Golden Gate (Constantinople)
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The Golden Gate ( ancient Greek Χρυσεία Πύλη Chryseía Pýlē , Latin Porta Aurea , Turkish Altınkapı ) is a gate of the Theodosian land wall of the Byzantine Constantinople .
history
At the beginning of the 5th century AD, the Praetorian prefect Anthemius built a new city wall as guardian of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II , who was still underage . In connection with this re-fortification of the city, a magnificent city gate was built in the area where the Via Egnatia coming from Rome was introduced , which was also intended to serve as a triumphal gate for the emperor's solemn entrances.
In the years 674/675 the gate was the site of heavy attacks when the city was besieged by the Arabs. In the year 740 the statue of Theodosius on the central part of the gate fell down during an earthquake. In 866, the bronze statue of Nike fell in another earthquake. In 1203 the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade besieged the gate. The front gate, which had been erected shortly before, was badly damaged in the fighting in April 1204.
During the civil wars in the second half of the 14th century, the gate was turned into a small citadel by John V. John VI had the gate reinforced. The front gate was also strengthened and the facade was decorated with relief panels with mythological scenes attached to the side. Due to the attack by Sultan Bayezid I , the work had to be interrupted and the small fort had to be partially demolished. Only the superstructures on the south tower and a large stair tower behind it remained.
After the Ottoman sultans had taken Constantinople in 1453 , the gate was incorporated into the Yedikule fortress built under Sultan Mehmet II in 1457/58 . The passages were walled up and the bridge in front of the gate torn down. Of the relief panels attached to the front gate at the end of the 14th century, 12 were still in existence until 1620. However, they were lost in the 17th century. The attempt by the English ambassador Thomas Roe to acquire some of the records failed.
In 1894 there was a violent earthquake in the region, in which the Golden Gate was also severely damaged. The upper parts of the gate towers were affected, numerous cuboids fell.
The first archaeological excavations were carried out in the inner courtyard and at the front gate in 1927 and fragments of the relief panels were recovered. Further investigations followed in 1933, during which B. Meyer-Plath and Alfons Maria Schneider carried out a detailed construction survey.
architecture
The 66 meter wide city gate consists on the field side of two massive towers made of marble blocks with an approximately square base area of approx. 17 × 18.3 meters, which protrude from the line of the wall. They flank three passages of different widths and heights. These also consist of marble blocks. The arches are set in wedge insertions. Pillars and lintels frame these passages. The courtyard between the towers was covered with marble slabs. On the gate were u. a. Statues of Theodosius II and the goddess of victory Nike as well as a team of elephants.
The gate got its name from the gilded door leaves, which the passage got after the victory over the Western Roman emperor Johannes 425. This central gate was reserved for the emperor and was normally closed. An inscription was probably also placed above the gate in 425. On the field side read : HAEC LOCA THEODOSIUS DECORAT POST FATA TYRANNI ( “Theodosius decorated this place after the death of the tyrant” ). On the west side facing into the city, it read : AUREA SAECLA GERIT QUI PORTAM CONSTRUIT AURO ( “The one who built the golden gate ruled in a golden age” ).
This inscription gave rise to scientific discussions as to whether the gate was actually built as part of the land wall under Theodosius II or whether an earlier triumphal gate by Theodosius I could have been integrated into the land wall. Since the inscription does not name the tyrant , this could refer to Theodosius I and his fight against the Western Roman usurper Magnus Maximus . Sondagen confirmed in 1927 that the marble towers had been erected at the same time as the gate, but could not accurately date the adjoining walls, as they had been changed and repaired several times during the Komnenen period and during the Ottoman Empire. In more recent investigations of the corner connections between the wall and the towers, however, the time of origin under Theodosius II was again questioned. However, the Golden Gate of the Theodosian Land Wall is not mentioned in the Notitia urbis Contantinopolitanae , which could be an indication that the gate did not yet exist at the time of writing (approx. 425 AD). It is discussed that the land wall was torn down after Theodosius II's victory over John 425 and that the gate could have been subsequently installed or enlarged.
literature
- Cyril Mango : The Triumphal Way of Constantinople and the Golden Gate . In: Dumbarton Oaks Papers , Vol. 54 (2000), pp. 173-188
- Thomas F. Madden : Triumph Reimagined: The Golden Gate and Popular Memory in Byzantine and Ottoman Constantinople . In: Ruthy Gertwagen, Elizabeth Jeffreys: Shipping, Trade and Crusade in the Medieval Mediterranean , Routledge, 2012, pp. 317–328
Web links
- Golden Gate , The Byzantine Legacy
- [layout = building_item & search [constraints] [building] [search serial number] = 2103546 Goldenes Tor], Arachne, object database of the German Archaeological Institute
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Wolfgang Müller-Wiener : Pictorial dictionary on the topography of Istanbul: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul up to the beginning of the 17th century . Wasmuth, Tübingen 1977, p. 297
- ↑ a b Wolfgang Müller-Wiener : Pictorial dictionary on the topography of Istanbul: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul up to the beginning of the 17th century . Wasmuth, Tübingen 1977, p. 298
- ↑ Jonathan Bardill: The Golden Gate in Constantinople: A Triumphal Arch of Theodosius I . In: American Journal of Archeology , Vol. 103, No. 4 (October 1999), pp. 671-696
- ↑ Neslihan Asutay-Effenberger : The land walls of Constantinople Opel-Istanbul. Historical-topographical and architectural studies . (= Series: Millennium Studies Volume 18), 2008, De Gruyter, ISBN 978-3-11-020399-8 , pp. 54-61
Coordinates: 40 ° 59 ′ 34.8 " N , 28 ° 55 ′ 21.7" E