Alexander Van Millingen — Byzantine Constantinople — THE PALACE OF THE PORPHYROGENITUS.

CHAPTER VII. THE PALACE OF THE PORPHYROGENITUS.

The ruined Byzantine palace, commonly styled Tekfour Serai, beside the Porta Xylokerkou was the Imperial residence, known as the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (τὰ βασίλεια τοῦ Πορφυρογεννήτου: οἱ τοῦ Πορφυρογεννήτου οἶκοι), [428] and formed an annex to the great Palace of Blachernæ, which stood lower down the hill.

It is true, Gyllius supposed it to be the Palace of the Hebdomon, and his opinion, though contrary to all the evidence on the subject, has been generally accepted as correct. But the proof that the suburb of the Hebdomon was situated at Makrikeui, upon the Sea of Marmora, is overwhelming, and consequently the Palace of the Hebdomon must be sought in that neighbourhood. [429]

The evidence for the proper Byzantine name of Tekfour Serai [430] occurs in the passage in which Critobolus describes the positions occupied by the various divisions of the Turkish army, during the siege of 1453. According to that authority, the Turkish left wing extended from the Xylo Porta (beside the Golden Horn) [431] to the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, which was situated upon a slope, and thence to the Gate of Charisius (Edirnè Kapoussi). [432] The site thus assigned to the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus corresponds exactly to that of Tekfour Serai, which stands on the steep ascent leading from Egri Kapou to the Gate of Adrianople.

The Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Southern Façade).

All other references to the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus are in accord with this conclusion, so far, at least, as they imply the proximity of that residence to the Palace of Blachernæ. When, for instance, Andronicus III., in 1328, entered Constantinople by the Gate of St. Romanus to wrest the government from the feeble hands of his grandfather Andronicus II., he took up his quarters, we are told, in the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, to be near the palace occupied by the elder sovereign. [433] That Andronicus II. was at the Palace of Blachernæ is manifest from the fact that the peasants who witnessed the entrance of the rebel grandson into the city ran and reported the event to the guards stationed at the Gate Gyrolimnè, [434] a gate leading directly to the Palace of Blachernæ. [435]

The Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Northern Façade).

Again, the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus was occupied by John Cantacuzene, in 1347, while negotiating with the Dowager-Empress Anna of Savoy to be acknowledged the colleague of her son, John Palæologus. [436] Upon taking possession of that residence he issued strict injunctions that no attack should be made upon the palace in which the empress and her son were then living. But the followers of Cantacuzene, hearing that Anna hesitated to come to terms, disobeyed his orders and seized the fort at Blachernæ, named the Castelion, which guarded that palace. [437] Evidently the Palace of Blachernæ and the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus stood near each other. Seven years later, John Palæologus himself, upon his capture of the city, made the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus his headquarters while arranging for the abdication of Cantacuzene. [438] And from the narrative of the events on that occasion it is, again, manifest that the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus was in the neighbourhood of the Castelion and the Palace of Blachernæ.

By this identification, a flood of light is shed upon the incidents of Byzantine history to which allusion has just been made.

The palace, an oblong building in three stories, stands between the two parallel walls which descend from the Porta Xylokerkou for a short distance, towards the Golden Horn. Its long sides, facing respectively north and south, are transverse to the walls, while its short western and eastern sides rest, at the level of the second story, upon the summit of the walls.

Its roof and two upper floors have disappeared, and nothing remains but an empty shell. The northern façade was supported by pillars and piers, and its whole surface was decorated with beautiful and varied patterns in mosaic, formed of small pieces of brick and stone. The numerous windows of the building were framed in marble, and, with the graceful balconies on the east and south, looked out upon the superb views which the lofty position of the palace commanded. The western façade, being the most exposed to hostile missiles, was screened by a large tower built on the west side of the Porta Xylokerkou, to the injury, however, of the gate, which was thus partially blocked up.

A transverse wall erected at some distance to the north made the area between the two walls, upon which the palace rests, a spacious court, communicating by a gate at its north-eastern corner with the city, while a gate in the western wall led to the parateichion. [439] The latter entrance is, probably, the one known as the Postern of the Porphyrogenitus, by which forty-two partisans of John Cantacuzene made good their escape from the city in 1341. [440]

Monogram Of The Palæologi.

Monogram Of The Palæologi. [441]

According to Salzenberg, the palace belongs to the earlier half of the ninth century, and was the work of the Emperor Theophilus. [442] But the name of the building is in favour of the view that we have here an erection of the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and consequently a monument of the Art of the tenth century. Constantine Porphyrogenitus was noted for the number of palaces he erected. [443]

The Palace of the Porphyrogenitus (View of Interior).

At the north-western end of the court stood another residence, the western façade of which, pierced by spacious windows, still surmounts the outer wall of the court. Over the second window (from the south) was inscribed the monogram of the legend on the arms of the Palæologi; [444] Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων Βασιλεύων Βασιλεύουσι.

Dr. Paspates [445] regarded this building as the Monastery of the Seven Orders of the Angels, mentioned by Cantacuzene; [446] but that monastery, and the gate named after it, were at Thessalonica, and not at Constantinople. The building formed part of the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus.

Bullialdus, the annotator of Ducas, [447] speaking of the palace, says that the double-headed eagle of the Palæologi was to be seen on the lintel of one of the doors; that the capitals of the pillars in the building bore the lilies of France; and that several armorial shields were found there with the monogram—

Monogram.

These ornaments may be indications of repairs made by different occupants of the palace. [448]

Plan of the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, And Adjoining walls.