The Column of Constantine rises above Çemberlitaş as a remnant of Constantinople’s imperial center. Erected in the fourth century, it once carried a statue of the emperor and marked the ceremonial heart of the new Roman capital.
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This weathered column is a fragment of a much more ambitious imperial monument. Constantine erected it in 330 to mark the dedication of Constantinople as a new capital of the Roman Empire. The porphyry shaft was assembled from drums and originally supported a statue of the emperor represented in the guise of the sun god.
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Quick facts
- Constantine erected the column in 330 to commemorate Constantinople’s dedication.
- It originally supported a statue of Constantine as a sun god.
- Iron bands added for reinforcement gave it the Turkish name Çemberlitaş.
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