Founding of Constantinople (330): Constantine's New Rome

The founding of Constantinople was the refoundation of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great as a new imperial city bearing his name. Chosen in 324 and dedicated on 11 May AD 330, it was planned on a grand scale and soon rivalled Rome itself. As Constantinople, and later Istanbul, it would remain one of the world’s great cities, serving as capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for more than a thousand years.

Background: Byzantium before Constantine

Byzantium was founded by Greek colonists from Megara, traditionally in 667 BC, on a peninsula where the Bosporus strait meets the Sea of Marmara. A deep natural harbour, later called the Golden Horn, lay on its northern side. The city controlled shipping between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and the main crossing between Europe and Asia.

Under Roman rule Byzantium was a prosperous but secondary city. In AD 196 the emperor Septimius Severus destroyed its walls after it had supported his rival Pescennius Niger, then rebuilt parts of it, including a hippodrome. By the early fourth century it was a modest provincial town.

By then Rome had long since ceased to be the place where emperors lived. During the Tetrarchy of Diocletian, rulers resided at frontier cities such as Nicomedia, Milan, Trier and Sirmium, close to the armies.

Choosing the site

In 324 Constantine fought his last war against his co-emperor Licinius. After victories at Adrianople and in a sea battle at the Hellespont, he defeated Licinius at Chrysopolis, on the Asian shore directly opposite Byzantium, on 18 September 324. He was now sole ruler of the Roman Empire.

Shortly afterwards, in late 324, Constantine marked out the boundaries of a new city on the site of Byzantium. Later church historians say he had first considered other places, including the area of ancient Troy, but such stories may be later embellishments. One legend says he traced the line of the new walls on foot with a spear, telling his companions he would keep walking until the divine guide ahead of him stopped.

The practical advantages were clear. The site was easily defended by sea on three sides, had excellent harbours and lay between the Danube frontier and the Persian frontier, the two regions where emperors were most often needed.

Building New Rome

Constantine’s city was several times larger than Byzantium. New land walls were built about 2.8 kilometres west of the old ones, cutting across the peninsula from the Golden Horn to the Sea of Marmara. Work proceeded at great speed, and much of the city was still unfinished at the dedication.

Its main monuments included:

• The Forum of Constantine: an oval forum just outside the old walls, at its centre a tall column of porphyry drums carrying a statue of Constantine, apparently shown with the rays of the sun god. The damaged column still stands in Istanbul, known as Çemberlitaş, the “hooped stone”, after the iron bands that hold it together.
• The Hippodrome: the chariot-racing arena begun under Severus was enlarged, with the imperial box linked directly to the palace. Constantine brought famous monuments to decorate it, including the bronze Serpent Column from Delphi, dedicated by Greek cities after the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, which still stands on the site.
• The Great Palace: a vast complex of halls, courtyards and gardens running down towards the Sea of Marmara, which remained the main imperial residence for centuries.
• The Mese: the city’s main colonnaded street, running from the palace area through the forums towards the walls.
• Churches: Constantine built the Church of the Holy Apostles, intended as his own mausoleum, and probably began the first church of Hagia Irene. The first church of Hagia Sophia was completed by his son Constantius II and dedicated in 360.

To adorn his new city, Constantine gathered statues and works of art from across the eastern provinces. Saint Jerome remarked that Constantinople was dedicated by stripping almost every other city bare.

Dedication on 11 May 330

The city was formally dedicated on 11 May 330 with ceremonies lasting several days. Christian and traditional elements were mixed, as was typical of Constantine’s reign. For centuries afterwards, the anniversary was celebrated in the Hippodrome, where a gilded statue of Constantine was carried in procession.

The new city received many of Rome’s privileges. It had its own senate, at first of lower rank than Rome’s, and its own urban administration. From 332 free bread was distributed to citizens, funded by grain shipments from Egypt; a late source gives the figure of 80,000 daily rations. Settlers were encouraged with grants of land and houses.

The imperial mints marked the occasion. From 330 they struck large numbers of small bronze coins in pairs: one type showed a helmeted personification of Rome, the other a personification of Constantinople with a sceptre and the prow of a ship. Found in huge quantities across the empire, these coins announced to ordinary Romans that the empire now had two great cities.

Myths and facts

Myth: Constantine moved the capital from Rome to Constantinople. Rome had already ceased to be the emperors’ usual residence decades earlier, and Constantinople was not formally declared the sole capital. It was at first an imperial city among several, but its status grew quickly, and it became the permanent residence of the eastern emperors from the end of the fourth century.

Myth: it was founded as a purely Christian city. Constantine filled it with churches, but the city also had temples. The pagan historian Zosimus says he built shrines to the goddess Rhea and to the Fortune of the city, and traditional statues were displayed throughout.

Fact: the name New Rome was official. Besides Constantinopolis, the city was called New Rome, a title confirmed by the Council of Constantinople in 381.

Growth and legacy

Constantine died near Nicomedia on 22 May 337 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles. His city grew rapidly. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395 it became the capital of the eastern half, and in 413 the Theodosian Walls were built further west, enclosing a much larger area. Population estimates for its peak in the fifth and sixth centuries commonly range from about 300,000 to 500,000.

Under Justinian in the sixth century the city gained its most famous building, the domed church of Hagia Sophia. Constantinople survived sieges by Avars, Persians, Arabs and Rus, was sacked by crusaders in 1204 and finally fell to the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II in 1453, an event described in the Fall of Constantinople.

Timeline

• c. 667 BC: Greek colonists from Megara found Byzantium (traditional date).
• AD 196: Septimius Severus takes and partly rebuilds Byzantium.
• 324, 18 September: Constantine defeats Licinius at Chrysopolis.
• 324, late: The boundaries of the new city are marked out.
• 330, 11 May: Constantinople is formally dedicated.
• 332: Free grain distribution begins.
• 337, 22 May: Constantine dies and is buried in the Holy Apostles.
• 360: The first Hagia Sophia is dedicated.
• 381: The Council of Constantinople calls the city New Rome.
• 413: The Theodosian Walls are completed.

Why it matters

The founding of Constantinople shifted the centre of the Roman world eastwards. The city preserved Roman law, Greek learning and Christian tradition long after the western empire fell, and its position between Europe and Asia made it one of history’s great crossroads. Its creation in 330 is often seen as the beginning of the Byzantine Empire.