After the Fall

[Divi Filius]

As Christianity eradicated the old traditions of Rome, the old buildings went with it. However the hippodrome did not start its complete decay until after 1204 I believe.

 

The decline of aqueducts has more to do with the fact that Constantinople was a city that was constantly under siege from some kind of force. The city always felt threatened. Therefore it learned not to rely on external sources of water (this was ultimately one of the reasons why Rome had to submit to invading armies: they destroyed the aqueducts and choked the city). This lead to it placing its trust on massive cisterns.

 

subsistence farming was taking place within the walls of the city.

 

This ultimately came as the city's population declined, but I guess its another staple of a city that is fearful of subsistance on outside forces.

Edited March 16, 2007 by Divi Filius

[Divi Filius]

For those interested in the development/look of Constantinople, you might find this book interesting:

 

The Urban Image of Late Antique Constantinople. Review can be found Here.

Edited March 16, 2007 by Divi Filius

[DecimusCaesar]

This might even be a topic for another thread, but I have heard that even Constantinople fell into decay towards the end of the Byzantine era. The Hippodrome stopped getting repaired and fell into disuse and the aqueducts no longer worked. The cisterns still had water in them, but they were not fed by aqueducts (most likely rainwater) and subsistence farming was taking place within the walls of the city. Anybody have any info on that? I don't know why I'm so intrigued by ruins. I should be more interested in the glory of the civilization. I guess for me it's all about putting the pieces together from what it once was to what it is now.

 

Constantinople had fallen into decay by the late fifteenth century. When the city was taken by the Ottomans in 1453; the Sultan Mehmet II surveyed his newly conquered capital. According to sources he visited the Palace of the Emperors that was already ruined by that time. Even though the city suffered only miminal damage in the conquest - The sultan had ordered the soldiers not to damage the buildings - some of the old Byzantine buildings were swept away to make way for Ottoman ones. The burial grounds of several Byzantine emperors were demolished and mosques were built in their place. Many of the old churches were also converted to mosques - their interiors re-furbished to suit Ottoman tastes.

 

As for the Byzantium of Constantine I, not much of it survives today. The city was built quickly during the early days, and as a result the buildings were not sound. Many of them had already collapsed a few years after Constantine's death. Others were demolished by subsequent Byzantine rulers. There's more information to be had on the city's decline in Runciman's 'The Fall of Constantinople 1453'. I also recommend John Norwich's Byzantium trilogy - He might not discuss the ruination of city specifcally, but his history of the empire is indispensible.