The Column of Marcian (, ) is a Roman honorific column erected in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

by the ''praefectus urbi'' Tatianus (450 – c. 452) and dedicated to the Emperor

Marcian Marcian (; ; ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the Byzantine Empire, East from 450 to 457. Very little is known of his life before becoming emperor, other than that he was a (personal assistant) who served under the commanders ...

(450–57). It is located in the present-day

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The column is not documented in any late Roman or Byzantine source and its history has to be inferred from its location, style and dedicatory inscription.

History

The column is carved from red-grey

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, in two sections. The quadrilateral basis is encased by four slabs of white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

. Three faces are decorated with

IX monogram The IX monogram or XI monogram is a type of early Christian monogram looking like the spokes of a wheel, sometimes within a circle. The IX monogram is formed by the combination of the letter "I" or Iota for (, Jesus in Greek) and "X" or Chi fo ...

s within

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s, and the fourth with two '' genii'' supporting a

globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

. The column is topped by a Corinthian capital, decorated with '' aquilae''. The inscription confirms that the capital was originally surmounted by a statue of Marcian, in continuation of an imperial architectural tradition initiated by the Column of Trajan and the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. The basis of the column is orientated northwest/southeast, while its capital is aligned north/south, possibly so that the statue could look towards the nearby

Church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles (, ''Agioi Apostoloi''; ), also known as the Imperial Polyandrion (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The first structure dated to ...

. A

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

dedicatory inscription is engraved on the northern side of the basis. Its lettering was originally filled with bronze, which has since been removed.Mango (1951) 62 = = ''ILS'' 824 The inscription reads:

RNCIPIS HANC STATUAM MARCIANI , CERNE TORUMQUE ,
RAEECTUS VOVIT QUOD TATIANUS , OPUS

(Behold this statue of the ''

princeps ''Princeps'' (plural: ''Principes'') is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first person". As a title, ''Princeps'' originated in the Roman Republic wherein the ...

'' Marcian and its base,
a work dedicated by the prefect Tatianus.) The Turkish name ''Kıztaşı'', "the column of the girl" (''kız'': "girl" + ''taş'': "stone"), apparently derives from the ''genii'' on the basis, which during the Ottoman period were the column's most distinguishing features (after the loss of Marcian's statue).

Gallery

File:Marcian Column Victory at base 4898.jpg, Marcian Column Victory at base File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9033.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Victory at base File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9034.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Victory at base File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9037.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9038.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles detail File:Istanbul Marcian Column 9040.jpg, Istanbul Marcian Column Plint with eagles File:A history of architecture in Italy from the time of Constantine to the dawn of the renaissance (1901) (14597482728).jpg, The Marcian Column in antiquity File:Mid 19 century engraving Column of Marcian W.H.Bartlett Istanbul Turkey.jpg, Mid 19 century engraving Column of Marcian.

Notes

References

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External links

Byzantium 1200 , Column of Marcianos
{{Ancient columns of Constantinople 5th-century inscriptions 5th-century Roman sculptures Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century Fatih Latin inscriptions

Outdoor sculptures in Istanbul