The Column of Marcian ( tr, Kıztaşı) is a Roman honorific column erected in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

by the ''praefectus urbi'' Tatianus (450-c.452) and dedicated to the Emperor

Marcian Marcian (; la, Marcianus, link=no; grc-gre, Μαρκιανός, link=no ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he was a (personal as ...

(450-57). It is located in the present-day

Fatih Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. The column is not documented in any late Roman or Byzantine source and its history has to be inferred from its location, style and dedicatory inscription.

History

The column is carved from red-grey

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, in two sections. The quadrilateral basis is encased by four slabs of white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

. Three faces are decorated with

IX monogram The IX monogram or XI monogram is a type of early Christian monogram looking like the spokes of a wheel, sometimes within a circle. The IX monogram is formed by the combination of the letter "I" or Iota for (, Jesus in Greek) and "X" or Chi for ...

s within

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s, and the fourth with two '' genii'' supporting a

globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...

. The column is topped by a

Corinthian capital The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

, decorated with '' aquilae''. The inscription confirms that the capital was originally surmounted by a statue of Marcian, in continuation of an imperial architectural tradition initiated by the

Column of Trajan Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Trajan's Dacian Wars, Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision o ...

and the

Column of Marcus Aurelius The Column of Marcus Aurelius ( la, Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae, it, Colonna di Marco Aurelio) is a Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. It is a Doric column featuring a spiral relief: it was built in honour of ...

in Rome. The basis of the column is orientated northwest/southeast, while its capital is aligned north/south, possibly so that the statue could look towards the nearby

Church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...

. A

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

dedicatory inscription is engraved on the northern side of the basis. Its lettering was originally filled with bronze, which has since been removed.Mango (1951) 62 = = ''ILS'' 824 The inscription reads:

RNCIPIS HANC STATUAM MARCIANI , CERNE TORUMQUE ,
RAEECTUS VOVIT QUOD TATIANUS , OPUS

(Behold this statue of the ''

princeps ''Princeps'' (plural: ''principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person". As a title, ''princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic w ...

'' Marcian and its base,
a work dedicated by the prefect Tatianus.) The Turkish name ''Kıztaşı'', "the column of the girl" (''kız'': "girl" + ''taş'': "stone"), apparently derives from the ''genii'' on the basis, which during the Ottoman period were the column's most distinguishing features (after the loss of Marcian's statue).

Gallery

File:Marcian Column Victory at base 4898.jpg, Marcian Column Victory at base File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9033.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Victory at base File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9034.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Victory at base File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9037.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9038.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles detail File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9040.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles File:A history of architecture in Italy from the time of Constantine to the dawn of the renaissance (1901) (14597482728).jpg, The Marcian Column in antiquity File:Mid 19 century engraving Column of Marcian W.H.Bartlett Istanbul Turkey.jpg, Mid 19 century engraving Column of Marcian.

Notes

References

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External links

Byzantium 1200 , Column of Marcianos
{{Ancient columns of Constantinople Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century Latin inscriptions

Fatih 5th-century Roman sculptures 5th-century inscriptions