gemmis in lita portico aureo
Certatim radiant,” etc.
In the triumphs of Rome the spoils of the last conquest were not only
displayed, but the accumulated riches of the Empire were ostentatiously
exhibited to view at the same time.
To give the reader an idea of the magnificence of these celebrations,
we will describe the triumphal entry into the eternal city by Aurelian
when returning from the conquest of Palmyra and the nations situated
along the great commercial highways to Asia. This was one of the
greatest of the Roman triumphs, and spread a dazzling glory over the
name of the conqueror. The pomp was opened by the stately procession of
twenty enormous elephants, followed by four royal tigers and more than
two hundred of the most curious animals from all parts of the world.
Then came a fierce and haughty band of sixteen hundred gladiators,
selected for their beauty, strength, and skill. The wealth of Asia
followed this vanguard of brute strength. Displayed in charming
arrangement or carelessly heaped in immense piles, the spectators
witnessed the arms, ensigns, and a vast collection of the objects of
value and luxury of many conquered nations. Among the articles of
gold were exhibited the numerous crowns of Aurelian, together with
the magnificent plate and wardrobe of the Syrian queen. Amidst this
glittering array appeared the embassies of foreign and distant nations;
and the ambassadors of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, India, and China,
with their brilliant or picturesque costumes, added greatly to the
interest and splendor of the scene. Following these came long trains
of captives from various nations,--Goths, Vandals, Sarmatians, Gauls,
Syrians, etc.,--with the ill-fated emperor, Tetricus, and his son,
dressed in Gallic costume. But the most attractive figure of all to
the Roman populace was the beauteous form of the celebrated queen of
the Syrian deserts. Zenobia was on foot and alone. As if in mockery of
human ambition, she preceded the magnificent chariot in which she once
hoped to have entered Rome. Her elegant figure was shackled with solid
chains of gold, while she tottered under the weight of the inestimable
jewels which adorned her natural graces. In the rear appeared the still
more sumptuous chariots of Odenatus and of the Persian monarch. The
triumphal car which carried Aurelian was resplendent with gems, and was
drawn by four stags.
One of the most magnificent exhibitions of extravagance and luxury of
ancient times was displayed on the march of Tiridates and his Parthian
nobles, when they went to Rome to receive the nominal crown from the
hand of Nero. Four thousand selected Parthian cavalry, clothed in rich
apparel, escorted the King. The entire expense of the journey, which
lasted several months and amounted to more than thirty thousand dollars
a day, was paid by the Romans. The triumphal procession traversed Asia
Minor, crossed the Hellespont, passed through upper Greece, around the
Adriatic, and then down the peninsula to Rome.
It was a great day for Rome when the Parthians approached its walls.
The city was illuminated, and decorated with garlands and the movable
wealth of the Empire. The Roman nobles were clad in white; and the
splendid Pretorian guards, glittering with their arms and decorations,
were drawn up in two lines stretching from the end of the Forum to the
Rostra. Through these lines of steel, flanked by a vast assemblage
of citizens, Tiridates and his proud nobles marched to the Rostra,
and received from the hands of Nero the promised diadem. The Empire
impoverished herself in this barbaric display and attempt to awe and
charm her haughtiest foe. The accumulated spoils of three hundred
triumphs at Rome formed a glittering prize to the minds of Alaric and
his devoted Goths.
But six years before the capture of the city, Rome displayed her
magnificence and her wealth in the ovation given to St. Melania on
her return. The extent of the decoration of the temples and their
shrines may be inferred from the quotations of the historians. Serena,
the wife of the Roman general, Stilicho, on great occasions wore a
magnificent necklace which she borrowed from the statue of Vesta. But
the protection of the goddess could not protect the unfortunate woman
from being strangled by the Romans during the siege by the Goths.
The fame of these treasures had spread all over the known world.
And to the Goths the beauty of gems and the delights of luxuries
were not entirely unknown. For, in previous times, they had invaded
the coasts of the Euxine Sea and sacked many of the rich cities,
like Trebizond. In the pillage of the city by the Goths, Alaric is
said to have protected the consecrated plate and ornaments of the
temples; but he undoubtedly confiscated the most valuable and notable
of the treasures. The booty of the army was immense; and when the
victorious soldiers took their departure the roads were incumbered
with the rich and weighty spoils. The haughty victors, clad in the
vestments of unexpected luxury, might have been seen resting by the
wayside, waited on by their captives,--the sons and daughters of Roman
senators,--drinking the wine of Italy in golden goblets, decorated with
gems.
The treasures obtained by the Goths in the conquest and sack of Italy
were borne away with them to Gaul. Besides these, the Gothic chieftains
are said to have possessed many valuable gifts from other nations. The
record of these wonderful works of art has been lost; but a few scraps
of history, here and there, give glimpses of marvellous treasures.
When the Franks pillaged the palace at Narbonne in France, in the
sixth century, they found many curious and costly ornaments of gold.
But most of the treasures and choice works were undoubtedly carried
along with the army into Spain, and deposited in the Gothic treasury
at Toledo. These were eventually captured by the Saracens and sent
to Damascus. Thus, by the singular fortunes of war, these remarkable
and beautiful relics returned to the Holy Land whence some of them
had been taken centuries before. Among these articles was the famous
“Missorium,” or great dish for the service of the table, weighing five
hundred pounds. It was formed of solid gold of exquisite workmanship,
richly inlaid with gems, and was the pride of the Goths.
The wonderful emerald table, which has been so enthusiastically
described by the Arabian writers, was also seized at the same time. The
transparent top of this table was encircled with three rows of fine
pearls, supported on three hundred and sixty-five feet, formed of gold
and gems. This superb piece of workmanship was valued at five hundred
thousand pieces of gold.
The marriage feast of Adolphus, the successor of Alaric, with Placidia,
the daughter of the great Theodosius, was a memorable occasion in
ancient history. It was celebrated at Narbonne, and displayed the
prodigality and magnificence of the Goths. The ceremony was performed
according to the lavish fashion of the Romans and the rude customs
of the victors. Adolphus offered to his bride, in accordance with
the manner of his nation, the spoils of her country. Fifty beautiful
youths, attired in silken robes, presented the happy maiden with one
hundred basins, one half of which were filled with gold, and the rest
were heaped with gems of an inestimable price. Such was the inconstancy
of fortune in those days, and such the cruelty of the times, that only
a year after this grand event the beautiful woman, the daughter of a
Roman emperor, and the wife of the Gothic chieftain, might have been
seen marching on foot with a crowd of vulgar captives, in front of the
horse of the assassin of her beloved husband. However, a few short days
after the usurpation, the Gothic army, struck with pity and indignation
at the sufferings of Placidia, attacked and slew her barbarous master.
Genseric, with his Moors and Vandals, fiercer in their pillage than the
Goths of Alaric, ravaged Rome for fourteen days and nights. Everything
of value, sacred or profane, was seized and borne away to the galleys
of the invaders. Even the Empress Eudoxia was rudely stripped of her
ornaments; and the holy relics, brought from Jerusalem by Titus and
spared by Alaric, were taken from the temples and transferred to
Carthage. One of the vessels, containing a part of the sacred utensils
and other treasures, was shipwrecked on the same shore which a thousand
years later swallowed up the wonderful and blood-stained emeralds
which Cortez wrested from Mexico and carried with him when wrecked
with the Admiral of Castile. The remainder were saved to swell the
ponderous pile of booty when Carthage fell before the arms and genius
of Belisarius. All these treasures, the collections of the Moor and the
Vandal, were transported to the Bosphorus to enrich the city of the
conquerors.
To the successful army and its general a triumph was decreed; and it
was the first Byzantium had ever seen. The display on this historic
occasion was worthy of the army and its hero. The wealth of nations was
brought forth to heighten the splendor of the scene. Rich armor, golden
thrones, chariots, varied forms of sculpture and furniture, statues,
vases, and other objects of art, together with the holy relics of the
Jewish Temple, were displayed in the procession.
But the grandest object of all was presented by the noble and majestic
form of Belisarius, marching on foot at the head of a band of his
bravest officers. Later in life, at the capture of Ravenna, Belisarius
obtained the treasures of the Gothic army, which had been collected
in that stronghold. These were transferred to the Byzantine palace;
but the deserving general was deprived of his hard-won triumph, for
Justinian had now become envious of the glory of his subject. The
magnificent spectacle of the booty was not exhibited to the populace;
but shown only to the flattering and subservient senate.
The results of the Persian conquests largely increased the number,
variety, and value of the art and gem collections at Constantinople.
The Persian monarch, Chosroes, to arrange and preserve the treasures
gathered by rapine or tribute, constructed an elegant palace at
Dastagherd beyond the Tigris. In this stronghold, protected in a
hundred vaults, were deposited most of the gold, silver, gems, silks,
aromatics, and other objects collected from Persia and other countries
of Asia. All these fell into the bold hands of the Roman Emperor
Heraclius; but a part of them, during an unlucky tempest, were lost
in the waves of the Euxine Sea. In the capture of Tauris, Heraclius
obtained what were supposed to have been the spoils of Crœsus, which
had been transported by Cyrus from the citadel of Sardes.
Once only, before the coming of the Turk, was Constantinople, during
its many centuries of varied prosperity and adversity, subjected to
serious pillage. Hostile armies had again and again surged up to its
almost impregnable walls, only to retire in discomfiture; and it seemed
as though the grand old city was protected by some invisible agency
from external violence. Internal dissension, however, was the bane of
the capital, and was the true cause of the success of the Latins, and
finally that of the Turks. The successful attack by the combined forces
of the Latins and Venetians was one of the results of the Crusades. It
took place in the commencement of the thirteenth century.
The city, however, remained under the Latin power for only fifty-seven
years, when it was recaptured by a bold stroke of the Greeks. Injured
by the pillage of the Latins, and many of its beautiful edifices
destroyed by fire during the siege or subsequent occupation, the
Greek capital not only lost its prestige of divine protection, but it
has never recovered its former splendor. How much of the spoils were
removed by the captors is a matter of conjecture. The historians of the
Greeks and Latins--the spoiled and spoiler--undoubtedly exaggerate the
injury of the conquest and the quantity of booty obtained.
Two of the Emperors, succeeding by usurpation, fled from the city
with much treasure before it was finally captured. Even then one
quarter of the accepted plunder was reserved for the elected ruler
of Constantinople. And as to the remainder, which is said to have
been divided equally between the French and Venetians, and valued at
11,125,000 marks of silver, or $11,000,000, there is no record extant
of the articles. We know that the bronze horses of the Hippodrome
were transferred to Saint Mark’s Palace, and the crown of thorns
to the Sainte Chapelle at Paris. We also learn that many gems-the
adamas, emerald, jacinth, ruby, sapphire--were among the spoils; but
if the sack was complete, why did Venice years afterwards offer ten
thousand ducats for the seamless vesture of the Redeemer, which was
then among the sacred reliquaries of Constantinople? If these spoils
were divided between the conquerors, how explain the fact recorded in
French history, that the sacred relics sent to Paris and placed in
the church erected to receive them were purchased? It is a matter of
history that the crown of thorns, with the piece of the true cross, the
antique gems, and other relics that were deposited in Sainte Chapelle,
together with the construction of the building, cost Saint Louis of
Baldwin, Emperor of Constantinople, a sum of money equal to 2,800,000
francs. This fact, coupled with the offer of the Venetians for the
holy vestment, renders the accounts of the sack of the city still more
obscure. The historian Yriarte declares that the only monuments of art
deemed by the Venetians as worthy of transporting to their capital were
the famous bronze horses. If this statement is correct, the Venetians
must have been sadly deficient in taste, or history has wrongfully
accused the founders of Constantinople of spoliation.
According to the early accounts, Constantine, in the reconstruction
of Byzantium, despoiled the cities of Asia and Greece of their most
valuable ornaments, the trophies of memorable wars, the objects of
religious veneration, the most finished statues of the gods and heroes,
of the sages and poets, of ancient times. The most celebrated works
of the age of Pericles and Alexander were remorselessly seized by
the Emperor and transferred to his capital to enhance its beauty and
its renown. So many statues and architectural masterpieces had been
transported to the Bosphorus that the historian Cedrenus ironically
said, “Nothing in this great city was wanting except the souls of
the illustrious men whom those admirable monuments were intended to
represent.”
In the reign of Justinian the city was decorated by the best of living
artists. In the construction of the public edifices, the richest
materials were sought for and used with lavish hand. The bright hues,
the primitive lustre, of many of the stones of which the buildings were
composed were so remarkable as to form the theme of a poet. Distant
countries were explored for choice materials. The costly marbles of
Asia, Gaul, Greece, and Africa were transported to the Bosphorus.
Among the rare stones used by the Greek architects, one may recognize
in the ruins of the present day, the emerald-green marble of Laconia,
the golden-hued of Mauritania, the black of Gaul, and the purple and
red, with intersecting veins of sea-green, of Phrygia. The shrine which
stood in the Mosque of Saint Sophia a thousand years ago or more must
have been of marvellous beauty. The wealth and energy of the ancient
world was expended upon it; and we can form some picture of it in our
imagination from the fact that the Emperor Justinian, on beholding it
after its completion, exclaimed, with outstretched arms, “Solomon, I
have surpassed thee.”
The magnificence displayed by the wealthy houses of Byzantium in their
internal arrangements must have been of an extraordinary character
if we can judge correctly from the invectives of Chrysostom; and
the utensils of silver and gold were in massiveness far beyond the
prodigality of modern times. Ramusio, the Venetian historian, dazzles
the reader with his glittering descriptions of the acquisitions of his
countrymen. He mentions with preciseness the vases whose forms were as
grotesque and varied as the caprice of man,--the murrhines Pompey won
in his triumphs over Mithridates and Tigranes; chalices decked with
gems or formed of turquoise, jasper, and amethyst; crowns of gold,
studded with pearls; unnumbered emeralds, sapphires, topazes, jacinths,
and other gems; also the matchless carbuncles which afterwards adorned
the altar at Saint Mark’s, and which were believed by the superstitious
to have the power of dissipating the darkness by their refulgent beams
of light.
Constantinople, with its remaining works of art, again fell into the
power of the Greeks and was retained by them until captured by the
Turks. To describe the treasures of the Greek capital before its
capture, and correctly estimate the character and value of the objects
removed, and those secreted and again brought to light, will be a
difficult task for some restless antiquary. We are, however, inclined
to believe the Greeks successfully secreted many of their choicest
gems. All through the pages of early and mediæval history, the reader
will observe that by a strange caprice of fortune many of the richest
and rarest works of art and nature passed into the possession of the
rulers of Byzantium, Constantinople, or Stamboul. These three names,
distinct in their meaning, yet relate to one and the same city, which,
during its existence of more than a thousand years, passed successively
under the sway of the Roman, the Greek, and the Turk. Stamboul is still
the Mecca of the antiquary.