Forum of Constantine
When you visit Sultanahmet and take the tram to the Grand Bazaar, you will inevitably come across a column that locals call “Çemberli Taş.”
It is a rather massive column, encircled by rings. Its Turkish name literally means “column with rings.” You might wonder what this column symbolizes and why it stands in that particular location.
Reconstruction of Forum of Constantine
Thanks to Byzantine1200 Project, we can imagine how the Forum of Constantine looked like
I want you to imagine that this column once stood at the center of the Forum of Constantine, the emperor considered the “founding father” of Constantinople. Atop the column stood his statue, erect and symbolizing both the emperor himself and his divine authority.
His original nude and gilded bronze statue once depicted Constantine as Apollo-Helios wearing a radiate crown, with a spear in one hand and a globe in the other. The statue was a tribute to his God like qualities, his military power and his sovereignty over the globe. Too many powerful messages for one statue!
We know that the statue was erecred in 328 AD. Constantine’s statue, glittering and flashing in the sun, stood for 800 years and was visible throughout Constantinople; could it be also seen from sea as you sailed around the city. (quote taken from pallasweb.com)
In 1105, the statue was blown off its column and, forty years later, replaced by a cross by Manuel I Comnenus. The Forum of Constantine was destroyed in 1204, when the Crusaders set fires that damaged the column and destroyed the cross. Although a new cross was placed on the column after Constantinople was rebuilt following the Crusaders’ departure 50 years later, it was finally removed by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, who conquered the city in 1453. Note that the Ottomans restored the column in 1515 by adding iron rings to strengthen it; hence, it became known as the Column with Rings (Çemberlitaş).
Today, neither the Forum nor the statue remains; only the column survives, standing in the center of the forum, where it once bore a majestic statue, serving for centuries as a reminder of Constantinople’s former glory.
Visuals are taken from pallasweb.com and onedio.com.
