Editing Constantinople (section)

=== 527–565: Constantinople in the Age of Justinian ===
[[File:Map of Constantinople (1422) by Florentine cartographer Cristoforo Buondelmonte.jpg|thumb|Map of Constantinople (1422) by Florentine cartographer [[Cristoforo Buondelmonti]]<ref>''Liber insularum Archipelagi'', [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]], Paris.</ref> is the oldest surviving map of the city, and the only one that predates the Turkish conquest of the city in 1453.]]
[[File:Hagia Sophia Mars 2013.jpg|thumb|The current [[Hagia Sophia]] was commissioned by Emperor [[Justinian I]] after the previous one was destroyed in the [[Nika riots]] of 532. It was converted into a mosque in 1453 when the Ottoman Empire commenced and was a museum from 1935 to 2020.]]
The emperor [[Justinian I]] (527–565) was known for his successes in war, for his legal reforms and for his public works. It was from Constantinople that his expedition for the reconquest of the former Diocese of Africa set sail on or about 21 June 533. Before their departure, the ship of the commander [[Belisarius]] was anchored in front of the Imperial palace, and the Patriarch offered prayers for the success of the enterprise. After the victory, in 534, the [[Herod's Temple|Temple treasure of Jerusalem]], looted by the Romans in [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|AD&nbsp;70]] and taken to [[Carthage]] by the [[Vandals]] after their sack of Rome in 455, was brought to Constantinople and deposited for a time, perhaps in the [[Church of St Polyeuctus]], before being returned to [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]] in either the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre|Church of the Resurrection]] or the New Church.<ref>Margaret Barker, Times Literary Supplement 4 May 2007, p. 26.</ref>

Chariot-racing had been important in Rome for centuries. In Constantinople, the hippodrome became over time increasingly a place of political significance. It was where (as a shadow of the popular elections of old Rome) the people by acclamation showed their approval of a new emperor, and also where they openly criticized the government, or clamoured for the removal of unpopular ministers. It played a crucial role during the riots and in times of political unrest. The Hippodrome provided a space for a crowd to be responded to positively or where the acclamations of a crowd were subverted, resorting to the riots that would ensue in coming years.<ref name="doi.org">Greatrex, Geoffrey. “The Nika Riot: A Reappraisal.” ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', vol. 117, 1997, pp. 60–86. {{doi|10.2307/632550}}. Accessed 9 Nov. 2023.</ref> In the time of Justinian, public order in Constantinople became a critical political issue.

Throughout the late Roman and early Byzantine periods, Christianity was resolving fundamental questions of identity, and the dispute between the [[Chalcedonians]] and the [[non-Chalcedonians]] became the cause of serious disorder, expressed through allegiance to the chariot-racing parties of the Blues and the Greens. The partisans of the Blues and the Greens were said<ref>Procopius' '' Secret History'': see P Neville-Ure, Justinian and his Age, 1951.</ref> to affect untrimmed facial hair, head hair shaved at the front and grown long at the back, and wide-sleeved tunics tight at the wrist; and to form gangs to engage in night-time muggings and street violence. At last these disorders took the form of a major rebellion of 532, known as the [[Nika riots|"Nika" riots]] (from the battle-cry of "Conquer!" of those involved).<ref>James Grout: [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/nika.html "The Nika Riot"], part of the ''Encyclopædia Romana''</ref> The [[Nika Riots]] began in the Hippodrome and finished there with the onslaught of over 30,000 people according to Procopius, those in the blue and green factions, innocent and guilty. This came full circle on the relationship within the Hippodrome between the power and the people during the time of Justinian.<ref name="doi.org"/>

Fires started by the Nika rioters consumed the Theodosian basilica of Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), the city's cathedral, which lay to the north of the Augustaeum and had itself replaced the Constantinian basilica founded by Constantius II to replace the first Byzantine cathedral, [[Hagia Irene]] (Holy Peace). Justinian commissioned [[Anthemius of Tralles]] and [[Isidore of Miletus]] to replace it with a new and incomparable [[Hagia Sophia]]. This was the great cathedral of the city, whose dome was said to be held aloft by God alone, and which was directly connected to the palace so that the imperial family could attend services without passing through the streets. "The architectural form of the building was meant to reflect Justinian programmatic harmony: the circular dome (a symbol of secular authority in classical Roman architecture) would be harmoniously combined with the rectangular form (typical for Christian and pre-Christian temples)."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calian |first=Florin George |date=2021-03-25 |title=Opinion {{!}} The Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Neo-Ottomanism |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/ |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=The Armenian Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref> The dedication took place on 26 December 537 in the presence of the emperor, who was later reported to have exclaimed, "O [[Solomon's Temple|Solomon]], I have outdone thee!"<ref>Source for quote: ''Scriptores originum Constantinopolitanarum'', ed T Preger I 105 (see [[Alexander Vasiliev (historian)|A. A. Vasiliev]], ''History of the Byzantine Empire'', 1952, vol I, p. 188).</ref> Hagia Sophia was served by 600 people including 80 priests, and cost 20,000 pounds of gold to build.<ref name="cost">{{Cite book |last=Madden |first=Thomas F. |title=Crusades: The Illustrated History |date=2004 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=9780472114634 |page=114}}</ref>

Justinian also had Anthemius and Isidore demolish and replace the original [[Church of the Holy Apostles]] and Hagia Irene built by Constantine with new churches under the same dedication. The Justinianic Church of the Holy Apostles was designed in the form of an equal-armed cross with five domes, and ornamented with beautiful mosaics. This church was to remain the burial place of the emperors from Constantine himself until the 11th century. When the city fell to the Turks in 1453, the church was demolished to make room for the tomb of [[Mehmet II]] the Conqueror. Justinian was also concerned with other aspects of the city's built environment, legislating against the abuse of laws prohibiting building within {{cvt|100|ft|m}} of the sea front, in order to protect the view.<ref>Justinian, ''Novellae'' 63 and 165.</ref>

During Justinian I's reign, the city's population reached about 500,000 people.<ref>[http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H303/handouts/Population.htm Early Medieval and Byzantine Civilization: Constantine to Crusades] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150826083011/http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H303/handouts/Population.htm |date=August 26, 2015 }}, Kenneth W. Harl.</ref> However, the social fabric of Constantinople was also damaged by the onset of the [[Plague of Justinian]] between 541 and 542 AD, It killed perhaps 40% of the city's inhabitants.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4381924.stm Past pandemics that ravaged Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007210210/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4381924.stm |date=2017-10-07 }}, [[BBC News]], November 7, 2005.</ref> Lasting two months, the plague is noted to have caused widespread civil disruption, including the inability of the population to bury the dead and attend relatives funerals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malalas |first=John |title=The Chronicle of John Malalas |date=1 January 1986 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-34460-0 |location=Leiden |publication-date=1 January 1986 |pages=286–287 |language=English}}</ref>

[[File:Walls of Constantinople.JPG|right|thumb|Restored section of the fortifications ([[Theodosian Walls]]) that protected Constantinople during the [[medieval period]]]]