https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople#/media/File:Bizansist_touchup.jpg
The Founding of Constantinople and its Harbours
The peninsula located on the eastern tip of Europe, facing Asia across the Bosporus, became the capital of two empires that dominated the history of the region. Constantinople was founded in 330 by Constantine the Great who wanted to build a city as a monument to his military success. He duplicated the features of ancient Rome and brought the most beautiful and renowned ancient Greek monuments in the empire to the new centre of his empire. The successors of Constantine mainly remained in Constantinople and continued to keep the city the greatest of the region. The city was officially called Nea Rome (New Rome), however, it was mostly referred to as Constantinople, the city of Constantine.
From the 4th century onward, Constantinople became the largest trading centre of the region. As the city was situated on the Bosporus and surrounded by sea on its three sides, it shortly became a hub of the maritime trade routes. Historians have explored ten different harbour names mentioned in the Byzantine sources, however, the city had in total six harbours where ships could dock. At the entrance of the Golden Horn there were two adjacent harbours: Prosphorion and Neorion. These were the oldest harbours of Byzantium and their importance grew when the Venetians and Genoese settled and established their trading centres in Galata, on the opposite shore of the Golden Horn. On the southern shore of the peninsula, there were four harbours. The largest and the main harbour was Eleutherios, later known as the Harbour of Theodosius, then the Kaesarious Harbour, Kontaskalion or the Harbour of Justinian, and the Harbour of Sophia. During the Ottoman Empire, the harbours on the southern shore were abandoned and new harbours and piers were established in the Golden Horn and on the Asian side of the Bosporus.
The Discovery of the 1500 Years Old Byzantine Port
In 2004, during the construction of the Marmaray railway tunnel station at Yenikapi, thirty-six shipwrecks dating from the fifth to eleventh centuries were revealed. Railway construction was suspended, and from 2005 until 2013 excavation of the site was carried out by the Istanbul University’s Department of Conservation of Marine Archaeological Objects. The excavations confirmed the exact location of the Theodosian Harbour that had been abandoned for centuries. The thirty-six shipwrecks buried in sand were exceptionally well preserved and they are key materials that enlighten the history of shipbuilding. On the same site, archaeologists have also found the remains of a Neolithic dwelling dating from about 6000 BC. From the Neolithic layer, archaeologists excavated two thousand human footprints, wooden tools and graves. However, due to the pressure of the Turkish government who was eager to construct its railway stations, archaeologists were obliged to relocate their findings and the Yenikapi excavation was closed in 2013. If you go to Istanbul and use the Marmaray railway to go to Yenikapi, take a moment in the metro station and think about the fact that below your feet, there are the remains of Neolithic settlements and the Harbour of Theodosius.
http://www.cura.co.uk/turkey/the-byzantine-harbour/
An aerial view of Istanbul and the excavation site located the southern shore of the historical peninsula
https://www.uwplatt.edu/news/what-can-ancient-tree-rings-reveal-about-human-history
One of the excavated Byzantine period shipwrecks
16th Century Map of Constantinople
http://eng.travelogues.gr/item.php?view=55052
The following map of Constantinople was made by the Flemish artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502-1550) in 1533. In 1533, Coecke van Aelst travelled to Constantinople and stayed one year at the capital of the Ottoman Empire. His aim was to learn the crafting techniques of the East also negotiate the commission of tapestry at Suleiman the Magnificent’s court. Even though his negotiations were unsuccessful, Coecke van Aelst produced multiple drawings and engravings that portray Istanbul and the Sultan. In this map, Coecke van Aelst has portrayed Istanbul under Ottoman rule. The major change compared to the Byzantine map is the Topkapi palace, located at the tip of the peninsula. Below, Suleiman I is portrayed on his horse and his Janissaries around him. From the left to the right, Coecke van Aelst has depicted the Ottoman Sultans in chronological order and the current the Sultan, Suleiman I is the central figure under the map of Constantinople.
Sources
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/31/the-big-dig
R. Janin. Constantinople Byzantine: Developpement Urbain et Repertoire Topographique. Institute Francais D’Etudes Byzantine: Paris, 1964.
