The Building of an Empire, a City, and a Wall

This is a simple aerial view of the city walls of Istabul. It includes the original Wall of Septimius Severus, the Constantinian Wall, and the Theodosian Walls. 

The Buondelmonte Map of 1422 shows the Theodosian Walls on the left side. This view shows important buildings within the area.

The Buondelmonte Map of 1422 shows the Theodosian Walls on the left side. This view shows important buildings within the area.

Though the name of the monument refers to Theodosius I, the Roman empire during construction, the man who envisioned the wall was Anthemius who built it for defense of the city. The then emperor of the Roman Empire, Emperor Constantine I moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium in 324 AD and named it Nova Roma.  “Constantinople was an artificial creation” according to scholar Cyril Mango [1]. Even though there are many natural advantages of the area (connecting Europe to Asia, a place of geopolitical importance and access to trade routes), Ancient Byzantium existed for thousands of years before 324AD without having developed into a major city. The construction of the Theodosian Walls was finished in 413 A.D. The total length of the wall is around 6 kilometers, running from the Marmara Sea in the South to the Golden Horn in the North. Between the two walls that make up the Theodosian, there was a massive cemetery, a number of monasteries and numerous cisterns. This area became a space that was “neither truly urban nor truly suburban” [1]. During the period between after the city and its fortification was established between the 4^th and 6^th century, Constantinople saw immense growth as the city transformed into an economic and cultural hub. The wall was a engineering and architecture feat that signified the growth of Constantinople.

[1] Mango, Cyril. “The Development of Constantinople as an Urban Centre.” In The Seventeenth International Byzantine Congress, Main Papers. 1986. p. 117-136.

[2] “The Theodosian Walls of Istanbul” Lohrberg, Frank.