Cistern of Pulcheria
Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey
41°01′30″N 28°57′00″E / 41.025°N 28.95°E / 41.025; 28.95The Cistern of Pulcheria (Greek: Κινστέρνα Πουλχερίας, Turkish: Pulcheria Sarnıcı) is a byzantine covered cistern of Constantinople (today's Istanbul, Turkey) important for historical and artistic reasons.
Position
This cistern lay in the eleventh region of Constantinople, at the eastern end of the valley separating the fourth and the fifth hill of the city.[1] The reservoir has been tentatively identified with the covered cistern located in the north area of Fatih (the historic peninsula) near the Sivasi Tekkesi Mosque, in front of the southern end of the çukurbostan ("garden pit" in Turkish) of Sultan Selim,[2] now identified with the cistern of Aspar.[3] The main reason for the identification is the position of the cistern within the quarter named Pulcherianae ( Greek: αὶ Πουλχεριαναὶ, so named after the palace that the empress let build in the area).[1]
History
The cistern was built by Roman Empress Aelia Pulcheria, at the time of construction advisor of her brother, emperor Theodosius II, and then wife to emperor Marcian. According to the Chronicon Paschale (a 7th-century Christian chronicle written in Greek), the only ancient source to mention it, it was filled with water for the first time at the ides of February 421 AD.[4] According to Ernest Mamboury, the cistern was built in the 6th century.[5] Unused after the Ottoman conquest of the city, the dry cistern has been used by weavers until the beginning of the twentieth century, but is now abandoned.[2]
Description
The reservoir is one among the best well kept in Istanbul.[2] It should have belonged to a palace, which has not survived.[5] Its area covers 29.10 by 18.70 metres (95.5 by 61.4 ft).[2] Its roof is supported by four rows of 7 marble or granite columns.[2] They bear 40 domes 8.50 metres (27.9 ft) high above the ground.[2] The columns has capitals of Corinthian order, surmounted with transoms carved with leaves of acanthus or bearing the symbol of the cross.[2] The building has 35 windows, but now most of them are walled.[2] Its main facade is pierced by 4 windows of equal area and a door placed under the third one.[2]
See also
Sources
- Mamboury, Ernest (1953). The Tourists' Istanbul. Istanbul: Çituri Biraderler Basımevi.
- Janin, Raymond (1964). Constantinople Byzantine (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines.
- Müller-Wiener, Wolfgang (1977). Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls : Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul bis zum Beginn d. 17. Jh (in German). Tübingen: Wasmuth. ISBN 9783803010223. OCLC 3747838.
References
Further reading
- Crow, J. (2015). "The Water Supply of Byzantine Constantinople". History of Istanbul. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- Mango, Cyril (1995). "The Water Supply of Constantinople". In Mango, Cyril; Dagron, Gilbert (eds.). Constantinople and its Hinterland. Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 9–18. ISBN 9781315259567.
- Ward, K. A.; Crapper, M.; Altuğ, K; Crow, J. (2017). "The Byzantine Cisterns of Constantinople" (PDF). Water Supply. 17 (6). London: IWA Publishing: 1499–1506. doi:10.2166/ws.2017.053.
