GURPS 4th edition. Hot Spots: Constantinople, 527-1204 A.D.

48 Pages·2012·2.248 MB·English

by  Matt Riggsby

Hot Spots:
TM
CONSTANTINOPLE
527-1204 A.DT.M
Written by MATT RIGGSBY
Edited by NIKOLA VRTIS
Cartography by MATT RIGGSBY
An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS®
STEVE JACKSON GAMES
®
Stock#37-0661 Version1.0–August2012
C
ONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . 3 UsingGURPS LIFEOFTHEMIND............36
MattersofLanguage............3 MassCombat..............21 EducationandLiterature.......36
PublicationHistory.............4 THECHURCH................21 ThePriceofLiterature..........36
AbouttheAuthor ..............4 History......................21 Technology ..................36
AboutGURPS.................4 OrthodoxPractice.............22 Magic.......................37
ControversyandHeresy........23 AdventureSeed:
1. GEOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . 5 OtherReligions...............23 WalkThroughtheFire.......37
BETWEENMARMARA Non-OrthodoxCharacters.......23 SPECTACLES
ANDTHEGOLDENHORN.....5 Monasticism .................24 ANDAMUSEMENTS.........38
THECITYITSELF..............6 MonkCharacters..............24 TheArts.....................38
TheLandwardView............6 Relics.......................24 ChariotRacing ...............38
Population....................6 RANK,SPECTACLE, Re-CreatingtheRaces..........38
AdventureSeed: ANDCEREMONY...........25 OtherAmusements............38
PluggingtheHoles ...........7 SpareNoExpense .............25 NOTABLELOCATIONS..........39
TheSeawardView .............7 AdventureSeed: TheWall.....................39
TheInsideView ...............7 TheLaundryChase..........26 HagiaSophia.................39
MAPOFCONSTANTINOPLE ..........8 HelpWithHierarchical LanguageDifferences...........40
Classifications .............26 ThePalace...................40
2. HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . 9 10th-CenturyTitleTable.........27 TheHippodrome..............40
FOUNDATION .................9 ECONOMYANDCOMMERCE .....28 BasilicaCistern...............40
Constantinople(537A.D.).......10
Prices .......................28
GLORYANDCOLLAPSE.........10 Money ......................28 6. CAMPAIGNS. . . . . . . . . 41
Constantinople(750A.D.).......11 Industry.....................29 Constantinople
asHome..................41
REVIVALANDCRUSADES........12 WeirdScienceandIndustry .....29
Constantinople
Constantinople(1100A.D.) .....13
4. NOTABLE PEOPLE. . . . 30 asDestination .............41
TOTHEEND ................14
Timeline .....................14 RULERS ....................30 TheMoralDimension .........41
JustinianandTheodora........30 CROSSOVERS ................42
3. THE APPARATUS Heraclius....................30 Banestorm...................42
OF POWER. . . . . . . . . 15 Irene........................31 Crusades ....................42
BasilItheMacedonian ........32 DungeonFantasy .............43
GOVERNMENT ...............15 AlexiusIComnenus...........32 Fantasy-Tech.................43
TheEmperor
andHisHousehold.........15 OTHERINTERESTINGPEOPLE....32 LiveintheNow...............43
Horror ......................43
JohnChrysostom .............32
Eunuchs.....................16
InfiniteWorlds ...............44
LeotheMathematician ........33
ImperialOfficials .............16
Centrum.....................44
Kassia.......................33
OfficeHours..................17
MartialArts..................44
AdventureSeed:
CivicOfficials ................17
Thaumatology................44
TheForestfortheTrees ......33
JobTitles.....................18
AnnaComnena...............33
CrimeandPunishment ........18 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . 45
ChurchandState .............18 5. DAILY LIFE. . . . . . . . . 34 PrimarySources..............45
TheProvinces.................18 SecondaryWorks .............45
DOMESTICLIFE ..............34
THEMILITARY...............19 Fiction ......................46
Homes ......................34
Troops ......................19 Discography..................46
FamilyandNames............34
Mercenaries ..................19
ArmsandArmor..............20 Clothing.....................35 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Food........................35
ByzantineWarandPeace ......20
CulturalFamiliarity............35
Reviewers:PhilMasters,DavidL.Pulver,andWilliamStoddard
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C 2
ONTENTS
I
NTRODUCTION
Popularknowledgeabouthistorygoessomethinglikethis: mostlavishpalaceonthecontinent,andthemostformidable
TheRomansbuiltahugeempire.Itbecamedecadentandwas fortificationsofanycityintheworldever.
invaded by barbarians. The empire collapsed, and then the This supplement describes the city of Constantinople
DarkAgesengulfedEurope,followedatsomepointbytherest through the Middle Ages. It concentrates on a period book-
oftheMiddleAges,theRenaissance,andthemodernage. endedbyaneraofvictoriesandamomentofdefeat.Thetime
As with many beliefs about history, these are half-truths. frame starts with the reign of Justinian (r. 527-565), which
Certainly, Rome fell, slowly and painfully, to barbarians and marksthecity’shighpointandasignificantstepinthetransi-
itsowninternalproblems,butRomewasnottheempire,nor tionfromitsancienttomedievalform.ItcloseswiththeFourth
thewholeofEurope.Halfoftheempire,westoftheAdriatic, Crusade(morespecifically,thesiegeof1204),whichendedin
collapsedintoanimpoverishedcollectionofsuccessorstates. the catastrophic, if temporary, conquest of the city, and
After a period of political chaos and economic depression, changed the empire from a major power to a feeble domain
thesesmallstatesbecamethenationsofWesternEuropethat thatcouldonlydreamofitsillustriouspast.Constantinoplecan
we know today. The eastern half of the empire, though, sur- serveasthemodelforanimperialcapitalinyourownfantasy
vived. Initially stretching from the Balkans to Iraq and from gameor,ofcourse,appearinamedievalhistoricalgame.
north of the Danube to well south down the Nile, this half
lastedthroughtheDarkAgesandtheCrusadesuptothevery
dawnoftheRenaissance.
OurentryintoConstantinoplethe
Althoughtheinhabitantsofthisempirethoughtofthem-
selvesasRoman,modernpeoplecallthemandtheirempire Greatwasmadeaboutnoonoralittle
byadifferentname:Byzantine.Thoughnowhalf-forgottenin
later,andtheyrangtheirbellsuntilthe
the West, that empire was Europe’s medieval superpower.
Byzantine armies blocked Islam from sweeping through the veryskiesshookwiththeminglingof
Near East and across Europe. Byzantine scholars preserved theirsounds.
the works of classical poets, philosophers, and politicians
while the West was collapsing. Along with their Muslim –IbnBattuta
neighbors, the Byzantines kept them safe until the Renais-
sance.ByzantinemissionariesspreadChristianityintoEast-
ern Europe and Russia, inventing in passing the Cyrillic
alphabetusedinthoseareastothisdayandestablishingthe MATTERS OF LANGUAGE
Orthodoxy that still flourishes there. Byzantine emperors
commissionedgrandpublicworksthatservedasachallenge TheofficiallanguageoftheByzantineempirewasaformof
andaninspirationtothearchitectswhowouldonedaybuild Greek that constitutes a bridge between modern and ancient
thegreatGothiccathedrals. forms of the language. This supplement transliterates Greek
TheByzantineempirehadauniqueculture,drawingfrom termsintotheRomanalphabet,butthatdoesleavesomelin-
classical roots but developing in a very different direction gering issues. Furthermore, changes in terminology through
from its predecessor. The foundation of Byzantine law and timecanconfusetheunprepared.
government were Roman. However, the empire’s language
was Greek, and it partook of more Eastern cultural tradi- Pronunciation
tions.LiketheWest,itwasChristian,butitfollowedaform
InGreekwordsusedinthisbook,consonantsaretranslit-
of Christianity increasingly different from that practiced in
erated as unambiguously as possible. The letter “C” is only
areasthatfellintoRome’sorbit.Itwasultimatelyitsowndis-
usedindigraphssuchas“ch”ratherthanincontextswhereit
tinctsociety,neitheraWesternmedievalkingdomwritlarge,
might cause confusion between “S” and “K” sounds. “G” is
nor a preserved piece of classical antiquity with a more
alwaysahardG,asin“gallon”ratherthan“giant.”
advanceddateonthecalendar.
Stressalwaysgoesononeofthelastthreesyllablesofaword.
Formorethanathousandyears,fromitsadoptionasanew
Itfrequentlybutdoesnotalwaysgoasclosetothebeginningof
capitaltoitsfalltotheOttomanTurks,Constantinoplewasthe
the word as possible within that constraint. For example, the
undisputed center of it all. It was the leading city of Europe:
nobletitlesebastosisstressedonthefinalsyllable(se-bas-tos),
capitalofempire,centeroftrade,andbastionofChristendom.
butseveralvariantsonthattitlearestressedon“se”(forexam-
Itwasametropolisofasmanyasthree-quartersofamillion
ple, pro-to-se-bas-tos and pan-hy-per-se-bas-tos). The 10th-
souls,decoratedwiththegrandestchurchesintheworld,the
CenturyTitleTable(p. 27)listsanumberofexamples.
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I 3
NTRODUCTION
Didn’t Catch the Name Their neighbors to the west usually called them Greeks,
since they were Greek-speakers with their capital in Greece
Theword“Byzantine”inreferencetothemedieval,Ortho-
and ruling for the most part traditionally culturally Greek
dox, and officially Greek-speaking phase of the eastern part
regions. Westerners reserved “Roman” for matters in some
of the Roman empire was first used by Western scholars in
wayconnectedtotheItaliancity,thoughthename“Romania”
the16thcentury,anditdidn’tcometopredominateforsome
wasoccasionallyusedfortheeasternempire.
centuriesthereafter.Anovelnamewasjustifiedongeographi-
The empire’s other neighbors (Arabs, Turks, Slavs, etc.),
calandculturalgrounds,thoughsomechampionsof“Byzan-
beingmuchlessconcernedwiththecityofRomeandthelegit-
tine”mayhavehadpoliticalmotivesaswell.Thelegacyofthe
imacy of Roman law, usually called them Romans (or some-
RomanempirewasanimportantpropinWesternlawandpol-
thingderivedfrom“Rome”or“Roman”;theword“Rhum”is
itics,includingecclesiasticalpolitics.Westernersworkingwith
common), though some called them Greeks. They were also
Romanlaw,Westernrulerscallingthemselvesemperors,and
nearly as likely as the Byzantines themselves to call them
clergy defending Western religious establishments had to be
Christians, making little distinction between members of the
careful not to attribute too much of the Roman legacy to
religion and the state that claimed authority over them. The
anotherculture.
city itself was usually referred to as Constantinople. Even so,
Indeed,becauseofWesterners’manydifferenceswiththeir
some occasionally said Byzantium; Scandinavians called it
eastern cousins, the word Byzantine has taken on distinctly
Miklagarth; the Russians identified it as Tsargrad; and the
pejorativeovertones.Ithasbecomesynonymouswithtreach-
TurksstyleditStambulorIstanbul.
ery and baffling complexity, particularly in a bureaucracy or
other organization, but that’s largely unfair. Though bigger
P H
andmorecomplexthanWesterngovernmentsofitstime,the UBLICATION ISTORY
Byzantine bureaucracy was smaller than the government of
This supplement covers topics touched on in some of the
anymodernnationofsimilarsize.Likewise,noreasonexists
biographiesinGURPSWho’sWhoIandthePyramid(Volume
tosuggestthattheByzantineempirewasanycruelerthanany
2) articles “Constantinople” (June 29, 2001) and “Sailing to
othermajorempire,suchasthatoftheRomansortheChinese,
Byzantium”(November2,2001).
thoughthatmaybesettingaverylowbar.
Despitehavingadistinctmodernlabel,noclearlinedivides
“Byzantine” from “Roman.” Rather, it was a slow transition ABOUT THE AUTHOR
startinginthethirdcenturyandlastinguntilperhapsthesixth.
MattRiggsbyholdsdegreesinanthropologyandarchaeol-
Somescholarsdrawalineattheseventhandafewevengoso
ogy. His master’s thesis was a statistical analysis of late
farastorefusetomakeadistinctionanduse“Roman,”or“east
Roman/earlyByzantinebronzecoincirculationintheeastern
Roman,”throughout.
Mediterranean, a subject so tedious even he found it slow
When they needed to indicate nationality, the Byzantines
going. He now works for a company that has grown large
calledthemselvesRomans,whichtheycouldjustifybyconti-
enoughtorequireseparateparallelbureaucraciestoadminis-
nuityofancientRomanimperialrule.However,theytendedto
terlargegeographicalregions.Heliveswithhispiousandvir-
think of themselves first as Christians (or more specifically
tuouswife,asonwhoishislikelysuccessor,andseveraldogs
OrthodoxChristians),andanythingelseadistantsecond.
thatareineligibletoreachthethrone.
About GURPS
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I 4
NTRODUCTION
C O
HAPTER NE
G
EOGRAPHY
“Mylord,we’renearlythere.”BrotherEmile’svoicewokethe hadgivenwaytosunandblueskies.Hefrownedbackalongthe
nappinglordinstantly.Betweentheachefromhishealinglegand roadbywhichthewagonhadcome.
thelumpyfloorofthewagoninwhichhewastraveling,Count “Is this it?” Gervais asked, a trifle indignant. He gesturedat
Gervais could hardly be said to have been sleeping. Sitting up the scattered structures around him and back along the road
slowly,hesawthatthemistandrainoftheearlypartoftheday downwhichthecarthadcome.“I’llgrantthatitlookswell-made,
butthisishardlybiggerthanLyons.”
“No,lord,”Emilegentlycorrected,pointing.“Thatway.”
Gervais turned toward the direction in which the cart was
Howgreatisthatnobleandbeautiful
traveling,craninghisneckarounduntilhesawthewall.Hiseyes
city!Howmanywonderstherearetobe
widened,andhecrossedhimself.
seeninthesquaresandinthedifferent
ThelandonwhichConstantinoplewasbuiltwasitselfunre-
partsofthecity! markable. However, the geopolitical value of the site was
tremendous.Thecitywasideallysituatedforthecapitalofan
–FulcherofChartres
empire:Itwasbuiltatthepassagebetweentwoseas,andwhere
continentstouch.
B M
ETWEEN ARMARA
G H
AND THE OLDEN ORN
Constantinopleoccupiestheendofataperingpeninsulaat winter,accompaniedbysnow.However,theclimatedidvary
theextremesoutheasterncornerofwhatisnowtheEuropean somewhat through the period in question here. It was a bit
part of Turkey, about 65 miles from the modern border with warmerinthesixthcentury,becomingcooleranddryerinthe
Greece.ThepeninsulaisonthenorthernshoresoftheSeaof nextfewcenturies.
Marmara, the body of water between the Mediterranean and Earthquakes are frequent in the region. In fact, the fault
the Black Sea, and where Europe meets Asia Minor. The linebetweentheAnatolianandEurasianplatespassesthrough
roughly triangular peninsula has the Sea of Marmara to the themiddleoftheSeaofMarmara.Overthecenturiescovered
south; the Golden Horn, a narrow and winding inlet, to the in this supplement, the city experienced several severe earth-
north; and the rest of Europe to the west. The Bosporus, a quakesthatdestroyedprivatebuildingsandseriouslydamaged
straitconnectingtheSeaofMarmaratotheBlackSea(about manymonumentalstructures.
19milestothenorth),passestotheeast.TheBosporusisnar- Thelandaroundthecityisunremarkablefarmland,home
row,abouttwomileswideatConstantinopleitselfandunder to vineyards and fields of grain. The immediate vicinity is
1/2mileacrossinsomeplaces,sotheAsiansideiseasilyvisi- mostlylowhills,withafewstreamsandlowvegetation,even
ble from the city. The suburb of Galata (also called Pera in somestandsoftrees,butnomajorrivers.(Thelandissome-
somesources)liesacrosstheGoldenHornlessthan1/2mile whathilliertothenorthandtheeast.)Beyondthecitywalls,
fromthecity’seastend. during the time frame under consideration, settlements and
Though the land’s productivity and natural resources are militarycampsthinnedtoscatteredhousesandvillageswithin
nothing special, this position has enormous strategic value. It sightofoneanotherforaconsiderabledistance,includinglux-
sitsattheheartofthewealthy,denselypopulatedGreek-speak- uriousvillasbelongingtothecity’snotables(suchastheimpe-
ing world. Moreover, it controls land-based trade moving east rialfamily)andagreatnumberofmonasteries.
andwestandsea-bornetrademovingnorthandsouth.Conse- Surrounding settlements kept the city well-supplied. The
quently, Constantinople is a focal point for travel and trade greatmedievaltravelerIbnBattuta,visitinginthe13thcen-
between Europe, Russia, and the Near East, and has indirect tury, identified Constantinople along with its suburbs in
linkstoIndiaandChinaviatheSilkRoadandsearoutes,andto Galataasasinglevastcitydividedbyagreatriver.Constan-
ScandinaviabywayofRussia’smajorrivers. tinoplewasover60milesawayfromthenearestseparatecity
The climate is in a transitional zone between Mediter- of any size, Nicomedia to the southeast. Although smaller
ranean and temperate regions. Summers are hot and humid, townsweretothewest,thenearestlargecityinthatdirection
and the temperature occasionally dips below freezing in the wasThessalonica,over360milesaway.
G 5
EOGRAPHY
T C I
HE ITY TSELF
Fromthelatefourthcenturyonward,Constantinoplewasa Rome and Constantinople were friendly, would use it. Most
stubby,lopsidedtrianglesomewhatlargernorthtosouththan othervisitors,though,wouldhavetouseadifferententrance.
easttowest,coveringaround11squaremiles.Itwasbuiltona Once inside the city, the visitor might have seen less than
regionoflowhillsandsmallareasoflevelfields.Asmallriver– he’d expect. The immense area encompassed by the walls
theLykos–cutthroughthesouthwesterncorner,thoughlarge ensuredthat,evenatitsheight,Constantinoplewouldneverbe
partsofitwerepavedover,particularlyasitapproachedthesea. asdenselypopulatedasmostothermajorcitiesoftheperiod.
Intimesofprosperity,residentsestablishedgardensandscat-
T L V teredhomes,whileduringperiodsofdecline,largepatchesof
HE ANDWARD IEW
territorywereleftopen.SeveralvisitorstoConstantinoplenear
Once past any suburbs, the first thing a visitor saw theendoftheempireremarkedthattheareaenclosedbythe
approachingfromthelandwardsidewastheimposingdefen- walls contained several scattered villages. Nonetheless, even
sivewall.(Duringthecity’smostpopulatederas,verysubstan- duringthrivingperiods,thewestendofthecitywastypically
tialsettlementsmayhavedevelopedoutsidethewalls,buttheir moreopenthantheeast.
preciseextentisunclear.)Thisstructurewasacomplexsetof The residents of the west end tended to be relatively
twowallsandclearedareasaroundthem;seeTheWall(p. 39). wealthy, setting up small palaces with substantial patches of
The wall stretched over four miles, bulging slightly outward land around them. The most notable case was the neighbor-
along most of its course and hugging the higher ground as hoodofBlachernae.Locatedatthenorthwesterncornerofthe
muchaspossible.Itwasmadefromalternatingbandsofstone city, Blachernae was initially outside the Theodosian wall.
and brick, a common Byzantine style of construction that However, starting in the 11th century, emperors of the Com-
improved its resistance to impact and earthquakes. After the nenid dynasty moved from the sprawling palace complex
construction of the wall, many writers pointed out that, like establishedbyearlieremperorsintoanewresidencethere.Not
Rome, Constantinople contained seven hills. Some were very longthereafter,thecourseofthecitywallwasaltered,adding
lowtothepointofbeingscarcelydistinguishablefromthesur- abulgeofsubstantialbutrelativelyinferiorfortificationstothe
roundingterrain,butthesymbolismwasimportantaspartof northwesternpartofthecity.
theefforttoframeConstantinopleasasecondRome. Headingeast,thestreetsfromthegateseithercomprisedor
Ignoringsmall,fortifiedposternsintheouterwall’stowers eventually led to the forked Mese (literally, middle or central),
(which were usually kept closed), the wall had nine sets of Constantinople’s main street. The Mese was very wide by
gatesalongitslength,eachprotectedbydrawbridgesandpairs medievalstandards(about80’)andpavedwithmarbleaccord-
oftowersatboththeinnerandouterwall.Thesouthernmost, ing to some accounts. Long sections of it were flanked with
theGoldenGate,wasreservedforimportantceremonialuse, colonnaded porticoes, particularly along the southern branch,
such as the entrance of the emperor after an absence or the whichstartedattheGoldenGate.Thisbranchalsohadtwolarge
arrivalofparticularlyimportantforeigndignitaries.Forexam- markets,theForumofArcadiusandtheForumoftheOx.
ple,thepope,duringthoseraretimeswhenrelationsbetween About2/3ofamileintothecityweretheremnantsoftheold
citywallbuiltbyConstantine.Althoughnolongerasignificant
fortification by the time of Justinian, the Constantinian wall
traditionally marked the beginning of much denser occupa-
Population
tion.Thispartofthecitywasmostlylowerandmiddleclass.
However,ascatteringofwealthierhomesandthesignificant
For various reasons, the population of Constantinople
churchesandmonasteriestheysupportedclusteredaroundthe
varied by more than an order of magnitude over its exis-
MeseandtheAqueductofValens.TheMesewaslinedwithan
tence. This table indicates the approximate population at
unbrokenseriesofporticoesandshopsfortherestofitslength.
variousdatesthroughthecity’slifetime.
On a hill overlooking the Mese’s northern branch sat the
Year Population Church of the Holy Apostles, Constantinople’s second-most
530 500,000to750,000 important place of worship; it was home to both important
700 70,000 relics(seeRelics,p.24)andthetombsofmostemperorsupto
1050 375,000 the11thcentury.
1200 450,000 ThebranchesoftheMesejoinednotfarbeforetheForum
1453 30,000 of Theodosius. This area was typical of the city’s important
public spaces. It was surrounded by two-story colonnades
The city’s population mirrored the fortunes of the
andlavishlydecoratedwithstatuary.Theforumcontaineda
empireasawhole.Thecity’sheightinthe530sreflectedthe
monument to Theodosius I that was something between a
empire’sreachacrosstheMediterranean,whileitsfallinto
column and a very narrow tower. Decorated with carvings
theeighthcenturymirroredtheempire’snear-totalcollapse
spiralingupitslength,the120’pillarhadaninternalstaircase
duringthatperiodduetoinvasionandplague.Theempire’s
leading all the way to the top. It once held a statue of the
revival under the Macedonian dynasty set the capital to
emperor,thoughitfelldownafewdecadesafterTheodosius’
expandingagain,butthetrendreachedanendontheeve
deathandwasreplacedbyasimplecross.
oftheFourthCrusade,leadingtoanothercollapse and a
A few hundred yards past the Forum of Theodosius, the
twilightagethatlasteduntiltheOttomanconquest.
MesecrossedtheMakrosEmbolos(“GreatPortico”),amajor
streetrunningfromnorthtosouthfromoneshoretotheother.
G 6
EOGRAPHY
Adventure Seed: Plugging the Holes
Asformidableasitclearlywas,thewallstillhadafew A cautious bureaucracy engages the PCs to perform a
weaknesses.Forexample,therebuiltwallsonthenorth- survey of the walls to locate and report on possible weak-
ern end weren’t as thick as those farther south, and the nesses,notablyforgottenorhiddenpassages.(IfnoPCsare
relativelysteepslopeofthelanditsatonmadeitdifficult qualified to do any actual surveying, then part of the job
to establish a moat. More subtle ways also could be becomestofindpeoplewhoareandcloselysupervisethem.)
foundtogetintothecity,specifically,thevariousaque- Theywillhavetodealwithuncomfortableworkingcondi-
duct pipes providing the city with its water. An army tionsdoingclosephysicalinspectionsofwallfoundationson
couldn’tgetthroughthem,butsomewerebigenoughto slopesorpartlyfloodedsectionsofditch,figureouthowto
insert a few chosen people. (In 705, the deposed Justin- findhiddenpassages,anddealwithangryhomeownerswho
ian II did just that, entering the city with a small strike havebuiltstructuresupagainsttheinnerwall.Iftheyactu-
force and driving off his successor.) Over generations, allyfindanything,theymayhavetodealwithangrysmug-
aqueductscameinandoutofuse,andolderonescould glers, spy rings, or even creatures from the underworld
beforgotten. whosetunnelsconnecttooldpassagesinthewalls.
LiketheMese,theMakrosEmboloswascolonnadedandwell- home to most of the city’s Jewish population; see Other Reli-
paved.Itwashometoanumberofimportantmercantilecon- gions,pp. 23-24.
cerns.Theintersectionwasdecoratedwithatetrapylon(aset Althoughthecitywassurroundedontwoofitsthreesides
offourornamentalcolumns,oneateachcorner). bywateranditwasinaregionwithdirectaccesstotwomajor
AfewhundredyardsfartheronwasthecircularForumof seas,noteverywherewasappropriateforlanding.Thecurrent
Constantine,locatedjustoutsidethelineofByzantium’sorigi- comingoutoftheBosporuswasswift,andtheseaaroundthe
nal walls. Like the Forum of Theodosius, colonnades sur- south of the city was choppy in many places. A few landings
rounded it. It also had ceremonial gates at the east and west were along the southern shore (notably one attached to the
andacommemorativecolumninthecenter. imperial palace), but most of the city’s harbors were to the
Intheeasternendofthecity,theMeseendedattheheart north,facingthecalmwatersoftheGoldenHorn.Intimesof
ofthecityandtheempire.Theroadformallystoppedatthe war,themouthoftheGoldenHornwasprotectedbyaheavy
Augustaion, a lavishly decorated public square. It was sur- chainsupportedbywoodenfloatsrunningbetweentowerson
rounded by the Hagia Sophia, the empire’s greatest church; theshoreofeitherside,preventingshipsfromentering.
theHippodrome,thecity’smostimportantpublicspace;and
the imperial palace. (See Notable Locations, pp. 39-40, for T I V
HE NSIDE IEW
more detailed descriptions of all three.) In addition to the
corebuildingsofthechurchandgovernment,theeastendof Thoughthecity’spublicfacewasverycarefullyconstructed,
the city also featured several important industrial centers, a thebackareasdevelopedinalesscontrolledway.Throughthe
numberofotherlargechurchesand,ontheslopesoftheeast- city’shistory,someattemptsweremadeattheconstructionofa
ernshore,agreatmanysmallmonasteries. squarestreetgrid.However,thecity’stopographyand,probably
more importantly, its long history of growth and contraction
T S V causedittodriftfromthatpatternintoamoreorganiclayout.
HE EAWARD IEW
Thiswasparticularlythecaseinthetypicallymoresparselypop-
Thevisitorcominginfromtheseagotadifferentview.Con- ulated western part of the city. Though the grand ceremonial
stantinoplehaddefensivewallsextendingaroundtheseaward avenueswerebroad,paved,andlavishlydecorated(mostlythe
sidesofthecity,which,thoughnowherenearasstrongasthe Meseandsomemajorstreetsleadingoffofit),thebackalleysin
landward wall, were certainly strong enough for most pur- poorerneighborhoodswereprobablymadeofdirtandcouldbe
poses. The gentle slope of the land meant that the shore had verynarrow,aslittleastwoorthreeyardsacross.Thiswaspar-
manypatchesofmarshyground.Severaloftheharbordistricts ticularlythecaseduringthecity’smostdenselypopulatederas,
were created by walling off swampy areas of shoreline and aroundthereignofJustinianandinthecenturyortwoleading
eitherdredgingthemtoprovideharborageorselectivelyfilling up to the Crusades. In a particularly built-up neighborhood,
them in to create level ground sheltering deeper areas. The wherebuildingsweremorethanastoryortwotall,theremight
moreactiveharborsontheGoldenHornwereclosertotheeast be streets in near-perpetual shadow. Some back streets were
endthanthewest,sonewvisitorswholandedatConstantino- stepped,carvedintotherockofthelowhillsides.
pleproper(ratherthanatGalata,assomemight)couldhead Manyshopsandotherbusinessconcernswerelocatedalong
southtothespectacleofthepalacedistrict.Bytheninthcen- thebroaderstreetsandonthelowerstoriesofbuildingsalong
tury, in addition to port facilities, the north shore of the city the side streets. Retail stores were likely small affairs, single-
washometosmallcoloniesofforeignmerchants,especiallyto roomalcovesonthegroundfloorfacingthestreets.Granaries,
theeastoftheMakrosEmbolos.Theseincludedgroupsofmer- bakers,and other sources of staple foods appearto havebeen
chants from Amalfi, Pisa, and Venice, with merchants from concentratedinthecenterofthecitybetweentheConstantinian
Syria and Genoa granted colonies there later. The Genoese wallandthemonumentaleastend.Merchantswouldhavebeen
wereeventuallycededalargeneighborhoodinGalata,which moredrawntotheareasalongtheshore;warehouseswerenat-
theyfortifiedinthe14thcentury.Thisareawasprobablyalso urallylocatedascloseaspossibletoharbors.
G 7
EOGRAPHY
1
3
2
Sea of Marmara
4
Golden Horn
5
8
6
7
99
0 0.5miles 1mile
M C (C 1150)
AP OF ONSTANTINOPLE IRCA
Key
1.ForumofArcadius 3.HolyApostlesChurch 5.ForumofConstantine 7.Augustaion 9.HagiaSophia
2.ForumoftheOx 4.ForumofTheodosius 6.BasilicaCistern 8.Hippodrome
G 8
EOGRAPHY
C T
HAPTER WO
H
ISTORY
“That one?” Gervais asked. Emile exchanged some words “Goddesses of the pagans, my lord.”
with the guide, sent along with them by the abbot of the Gervais stared at the statues, amazed. “They look like they
monastery where they had been assigned lodgings. could come off their pedestals and walk away.”
“The emperor Justinian, my lord.” “I doubt that, my lord,” Emile sniffed. Nevertheless, Gervais
“And that?” could tell how tightly the priest was clutching his crucifix.
“The emperor Constantine.”
The history of Constantinople is, in many ways, the history
“That doesn’t look any thing like . . .”
of the empire. Being the chief and by far the largest and most
“A differentemperor Constantine, my lord. This is the first
important city of the empire, most of what made the empire go
one.”
happened in Constantinople. As the empire grew and pros-
“And . . . stop!” Gervais gestured impatiently to the litter bear-
pered, the population of the city expanded and its wealthy and
ers. They knew no French, and he an equal amount of Greek, but
powerful paid to remake the city in whatever way pleased
they made sense of his vigorous signs. “Who in the name of
them. As the empire shrank and grew poorer, so did its capital.
Christ are they?”
F
OUNDATION
The city that would become Constantinople was founded Roman fashion, where very little was ever actually done away
in the seventh century B.C. in what would later become the with, he essentially duplicated the existing government. The
expanded city’s extreme eastern end. It was a colony estab- empire was divided in two, with the split in Europe in the
lished by Megara in Attica. According to legend, the leader of vicinity of modern Yugoslavia and Bosnia, and the split in
the colonization effort was a man named Byzas, from whom Africa running through the middle of modern Libya. Each half
the city took the name Byzantion, later Latinized to Byzan- had its own emperor, who was supposed to operate in conjunc-
tium. Though the site’s natural advantages were as obvious to tion with his counterpart but focus on his own area, allowing
its founders as to anyone else and it became reasonably him to give full attention to a smaller region than that which
wealthy, it was never a leading city either in its own right or had preoccupied earlier emperors. Each emperor (an augus-
when it became a Roman possession, probably during the tus) was to nominate a “junior” emperor (a caesar) as well, to
first century A.D. set up a clear line of succession, and avoid the devastating wars
that often followed the death of a ruler.
Unsurprisingly, this system didn’t work as well as intended.
With His Army and Just Revolts and succession wars continued, and periods still
occurred with sole emperors. However, it did establish the
Force, He Has Saved the precedent for a division of parallel administrations in east and
west, and it detached the administration of the empire from the
Republic From Tyranny and
city of Rome. It was the need to set up an eastern headquarters
that led the emperor Constantine to establish himself in
All Its Factions.
Byzantium in 324. He instituted a massive building program to
enlarge and improve the city. He commissioned the construc-
– Inscription to
tion of a new wall that more than doubled the city’s area. He also
Constantine I had a variety of lavishly decorated public buildings (including
Christian churches) erected. On May 11, 330, the city was for-
mally consecrated with its new name: Constantinople.
The rebuilt city quickly accumulated many of the official
trappings of Rome. It had a native senate (composed of aristo-
By the end of the third century A.D., the Roman empire was crats selected by Constantine, making them more compliant
struggling under a tremendous burden of barbarian invasion, than Rome’s own), a similar number of administrative divi-
agricultural collapse, debased currency, and an endless string of sions, and a large-scale grain dole. In the ceremonial square
rebellious generals with ambitions for the throne. In order to (the Augustaion), a new milion was established, a central
reestablish firm control, the emperor Diocletian put into place marker from which road distances would be measured in the
a series of administrative reforms. In a typically conservative eastern half of the empire.
H 9
ISTORY
While the West declined through the next few centuries, early in the fifth century, with a number of significant addi-
the eastern capital became larger and more important. A net- tions around 450. After the reign of the fiscally talented
work of canals and aqueducts, probably the largest public emperor Anastasius early in the sixth century, the imperial
works project in Europe up to that point, was constructed to treasury was filled with immense sums of money, paving the
bring much-needed water in from Thrace, over 60 miles to way for the reign of Justinian and the golden age of the
the west. The emperor Theodosius II built the city’s final wall Byzantine empire.
Constantinople (537 A.D.)
Population:750,000 (Search +3) Notes
Constantinople is home to a huge number of govern-
Physical and Magical Environment
mental offices and Orthodox churches and monasteries
Terrain:Plains (+3 to search rolls). It’s also a significant producer of silk
Appearance:Very Beautiful (+4) Hygiene:-1 and importer of goods from the Near East and beyond (+2
No Mana(No Enchantment) to search rolls), and preserves significant numbers of clas-
sical texts (+1 to search rolls).
At its height, the city inside the Constantinian wall is
densely packed with people and buildings, and even the
area between the Constantinian and Theodosian walls is
reasonably well-populated with monasteries, churches,
Culture and Economy
shops, and homes lining the major streets. In poorer neigh-
Language:Greek Literacy:Accented borhoods, the skyline is crowded with tall apartment build-
TL:3 ings. Though things have begun to change, there are still
Wealth:Comfortable (¥2) Status:-1 to 8 many aspects of classical civic life. Associations of unre-
lated people such as craft guilds and circus factions are
Political Environment active or at their height, and many public amusements still
occur. Because the empire covers large parts of Europe,
Government:Dictatorship, Municipality
the Near East and Middle East, and North Africa, visitors
CR:4 (Corruption -1)
to Constantinople are multi-ethnic, but most residents
Military Resources:$52.5M Defense Bonus:+8
think of themselves as Roman.
G C
LORY AND OLLAPSE
By 527, Constantinople had obtained several of its lasting on January 11, revolted at the end of a day of chariot racing,
features, but hadn’t quite taken on its full medieval form. In forcing the emperor to flee to the palace. Indeed, the Nika
that year, the emperor Justinian ascended the throne. With the revolt, (so called because of the rebels’ rallying cry of
empire prosperous and the borders relatively secure, the “Victory!”) nearly drove him from the city. According to tradi-
empire set about expanding its authority again. The most tion, he would have fled the city if not for his wife’s scolding.
notable efforts were to the west. At the beginning of Justinian’s During a week of rioting, many were killed and much of
reign, the empire held its traditional western boundary in the the city burned. After the rebels appointed as emperor a
Balkans. After a long series of military campaigns, it recovered nephew of Anastasius, Justinian used bribery to split the tem-
the rest of the Adriatic coast, Italy, southern Spain as far north porarily allied factions apart. He also called on his general
as Cordoba, and most of Northern Africa. Belisarius, who had been largely responsible for retaking
More locally, Justinian was responsible for a great deal of the Italy and North Africa, to overwhelm those who remained.
medieval shape of the city. This is partly because, with the Thousands died, the would-be usurper was executed, and
empire’s immense wealth and reach, a considerable amount of Justinian was left with something very much like a blank
money could be spent to make further improvements to the city. slate to build on. In addition to considerable private con-
Moreover, man-made disaster aided Justinian’s city-building. struction during this period, Justinian expanded the palace,
By 532, Justinian was facing unrest because of the high excavated a massive new reservoir, and ordered the erection
taxes he needed to fund the imperial war machine. Because of of the third (and still standing) Hagia Sophia.
this, some sections of the aristocracy were considering ways to The reign of Justinian marks the high point of Constan-
replace him with a descendant of one of his predecessors. tinople’s history in terms of wealth, population, power, and
Against this background, Justinian was about to have two artistic activity. Soon thereafter, the city began to decline. The
members of popular racing factions (see Chariot Racing,p. 38) first significant blow was a terrible plague late in Justinian’s
executed for deaths caused by recent riots. In a nigh-unprece- reign, which may have killed a third of the city’s population.
dented maneuver, the racing factions united against him and,
H 10
ISTORY