The Antiquities of Constantinople: With a Description of Its Situation, the Conveniencies of Its Port, Its Publick Buildings, the Statuary, Sculpture, Architecture, and Other Curiosities of That CityGilles, Pierre
History
The Antiquities of Constantinople: With a Description of Its Situation, the Conveniencies of Its Port, Its Publick Buildings, the Statuary, Sculpture, Architecture, and Other Curiosities of That City
Gilles, Pierre
Istanbul (Turkey) -- Antiquities; Istanbul (Turkey) -- Description and travel; Turkey -- Antiquities
The Author has taken no Notice of two Streets which belonged to this
_Ward_, and which would complete the Number of three hundred and twenty
two Streets, mentioned in the Conclusion of his _Treatise_; but without
the Addition of them, we can reckon them three hundred and twenty and
no more.
The Fourteenth _Ward_.
_Although this_ Ward _is look’d upon to be a fourteenth Part of
the City, yet because it is divided from the other_ Wards _by an
intermediate Space of Land, and enclosed within its own Walls, it
makes the Figure of a small City by it self. The Entrance of it at the
Gate is somewhat upon the Level; but the right Side of it, rising into
an Ascent, almost to the Middle of the broad Way, falls into a deep
Descent, and ends afterwards near the Sea in a Plain. It contains a
Church; the Palace; a_ Nympheum; _some Baths; a Theatre; a_ Lusorium;
_a Wooden Bridge; eleven Streets; a hundred and sixty seven great
Houses; two large_ Portico’s; _five private Baths; one publick, and one
private Mill; with five_ Gradus.
NOTES.
_The fourteenth_ Ward, _which is enclosed within its own Walls, makes
the Figure of a kind of small City by it self_.] It was antiently
looked upon to be a small City, because one of the Emperors had built
there an Imperial Citadel. ’Tis very mountainous about it, and it
descends towards the Sea, into the Bosom of a Plain. The Name of the
Church in this _Ward_ is not known at present.
_A Palace._] This is the Place of Imperial Residence, which was
antiently called _Palatium_, because _Augustus_ dwelt in Mount
_Palatine_ at _Rome_. The Dwelling-House of _Romulus_ was also called
by the same Name. Wherefore, says _Dion_, speaking of _Augustus_, let
the Emperor be where he pleases, yet the Place where he constantly
dwells, is always called his Palace.
_A_ Lusorium.] This probably was the same Place with the _Ludus
Venatorius_, in which the Combatants exercised themselves before
they engaged with wild Beasts; yet is it more probable, that it was
so called from the _Naves Lusoriæ_, which were built there, of which
_Marcellinus_ takes Notice in his _sixth Book_, as also the _Code_ of
_Theodosius de Lusoriis Danubii_.
_A Wooden Bridge._] _Suidas_ writes, that near the Church of St.
_Mamas_, there was a Bridge which consisted of twelve Arches, for there
was a great Flood of Waters there. I believe this was after chang’d
into a Stone Bridge.
_Five_ Gradus, _or Stairs_.] At the End of this _Ward_, after the five
_Gradus_, I would correct the Omission of my Author, by comparing this
with the other _Wards_, and adding one _Curator_, one _Vernaculus_,
thirty seven _Collegiati_, and five _Vico-Magistri_.
The Author, in his following summary View of the City, mentions five
hundred and sixty _Collegiati_, but to complete the Number of them,
there are wanting seven. _Theodosius_ the _Less_ has added three in
_Lib. de Commer. & Mercat._ and makes the Number of them to be five
hundred and sixty three.
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