Database: Forum of Theodosius

The largest of the public squares in Byzantine Constantinople, the Forum of Theodosius was repaired, improved, and christened in 393 by Emperor Theodosius himself to commemmorate his victories in battle and politics.

The most prominent feature of the forum, standing at its center, was the triumphal Column of Theodosius, built with an internal spiral staircase to allow visitors a grand view of the city.

Over subsequent centuries the forum was gradually built over, dismantled and damaged by earthquakes, until it had all but vanished - columns, arches, cobblestones and all - until a large portion of it was unearthed again in the middle of the 20th century.