THE
ANTIQUITIES
OF
Constantinople.

BOOK II.

Chap. I.

Of the Buildings and Monuments of Old Byzantium and Constantinople, called New Rome.

Having describ’d the Figure and Extent of the City, and having particularized the Situation of the seven Hills, I shall proceed to consider what Buildings and Monuments Constantinople anciently had, or now has, and into how many Wards it was divided. For when I accidentally fell upon this Division of the City into Wards, in an ancient Manuscript written above one thousand Years ago, by a Gentleman more noble by his Birth than his Writings, I was in hopes, with some Ease, to have traced out the ancient City; but the barbarous Mahometans have either so demolish’d those venerable and truly heroick Ornaments which distinguish’d it, to adorn their own paultry Houses, or entirely buried them in their own Ruins, that in very few Places you shall see any Remains of an old Foundation. I omit to mention the Fires and other Devastations, committed not only by the Savages of other Countries, but the great Havock lately made by the Turks themselves, who for the last hundred Years have incessantly endeavour’d entirely to deface and destroy it, by building upon it in so different a Manner, that those who have formerly seen some parts of it, scarce know its ancient Situation. Consider farther the profound Ignorance of the Greeks at present. There is scarce a Man of them who either knows, or has so much as an Inclination to know, where their Antiquities are. Nay, their Priests are so heedless and negligent in this Respect, that they will not make the least Enquiry themselves about those Places, where but a few Years since very magnificent Temples were standing, and so very censorious are they, as to condemn those that do. However, that I might not pass away my Time uselessly, while I was in Expectation of Remittances from my Royal Master, for purchasing all the ancient Manuscripts I could meet with, I made it my Business, by all the Marks of Antiquity I was capable of observing, to make what Discoveries I could. In my Description of the ancient Monuments, I shall observe the same Method I did in the Description of the Hills. I shall consider them in the Order the Hills stand, or as I find them in the different Wards of the City; which, like Old Rome, was divided into fourteen Wards.

Chap. II.

Of the Ancient Monuments of the first Hill, and of the first Ward of the City.

THE first Hill, which Pliny sometimes calls Chrysoceras, and sometimes Auri Cornu, (though this was a Mistake, as appears from what I have wrote concerning the Thracian Bosporus) Dionysius a Byzantian calls the Promontory of the Bosporus. There are two Reasons assigned, says he, why ’tis call’d the Promontory of the Bosporus; the one is, as some say, because a Cow stung with a Gad-Bee forded over it. Others more fabulously report, that Io, the Daughter of Inachus, being changed into a Cow, swam across it, when she went into Asia. The same Author, speaking of a Place call’d Semystra, tells us, that Byzantium had been founded there, had not a Raven snatched a Part of the Sacrifice, they offer’d upon their landing, out of the Fire, and carry’d it to the Promontory of the Bosporus. This they look’d upon as a Token from the Gods, that they should found their City there. The same Writer, speaking in another Place of a Promontory call’d Metopum, opposite to the first Hill of Constantinople, this Promontory, he adds, faces the City, and lies directly against the Promontory of the Bosporus; and the same Author informs us, that a little above the Promontory of the Bosporus, there was an Altar erected to Minerva, who was call’d Ecbasia, or Egressoria, because those who transplanted the Colony hither, sally’d out from thence, with a Bravery equal to those, who fight for their Countrey. We might also call her Ecbateria, under which Name, as Hesychius reports, Diana was worshipped in Siphnus. He adds farther, that upon the same Promontory stood the old Temple of Neptune, and below it, upon the Plain, that the Byzantian Youth exercised themselves in Horse-racing, driving the Chariot, Wrestling, and other Martial Sports; and lastly, that at the Foot of the Promontory stood a Bay call’d Ceras, which had three Havens, fortify’d with three Cittadels, and high Sand-banks, upon it stood the Castle of Byzantium, of which Xenophon takes Notice, when he tells us, that the Men under his Command, having forc’d their Way into the Town, the Inhabitants fearing they should be put to the Sword if their City was taken, some fled to the adjoining Promontory, others to the Sea, and that some of them steering about a long time in a Fisher-boat, made at last a landing, got into a Tower, from thence made Signals of Distress, and were assisted at last by the People of Chalcedon. And not only the Castle of old Byzantium was built upon the first Hill, but Historians assure us, that the Emperours of Constantinople likewise continu’d a Fortress there, when they tell us, that to keep off the Enemy from entring the Port, they laid a Boom across the River, from the Cittadel to the Castle of Galata: Nay, even at this Day, the Grand Seignor has a Cittadel there, fortify’d with thick Walls, which enclose his spacious Gardens on all sides. In old Byzantium there was a Place call’d the Thracian Field, lying upon a Level, and not incumber’d with Houses. It was upon this Plain that Xenophon drew up in Military Order the Grecian Army. He informs us, in his Book of his Hellenici, that this Field was near the Thracian Gate; they open’d, says he, the Gates adjoining the Thracian Field: And in the 7ᵗʰ Book of the Expedition of Cyrus, speaking of a Place, seated near the Walls of Byzantium, where he ranged his Army in order of Battle, he tells us, that the most convenient Place to draw up, or muster an Army is, the Thracian Field; because, as he goes on, ’tis free of Houses, and upon a Plain. I observ’d before, that the seven Towers of Byzantium reach’d from the Thracian Gate to the Sea; Georgius Cedrinus asserts, that they reach’d to the Northern-Sea, that is, to the Bay call’d Ceras. Herodotus attests, that in old Byzantium stood an Altar erected to Diana Orthosia, and a Temple dedicated to Bacchus. Darius, says he, upon viewing the Black Sea, came back to the Bridge, and erected upon the Bosporus two Stone Columns, on which he order’d to be engraven the Assyrian and Greek Alphabets. The Byzantians afterwards removed them into the City, near to the Altar of Diana Orthosia. The Greek Alphabet was what they retain’d, and made use of. The Column with the Assyrian Characters they left remaining near the Temple of Bacchus, where they had fix’d it. Laurentius translates the Greek Word Orthosia, Erecta, but he had translated it more properly, had he call’d her Erectoria, or Erectrix, because as being the Goddess of Child-birth she raises up, or recovers Women in Labour. This I collect to be the true Sense of the Word, not only from several Authors, but from Plutarch, who in his Book of Rivers, has this Story: Proud Teuthras, King of Mysia, says he, with his Retinue of Spearmen chas’d a Boar, which fled into the Temple of Diana Orthosia to implore her Assistance. As they were all driving furiously into the Temple, the Boar cry’d out with an audible human Voice, Let your Compassion, Royal Sir, be shewn to one whom Diana brought into the World. Teuthras enraged at this, slew the Creature. Diana resenting the Affront, threw the King into a Phrenzy, and punished him with ulcerous Sores. He could not bear the Indignity of his Punishment, and so retired to the Mountains. His Mother Lysippa, immediately, with the Prophet Polyidius, who inform’d her of the Occasion of her Son’s Sufferings, hastens in Search of him, and by sacrificing to Diana some Oxen, reconciles her to him. When she perceiv’d her Son return’d to his Senses, she erected an Altar to Diana Orthosia, and near it placed a Golden Boar, with a Man’s Head upon his Shoulders. Before the Destruction of Byzantium by Severus, both the Altar and the Boar were standing, in the first Valley of the first Hill. Since Constantine rebuilt the City, the first Hill included in it the first Ward, which contain’d the House of Placidia Augusta, that also of the most noble Marina, and the Baths of Arcadius. I learn this from the ancient Division of the City into Wards, though I must confess myself at a Loss, to know in what Part of the City the first Ward began, nor can I make any such Discovery from the Remains of any ancient Buildings, which are now entirely destroy’d. However, thus much may be inferr’d from Procopius, who has it upon Record, that when you sail from the Propontis to the Eastern Part of the City, there stand the publick Baths, built by Arcadius. In this Place, says he, Justinian built a Court, which was encompassed with so calm a Sea, that when you walk’d in the Galleries, you might discourse audibly with the Sailors. It made a very beautiful, a very delightful, and most magnificent Prospect: It was fann’d with gentle Breezes, supported with lofty Columns, and laid with the most curious Marble, which like the Sun, reflected a most amazing Lustre: It was also adorn’d with abundance of Marble and brazen Statues, finish’d to the nicest Perfection; a lovely Scene to the Spectators! The Reader, had he seen it, would have taken it to have been the Work of Phidias, Lysippus, or Praxiteles. Upon a high Pillar of Porphyry Marble, in the same Place, stood the Statue of the Empress Theodora, addressing herself, as it were, to him for building so noble a Structure. The Beauty of the Column is exceedingly surprising, yet does it by no means come up to that inconceivable inexpressible Gracefulness and Dignity you see in the Statue. From these Words of Procopius, as I would observe by the By, that that Pillar now landing upon a Descent, lying Eastward of the Grand Seignor’s Palace, is not the same with that upon which Theodora was erected, as some are of Opinion it is; because it is neither of a Porphyry Colour, and is at too remote a Distance form the Court; so would I have the Reader understand, that the first Ward contain’d in it the Length of the first Hill, which is bounded on three Sides by the Sea. I find not only in many Historians, but also in Suidas the Grammarian, that the Statue of Arcadia, the second Wife of Zeno, stood in the Arcadian Baths, near the Places call’d the Bathra, from the Stairs by which you ascend them. I find also in that Place two Statues of Verina, the Wife of Leo Magnus, one in the Northern Part of the City, near the Church of St. Agathonicus beyond the Bathra, the other on that Side of the City where stands the Church of St. Barbara: The first was erected by Leo in his Life-time, the second since his Death; when upon the Flight of Zeno, his Son in Law, his Brother Basiliscus was crown’d Emperor in his stead. I have reason to believe, when I consider the natural Situation and Order in which the Wards stand, that Part of the second Ward was inclos’d in the Palace: For this Ward, according to the ancient Description of it, at its first Entrance stood upon a Level; at some Distance it rose by a gentle Ascent, and at last, with very deep Precipices, fell into the Sea. I am of Opinion, that these Precipices descended on that Spot of Ground where the Kitchens, and Bagnio’s of the Grand Seignor stand at present. But where-ever they might stand in ancient Times, all the steep Places that were formerly enclosed within the Palace are now levell’d, where now there stands an old Church commonly call’d Sophia the Less. Some of the most ancient Inhabitants affirm it to be the Church of St. Irene, which Socrates tells us was built by Constantine the Great. I take it to be the same Church which the People of the second Ward call the Old Church. I have Reason also to believe, that the other Part of the second Ward stood without the Palace, from the Situation of the Churches and Bagnio’s, which the second Ward encloses. For Zonaras and other Historians assert, that the Church, which formerly went by the Name of the Great Church, was afterwards call’d the Church of St. Sophia, which every body knows stood without the Enclosure of the Palace. I have reason to conjecture also, that the Palace of Maximinus formerly stood within the Verge of the Court, from the following Inscription made in its Commendation by Cyrus, once a Consul and Nobleman of Rome.

Chap. III.

Of the Church of St. Sophia.

THE modern Writers among the Greeks will have it, that the Church of St. Sophia was first built by the Emperor Constantius, the Son of Constantine the Great, and arch’d at Top, not with Brick-work, but a wooden Roof. In the Time of Theodosius, when the second Synod was held there, the Arians rising in Sedition, burnt it. It was after rebuilt by Theodosius the Great, and beautified with Arches of a cylindrick Form. The same Writer tells us, that it was burnt a second time in the Reign of Justinian; but Sozomen, an ancient and creditable Author, records it, that in the Time of Theodosius the Less, when there were warm Debates in the great Church, about expelling St. Chrysostom the Synod, it was all on a sudden in a Blaze, those who adhered to him throwing Fire into it, with an Intention to burn down the Church, and to destroy all that were in it. Procopius will have it, that it was first burnt down in the Reign of Justinian, who rebuilt it in the same Figure it stands at present; but he does not tell us, whether it stands on the same Spot of Ground or not; so that it remains doubtful from this Author, who is not so much to be depended upon, though he has a Catalogue of the Names of the Persons of whom Justinian purchas’d the Houses where it stood before the Fire. An Ancient Description of the City, wrote before Justinian’s Time, seems to fix it in another Place; for the great Church and the old Church, the Author places in the second Ward, the Forum of Augustus in the fourth, which I shall make appear stood near the Church of St. Sophia. Zonaras says, that Justinian built it much larger from the old Foundation; but ’tis much to be question’d, whether Justinian purchas’d the neighbouring Houses for its Enlargement. As to the Forum of Augustus, and the great Church’s being placed in different Wards, we cannot from hence conclude, that they did not stand near one another. So that when Justinian had enlarged and beautify’d it, and adorned it with a great Variety of Metal-work, when he had built the Walls and Roof with Brick, and to strengthen them the more, had cramp’d them in many Places with Iron-work, using no Rafters in the whole Fabrick for fear of Fire; although it has hitherto escaped the Flames, yet has it been often damaged and endanger’d by several Accidents, even from the Time of its Rebuilding. For the Eastern Arch before it was finish’d, bore with its Weight so hard upon the Pillars, that in all Probability it had fell, had not the Architect been very expeditious in finishing it; when bearing upon its own Curvature, it laid less heavy upon the Pillars which supported it. The two Northern and Southern Arches bore so hard upon the Pillars and Foundation, that the Tops of the Pillars began to fly; and had sunk, if the Workmen had not with the greatest Skill taken them down, and afterwards replaced them, when the Greenness and Moisture of the Building was somewhat abated. The Church however, at the Emperor’s great Expence, and by the indefatigable Industry of the Workmen, was at last finish’d; yet in his own Time it was grievously shock’d by an Earthquake, by which, as Agathius writes, the Tower above the Roof was much shatter’d in the Middle of it; so that the Emperor was obliged to repair and strengthen it, raising it much higher than it was before. This was done when Anthemius the first Architect was dead. However young Isidorus, and some other Architects who succeeded him, notwithstanding the Errors committed in the former Building, did not judge it necessary to take down the Eastern or Western Arches, but widen’d the North and South Arches, and so visibly enlarged them, that the whole Building seem’d more regular and uniform; so that it was evident to the Eye of the Spectator, that the Sides of the Church, which terminated with their Arches in the Roof, were of an equal Dimension; and that the Architects had with so much Skill contracted the vast Vacuity of the Body of the Church into so narrow a Compass at the Top, that the whole Structure seem’d very proportionate and agreeable. Above the Arches, in the Middle of the Church, they raised a Dome or Cupola to a very great Height, which was regular, and not so round at Top as usual, but more spiked, and better contrived for the Security of the Building. Zonaras writes, That the great Church being finished and consecrated; it happen’d that the Eastern Arch was thrown down by an Earthquake, which broke the Pulpit and the Communion-Table, but was afterwards rebuilt by Justinian, who raised it twenty five Foot higher than it was before. The same Report, almost Word for Word, is given by Cedrinus. He also built other Pillars proportionable to the Weight of the Arch which bore upon them. On the Outside of the Church he built a Pair of Winding-steps against the Pillars, near to the Church, which rising from the Ground to the Roof of it, support the Pillars, and the Arches. Other Writers, but of less Note, will have it, that by the Earth-quake above-mention’d the Roof of the Church was thrown down, but that the Arches stood secure, that the Emperor rebuilt the Roof, but lower than before by twenty five Foot. I could, for my own part, bear with this Relation, if these Historians would agree with me, that the Church was afterwards shock’d with other Earth-quakes, and then built lower than it stood before. For when Evagrius tells us that Justinian raised it to such an Height, that within side of it you could scarce see the Top, and that the Descent was so deep, that it was dangerous to look from the Height of it downwards, it is very probable, that Justinian only raised it to its former Height. Cedrinus relates, that Basilius the Emperor gave Orders for repairing, and strengthening the great Western Arch, which was very much shatter’d by an Earth-quake, and likely to fall. Nicephorus inveighs bitterly against the Empress Anna, who in the Reign of Catacosmus, sacrilegiously robb’d the Church of all its Furniture and Ornaments, and exclaims heavily, that the Tyranny, Oppression, and the different Sects and Opinions of those Times, were the chief Occasion of the Destruction of this Church: For, as he subjoins, one Midnight when the Sky was very clear, one of the Eastern Arches fell to the Ground, and brought that Part of the Roof, which it supported, after it, which broke down the Pulpit, the Images which adorn’d it, and demolished the middle Galleries. He adds farther, that it was the Opinion of many in those Times, that if Andronicus the Emperor had not built Buttresses on the East-side of the Church, it had wholly sunk into Ruines. Evagrius determines the Length of the Church in the following manner: From the Arch, where the bloodless Sacrifice is offer’d, to the Gate opposite to it, it is an hundred and ninety Foot long; from North to South it is a hundred and fifteen Foot broad; and from the Pavement to the Center of the Roof, it is a hundred and eighty Foot high. It was dangerous for me to measure its Length from East to West, so that I was obliged to have the Dimensions of it taken for me by a Turk, who made his Report, that the Church was two hundred and thirteen Foot in Breadth, two hundred and forty in Length, and from the Pavement to the highest Curvature of the Arches, a hundred and forty two Foot in Height. The Fellow never measured the Roof; If he had taken the Height of it true, he had found but a small Difference between his own Account and that of Evagrius. Should the Reader desire to be inform’d more at large of the Dimensions, and the Architecture of this Church, as it stood in former Times, let him consult Procopius, Agathius, Paulus Florus, and Evagrius. What the Architecture and Dimensions of it are at present, I shall, as far as my Observations have reach’d, describe more fully in the following Chapter.

Chap. IV.

A Description of the Church of St. Sophia, as it now appears.

THE Walls and Roof of this Church are built with Brick. The Inside of the Walls of the Church are incrusted with elegant Marble of several Kinds. All its Materials are the most valuable Productions of Nature, so that the Prospect of it employs the Thoughts of the Spectator with Delight and Admiration. The Roof of it is a surprizing Piece of gilded Mosaick Work, which reflects such a Lustre upon the Eye, that even the Barbarians who behold it, are wonderfully taken with the Sight of it. This Roof is supported with eight Pillars, four of the largest and tallest of which bear up the four Arches which support the Roof. Two of these Arches, viz. the Northern and Southern, bear at the Bottom of their Curvature upon a thin Wall full of Windows, which Wall is strengthen’d by two Ranges of Pillars standing one above another. In the lower Range stand eight Pillars, which rise from the Pavement, the six above them support the thin Wall. The Eastern and Western Arches have neither a Wall nor a Pillar to support them, but are so open, that they make the Body of the Church appear more large. For these Arches projecting beyond the former, bear upon four other Arches, which are supported by two small and two large Pillars: For the four large Pillars do not only bear up the four great Arches, but every one of them does also support two small Arches, one of which extends itself length-ways, the other cross-ways of the Church; by which means the Church is lengthen’d and widen’d to a great Distance; for on the East and West Side of it there are two Semi-domes which are join’d to the Cupola in such a Manner, that they have the same Roof within the Church, though without it the Roofs seem to be distinct. These Semi-domes are a great Ornament to the Cupola, which rises very highly above them. The Breadth of the Church is widen’d beyond the Dome with Arches and Pillars, and the Northern and Southern Wall, which form the three upper and three lower Galleries, which are incrusted with elegant Marble of different Kinds, the Roof of them being cover’d with Moresco Mosaick Work, finely gilded. Every Arch which lies across the Church bears only upon one Pillar, for one End of their Curvatures is supported by the outward Wall of the Church, which bears upon large Pillars, from whence there rise four Arches, which on both Sides of the Church are supported by the Wall. Two of these Arches bear up the Roof of the three lower Galleries, and the other two support the Roof of the three upper Galleries, the Sides of which bear upon Walls, and Arches, and Pillars. Hence it is, that if we consider the Inside of the Church by itself, as enclosed by its Pillars and Columns, we discover it to be of an oval Figure; whereas if we view the whole Space of it without these Pillars, it is a perfect Square. For the upper and the lower Galleries, which are the Wings of the Church, adjoin to it in such a Manner, that if we measure it from the Pavement to the Bottom of the Curvature of the upper Galleries, ’tis of a square Figure, but as contracted within the Enclosure of the four large and the four smaller Pillars, as far as the Curvature of the four Arches of the Dome, it is entirely of an oval Form. The Form of the Galleries is as follows: On three Sides of them they are built in a square Manner: The fourth Side of them, which looks into the Church, is of an oval Figure, as is the Church itself. The Roofs of these Galleries are supported with Arches and Columns. I shall give the Reader a Description of three of them, by which means he may easily form a Judgment of the rest, for they are all of one Form. Those I shall take Notice of, are the three upper Galleries on the North Side of the Church. The first of these Galleries has two Fronts, and looks both Eastward and Northward. The two Sides of this Gallery rise from the Wall of the Church, and end in an Arch. In the Middle of each Side of it there are three square Columns five Foot and nine Inches in Circumference, which are made the Jambs of the Windows. These Pillars support three other square Pillars, which are all made of blue and white Marble. The Side which faces the Body of the Church is adorn’d with six Pillars of green Marble, standing below the Arch which supports an Eastern Semi-dome, whose Shafts at the Bottom of them are seven Foot and eight Digits in Compass. The Intercolumniations of these Pillars being little less than seven Foot and eleven Digits wide, are strengthen’d with Marble Closures which are four Foot high, so that those who lean upon them, have a full View of all the upper and lower Part of the Church. That Side which parts the first and second Gallery, reaching from the outward Wall Northward, to the great Pillar which supports the Dome, is forty four Foot in Length, part of which is adorn’d with Pillars, and an Arch which supports the Dome. You pass through this into the second Gallery, the Breadth of which is twenty four Foot, and it is made up of the Arch of a Pillar, and a Wall which is a part of one of the Wings of the Church, and extends itself as far as the Roof of the Dome. This Gallery, at both Ends of it, is born up by Arches and Walls. In the Middle of it, it is supported by four white Pillars speckled with blue, the Shafts of which are seven Foot in Compass. ’Tis of a square Figure, and, as I observ’d, bears upon Arches and Walls. These Arches, at one End of them, rise behind two of the large Pillars which support the Dome; at the other End they bear upon Pillars which rise within Side of the Walls, and support the four large Pillars. The outer Side of this Gallery is supported with eight square Pillars, which are six Foot in Compass. There rises in the Middle of them a Pillar of a larger Size. These Pillars are instead of Jambs for the Windows; and above them there are other Pillars, which are also Jambs to other Windows. These Windows, which below and above are sixteen in Number, do very much enlighten this second or Middle Gallery. The Front of this Gallery, facing the Church, is beautified with six Pillars of green Marble. The Intercolumniations of them, like those of the first Gallery, have their Marble Closures at Bottom. From this middle Gallery you pass through an Arch into the third Gallery, which is much like the first in its Length, Windows, Jambs and Pillars. The Roof of it is supported with four Pillars, and the Side of it towards the Church with six green Pillars. There are also four green Marble Pillars which support one of the Western Semi-domes which stands between two other Pillars. These Pillars stand two and two together, and between them are rais’d two lesser Pillars, made after the Ionic Order. At the Western Door of the Church there are instead of a Vestibulum, two Portico’s, the lower of which lies upon a Level with the Church itself. The upper leads to the Womens Galleries. Both of them in Length the Wideness of the Church, and twenty eight Foot in Breadth. The Portico over it is situate between the Pillars which support the Western Semi-dome and the Windows. For both in the Inside and Outside of it, ’tis supported with eight Pillars, between which, the Windows both in the upper and lower Galleries, cast a great Light into the Church. There is nothing parts this Portico and the Womens Galleries, but the Pillars which bear up the Roof of the Portico; for the Pavement of the Portico lies upon the same Level with the Pavement of the Galleries. The Inside of the lower Portico is enclosed with Walls, which are lined with a delectable Variety of Marble, and is cover’d at Top with curious Moresco Mosaick Work, very beautifully gilded. On the East Side the Portico are Doors which open into the Church; on the West End of it you go out at five Brass folding Doors into a Portico that stands without the Church, and from thence you pass into a Court, where there are several Springs constantly running, to which there is a very deep Descent by many Steps. At the Ends of these Portico’s there are two Places of Entrance into the Church, one on the Northern Side of it, and another with six folding Doors on the South. These Doors formerly were all of Brass, at present three only of them are so, but curiously wrought. The Church has also two folding Doors on the East Side of it. There are also some Doors in the Sides of it, which were formerly open’d, but are now kept shut. The Inside of the Church is very light, by reason of the Multitude of Windows about it. The high Wall, which between the great Arches and the Cupola is of a circular Figure, let in the Light at forty Windows. The Walls under the Arches are enlighten’d with twenty six Windows, the Middle of the Galleries with thirty two, and the Ends of them with more than twenty. I shall take no Notice of the Lights of the two Western and the four lower Galleries, nor those of the two Semi-domes, nor those of the Sanctum Sanctorum, and the upper Portico, which I omitted to count, by reason of the great Number of them. The largest Entrance into this Church is on the West Side of it, where you do not ascend the Pavement as formerly, and as the Romans did their Pantheon, nor do you descend into it by five Steps. You go up to the Top of the Church by four Pair of winding Stairs, not winding round in the Manner of a Cockle-shell, as Cedrinus reports, but turning more upon the Square, and work’d by the Line. These Stairs rise with a very easy Ascent, and are cut out of large Marble Tables. Every Turning of these Stairs is nineteen Foot and a half high, and five Foot broad. Above these there is another Pair of winding Stairs which reach to the Top of the Church. You must ascend these when you go to the upper Galleries, and Portico’s. If the Reader will give himself the Trouble to compare what I have said of the Church of St. Sophia, with what has been written by Procopius and Agathius upon that Subject, he may easily discover, that the Ruins of what was built by Justinian have not been so great as the Turks pretend, who tell you, that the Church was formerly much larger, and that several Parts of it have been pull’d down by the Barbarians, and that there is scarce a tenth Part of it remaining at this Day. This Story would carry a Face of Probability in it, if they meant, that the Palaces, the Houses of the Priests and the Noblemen, which were built about it, had been demolish’d by Fire, and the Ravage of those People, otherwise I am convinc’d ’tis a gross Mistake; for I saw every Part of the old Church standing, mention’d by Procopius, except one Portico. For whereas Procopius writes, that the Church had two Portico’s at each End of it, there is none, remaining at present, but only that at the West End. ’Tis very probable that the other was thrown down by an Earthquake, and that in the Room of it, the Inhabitants erected a large Lump of Building of square Stone, which is now standing, to support the East end of the Church. This Lump of Stone you would take to be a Piece of a craggy Rock, though it does not seem, by reason of the Earthquakes, to be of the same Height as it was when it was first built, yet is it as near as high, as Evagrius mentions it to be. Since which, to fortify the labouring Pillars, it is lengthen’d with four Walls. These Walls are more than twenty Foot long and eight Foot broad, rising to the Height of the great Pillars, and seem, to speak in the Terms of Architecture, to be Wings to the Church, or rather Buttresses, by which the North and South Side of it are strengthen’d and supported. Both Ends of the Church, which project beyond the eight Pillars, extending themselves each into a Semi-dome, and rising at Top into an arched Form, are yet remaining. The same lower Galleries for the Men, and the same upper Galleries for the Women, the whole Roof, the same Walls and Pillars, the same Dimensions of the Church, as originally beautify’d and adorn’d, are still in Being. There are indeed some Flaws in the Building, occasion’d by those who opposed the setting up of Images in the Church. In short, the whole, and every part of it, is to be seen at present; and it is despoiled of nothing, except a little of the Metal-work, which shews itself in great abundance through the whole Church. The Sanctum Sanctorum, formerly holy and unpolluted, into which the Priests only were suffer’d to enter, is yet standing, though there is nothing remaining of the Jewels and precious Stones which adorn’d it, as having been plunder’d by its sacrilegious Enemies. That inimitable Table, given to the Church by its Founder Justinian, made of the different Materials of Gold, Silver, all Kinds of Wood, costly Stones, which either the Sea or the whole World could produce, and which was embellish’d and enrich’d with infinite Offerings of Emperors, Popes, Princes, and Ladies of the first Quality; among whom was Pulcheria, the Daughter of Arcadius, and Sister of Theodosius the Less, is at present despoil’d of all its fine Decorations. Sozomen tells us, that this Table was a very beautiful and surprizing Ornament to the Church, which was endow’d with very ample Donations, the Mahometan Priests being now in Possession of them. They have eleven hundred Shops and publick Houses, situate in the best Markets of the City, which pay them a constant Revenue or Rent, without any Deductions, for their Maintenance and Support.

Chap. V.

Of the Statues discover’d on one Side of the Church of St. Sophia.

ON the Side of the Church of St. Sophia, says Suidas, were discovered more than seventy Statues of the Grecian Deities, the Figures of the twelve Signs of the Zodiack, and no less than eighty Statues of Christian Princes and Emperors, which, when Justinian had commanded to be placed in several Parts of the City, he built the great Church. I could give the Reader an Account of the Names of these Deities from an unknown Author, who has wrote a Treatise of Constantinople, and the adjacent Countrey; but I have found him faulty in so many of his Narrations, that I cannot depend upon his Authority.

Chap. VI.

Of the Pharo on the Promontory Ceras, and the Mangana.

Ammianus Marcellinus writes, that there was built near the Promontory Ceras, a high Watch-Tower, which was call’d Pharos, and was a Guide to the Ships at a great Distance. The Situation of this Pharos, in all Probability, was near the Church of St. Sophia. For from what Part of the City could it spread a more convenient and diffusive Light to those who sail’d out of the Bosporus and the Propontis? Dionysius calls it the Bosporian Promontory, and tells us, that Io, the Daughter of Inachus, provoked by Juno’s Resentment against her, passed over from thence into Asia. The Place call’d the Mangana was their Armoury, where they kept their Ordnance. It stood in the Imperial Precinct, or by it, near the Chops of the Bosporus. The Emperor Constantine, Surnamed Monomachus, built a handsome and large Monastery, which is also call’d Mangana, in Honour of the noble Martyr St. George. Alexius Comnenus, when he was ill of the Gout, was carry’d to the great Palace, which stands in the Eastern part of the City; but when his Physicians judg’d it not to be so wholsome an Air, he was removed into the Palace of the Mangana.

Chap. VII.

Of the Bagnio’s of Zeuxippus and its Statues.

THESE Bagnio’s were so call’d, as Cedrinus relates, because they were built in a Place, where formerly had stood the Temple of Jupiter Zeuxippus. This is said of them by Eusebius, who writes, That there are some of Opinion, that the fine Bathing-place at Constantinople took its Name from the famous Painter Zeuxes, whose Pieces adorn’d it. I collect that it stood near the Church of St. Sophia, not only from the Treatise of the ancient Description of the City, which places them both in the same Ward, but also from the Fire which happen’d in the Reign of Justinian, and burnt down, as Procopius observes, the Church of St. Sophia, and the adjacent Buildings, as the Bagnio of Zeuxippus, and the House of Entrance before the Palace; and Zonaras writes, that Severus the Emperor join’d it to the Hippodrom, and built it on the same Spot of Ground, where formerly had stood the Temple of Jupiter. Leontius, a more ancient and judicious Historian, does not join it to the Hippodrom, but makes it to stand near it, as appears by his Verses inscrib’d over a Door of a House, situate between the Zeuxippum and the Hippodrom.

An Inscription of Leontius upon a House call’d the Zeuxippum and the Hippodrom.

Cedrinus relates, that in this Bagnio there was a pleasant Variety of Prospects of surprizing Art, both in Marble and Stone-work, in Statues of Brass, and Figures of Persons of Antiquity, who seem’d to want nothing but a Soul to animate and enliven them. Among these celebrated Pieces of the most exquisite Workmanship, was the Statue of old Homer, in a thoughtful Posture, just as he was, his Hands folded in his Breast, his Beard carelessly hanging down, his Hair very thin before, his Face wrinkled with Age, and the Cares of the World; his Nose well proportion’d, his Eyes fix’d in their Sockets, as is usual with blind Persons, which he was generally look’d upon to be. Over his close Coat hung a loose Garment, and under his Feet, upon the Pedestal of the Pillar, was a Bridle in Brass. This Place was also beautify’d with the brazen Statues of all those renown’d Personages who had been famous for Wisdom, Poetry, Oratory or Courage, throughout the World, but were all destroy’d by Fire. Among these were the Statues of Deiphobus, Æschines, Demosthenes, Aristotle, Euripides, Hesiod, Theocritus, Simonides, Anaximenes, Calchas, Pyrrhus, Amymone; of Sappho, Apollo, Venus, Chrysa, Julius Cæsar, Plato, Hermaphroditus, Herinna, Terpander, Pericles, Pythagoras, Stesichorus, Democritus; of Hercules, Aurora, Æneas, Creusa, Helenus, Andromachus, Menelaus, Helena, Ulysses, Hecuba, Cassandra, Polyxena, Ajax, Paris, and his Oenone; of Milo, Dares and Entellus, Charidemus, Melampus, Panthous, Demogeron, Isocrates, Amphiaraus, Sarpedon, Achilles, Mercury, Apuleius, Diana, Pherecydes, Heraclitus, Cratinus, Menander, Amphitryon, Thucydides, Herodotus, Pindar, Xenophon, Alcmæon, Pompey and Virgil. There were also many other Statues which have been describ’d in Verse by Christodorus a Poet of Thebes, or, as others report, a Native of Coptos in Ægypt, which, were it not a Work of Prolixity, I would explain to the Reader. There stood near the Bagnio call’d Zeuxippum, a small Bath, taken Notice of by Leontius in the following Lines:

There is nothing of the Zeuxippum remaining at present, nor of many other fine Bagnio’s, although we have many Inscriptions relating to them; as of that famous one celebrated by Agathius, in which Venus is said to have bathed her self; also of another call’d Didymum, in which both Sexes used to wash, describ’d in Verse by Paulus Silentiarius, and a third made memorable by an Inscription of the learned Leontius. Besides these, there was another named Cupido, describ’d by the ingenious Marianus; yet are all of them either entirely ruin’d, or so defaced by the Mahometans, that you cannot discover who built them, or to whom they belong’d.

Chap. VIII.

Of the Hospitals of Sampson and Eubulus.

THERE was built, as Procopius says, a Hospital for the Relief of poor and sick People. It was founded in ancient Times by a holy Man, whose Name was Sampson. But it did not escape the Flames, occasion’d by a riotous Mob, which burnt down that and the Church of St. Sophia. It was rebuilt by Julian, who beautify’d and enlarged it with a Multitude of small handsome Apartments, and afterwards endow’d it with a yearly Stipend, for the Support and Comfort of the miserable and distressed. But the good Emperor not being content with this Oblation he had made to God, with the Co-assistance of his Imperial Consort Theodora, built over-against it two other Hospitals on the same Ground, where formerly stood the Houses of Isidorus and Arcadius. Thus far Procopius. From whence I would observe, that the Hospital of Sampson was not far from the Church of St. Sophia, and have read in the History of an unknown Author, that it stood over-against it. I am confirm’d in this Opinion by the Authority of Zonaras, who tells us in the like Manner, that there was a Fire occasion’d by a Faction, which burnt down the great Church, that of St. Irene, the Hospital of Eubulus, the Chalca, the Bagnio of Severus, call’d the Zeuxippum, and many other Buildings. This is farther attested by Cedrinus, who speaking of the same Fire, tells us, That a great Part of the City, the Churches of St. Sophia and St. Irene, the Hospitals of Sampson and Eubulus, with the sick People inhabiting them, as also the Augustean Gate-house of the Basilica, the Chalca, the two Portico’s, as far as the Forum, the Octogon and the Bagnio of Zeuxippus, were destroy’d by Fire. After I had made the former Quotation from the printed Works of Procopius, I lighted by chance upon a Manuscript of him, wherein I was inform’d, that the Hospital of Sampson stood between the two Churches of St. Sophia and St. Irene.

Chap. IX.

Of the Statue of Eudoxia Augusta, for which St. Chrysostom was sent into Banishment.

Socrates and Sozomen, Writers of sacred History, tells us, that a Silver Statue of Eudoxia Augusta was erected upon a Porphyry Pillar on the South Side of the Church of St. Sophia, though at some Distance from it, near the Senate-House. The People commonly paid their Homage and Acclamations to this Statue. There were publick Entertainments of Dancing, and other mimical Gestures acted before it, according to a Custom which had long prevail’d, of paying Adoration to the Images of Princes. St. Chrysostom reflecting upon this Practice, as contrary to the Precepts of the Christian Religion, publickly condemn’d it in a Sermon. Eudoxia believing her self to be closely struck at in that Discourse, banish’d him. I should here take Notice of the Miliarium and the Basilica, as being near the Church of St. Sophia, but then I shall invert the Method I proposed to observe.

Chap. X.

Of those Parts of the City which are contain’d in the third Ward.

THE third Ward is discover’d to have been that Space of Ground upon which stood the Hippodrom, the House of Abraham Bassa, the Gate of Leo, and the Haven which the Inhabitants call the Caterga Limena, where the Three-oar’d Galleys used to anchor, and so on to the Top of the second Hill, as far as the Forum of Constantine. I made this Observation, not only from the Order the Wards stand in, but also from the Treatise of the Description of the Wards, which says, that the third Ward, at the Entrance of it, is a Level Ground, but in the most remote Part of it, it descends with too great a Declivity into the Sea, and contains the Tribunal of the Forum of Constantine, the Circus Maximus, the House of Pulcheria Augusta, the new Port, and the semicircular Portico, made after the Figure of an old Greek Sigma.

Chap. XI.

Of the Hippodrom, its Obelisk, its Statues, and Columns.

Modern Historians, as Zonaras and others, write, that the Hippodrom was built by Severus upon his Reconciliation with the Byzantians. Zosimus, a more ancient Writer tells us, that it was built, and curiously beautified by Constantine the Great, part of which he made the Temple of Castor and Pollux, whose Images remain’d in the Portico’s of the Hippodrom down to his Time; that is, ’till the Reign of Theodosius the Less. In the middle of the Circo, which the Greeks call the Hippodrom, there stood an Obelisk made of Thebaick Stone; but as the ancient Description of the Wards takes no Notice of it, tho’ it does of the Square Thebaick Obelisk in the fifth Ward, I should be inclin’d to believe, that the Obelisk, I am speaking of, was overturn’d by an Earth-quake, and remov’d by Theodosius into the Hippodrom, after that Treatise was wrote, if the Author had not taken notice of many of Theodosius’s Works, and omitted some Things in the Wards, which he afterwards mention’d in his General View of the City. ’Tis very probable, that Constantinople had more Obelisks than one. As to that taken notice of in the fifth Ward, it is not now remaining. When first I arriv’d at Constantinople I saw two of them, one in the Circus Maximus, another in the Imperial Precinct, standing on the North-side of the first Hill. This last was of a square Figure, and was erected near the Houses of the Grand Seignor’s Glaziers. A little time after I saw it lying prostrate without the Precinct, and found it to be thirty five Foot in Length. Each of its Sides, if I mistake not, was six Foot broad, and the whole was eight Yards in Compass. It was purchased by Antonius Priolus, a Nobleman of Venice, who sent it thither, and placed it in St. Stephen’s Market. The other is standing in the Hippodrom to this Day. ’Tis supported by four square broad Pieces of Brass, each a Foot and a half high, with a Base and a Pedestal of the same Height. From the Ground there rise two Steps against the Pedestal, the lowermost of which is a Foot high, and of the same Breadth: The upper Step is two Foot high, and projects four Foot and four Fingers Breadth beyond the Pedestal. The Steps are not laid within the Pedestal, but are join’d to it withoutside, as appears by the Cement. Upon the Steps stands the Pedestal, which is every way twelve Foot broad, four Foot eight Digits in Height and projects beyond the Base a Foot and a half: Somewhat above a Foot higher it is more contracted, and does not project beyond its Base; for from the Top of the Pedestal there’s a Fluting on the four Sides of the Obelisk which is cut out of the same Stone of which the Pedestal is made, and is a Foot and thirteen Digits high. The Corners of the Top of the Pedestal are worn, and defac’d, but are repair’d by four Stones of Thebaick Porphyry Marble, each of them a Foot and a half high; for all the fluted Part of the Pedestal that lies between these four angular Stones, together with the upper Part of it, support the Base, which is seven Foot and thirteen Digits high, and projects a Foot and a half beyond the Bottom of the Shaft of the Obelisk, to the Breadth of nine Foot, and as many Digits: ’Tis carv’d on all Sides, as is also the Pedestal, which is covered with curious Statues cut in Basso Relievo. The Sculptures on the North-side of it, stand in two Ranges, the lowermost of which contains eighteen Statues, and two Cap-stands, which are turn’d round with Iron Crows by four Men, and wind the Ropes, which are drawn through Pullies, round the Cap-stand, and so draw the Obelisk along the Ground. In the same Range is engraved the Obelisk in an upright Posture, as it now stands, with three Statues, one of which, as the Inhabitants tell you, represents the Master, and the other the Servant, whom he design’d to correct, if a third Person had not interposed, because he had erected the Obelisk in his Absence. In the upper Range there are also the Figures of two Cap-stands, with the same Number of Men working them, and labouring with those below them, to drag the Obelisk. The Wreaths of the Ropes in particular, are very nicely cut. If the Reader could apprehend the manner in which this cumbersome Pillar was erected, I believe he would judge it was done the way, as Marcellinus describes. There was nothing wanting, says he, but the Erection of the Obelisk, the Accomplishment of which, without the greatest Danger, could scarcely be conceiv’d. You might see, says he, a vast Wood of Scaffolding made of tall Beams: At the Top of these were fix’d large, and long Ropes, after the manner of Threads in a Weaver’s Loom; which by their Thickness and Closeness to one another, darkned the Air. These Ropes at the Bottom were fastned round the Obelisk, which being leisurely drawn into the Air, many thousands working at the Cap-stands, was at last fix’d upon its Basis. I believe there are at present Engineers at Constantinople, who could do the same thing. I am induc’d to think so, by what I observ’d of a Pillar on the Side of the fifth Hill, which was almost equal in Magnitude to this Obelisk. I saw this Pillar taken off its Basis, and laid upon the Ground in the following manner. Round the Pillar, though at some Distance from it, they fix’d in the Ground near to one another large Poles, much taller than the Pillar, at an equal Distance from each other. At the Top of these Poles, they laid others across them, which were fasten’d to them in the strongest manner, and to which were fix’d the Pullies, through which the Ropes slipp’d, which reach’d from the Bottom of the Shaft of the Pillar to the Top, and were fasten’d to it: The Ropes were so thick, both length-ways and cross-ways, that at some Distance the Scaffolding look’d like a square Tower. There were many Cap-stands on all Sides fix’d in the Ground, which were turn’d by infinite Numbers of the strongest Youth, till they had mov’d it from its Basis, and laid it prostrate with the Earth. They afterwards laid it upon strong Carriages, the Wheels of which were bound with thick Iron, and brought it safe to the third Hill, and set it up as an Ornament to the Mosque of Solyman the Emperor. But to return to the Obelisk; on the West-side of the Pedestal was the following Inscription in Greek: