Obelisk of Theodosius

The Obelisk of Theodosius (Turkish: Dikilitaş) is the Ancient Egyptian obelisk of Pharaoh Tutmoses III re-erected in the Hippodrome of Constantinople (known today as At Meydanı or Sultanahmet Meydanı, in the modern city of Istanbul, Turkey) by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century AD.

History

The obelisk was first set up by Tutmoses III (1479–1425 BC) to the south of the seventh pylon of the great temple of Karnak. The Roman emperor Constantius II (337-361 AD) had it and another obelisk transported along the river Nile to Alexandria to commemorate his ventennalia or 20 years on the throne in 357. The other obelisk was erected on the spina of the Circus Maximus in Rome in the autumn of that year, and is today known as the Lateran obelisk, whilst the obelisk that would become the obelisk of Theodosius remained in Alexandria until 390, when Theodosius I (378-392 AD) had it transported to Constantinople and put up on the spina of the Hippodrome there.

Description

Obelisk

The Obelisk of Theodosius is of red granite from Aswan and was originally 30m tall, like the Lateran obelisk. The lower part was damaged in antiquity, probably during its transport or re-erection, and so the obelisk is today only 18.54m (or 19.6m) high, or 25.6m if the base is included. Between the four corners of the obelisk and the pedestal are four bronze cubes, used in its transportation and re-erection.

Each of its four faces has a single central column of inscription, celebrating Tutmoses III's victory on the banks of the river Euphrates in 1450 BC.

Pedestal

The marble pedestal had bas-reliefs dating to the time of the obelisk's re-erection in Constantinople. On one face Theodosius I is shown offering the crown of victory to the winner in the chariot races, framed between arches and Corinthian columns, with happy spectators, musicians and dancers assisting in the ceremony. In the bottom right of this scene is the water organ of Ctesibius and on the left another instrument.

There are obvious traces of major damage to the pedestal and energetic restoration of it. Missing pieces have been replaced, at the pedestal's bottom corners, by cubes of porphyry resting on the bronze cubes already mentioned - the bronze and porphyry cubes are of identical form and dimensions. There is also a vertical gash up one of the obelisk's faces, which look like a canal from above. These repairs to the base may be linked to the cracking of the obelisk itself after its suffering a serious accident (perhaps an earthquake) at an unknown date in antiquity.

Inscriptions

The pedestal's east face bears a Latin inscription. This is slightly broken at the bottom but it was transcribed in full by travelers in the 16th century. It reads:

DIFFICILIS QVONDAM DOMINIS PARERE SERENIS IVSSVS ET EXTINCTIS PALMEM PORTARE TYRANNIS OMNIA THEODOSIO CEDVNT SOBOLIQVE PERENNI TER DENIS SIC VICTVS EGO DOMITVSQVE DIEBVS IVDICE SVB PROCLO SVPERAS ELATVS AD AVRAS

Translation:

"Though formerly I opposed resistance, I was ordered by one man to obey the serene masters and to carry their palms, once the tyrants had been overcome. All things yield to Theodosius and to his everlasting descendents. This is true of me too - I was mastered and overcome in three times ten days and raised towards the summit of the winds, under governor Proculus."

On the west face the same idea is repeated in Byzantine Greek, though this time it reports that the re-erection took 32 days (TPIAKONTA ΔYO, last line) not 30:

KIONA TETPAΠΛEYPON AEI XΘONI KEIMENON AXΘOC MOYNOC ANACTHCAI ΘEYΔOCIOC BACIΛEYC TOΛMHCAC ΠPOKΛOC EΠEKEKΛETO KAI TOCOC ECTH KIΩN HEΛIOIC EN TPIAKONTA ΔYO

Translation:

"This column with four sides which lay on the earth, only the emperor Theodosius dared to lift again its burden ; Proclos was invited to execute his order ; and this great column stood up in 32 days."

Notes

Bibliography

  • Labib Habachi, The Obelisks of Egypt, skyscrapers of the past, American University in Cairo Press, 1985, ISBN 9774240227
  • "Obelisk of Theodosius", in volume 3 of Alexander Kazhdan (ed.), The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 3 volumes, Oxford University Press, 1991, ISBN 0195046528
  • (French) Jean-Pierre Sodini, "Images sculptées et propagande impériale du IVe au VIe siècles : recherches récentes sur les colonnes honorifiques et les reliefs politiques à Byzance", Byzance et les images, La Documentation Française, Paris, 1994, ISBN 2-11-003198-0, pp. 43-94.
  • E. A. Wallis Budge, Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks, The Religious Tract Society, London, 1926 (ISBN 0486263479)

External links

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Thanos Antonis. ????????????☕????
This ancient Egyptian obelisk built by Pharaoh Thouthmosis the third, transported and raised at its current location from emperor Theodosius A' at 390 A.C in memory of his battle wins.
Alberto Quiroz
2 November 2015
The symbolism of this landmark is that it was there since Justinian was Emperor. We don't even know how much time ago it was build in Egypt.
S
16 October 2014
Yaklaşık 3500 yıl önce Misir'da Karnak Tapinagi'na dikilmistir. Impararator Theodosius'un emriyle 390 yilinda Hipodrom'a dikilmis olan dikilitiasin sadece ust kismi mevcuttur.
Esin
15 July 2013
17. Yüzyılda Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesinde, Dikilitaş'tan (Obelisk)İstanbul'u afetlerden koruyan bir tılsım olarak bahsetmiş.
erol duzdemir
27 July 2013
Osmanlı zamanın da yaşayanlar şimdi kendine medeni diyenleri bu sultanahmet meydanında turlayanları görse yorumları ne olurdu
Özden Inal
17 January 2022
İstanbul’un simgelerinden
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Tatiana Istratova, Ekaterina K and 21,114 more people have been here
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