Was Constantinople ever founded?

Description

In this paper, I will once more assess the nature of Constantinople’s ‘foundation’. The ‘founding’ and ‘refounding’ of cities was a normal phenomenon among generals and emperors in Antiquity, at least since Hellenistic times. Especially after the so-called ‘tetrarchic’ era as instituted by the emperors Diocletian and Maximian (284-305), the institution of new imperial centres had become commonplace. Also the naming of a city after its ‘founder’ was a frequent phenomenon, such as – in Constantinople’s region – Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv) after the king of Macedon Philippus II (359-336 BC) or Hadrianopolis (modern Edirne) after Hadrian (117-138). However, due to a lack of contemporary sources, the original naming of the city that became known as Constantinople cannot be pinpointed with any exactitude. Let alone the intention of the act of foundation: was it meant as a transferal of the empire’s capital of old to a new site, was it (re)founded as a new capital at all, and if so, was the new city founded in order to overshadow old Rome? Other options were put forward, such as Constantinople as a symbol of Constantine’s victory over Licinius in 324 as part of a great Roman restoration project (Dagron 1974, 26). Then, was the city, that eventually acquired a clear Christian character, meant as a ‘Christian’ capital (if a capital at all)? The initiation rites in 330 AD may reveal information about the original intentions, but those are mainly known from later sources (Dagron 1984; Havaux 2017). This contribution is meant to show how little is known about the beginnings of ‘Constantinople’, and how much has been attributed to the legendary founding.

Period	10 Jul 2024
Event title	15th Celtic Conference in Classics
Event type	Conference
Location	Cardiff, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International