Grand Imperial Palace ( sacred palace) - a palace complex located in the 1st region of Constantinople southwest of the hippodrome and south of the church of St. Sophia.

It began to be erected in 324 by the Emperor the Great (306-337) and opened on the day of the official foundation of the Second Rome on May 11, 330.

Almost until the beginning of the XIII century, i.e. for almost nine hundred years, rebuilt and expanded. The maximum expansion took place under Basil I the Macedonian (867-886), and the largest later erected building was the New Upper Palace (X century), united with Vukoleon by a single system of fortifications and becoming a citadel in the citadel.

Initially, it had a head start of an irregular heptagon (the shape of which was later, during its expansion, was approximately preserved) bordering on the north with Augusteon and the baths of Zeuxippus, on the west with a hippodrome, on the south and southeast by slopes of hills descending to the propontid section of the sea walls, and in the east - city blocks. The entire territory was surrounded by walls with numerous towers, including travel towers. Grand Palace connected with the hippodrome, the kathisma of which, in fact, was his integral part and with the church of St. Sophia.

Later, the city sea walls began to play the role of its southern and southwestern walls.

The complex was an autonomous district of the city, intended for the residence of the emperor with his family, the palace garrison and serving staff.

The inner space was occupied by palaces, including: Halka (330), Sigma (between 823 and 843), Daphne (330), Trullo (IV century), Triconkh (between 829-841) , Vukoleon (between 419 and 450), New Upper Palace (until 967), Lavsiak (until 812), Skila (330), Kamil, Mesopat and Musik (all three - between 829-841 .), Eros (330), Justinian (694), Kenurgi, Pentakuvikl and Orel (all between 866 and 885); churches - St. Stephen (330), St. Theodore Tyrone (V century), St. Agathia (IV century), St. Agathonicus, which entered the palace complex under Basil I (330), the Virgin (Farosskaya) (IV century), St. Apostles (4th century), Archangel Michael (between 829 and 841), New Church (between 866 and 885), St. Elijah the Prophet (until 865), St. Peter; chapels, incl. St. Paul (between 866-885), St. Anna, palace (between 867 and 911), St. Clement (between 866 and 885) and others; gardens, the largest of which is Mesokipiy (between 866 and 885), open artificial reservoirs and cisterns; outbuildings, service buildings and barracks. There were special yards for communication with representatives of the parties of the hippodromes. Very often, a new building, or several new halls, was attached to an earlier palace. The names of palace buildings could come from the names of the halls located in them (Daphne); or the name of the main hall in the palaces was the name of the structures themselves (Sigma).

In addition, the complex had: prisons - Hulk, Elephant, Numer and Vukoleon; Tsikanistr - hippodrome for polo - equestrian ball games; several baths; their own workshops; arsenal (Eros); pier (rock) Vukoleon and library.

Pharos was located on the territory of the complex - a city lighthouse (between 566 and 577), under Emperor Michael III (840-867), which began to serve as the terminal station of the light telegraph. For convenience, buildings and structures were connected by covered galleries, or were surrounded by porticos. There was water supply and sewerage with a water flush of sewage.

Palace buildings, churches, chapels, galleries and porticos, as well as the arches of a number of passage gates, were decorated with amazing mosaics, paintings, marble and colored stone. Stained-glass windows, bronze, silver and gold were widely used in the interiors. The roofs of many buildings were covered with lead and gilded bronze. There were numerous intricate fountains in the gardens and courtyards. Exotic species of plants were planted, exotic species of birds were bred. In addition to open reservoirs, there were small ponds made of mercury, in which copies of waterfowl swam. The complex of the Grand Palace was filled with statues brought and brought from all over the empire.

The capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204 marked the beginning of the end of the Grand Palace: the palace churches and chapels were looted; metal statues, decorative elements and roofing - melted down; floor slabs, facings and columns were broken out and sold to the West.

In 1261, after the liberation of the city from the invaders, the complex, like the whole of Constantinople, presented a depressing sight. In practice, except for a few restored churches and buildings, the Grand Palace, until the capture of the city by the Turks, was not restored.

After the fall of the empire in 1453, the surviving churches on its territory were turned into mosques. The Turks also used some sections of its walls in the construction of Topkapi, the residence of the Sultan.

Currently, on the territory of the complex of the Bolshoi imperial palace there are several former churches in varying degrees of preservation, a few ruins and a Museum of Mosaics discovered during the few excavations, as well as isolated populations of exotic birds.

Choosing a place to stay is not an easy task. In order to find the most suitable option, you need to be interested in the history and climate features of different parts of the world. But there are also win-win offers. For example, a metropolis on two continents. Istanbul is a city that over time has become almost entirely Muslim. There are many, but the fact that many centuries ago the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, stood in its place, is reminiscent of only some of the surviving Christian shrines and objects such as, for example, the mosaic museum on the site of the Grand Imperial Palace or.

It is up to you to choose where to go, but remember that in any case, a vacation in Istanbul will bring positive emotions and allow you to learn a lot of new things.

Grand Palace in Istanbul - History

Grand Imperial Palace in Constantinople (tour. Buyuk Saray)- main residence Byzantine emperors and the symbolic center of the empire from Constantine the Great to Alexius I. It performed its main function for eight hundred years, and all this time was subjected to reconstruction. At first, under Constantine the Great in the 4th century, the core of the palace complex was built Daphne's palace. It resembled several other similar imperial buildings built during the Tetrarchy period.

The second period in the development of the Grand Imperial Palace is the 6th century, the reign of Justinian I and Justin II. After the uprising of Nika in 532, Justinian was forced to rebuild the buildings that had suffered as a result of the unrest, and this entailed the rebuilding of the northern side of the palace. Justin II is credited erection of the Chrysotriklinos throne room, whose magnificent decoration was completed under Tiberius (578-582). Chrysotriklinos became the new ceremonial hall of the palace. The same emperor built two more halls near Chrysotriklinos and a wall on the south side of the palace.

The next important stage in the history of the Grand Palace dates back to the time of the iconoclast emperor Theophilus (829-842) and continued under Michael II, Basil I and Leo VI. Under Basil I appeared five-domed church of Nea Ekklesia. Among his ideas were also two new halls:

• Kainourgion
• and Pentakoubiklon.

And big court Tzykanisterion. Leo VI is credited with building baths. Later, the volume of construction within the Great Palace of Constantinople became much less. Under Nicephorus II Fock (963-969), another line of defensive walls.

Alexy I Komnenos (1081-1118) transferred the imperial residence. Nevertheless, some ceremonies continued to be held in the Grand Palace. There are even new buildings. So under Manuel I (1143-1180) they erected two halls:

• Manuelites
• and Mouchroutas. Mouchroutas was made by a Persian architect and was decorated with murals and gilded ceilings.

In 1204-1261. The Grand Palace was also used, but was robbed as a result. Palaiologists (1261-1453) did not attempt to restore the slowly crumbling complex. In 1489-1490. gunpowder stored there exploded, this led to the disappearance of most of the palace buildings.

The famous mosaics of the Grand Palace were found during excavations in 1933 on the territory. Later in the 1950s, after new archaeological finds of this kind, it was decided to build a Mosaic Museum (tur. Mozaik Müzesi). In 1987, instead of the old unreliable wooden museum building, a more modern one appeared, which was modernized in 2012. this moment the object is subordinate to the museum.

Grand Palace - description

Great Palace of Constantinople, also known as sacred palace, was the Byzantine counterpart, located in. It is a large complex of buildings with gardens overlooking the Sea of ​​Marmara. The palace was located almost on a trapezoidal area, the size of six hundred

N meters per half kilometer. In the west of the complex was the Hippodrome, in the north - the Senate.

Due to scarce archaeological data, the constituent parts of the palace complex have been studied, the largest of which is a hall with magnificent floor mosaics. In terms of its scale, the Grand Palace resembled a city with numerous buildings, ports, boulevards, terraces, ramps and stairs, gardens, and fountains. As already mentioned, the entire western side of the Grand Palace went to the Hippodrome, so there were so-called kathismas with an imperial box to watch the races.

The palace had:

• seven peristyles (canopy),
• eight courtyards,
• four churches,
• nine chapels,
• nine chapels (baptisteries),
• four guardhouses,
• three large galleries,
• five reception rooms,
• three canteens,
• ten chambers for members of the imperial house,
• seven secondary galleries,
• three lanes,
• libraries,
• arsenal,
• open terraces,
• arena,
• two baths,
• eight separate palaces,
• gardens and harbours.

At the Mosaic Museum in Istanbul, there is a collection of finds discovered during the excavations of the Grand Palace. Today, wall decorations from the era of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I are placed there. They were found by British archaeologists from the Scottish University of St. Andrews. These exhibits represent the largest and most beautiful example of late antiquity landscape mosaics. The exceptional workmanship probably indicates that it was made in the imperial workshop, where the best artisans from all over the Byzantine Empire worked. It is estimated that about 40,000 different cubes were required to create one square meter of such beauty.

The museum has about nine dozen different mosaics. They depict scenes from people's lives, mythological scenes.

Where was the Grand Palace in Istanbul and how to get to the Mosaic Museum

The Grand Palace was located in historical center modern Istanbul, V, close to Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, on bazaar of Arasta.

The Hippodrome of Constantinople (Great Hippodrome or Great Circus) was not only one of the most grandiose structures Constantinople, but also the center of the socio-political life of the capital of the empire.

In addition to chariot races and various spectacles, imperial decrees and other orders of the authorities were announced here, triumphal processions and festivities were held. Sports and political passions boiled here, the parties of the “green” and “blue” (so named for the color of the charioteers’ robes) were at enmity with each other, and sometimes popular uprisings broke out, the most famous of which (the uprising “Nika!”) occurred in 532 and barely was not worth the throne to Emperor Justinian.

The monumental stone hippodrome was built in Byzantium under the emperor Septimius Severus in 203 (before that, a modest wooden hippodrome had existed in its place), then it was rebuilt several times. A large-scale reconstruction of the hippodrome was undertaken by Constantine the Great in 324-330, after the transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople.

According to its design, the hippodrome was a rectangular sandy arena more than 400 meters long and about 120 meters wide, which was surrounded on three sides by Sfenda - spectator stands located in a semicircular amphitheater resembling an elongated horseshoe in shape.

Sfenda consisted of 16 (according to other sources - 30) rising rows of marble benches, above which rose a podium - a through covered portico, the roof of which rested on two rows of eight-meter columns topped with Corinthian capitals. The gaps between the columns were decorated with statues taken from all over the empire. On hot or rainy days, a fabric awning was pulled over the stands.

Hippodrome of Constantinople (modern reconstruction, unfortunately, not very accurate)

The fourth side of the arena was closed by Kathisma - a large building with lodges for dignitaries and an imperial tribune, which was connected by a covered passage to the nearby Grand Imperial Palace. The kathisma was crowned with a bronze Quadriga (four horses), taken from Greece, which was considered the creation of the great sculptor Lysippus. After the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204, Quadriga was transported to Venice and installed above the central portal of the Cathedral of San Marco.

Quadriga from the Hippodrome of Constantinople (currently located in the Museum of San Marco, and a copy has been installed in its place)

Under the imperial tribune, on a special balcony, the musicians were located, and even lower were the gates through which the chariots entered the arena.

The relief of the pedestal of the obelisk of Theodosius I with the image of the emperor on the podium of the hippodrome. In his hand he holds a wreath with which the winner of the competition was crowned.

Kathisma. Capital in the form of four pegasi. Parian marble. 203 year. Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

In the center of the arena, a low stone separating barrier (Spina) 10 meters wide, richly decorated with obelisks, statues and columns, crossed.

Ivory diptych depicting chariot races at the hippodrome. The lower part of the diptych depicts a back with an obelisk mounted on it.

By the beginning of the reign of Justinian I the Great (527-565), the hippodrome was expanded by adding wooden stands to replace the spans of the portico that had collapsed during earthquakes. Now it could accommodate up to 60 thousand spectators (according to other estimates: up to 120 thousand spectators).

The Hippodrome of Constantinople amazed the eyewitnesses with its size and splendor. The description of the hippodrome made by the participant of the Fourth crusade Robert de Clary: “... And in another place of the city there was another miracle: near the palace of the Lion's Mouth there was a square, which was called the Playground of the Emperor. And this area was extended in length by one and a half shots from a crossbow, and in width - by almost one shot; and around this square there were 30 or 40 steps, where the Greeks climbed to look at the stadium; and above these steps there was a very spacious and very beautiful box, where, when the competitions were going on, the emperor and the empress and other noble men and ladies sat. And when competitions were held, there were two of them at once, and the emperor and the empress bet who would win in which of the two, and everyone who looked at the lists also bet. Along this square was a wall that was a good 15 feet high and 10 wide; and on top of this wall were the figures of both men and women, and horses, and bulls, and camels, and bears, and lions, and many other animals, cast in copper. And they were all so well made and so naturally sculpted that neither in pagan countries nor in the Christian world can one find such a skilled craftsman who could imagine and cast the figures so well as these were cast. Once they used to move by the power of magic, as if playfully, but now they no longer play; and the French looked at this imperial Playground as a miracle when they saw it.

Fresco of the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv, depicting the kathisma (imperial box) of the Constantinople hippodrome

The hippodrome was badly damaged during the Latin occupation (1204-1261), and after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, the conquerors turned it into a quarry. The once majestic building was literally wiped off the face of the earth. Currently, the remains of the hippodrome are at a depth of four meters from the ground level. Only the ruins of the southwestern part of the sfenda are accessible for inspection.

Hippodrome in the 15th century Engraving from the book Onofrio Panvinio "De ludis circensibus" (Venice, 1600)

Same. In large size (2000 x 1286)


Hippodrome square in a 16th-century Turkish miniature

Hippodrome square in a 19th century engraving. The Turks called it At-Meydan, which means "Square of the horses"

Of the sculptures that adorned the hippodrome and architectural structures only: Quadriga (located in Venice), the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Obelisk of Constantine and the Serpent Column have survived.

The Obelisk of Theodosius is an obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose III - a pink granite monolith brought by Theodosius I the Great from Egyptian city Heliopolis, placed on a massive base of 2 stone blocks, decorated with bas-reliefs.

Obelisk of Theodosius

Theodosius obelisk base

The obelisk of Constantine was erected by Constantine VII Porphyrogenic (911-959) in honor of his grandfather, Emperor Basil I (866-886). The 25-meter sandstone obelisk, lined with sheets of gilded bronze, was also called the "Golden Column" (the crusaders tore off the bronze sheets of the lining).

Obelisk of Constantine. Fragment of a drawing from 1575

The bronze Serpent Column, depicting coiled snakes, was brought from Delphi by Emperor Constantine the Great, cast in 478 BC. in honor of the victory of the Greeks over the Persians (it has an inscription with a list of Greek cities that took part in the battle of Plataea).

About the Serpent Column, on which the golden tripod once stood, Herodotus says: “When the booty was collected (after the battle of Plataea), the Hellenes separated a tenth of the Delphic god (Apollo). From this tithe, a golden tripod was also made, which stands in Delphi on a three-headed copper snake directly at the altar ”(IX, 81).

Serpent Column at Delphi. 5th c. BC. Reconstruction


Base of the Serpent Column at Delphi. Current state. Restoration

The snake column is ancient monument Istanbul. The upper part of the column with snake heads has been lost. A preserved fragment of one of the snake heads is kept in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

Serpentine Column (in the background - the obelisk of Theodosius)

Proclamation of the emperor at the hippodrome. Bulgarian copy of the Chronicle of Constantine Manasses. 14th century

Sultan Suleiman I passes through the ruins of the hippodrome. Engraving from 1533.
The image is highly authentic (with the exception of fantastic figures on the sides). In the center is the Obelisk of Theodosius, to the right of it are the Serpent Column and the Obelisk of Constantine. In addition, the engraving (on the right) shows unpreserved initiatory columns and a part of the sfenda with a towering portico of the podium (the proportions are somewhat violated).

And expanded by Theophilus. The children of the emperor, born in the Porphyry Hall of the palace, were called porphyry-born.

Palace under Justinian

Justinian began the construction of the palace complex shortly after the Nika uprising, during which a significant part of the buildings of the old imperial chambers of Constantine was damaged by fire. The central part of the sacred chambers was a large square - Augusteon, stretching from the temple of St. Sophia to the palace. On four sides the square was surrounded by buildings - the church of St. Sophia in the north, the Baths of Zeuxippus and the Hippodrome in the southwest, the Senate and the Magnavra Palace in the east, and the imperial residence in the south.

After the fire, the Augustaion was enlarged and decorated with white porticos, supported by two rows of columns, the ground was paved with marble. On the square not far from the Golden Column, from which the roads of the empire diverged, a bronze column was erected, topped with an equestrian statue of Justinian. Procopius writes that the emperor was represented with his face turned to the east, with the orb in his left palm and outstretched right hand, "in order to command the barbarians." The emperor was dressed in armor, in which Achilles was usually depicted.

In front of the Senate building was built a portico with six white marble columns, decorated with statues. In the baths of Zeuxippus, where Constantine collected a collection of ancient statues, Justinian ordered the restoration of multi-colored marble ornaments that had been damaged in a fire. The imperial residence was rebuilt with pomp, which, according to Procopius, cannot be expressed in words. On the south-western side, under the porticos, there were iron doors that led to the vestibule, called the Khalka. Entering the door, visitors passed through a semicircular courtyard into a large hall with a dome, which Justinian rebuilt in 558. The floor was made of colored marble fringing a large round slab of porphyry. The wall panels were also of colored marble. On the top were large mosaic canvases depicting Justinian and Theodora in festive clothes, surrounded by senators, scenes of the Vandal and Italian wars, the triumph of Belisarius, representing the defeated kings to the emperor.

A double-leaf bronze door led from the rotunda of Chalka to the guardrooms, called porticos. scholars, protectors and candidates. These were vast halls that served as premises for the palace guards, and, in addition, they included ceremonial rooms, in one of which there was a large silver cross under the dome. Finally, through a wide alley, bordered by columns and cutting through the quarter of the guardsmen, they got into the palace itself, where, first of all, they entered a large Consistorion. It was a throne room, accessed on three sides by ivory doors draped with silk curtains. The walls were decorated with precious metals, the floor was carpeted. At the back of the hall, on a three-stage dais between two statues of Victoria with spread wings, there was a throne covered with gold and precious stones. Above the throne was a golden dome supported by four columns. Behind the throne, three bronze doors opened onto stairs that led to inner chambers.

Reception at the Consistory was held on the days of major holidays, with the appointment of senior dignitaries and the meeting of foreign ambassadors. Next to the Consistorion was a large Triclinium or Triclinium of nineteen lodges. It was a large, luxuriously decorated hall, in which feasts were held in honor of foreign ambassadors or high dignitaries, and some ceremonies were also held in the Triclinium, such as the crowning of the empress, farewell to the late emperor. Nearby was the Church of the Savior, which served in the time of Justinian as a palace church. The entire described complex was one-story and was called Chalkei, all the buildings of which were directed towards Augusteon with facades. Behind the apartments of Chalkea stood the great palace of Daphne. The Chalkea complex was connected with the palace by many alleys, courtyards and galleries.

The entrance to the palace was opposite the southeastern gate of the hippodrome. The palace was two-story and had two wings that surrounded a large courtyard, part of which was occupied by the personal arena of the emperor. The first floor of the buildings was occupied by court services. On the second floor were the personal chambers of the emperor, including the most luxurious halls of the chambers. These were three halls - the "Augusteos triclinium", the "octagonal living room" and the "Daphne's coyton". The halls were complemented by a wide terrace overlooking the sea. The terrace was part of the gallery of Daphne, which contained a statue of a nymph brought by Constantine from Rome. On the other side there was a gallery connecting the church of St. Stephen, Daphne with the emperor's box at the Kathisma hippodrome, which was a palace, where behind the box there were rooms for receptions and relaxation. In this part of the Chambers, as in Halkea, there were only reception and office premises. For housing, two palaces were used located between Daphne and the sea - "Chrysotriclinium" and "Trikon". Descriptions of their decoration have not been preserved.

The complex of sacred chambers was complemented by a secluded "Magnavara triclinium", restored by Justinian with great splendor. Galleries were attached to the palace, connecting it with St. Sophia. Thus, the emperor could, without leaving his home, go from the hippodrome to the church. To top it off, Justinian included his old house in which he lived before his accession to the expanded complex of palace buildings.

In later eras

Mosaics from the time of Justinian

Byzantinischer Mosaizist des 5. Jahrhunderts 001.jpg

Byzantinischer Mosaizist des 5. Jahrhunderts 002.jpg

Istanbull - palasset - 13.jpg

Mosaic from imperial palace.JPG

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Notes

Links

• computer reconstruction
• Gate of the Grand Palace
• on the Arkitera project
• on the Emporis project

Coordinates : 41°00′21″ s. sh. 28°58′38″ E d. /  41.00583° N. sh. 28.97722° E d. / 41.00583; 28.97722(G) (I)

An excerpt characterizing the Grand Palace (Constantinople)

Driving up the mountain and driving out into a small village street, Pierre saw for the first time militia men with crosses on their hats and in white shirts, who, with a loud voice and laughter, were animated and sweaty, were working something to the right of the road, on a huge mound overgrown with grass .
Some of them were digging the mountain with shovels, others were carrying the earth along the boards in wheelbarrows, others were standing, doing nothing.
Two officers stood on the mound, directing them. Seeing these peasants, obviously still amused by their new military situation, Pierre again remembered the wounded soldiers in Mozhaisk, and it became clear to him what the soldier wanted to express, saying that they wanted to pile on all the people. The sight of these bearded men working on the battlefield with their strange clumsy boots, with their sweaty necks and some of their shirts unbuttoned at the slanting collar, from under which the tanned bones of the collarbones could be seen, had an effect on Pierre more than anything he had seen and heard so far. about the solemnity and significance of the present moment.

Pierre got out of the carriage and, past the working militias, ascended the mound from which, as the doctor told him, the battlefield was visible.
It was eleven o'clock in the morning. The sun stood somewhat to the left and behind Pierre and brightly illuminated through the clean, rare air the huge panorama that opened before him like an amphitheater along the rising terrain.
Up and to the left along this amphitheater, cutting through it, the great Smolenskaya road wound, going through a village with a white church, lying five hundred paces in front of the mound and below it (this was Borodino). The road crossed under the village across the bridge and through the descents and ascents wound higher and higher to the village of Valuev, which could be seen six miles away (Napoleon was now standing in it). Behind Valuev, the road was hidden in a yellowed forest on the horizon. In this forest, birch and spruce, to the right of the direction of the road, a distant cross and the bell tower of the Kolotsky Monastery glittered in the sun. Throughout this blue distance, to the right and left of the forest and the road, different places smoking bonfires and indefinite masses of our and enemy troops could be seen. To the right, along the course of the Kolocha and Moskva rivers, the area was ravine and mountainous. Between their gorges, the villages of Bezzubovo and Zakharyino could be seen in the distance. To the left, the terrain was more even, there were fields with grain, and one could see one smoking, burned village - Semenovskaya.
Everything that Pierre saw to the right and to the left was so indefinite that neither the left nor the right side of the field fully satisfied his idea. Everywhere there was not a share of the battle that he expected to see, but fields, clearings, troops, forests, smoke from fires, villages, mounds, streams; and no matter how much Pierre disassembled, he could not find positions in this living area and could not even distinguish your troops from the enemy.
“We must ask someone who knows,” he thought, and turned to the officer, who was looking with curiosity at his unmilitary huge figure.
“Let me ask,” Pierre turned to the officer, “which village is ahead?”
- Burdino or what? – said the officer, addressing his comrade with a question.
- Borodino, - correcting, answered the other.
The officer, apparently pleased with the opportunity to talk, moved towards Pierre.
Are ours there? Pierre asked.
“Yes, and the French are farther away,” said the officer. “There they are, they are visible.
- Where? Where? Pierre asked.
- You can see it with the naked eye. Yes, here, here! The officer pointed with his hand at the smoke visible to the left across the river, and on his face appeared that stern and serious expression that Pierre had seen on many faces he met.
Oh, it's French! And there? .. - Pierre pointed to the left at the mound, near which troops were visible.
- These are ours.
- Ah, ours! And there? .. - Pierre pointed to another distant mound with a large tree, near the village, visible in the gorge, near which fires were also smoking and something blackened.
"It's him again," the officer said. (It was the Shevardinsky redoubt.) - Yesterday was ours, and now it's his.
So what is our position?
- Position? said the officer with a smile of pleasure. - I can tell you this clearly, because I built almost all of our fortifications. Here, you see, our center is in Borodino, right here. He pointed to a village with a white church in front. - There is a crossing over the Kolocha. Here, you see, where rows of cut hay lie in the lowlands, here is the bridge. This is our center. Our right flank is where (he pointed steeply to the right, far into the gorge), there is the Moskva River, and there we built three very strong redoubts. The left flank ... - and then the officer stopped. - You see, it's hard to explain to you ... Yesterday our left flank was right there, in Shevardin, over there, you see where the oak is; and now we have taken back the left wing, now out, out - see the village and the smoke? - This is Semenovskoye, yes here, - he pointed to the mound of Raevsky. “But it’s unlikely that there will be a battle here. That he moved troops here is a hoax; he, right, will go around to the right of Moscow. Well, yes, wherever it is, we will not count many tomorrow! the officer said.
The old non-commissioned officer, who approached the officer during his story, silently waited for the end of his superior's speech; but at this point he, obviously dissatisfied with the words of the officer, interrupted him.
“You have to go for tours,” he said sternly.
The officer seemed to be embarrassed, as if he realized that one could think about how many people would be missing tomorrow, but one should not talk about it.
“Well, yes, send the third company again,” the officer said hastily.
“And what are you, not one of the doctors?”
“No, I am,” Pierre answered. And Pierre went downhill again past the militia.
- Ah, the damned! - said the officer following him, pinching his nose and running past the workers.
- There they are! .. They are carrying, they are coming ... There they are ... now they will come in ... - suddenly voices were heard, and officers, soldiers and militias ran forward along the road.
A church procession rose from under the mountain from Borodino. Ahead of all, along the dusty road, the infantry marched harmoniously with their shakos removed and their guns lowered down. Church singing was heard behind the infantry.
Overtaking Pierre, without hats, soldiers and militias ran towards the marchers.
- They carry mother! Intercessor! .. Iberian! ..
“Mother of Smolensk,” corrected another.
The militia - both those who were in the village and those who worked on the battery - having thrown their shovels, ran towards the church procession. Behind the battalion, which was marching along the dusty road, were priests in robes, one old man in a klobuk with a clergy and singers. Behind them, soldiers and officers carried a large icon with a black face in salary. It was an icon taken from Smolensk and since that time carried by the army. Behind the icon, around it, in front of it, from all sides they walked, ran and bowed to the ground with bare heads of a crowd of soldiers.
Having ascended the mountain, the icon stopped; the people holding the icon on towels changed, the deacons lit the censer again, and a prayer service began. The hot rays of the sun beat down sheer from above; a weak, fresh breeze played with the hair of open heads and the ribbons with which the icon was removed; the singing resounded softly under open sky. A huge crowd with open heads of officers, soldiers, militias surrounded the icon. Behind the priest and the deacon, in the cleared place, stood officials. One bald general with George around his neck stood right behind the priest and, without crossing himself (obviously a German), patiently waited for the end of the prayer service, which he considered it necessary to listen to, probably to excite the patriotism of the Russian people. Another general stood in a warlike pose and shook his hand in front of his chest, looking around him. Between this official circle, Pierre, standing in a crowd of peasants, recognized some acquaintances; but he did not look at them: all his attention was absorbed by the serious expression on the faces of this crowd of soldiers and militants, monotonously greedily looking at the icon. As soon as the tired deacons (who sang the twentieth prayer service) began to lazily and habitually sing: “Save your servant from troubles, the Mother of God,” and the priest and deacon picked up: “For we all come running to you, like an indestructible wall and intercession,” - at all faces flashed again the same expression of awareness of the solemnity of the coming minute, which he saw under the mountain in Mozhaisk and in fits and starts on many, many faces he met that morning; and more often heads drooped, hair was shaken, and sighs and blows of crosses on the breasts were heard.
The crowd surrounding the icon suddenly opened up and pressed Pierre. Someone, probably a very important person, judging by the haste with which they shunned him, approached the icon.

HOLY PALACE OF CONSTANTINOPOLE

“Oh, how majestic and beautiful is the city of Constantinople! How many temples and palaces are erected with wondrous art! It is tedious to enumerate all sorts of local riches, gold, silver, sacred relics. So sang Constantinople chaplain Fulcher from the Tabernacle, who walked with the crusaders from Northern France.

The city was founded by Greek colonists in the 7th century BC, but then the Roman emperor Septimius Severus, after a three-year siege, took Byzantium (in 196 BC) and destroyed the city, however, it was soon restored by his own order. In 330, Emperor Constantine decided to move here the capital of the Roman Empire, which he called New Rome. However, this name did not take root, and the city began to be called Constantinople.

Constantinople was indeed beautiful. Like Rome, it is spread over seven hills: its wide streets with open galleries, large areas with columns and statues, magnificent temples and palaces delighted everyone who happened to visit it.

And among them is the Holy Palace of the Byzantine emperors, which was also called the Great, or the Great. The sacred palace of the Byzantine emperors was usually called the totality of all palace buildings located south of the Hagia Sophia and east of the Hippodrome. However, in the court charter of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, only those buildings are indicated that adjoined or led to the Golden Chamber (Chrysotriclion) and were part of the complex of royal dwellings - in contrast to other buildings palace ensemble(for example, the palaces of Magnavra or Daphne).

Presumably, the ruins of the Sacred Palace could be seen at the beginning of the 20th century. Then, on the north side of the city, where the wall of Heraclius began, a Byzantine building of the 11th century towered.

True, at the beginning of the 20th century, these ruins were already known under the name Tekfur-Saray - the palace of the Paleologs.

The sacred palace was first abandoned, and then completely abandoned by Emperor Emmanuel Komnenos, who in 1150 chose Vlahern as his residence, a significant part of which was Tekfur-Saray. The sacred palace eventually fell into disrepair, dilapidated and collapsed, and its remains were used for the construction of other structures. So the Turks who conquered Constantinople most likely did not even find traces of him.

The Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors is a three-story building, but it was so much higher than the outer and inner walls of the city that its first two floors were equal in height to these walls, and the third was much higher.

Many medieval writers could not marvel at the size and luxury of the huge palace: it alone, with its surrounding walls, occupied the entire space between the sea and the Hippodrome. The complex of palace buildings included gardens, chapels, courtyards, galleries, barracks, dwellings for the imperial retinue and servants.

The Grand Palace of the Byzantine emperors, instead of monumental buildings, had many small ones and was divided into three main parts: Halka, Daphne, and the Holy Palace proper. The Hulk consisted of a number of rooms, and the entrance to it went through iron doors. This part of the palace housed the Lichn tribunal, a reception hall, a large ceremonial hall, a large consistory, several church buildings and three guardhouses.

Between Halka and Daphne there was a dining room for 19 lodges, in which official feasts took place. The hall was divided into two parts, which were illuminated from above: one for the emperor, the other for those invited. The second part accommodated up to three hundred guests, who on the days of great holidays feasted lying down, as was customary in the ancient world. Food was served to guests exclusively on golden dishes, and fruits were in such heavy golden vases that the servants could not carry them, but simply moved them on carts.

In that part of the Grand Palace, which was called Daphne, there were many church buildings and halls for official meetings.

The Holy Palace itself from the outside was built of brick interspersed with stripes of light marble, and all the connecting rooms of the palace, lintels of windows and doors, columns and capitals were made of whitish marble. The entrance to the Holy Palace was through the Copper Gate. The very residence of the Byzantine emperors, which contained many apartments and halls and was connected by several buildings with the Hippodrome, was located from the sea. It included the Pearl Hall, the Oval Hall, the Eagle Hall and many others.

On the other hand, the residence of the monarchs, with the help of terraces and galleries, communicated with the palace of Magnavra; on the seashore stood the Bukoleon palace, which was connected to the sea by an artificial structure through piers and a pool, to which a marble staircase descended. On the opposite hill there was a lighthouse, where the observation “telegraph” post established by Theophilus (according to other sources - Leo the Philosopher) was placed, which, using a special system of lights, reported news throughout the empire - from the capital to the borders.

The throne room of the imperial palace was the Golden Chamber, in which in the 7th-12th centuries most of the court ceremonies were completely performed, started or ended. Here, the Byzantine emperors daily received officials and more often than in other throne rooms - ambassadors and noble foreigners. In the Golden Chamber, they were promoted to ranks and positions, feasts and dinners were given in it, and the exits of emperors to temples and other throne rooms began and ended here.

The Golden Chamber directly adjoined the living quarters of the Byzantine kings and their families, which is why it was the most convenient hall for daily receptions of dignitaries and for performing ordinary ritual actions. The king had only to leave his chambers, and he was already in the throne room, while the other throne rooms were quite far from the royal chambers, separated by several passages and other buildings.

Scholars usually date the construction of the Golden Chamber to the reign of Emperor Justin II Curopolat, who took the temple of Saints Sergius and Bacchus as a model for the throne room. This temple was considered one of the most elegant buildings erected by the great builder king Justinian I.

The Golden Chamber was an octagonal hall crowned with a dome with 16 windows. On the eight sides of the chamber there were eight apses connected to each other. The apse opposite the entrance was closed with two silver doors, on which Jesus Christ and the Mother of God were depicted.

During solemn receptions, when people were just entering the Golden Chamber, the doors of this apse remained closed.

Then they dissolved, and in the depths of the apse the emperor appeared, dressed in a purple cloak, adorned with precious stones. The assembled people instantly fell on their faces in reverence.

The eastern arch of the Golden Chamber was more extensive than the others and ended with a niche in which, on a dais from the floor, there was a magnificent royal throne, on which the emperors of Byzantium sat during especially solemn receptions. There were also some simpler and less luxurious portable chairs, on which the kings sat down during the usual daily and other simple receptions. However, even these simple techniques were given some degree of importance - depending on how the emperor was dressed and on which of the side chairs he sat down.

In the eastern niche of the Golden Chamber, in addition to the throne and royal chairs, there was an icon of the Savior, in front of which the kings prayed daily when leaving their chambers in the Throne Hall and before leaving it to their chambers after receptions, expressing their humility and reverence for the King of Kings.

IN east side Chrysotriclion had several doors that led to the courtyard adjacent to it, which was open area. These doors, like all the doors in the Throne Room in general, were trimmed with silver and therefore were called Silver. When the kings passed through them, both halves of them held two kuvicularii.

In the western side of the Throne Hall there were also doors through which newly baptized children were brought in, where the king and Christ with them on Wednesday of Easter week.

In the center of the ceiling of the Golden Chamber hung a large chandelier, similar to a chandelier. Like other halls of the Sacred Palace, Chrysotriclion was illuminated by oil burning in chandeliers. For example, during the reception of the Saracen ambassadors, silver chandeliers were hung in the chambers, and the central one was decorated with precious carved stones.

Oil for lighting was in charge of the chief watchman and key keeper of the Sacred Palace, under whose supervision (apart from the assistant in charge of the royal ceremonial wardrobe) there were several more replaceable diatari. In the open courtyards (iliacs) around the imperial residence, there were platforms with fountains in the middle. These fountains were called phials, they poured a rather significant stream of water into large magnificent bowls. The sites with fountains were very large in size, and during solemn holidays - royal receptions or races at the Hippodrome - they could accommodate a lot of guests.

On the south side, Chrysotriclion was adjoined by the chambers of the king and queen. Silver doors led into the emperor's kiton, and the chambers themselves were artistically and luxuriously decorated with magnificent mosaic images and paintings.

The other large throne room of the Sacred Palace is the Magnavra Hall, arranged in the same way as the other throne rooms. On the eastern side of the Magnavra Hall there was also a niche, the floor of which was raised several steps higher than the floor of the entire hall.

Byzantine emperors surrounded themselves with fabulous luxury. In the main hall of the palace of Magnavra, during the reception of foreigners, all the treasures of their treasury were laid out - jewelry and ceremonial clothes embroidered with gold.

In the depths of the hall was the golden throne of the emperor, in front of which two lions carved of gold lay on the steps. Behind the throne stood a golden tree, on the branches of which sat multi-colored birds, skillfully made of gold and enamel.

To the sounds of the organ and the singing of the choir, the emperor appeared in golden robes and hung with jewels. To hit even more foreign guests the moment they entered the hall, the birds on the golden tree fluttered their wings, and the lions rose and roared dully. At the time when the ambassador lay prostrate (according to etiquette) in front of the throne, saluting the lord of Byzantium, the emperor, together with the throne, ascended upwards, and then descended in a different attire.

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