Blachernen Palace
The Blachernae Palace ( medium Greek Παλάτιον τών Βλαχερνών Palátion clay Blachernón or τὸ ἐν Βλαχέρναις Παλάτιον to de Blachérnais Palátion , Turkish Blaherna Sarayı ) was a palace of the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople Opel . It was in the northern district of Blachernae (Greek Βλαχερναί Blachernai [modern Greek pronunciation Blacherné ], Turkish Blakernai , based on the Middle Greek pronunciation) between the Chora Church , the Adrianople Gate and the Golden Horn .
Residence of the emperors
Reinforced by Emperor Manuel I Komnenos in the 14th urban region, the palace, which first appeared in the sources in 1031, was expanded again and again over time. After it had been used as a residence by the Byzantine emperors before 1204, the Blachernen Palace became the residence of the Latin emperors after the conquest and sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders .
When Michael VIII restored the Byzantine Empire in 1261 , the court first moved to the Grand Palace . But he soon resided in the Blachernai, where, on the occasion of the victory over the army of Charles of Anjou in 1281 after the siege of Berat, in addition to the scenes of the battle, he also had his triumph in Constantinople painted on the walls. Years later, Georgios Pachymeres and the monk Maximos Planudes could still admire the memorable sight of the imperial triumph in Constantinople.
Under Michael VIII's successor Andronikos II , the Blachernen Palace finally became an imperial residence, as the Great Palace had fallen into a state of disrepair that made it uninhabitable.
The last basileus , Constantine XI. died with sword in hand during a final attack by the Ottomans under Sultan Mehmed II at the Blachernen Gate.
description
The palace district covers an area of 2 km² from the Theodosian Land Wall to the walls of Herakleios . Only a few parts of the building are preserved from its monumental entirety. After the city was conquered by the Ottomans , the palace was abandoned and fell into disrepair.
During his reign, each emperor added buildings to the Blachernen Palace or had parts of the complex renewed as required. These buildings were given the name of the emperor who had them built. When Constantinople fell in May 1453, the palace district mainly consisted of the following buildings:
Komnenen Palace
The huge palace of Alexios I Komnenos ruled the area around the Golden Horn and part of the city. The main building, in which the imperial apartments, the throne room and other reception rooms were located, was followed by another building with reception rooms to the west. Abandoned in 1453, it was later converted into a prison with three floors comprising twelve halls. The Ayvaz Efendi mosque and the ruins of the Emin Buhari monastery now stand in its place.
Anastasios Palace
The Anastasios Palace, the location of which is difficult today.
Porphyrogennetos Palace
The Palace of the Porphyrogenitus , located between the Adrian Opel Gate Edirnekapı Gate Kaligaria and Eğrikapı located, was built in 1261-1291 by Constantine Palaeologus, a son of Emperor Michael VIII., Its foundations date from the 10th and 11th centuries . This palace is the only significant example of Constantinople's secular Byzantine architecture that has survived to this day.
Blachernen Church
The Blachernen Church, Saint Mary of Blachernae , Middle Greek Θεοτόκος τών Βλαχερνών Theotókos tón Blachernón , Turkish Meryem Ana Kilisesi , was the second most important church in Constantinople after Hagia Sophia because of its proximity to the imperial palace . A first church building was erected on this site in 452 by the Empress Aelia Pulcheria to keep Mary's holy dress (burial robe) and her cloths ( feast of the laying down of the robes of the Virgin ).
In 473, Emperor Leo I had a new church built near the Pulcheria chapel, to which he named St. Mary of Blachernae. Since the late 5th century and this has maphorion , the long blue veil of Syrian women, Maria had carried out in a Aya Soros rotunda kept.
Justinian I , Basil I the Macedonians and Leo VI. renovated and beautified the Blachernen Church. Proponents of the authenticity of the Turin shroud often represent the thesis, advocated by the historian Ian Wilson , among others , that the Turin shroud was kept here from 1150 to 1204 behind bronze and silver doors and that this is identical to the Abgar picture . The Byzantine expert Averil Cameron rejects this view, among other things because of the great differences in the historical description of the Abgar picture compared to the shroud. During the siege in the 4th Crusade , the Abgar picture was brought to the Blachernen Church, from which it disappeared after the city was conquered and sacked in 1204. John VI Kantakuzenos was crowned emperor in 1347 in the Blachernen Church. The church burned down in 1433 and the icon Blachernae , which was considered the original prototype, was destroyed.
Tower of Anemas
The Tower of Anemas was named after Michael Anemas , a member of the imperial family who was included here under Emperor Alexios I. The prison Anemas , Emperor Isaac II. Angelos with trees planted. The remains of these hanging gardens can still be seen in Istanbul today. From August 1376 to June 1379 Andronikos IV held his father, Emperor John V, and his brother Manuel II, imprisoned in the Anemas Tower.
Tower of Isaac Angelus
The tower of Isaac Angelos, got its name after 1204 in memory of Emperor Isaac II , who was imprisoned there. The ruins of the tower of Isaac Angelus can be visited.
Castellion
The Blachernen Gate could be monitored from the Kastellion, a smaller fortress. The fortifications had four large and three smaller towers.
Blachernen Gate
The Blachernen Gate was originally a simple city gate. It was later reserved for the emperors when the Blachernen Palace became the imperial residence.
literature
- Ruth Macrides: The “other” palace in Constantinople: the Blachernai , in: Michael Featherstone, Jean-Michel Spieser, Gülru Tanman, Ulrike Wulf-Rheidt (eds.): The Emperor's House. Palaces from Augustus to the Age of Absolutism , de Gruyter, 2015, pp. 159–168.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Donald MacGillivray Nicol : The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages . University Press, Cambridge 2010, ISBN 978-0-521-13089-9 , pp. 26 (English, online preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ Franz Slump: God's Wrath - Mary's Protection. Plague images and related representations as an iconographic expression of late medieval piety and as a theological problem. , 3.2.6. The protective mantle of the Madonna in Orthodox Christianity. Munster 2000
- ↑ Lorenzo Ceolin: L'iconografia dell'immagine della madonna . Storia e Letteratura, Rome 2005, ISBN 88-8498-155-7 , p. 41 (Italian, online version (preview) in Google Book Search).
Web links
- The shroud of Christ in Turin - what does science say about it? ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Old City of Istanbul | Blachernen Palace | Chora Church | Fatih Mosque | Hagia Irene | Hagia Sophia | Hippodrome | Little Hagia Sophia | Şehzade Mosque | Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque | Suleymaniye Mosque | Sultan Ahmed Mosque | Theodosian Country Wall | Topkapı Palace | Valens Aqueduct | Yedikule | Zeyrek mosque
Coordinates: 41 ° 2 ′ 18.4 ″ N , 28 ° 56 ′ 27.8 ″ E