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DavidBergstein

ByzantineArt

ProfessorRicci

TheMese:MainStreetofConstantinople

THECENTEROFTHECITY

Imaginethemainstreetofyourowntown,thecenterofyourhomecity.Thereare

shopsandrestaurants,marketsandamusementcenters,bustlingactivityandthe

crowdsofpeople.Justlikemodernurbancenters,ByzantineConstantinoplehada

mainstreet,knownasthemese.Infact,thewordmesemeansliterally“middleroad,”

indicatingthecentralityofthis

street(Kazhdan).Cuttingthrough

virtuallytheentirecity,themese

wasthemainavenueoftraffic

runningthroughoralongside

almosteverymajormonumentand

gatheringspaceofcivicimportance.

Andjustlikethemainstreetsof

today,themesewasmorethanjusta

road–itwasalsothecenterofeconomicandsocialactivity,surroundedby

porticoes,orcolonnadedshoppingcenters.Anexaminationofthismonument

Image1TheMeseofConstantinople www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Constantinople

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providesbothagreaterunderstandingofdailylifeinByzantium,aswellasamore

unified,comprehensivepictureofthecityofConstantinople.

URBANGEOGRAPHYANDHISTORY

Approximately25meterswide,themesebeganattheMilionStone,locatedinthe

AugusteonSquareoutsideofthepresentdayHagiaSophia,andextendedwestpast

theedgesoftheHippodrome,thePalacesofLausosandAntiochus,throughthe

ForumofConstantineandtheForumofTheodosius.Shortlyafterpassingthrough

theConstantinianCapitoliumtheroadbifurcated,withonebranchrunning

northwestandendingattheGateofPolyandriattheTheodosianWalls,andthe

other(moreimportant)routeheadingsouthwest,passingthroughtheForumsof

BovisandArcadiusbeforeendingattheceremonialGoldenGate,whereitjoinedthe

ViaEgnatia,themainroadoftheRomanEmpire(Kuban35.)

Someearlyformofthemeseprobablyexistedinthepre‐ConstantinopleRoman

settlementestablishedbySeptimusSeverusasanextensionoftheViaEgnatia.The

ViaEgnatiawasthemainroadoftheEasternRomanEmpire,whichwoundthrough

GreeceandtheneventuallyconnectedtothethensmallsettlementofByzantium.

However,themeseofConstantinoplecanbedatedtothefoundingofthecityitselfin

330A.D(Kuban72).

Inadditiontoitscentrality,runningvirtuallyalongthe“spine”ofthecitythrough

almosteverymajormonumentandpublicspace,theimportanceofthemesecan

alsobeseeninrelationtootherlesserroadnetworksofthecity.Relyingon

excavationscompletedinthe1930sbyvonGerkanandOlofDalman,Albrecht

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Borgerwasalsoabletoestablishthecomparativecentralityandimportanceofthe

mesebystudyingtheroadlayoutof

Constantinople(Berger162).The

threeother“majorroads”identified

byBerger,“appeartoradiatefroma

singlepoint”formingamoreorless

rectangularpatternofurban

pathways(Berger165).Incontrast,

the“onlymajorstreetthatdoesnot

fit…isthemainstreet,”whichcut

throughthestreetpatternata

rectangularangle(Berger165).

Thus,similartothelargemodern

thoroughfaresofPennsylvaniaAvenue

inWashingtonD.C.or5thAvenueinNewYorkCity,themesedistinguisheditself

fromlesserstreetsbothinit’ssizeandthroughaconscientiousdisruptionofthe

normaltrafficpattern.

WHATTHEMESELOOKEDLIKE,THEECONOMICANDCULTURALSIGNIFICANCE

Thedefiningfeatureofthemesewasthecolonnadedporticoesthatsurroundedit.

Theseporticoes,whichwereessentiallylargecoveredwalkwaysthatextended

perpendiculartostreetonbothsides,werefilledwithshopsandothercommercial

enterprises,indicatingthatthemeseservedasthecenterofthecity’seconomic

Image2RoadPatternsofConstantinopleBerger,Albrecht.“StreetsandPublicSpacesinConstantinople.”DumbartonOaksPapers,Vol.54,(2000).DumbartonOaks,TrusteesforHarvardUniversity.

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activity.Inadditionto“providinganumberofurbanamenities,these[porticoes]

createdavisuallyrichurbanatmosphere,wherethenoiseandbustleofthecrowds

musthaveresembledourownmodernshopping

malls”(Kurban44).TheMakrosEmbolos(another

streetthatrannorthfromthemese)connecteda

sectionofthemesetotheharborsandtrading

centersoftheGoldenHorn,furtheraddingtothe

commercialsignificanceofthestreet(Khazdan).

Finally,themajorforumsandgatheringspaces

bisectedbythemesewouldhaveinevitably

containedbusinessactivities,marketareasand

othereconomicenterprises.Itisnotclearwhether

theseforumswerealsoasourceofcommercial

competition,divertingactivityfromthemese,or

whethertheyweremerelycomplimentary.Inalllikelihood,theprimarypurposeof

theforawasasagatheringspacefordemonstrations,hangings,andothersocial

events,complimentedbytheminorcommercialactivitiesthatinevitablyaccompany

largegroupsofpeople,whilethemeseitselfremainedtheprimaryeconomicspace.

Theporticoedstreetwasitselfnotanewinvention.Asimilarcolonnadedroad,

namedthe“GreatColonade”wasdiscoveredinthecityofPalmyra,inpresent‐day

Syria,anddatestothe3rdor2ndmillennium(Baranski4).Asimilarancientroad,

flankedbycolonnadeswasfoundintheancientSyriantownofApamea,datingfrom

thesametimeperiod(BaltyPlateX).

Image3PorticoedRoadofSt.PetersSquareAngelikaStern.RoyaltyFree,Gettyhttp://www.gettyimages.com/detail/88657137

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Inadditiontotheeconomicactivity,themesewasalsothesocialarteryof

Constantinople.Connectingvirtuallyeverymajormonument,publicspace,bath,

market,monasteryandchurch,themesecentralizedandorderedthesocialand

culturallifeofthecity’sinhabitants.Incomparisontothesprawlingmetropolisof

today’sIstanbul,itiseasytoimaginethatdailylifefortheaverageByzantinecitizen

wasclusteredaroundthisavenue.Itwasundoubtedlyaplacetoseeandbeseen,the

placewherenewswasdeliveredandtransmitted,anddefinedwhichspacesand

areasweredeemedculturalsuperiorandrelevant.

THEIMPERIALSYMBOLISM

Inadditiontoitseconomicandculturalimportance,themesewasalsoatoolto

conveyimperialpower.Thephysicalelementofthissymbolismwasthe

continuationoftheViaEgnatia(themainroadoftheEmpire),demonstratingthe

connectionbetweenConstantinopleandthelargerByzantineorRomanEmpire.By

connectingtheViaEgnatiatothemese,Byzantineemperorsexpressedtheshiftin

ImperialPowerfromRometoConstantinople,aswellasphysicallytyingthecity

intothegeographyoftheempire.

However,moresignificantthanthiswasthetriumphalprocessiondownthemese

undertakenbyByzantineEmperorswhoachievedmilitaryvictories.AstheEmperor

marchedfromtheGoldenGatetotheSacredPalace,allthewhiledisplayingthe

victoriesandspoilsoftheirlatestconquests,thecommonersofthecitywere

apparentlyexpectedtopackthemselvesalongsidethemeseinordertowitnessthe

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ostentatiousdisplayofImperialpower.Inthisway,themeseitselfwasturnedintoa

tooltoglorifythepoweroftheEmperor(Mango174).

Sadly,muchofthearchitectureofByzantiumhasbeenlosttoustoday,as

ConstantinoplebecameIstanbul,andasIstanbulbecameamoderncity.However,a

largesectionofthemesesurvivesundertheOttomannameDivanYolu,meaning

literallycourtroad.BywalkingalongtheDivanYolu(ortakingtheZeytiburnu

KabataTram),moderndayvisitorstothecitycanliterallywalkinthefootstepsof

theinhabitantsofConstantinople.StartingattheMillionStoneandheading

westward,theDivanYolufaithfullyfollowsthemese’spathuntilitreachesBeyazit

Square,andprovidesaenjoyable(andhistorical)methodforvisitorstoexplorethe

ancientcity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. AlexanderKazhdan"Mese"TheOxfordDictionaryofByzantium.Ed.AlexanderP.Kazhdan.©1991,2005byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc..TheOxfordDictionaryofByzantium:(e‐referenceedition).OxfordUniversityPress.KocUniversity.2December2009http://0‐www.oxford‐byzantium.com.libunix.ku.edu.tr:80/entry?entry=t174.e3483.

a. AbasicexplanationoftheMese,itsfunction,geographyandsignificance.

2. Hennessy,Cecily,"TopographyofConstantinople."TheOxfordHandbookofByzantineStudies.Ed.ElizabethJeffreys,JohnHaldon,RobertCormack.Pp.202–216.

a. HowtheMeseconnectedtootherbuildingsinthecityofConstantinople,thegeographyoftheMese,ceremonialpurposes.

3. DoganKuban,“ElementsoftheUrbanPhysiognomy,”Istanbul,AnUrbanHistory:Byzantion,Constantinopolis,Istanbul(Istanbul:EconomicandSocialHistoryFoundationofTurkey,1996),Pp.72–90.

a. HistoryoftheMeseandtherelationshiptotheViaEgnatia,commercialelementsofthecity,descriptiveimaginationoftheimportanceoftheMese.

4. Berger,Albrecht.“StreetsandPublicSpacesinConstantinople.”Dumbarton

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OaksPapers,Vol.54,(2000),pp.161–172.DumbartonOaks,TrusteesforHarvardUniversity.http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291837.

a. EmpiricalattemptedreconstructionofthepublicspacesandroadstructureoftheCityofConstantiopleandByzantium,extensivediscussionoftheMeseinrelationshiptostandardroadstructureofthecity.

5. Mango,Cyril.“TheTriumphalWayofConstantinopleandtheGoldenGate.”DumbartonOaksPapers,Vol.54(2000),pp.173–188.DumbartonOaks,TrusteesforHarvardUniversity.http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291838

a. TheTriumphalCelebrationofreturningByzantineEmperors,theMese’sroleinthisceremony,variationsontheceremony’sroadmapdependingontimeandcircumstancetoincorporateornotincorporatecertaingatesandroads.

6. Baranski,Marek.“Re‐DiscoveryofPalmyra.”UnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization.PaperpresentedattheInternationalCongressonWorldHeritageSites.September2001.http://www.unesco.org/archi2000/pdf/baranski.pdf

7. Balty,JeanCh.“ApameaintheSecondandThirdCenturiesA.D.”TheJournalofRomanStudies.Vol.78,(1988),pp.91–104.http://www.jstor.org/stable/301452