Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium.

Episode 169 Constantinople in 1025

Two episodes of the regular podcast ago, we talked about what had changed in the Roman

capital since episode 10 of the show. But our focus was largely on the major monuments

and famous buildings. We didn't talk about the rest of the city and that's what we're

going to do today. Episode 10 of the podcast was set in 518 AD. We're now in 1025.

Obviously, to cover the past 500 years in one episode is going to involve some breezy summarising,

but it should give you the highlights of urban development and point toward the issues

which will be relevant for our next century of narrative.

Let's begin with a quick recap of the major moments in the city's development.

In 518, Constantinople bore the imprint of Theodosius' family who had built many of the famous

columns and squares that we've talked about. The long reign of Justinian and the rebuilding done

in the wake of the Nicarayats gave the city a facelift. When you visit Istanbul today,

it's largely Justinian's monuments that survive in the east of the old city, a testament to his

investment in sturdy architecture and a reflection of the wealth of the empire at that stage.

What followed was the collapse under Sassanid and Arab invasions. The bread doll was cancelled,

the races curtailed, the baths closed. The city's population shrank and huddled around the southern

shore. Buildings were abandoned, streets stood empty. Various measures were taken to cater for

this compact populace, such as turning the public squares into livestock markets.

During the 9th century, a slow recovery began. The fading away of the caliphate and the success

of the Macedonian dynasty brought peace and prosperity. The capital's population began to grow quickly

again and merchants from across the Mediterranean viewed Constantinople as an ideal trading

...