The Forum of Arcadius ( la, Forum Arcadii, el, ), was built by the Emperor
Arcadius in the city of
Constantinople, now
Istanbul.
Built in 403, it was built in the Xerolophos area and was the last
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
before reaching the
Constantinian city walls and the Golden Gate in a line of forums, including the
Forum of Theodosius
The Forum of Theodosius ( el, φόρος Θεοδοσίου, today Beyazıt Square) was probably the largest square in Constantinople and stood on the Mese, the major road that ran west from Hagia Sophia ( Turkish: Ayasofya). It was originally bu ...
, the
Forum of Constantine
The Forum of Constantine ( el, Φόρος Κωνσταντίνου, Fóros Konstantínou; la, Forum Constantini) was built at the foundation of Constantinople immediately outside the old city walls of Byzantium. It marked the centre of the new c ...
, the
Forum Bovis
The Forum of the Ox ( la, Forum Bovis, gr, ὁ Bοῦς, meaning "the Ox") was a public square ( la, Forum) in the city of Constantinople (today's Istanbul). Used also a place for public executions and torture, it disappeared completely after the ...
, and the
Forum Amastrianum
The Amastrianum ( la, Amastriánum, ), also called Forum Amastrianum by modern authors, was a public square ( la, forum) in the city of Constantinople (today's Istanbul). Used also as place for public mutilations and executions, it disappeared comp ...
, built westward from the city center along the
Mese.
The forum was later converted to a bazaar by the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
, referred to as the Avrat Pazarı or "Women's Bazaar", which was mistaken with the Slave Market at Tavukpazari near Nur-u Osmaniye used for the auctioning of female slaves, otherwise known as 'Cariye', which technically during the period had a completely different social status than regular slaves. This practice was abolished in 1847 during Reshid Pasha's time possibly due to the British influence
Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
The
Column of Arcadius, located in the center of the forum, was decorated with spiral bands of sculpture in bas relief representing the triumphs of the emperor, like
Trajan's Column in Rome. At the top of the column, which was more than 50m high, there was an enormous
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 ...
surmounted by an equestrian statue of Arcadius, placed there in 421 by his son, Theodosius II. This statue was eventually toppled from the column and destroyed during an earthquake in 704. The column itself remained standing for another thousand years until it was deliberately demolished in 1715, when it appeared to be in imminent danger of collapsing on the neighboring houses. Now all that remains are the mutilated base and some fragments of sculpture from the column which are on display in the
Istanbul Archaeological Museum
The Istanbul Archaeology Museums ( tr, ) are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace.
The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums:
#Arch ...
.
[Hilary Sumner-Boyd, John Freely "Strolling through Istanbul, a guide to the city", ]
References
Bibliography
*Brian Croke
'Count Marcellinus and his Chronicle' 2001
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Fora of Constantinople