Hippodrome was builted after the Circus Maximus in Rome By Septimus Severus, and custruction begun in 203 AD. Later, during the reign of Constantine I, It was vastly enlarged and completed in 325 A.D. The hippodrome was then horse shoe in shape, and measured 400x120 mts. It could seat 100.000 spectators on 40 rows. Enclosed by high walls, it had triunes on three sideds, and emperor`s lodge on the fourth side. In the center of the race track was the raises pavement known as the Spina which was there to keep traffic in line during chariot races.
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| Previously there had been a ditch in its place, at a time when the hippodrome had housed games, the ditch was filled in and the raised terrace wall built its place. Columns and statuary from all parts of the empire were set up on the Spina, of which only three monuments now survive. Among the statuery konwn to have been erected are the figures of a warrior in combat whith a lion, a dying bull, the Heracles of Lysippos, a wild horse, an eagle
catching a snake, the emperors Gratianus, Valentinian and Theodosius and the figures of prizewinning charioteers. The statues were made of bronze or marble. Over the emperors lodge. Set on two towers stood four bronze equestrian statuses, the work of Lysippos, which are now in the piazza of St. Mark, Venice. They were transported by the latins Latins during 13 th century,
occupation of Istanbul.
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Hagia Sophia
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As now, the competitors of the races were divided into teams, known as the reds,yellows,blues and whites, for example. These teams were large organisations with their own stables, and stud farms. They had various clubs and organised membership. In the time, however there organisations were attached to the goverment, and their members became the emperor`s official soldiers.
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The signal of the games was the white tent of the emperor, which was setup a day before the races. The populace quoted outside the gates night before and were let into the hippodrome the morning of the races. The clubs became so popular that their importance ran beyond the sports field into the fields of politics. The well known Kika insurrection was related to the clubs. In order to stop such insurrections, the emperor gradualy began the cut down the games until finally they have forbidden all together. The hippodrome then became a parade ground and ceremonial area.
The Latins are responsible for inflicting considerable damage on the hippodrome. The crusading army, on its arrival in Constantinople, salvaged all the metal artifacts the could find to mint much need money. Among their spoils were the metal statues of Spina. After the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, the hippodrome vas restored to some of its former glory , once againg becoming a center of ceremont and entertainment as it had been earlier in Byzantine times. The Turkish monuments on the era, including Ibrahim Pasha Palace, the Hagia Sophia, baths and the Sultan Ahmet Mosque. The monuments of Spina area as follows.
- Egyptian Obelisk
- Constantines Column
- The Serpent`s Colum
- Sultan Ahmet Mosque
- Hagia Sophia Mosque
- St Eirene Church
- Underground Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi)
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Egyptian Column and Minarets
of Sultan Ahmet Mosque
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