THE CENTER OF THE CITY - The Other Side of Byzantium

DavidBergstein ByzantineArt ProfessorRicci

Bergstein 1

TheMese:MainStreetofConstantinople

THECENTEROFTHECITY

Imaginethemainstreetofyourowntown,thecenterofyourhomecity.Thereare shopsandrestaurants,marketsandamusementcenters,bustlingactivityandthe crowdsofpeople.Justlikemodernurbancenters,ByzantineConstantinoplehada mainstreet,knownasthemese.Infact,thewordmesemeansliterally"middleroad," indicatingthecentralityofthis street(Kazhdan).Cuttingthrough virtuallytheentirecity,themese wasthemainavenueoftraffic runningthroughoralongside almosteverymajormonumentand gatheringspaceofcivicimportance.

Andjustlikethemainstreetsof

Image1TheMeseofConstantinople

entry/Constantinople

today,themesewasmorethanjusta

road?itwasalsothecenterofeconomicandsocialactivity,surroundedby

porticoes,orcolonnadedshoppingcenters.Anexaminationofthismonument

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providesbothagreaterunderstandingofdailylifeinByzantium,aswellasamore unified,comprehensivepictureofthecityofConstantinople.

URBANGEOGRAPHYANDHISTORY

Approximately25meterswide,themesebeganattheMilionStone,locatedinthe AugusteonSquareoutsideofthepresentdayHagiaSophia,andextendedwestpast theedgesoftheHippodrome,thePalacesofLausosandAntiochus,throughthe ForumofConstantineandtheForumofTheodosius.Shortlyafterpassingthrough theConstantinianCapitoliumtheroadbifurcated,withonebranchrunning northwestandendingattheGateofPolyandriattheTheodosianWalls,andthe other(moreimportant)routeheadingsouthwest,passingthroughtheForumsof BovisandArcadiusbeforeendingattheceremonialGoldenGate,whereitjoinedthe ViaEgnatia,themainroadoftheRomanEmpire(Kuban35.)

Someearlyformofthemeseprobablyexistedinthepre-ConstantinopleRoman settlementestablishedbySeptimusSeverusasanextensionoftheViaEgnatia.The ViaEgnatiawasthemainroadoftheEasternRomanEmpire,whichwoundthrough GreeceandtheneventuallyconnectedtothethensmallsettlementofByzantium. However,themeseofConstantinoplecanbedatedtothefoundingofthecityitselfin 330A.D(Kuban72).

Inadditiontoitscentrality,runningvirtuallyalongthe"spine"ofthecitythrough almosteverymajormonumentandpublicspace,theimportanceofthemesecan alsobeseeninrelationtootherlesserroadnetworksofthecity.Relyingon excavationscompletedinthe1930sbyvonGerkanandOlofDalman,Albrecht

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Borgerwasalsoabletoestablishthecomparativecentralityandimportanceofthe

mesebystudyingtheroadlayoutof

Constantinople(Berger162).The

threeother"majorroads"identified

byBerger,"appeartoradiatefroma

singlepoint"formingamoreorless

rectangularpatternofurban

pathways(Berger165).Incontrast,

the"onlymajorstreetthatdoesnot

fit...isthemainstreet,"whichcut

throughthestreetpatternata

rectangularangle(Berger165).

Image2RoadPatternsofConstantinople

Thus,similartothelargemodern

Berger,Albrecht."StreetsandPublicSpacesin Constantinople."DumbartonOaksPapers,Vol.54,(2000).

DumbartonOaks,TrusteesforHarvardUniversity.

thoroughfaresofPennsylvaniaAvenue

inWashingtonD.C.or5thAvenueinNewYorkCity,themesedistinguisheditself

fromlesserstreetsbothinit'ssizeandthroughaconscientiousdisruptionofthe

normaltrafficpattern.

WHATTHEMESELOOKEDLIKE,THEECONOMICANDCULTURALSIGNIFICANCE

Thedefiningfeatureofthemesewasthecolonnadedporticoesthatsurroundedit. Theseporticoes,whichwereessentiallylargecoveredwalkwaysthatextended perpendiculartostreetonbothsides,werefilledwithshopsandothercommercial enterprises,indicatingthatthemeseservedasthecenterofthecity'seconomic

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activity.Inadditionto"providinganumberofurbanamenities,these[porticoes]

createdavisuallyrichurbanatmosphere,wherethenoiseandbustleofthecrowds

musthaveresembledourownmodernshopping

malls"(Kurban44).TheMakrosEmbolos(another

streetthatrannorthfromthemese)connecteda

sectionofthemesetotheharborsandtrading

centersoftheGoldenHorn,furtheraddingtothe

commercialsignificanceofthestreet(Khazdan).

Finally,themajorforumsandgatheringspaces

bisectedbythemesewouldhaveinevitably

containedbusinessactivities,marketareasand

othereconomicenterprises.Itisnotclearwhether theseforumswerealsoasourceofcommercial

Image3PorticoedRoadofSt.Peters Square AngelikaStern.RoyaltyFree,Getty 657137

competition,divertingactivityfromthemese,or

whethertheyweremerelycomplimentary.Inalllikelihood,theprimarypurposeof

theforawasasagatheringspacefordemonstrations,hangings,andothersocial

events,complimentedbytheminorcommercialactivitiesthatinevitablyaccompany

largegroupsofpeople,whilethemeseitselfremainedtheprimaryeconomicspace.

Theporticoedstreetwasitselfnotanewinvention.Asimilarcolonnadedroad, namedthe"GreatColonade"wasdiscoveredinthecityofPalmyra,inpresent-day Syria,anddatestothe3rdor2ndmillennium(Baranski4).Asimilarancientroad, flankedbycolonnadeswasfoundintheancientSyriantownofApamea,datingfrom thesametimeperiod(BaltyPlateX).

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Inadditiontotheeconomicactivity,themesewasalsothesocialarteryof Constantinople.Connectingvirtuallyeverymajormonument,publicspace,bath, market,monasteryandchurch,themesecentralizedandorderedthesocialand culturallifeofthecity'sinhabitants.Incomparisontothesprawlingmetropolisof today'sIstanbul,itiseasytoimaginethatdailylifefortheaverageByzantinecitizen wasclusteredaroundthisavenue.Itwasundoubtedlyaplacetoseeandbeseen,the placewherenewswasdeliveredandtransmitted,anddefinedwhichspacesand areasweredeemedculturalsuperiorandrelevant.

THEIMPERIALSYMBOLISM

Inadditiontoitseconomicandculturalimportance,themesewasalsoatoolto conveyimperialpower.Thephysicalelementofthissymbolismwasthe continuationoftheViaEgnatia(themainroadoftheEmpire),demonstratingthe connectionbetweenConstantinopleandthelargerByzantineorRomanEmpire.By connectingtheViaEgnatiatothemese,Byzantineemperorsexpressedtheshiftin ImperialPowerfromRometoConstantinople,aswellasphysicallytyingthecity intothegeographyoftheempire.

However,moresignificantthanthiswasthetriumphalprocessiondownthemese undertakenbyByzantineEmperorswhoachievedmilitaryvictories.AstheEmperor marchedfromtheGoldenGatetotheSacredPalace,allthewhiledisplayingthe victoriesandspoilsoftheirlatestconquests,thecommonersofthecitywere apparentlyexpectedtopackthemselvesalongsidethemeseinordertowitnessthe

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