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History–Tours
33011 May 330 · Istanbul

Founding of Constantinople

The Egyptian obelisk of Theodosius standing in the old Hippodrome of Constantinople
Photo: Ank Kumar. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Constantine the Great refounded the Greek city of Byzantium as a new imperial capital on the Bosphorus and dedicated it in 330. Constantinople became the seat of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empire for more than a thousand years, a Christian capital that preserved Roman law and Greek learning. Justinian's Hagia Sophia followed in 537.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square)Egyptian obelisk and Serpent Column on the line of the chariot track.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Column of Constantine, ÇemberlitaşThe porphyry column Constantine raised in his forum.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Hagia SophiaJustinian's domed church, later a mosque, with Byzantine mosaics.Map ↗

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