Notes towards the reconstruction of the forum of the strategion and its related roads in early byzantine constantinople

Abstract

Byzantine Constantinople was structured upon arcaded streets of shops, or emboloi, and formal public fora, which usually served the purpose of housing various kinds of markets. The largest and perhaps oldest of these was the Strategion, which consisted of two courts that were adjacent to the inlet of the Golden Horn, and the Neorian and Prosphorian harbours giving access to the Bosphorus, and thus to the Mediterranean and Black Seas, in the period up to the seventh century. However, the exact location and scale of the Strategion has not yet been determined, and the location of the streets connecting from the central Mese road to the Strategion has been the matter of debate. In this paper, I shall examine field drawings executed by the Swiss archaeologist Ernest Mamboury in the 1920s of building foundations uncovered during council canalization works for the new sewer system in Istanbul, in order to propose a new layout of the street system in the north-eastern sector of Byzantine Constantinople leading to the Strategion. The paper is based upon analysis of digital maps that place the found remains in relation to site contours, modern and existing Byzantine buildings, and current streets. Notably, the study locates what appear to be two major streets with what appear to be shops and courtyards aligned along them. These streets will be reconciled with known buildings and structures, such as the Milion, and churches of St Sophia and St Mary Chalkoprateia. I shall argue that locating the streets has enabled determination of the entrance to the forum, and thus adds to knowledge of the topographical layout of this district of Constantinople.