Great Palace of Constantinople

As he wandered its empty halls and pavilions, he allegedly whispered a quote from the Persian poet Saadi:[1] The spider is curtain-bearer in the palace of Chosroes, The owl sounds the relief in the castle of Afrasiyab.Much of the palace was demolished in the general rebuilding of Constantinople in the early years of the Ottoman era.

Further excavations took place under the directorship of David Talbot Rice from 1952 to 1954, which uncovered a section of one of the south-western buildings at the Arasta Bazaar.

The palace was located in the southeastern corner of the peninsula where Constantinople is situated, behind the Hippodrome and the Hagia Sophia.

It stood on a steeply sloping hillside that descends nearly 33 metres (108 ft) from the Hippodrome to the shoreline, which necessitated the construction of large substructures and vaults.

After the barracks stood the reception hall of the 19 Accubita ("Nineteen Couches"), followed by the Palace of Daphne, in early Byzantine times the main imperial residence.

The main throne room was the Chrysotriklinos, built by Justin II, and expanded and renovated by Basil I, with the palatine chapel of the Theotokos of the Pharos nearby.

To its north lay the Triconchos palace, built by the emperor Theophilos and accessible through a semicircular antechamber known as the Sigma.

To the east of the Triconchos lay the lavishly decorated Nea Ekklesia ("New Church"), built by Basil I, with five gilded domes.

It was built by Theophilos, incorporating parts of the sea walls, and used extensively until the 13th century, especially during the Latin Empire (1204–1261) whose Catholic emperors from Western Europe favoured the seaside palace.

A scene from the scroll border of the Great Palace Mosaic, a mosaic floor of scenes from daily life and mythology in a hall of yet unidentified uses and controversial date.
One of the piers from the Great Palace, now in the courtyard of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums
Virtual image of Constantinople in Byzantine era with the Great Palace complex to the right.
Remains of the Great Palace of Constantinople
Map of the administrative heart of Constantinople. The structures of the Great Palace are shown in their approximate position as derived from literary sources. Surviving structures are in black.
Surviving part of the Magnaura