e Obelisk of Theodosius (狄奥多西方尖碑) and, especially, its extraordinary marble relief pedestal. You are standing in the middle of the ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople, today Sultanahmet Square, right beside the Blue Mosque.
Obelisk of Theodosius
5
🏛️ The amazing part: this monument is actually two different civilizations
The tall stone itself is Ancient Egyptian.
The carved pedestal underneath is Roman/Constantinopolitan, made about 1,800 years after the Egyptian monument.
The tall obelisk — Egypt 🇪🇬
The hieroglyph-covered granite originally stood at Karnak in ancient Thebes (Luxor), Egypt.
It was erected for Pharaoh Thutmose III around 1450 BC — approximately 3,500 years ago.
Then, incredibly:
Egypt → Rome → Constantinople
Emperor Theodosius I had it re-erected here around 390 AD. The surviving obelisk is about 19.6 m high; it was originally taller.
So when you look up at those hieroglyphs, you are literally looking at an Egyptian monument from roughly 1450 BC standing in Istanbul.
Your first photo — what are all those people?
The marble pedestal was created when the obelisk was erected in Constantinople in the late 4th century.
The reliefs show Emperor Theodosius I and his court watching the chariot races in the Hippodrome.
Look carefully at your photo:
👑 At the top center
You can see the emperor and imperial family inside the imperial viewing box.
The emperor is deliberately placed higher and more prominently than everybody else.
Around him are:
court officials
guards
members of the imperial household
spectators
This wasn't simply decoration.
It was political propaganda:
“The emperor is at the center of the city, above the crowd, controlling the spectacle.”
Your second photo is particularly interesting
Look at the middle/lower section.
You can see groups of people approaching and presenting objects/gifts.
These represent foreign/barbarian envoys presenting gifts to the emperor.
The late Roman Empire was incredibly diverse. The relief communicates the idea that peoples from outside the empire came before the emperor and acknowledged his authority.
Other sides show:
the emperor watching the races
chariot racing
spectators
musicians
officials
foreign delegations
the process of raising the enormous obelisk
One surviving relief even depicts the raising/erection of the obelisk itself.
Look at the people carefully — there's something unusual
You probably noticed this.
The people are arranged in very orderly rows, almost like a crowd of identical figures.
That's intentional.
Late Roman/early Byzantine art was increasingly interested in showing rank and hierarchy rather than making every person look like an individual portrait.
The emperor is therefore visually separated from ordinary people.
This is one reason the relief looks somewhat different from classical Greek sculpture.
And underneath your feet was the ancient Hippodrome
This is the part that makes Sultanahmet so extraordinary.
The square you are walking through today was once the:
Hippodrome of Constantinople
It was the great stadium of the Eastern Roman Empire.
GoTürkiye notes that the Hippodrome could accommodate up to around 100,000 people and was one of Constantinople's major entertainment and political spaces.
Today, the stadium itself is largely buried beneath the modern city and square.
But three ancient monuments from its central spine (spina) remain visible:
① Obelisk of Theodosius
Egypt — ~1450 BC
② Serpent Column
Originally Greek — 5th century BC
③ Walled Obelisk
Late Roman/Byzantine period
Serpent Column
Sultanahmet Square
⭐ And this connects directly to what we were discussing about Turkey
You asked earlier why Turkey feels like ancient history is everywhere, while in China you often encounter ancient civilization through museums.
This monument is an almost perfect example.
Stand where you took these photographs and you are looking at:
~1450 BC — Egyptian pharaoh
⬇️
~5th century BC — Greek world
⬇️
390 AD — Roman Emperor Theodosius
⬇️
Byzantine Constantinople
⬇️
Ottoman Istanbul
⬇️
modern Istanbul
The official Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality description confirms that the obelisk's base was eventually buried as Ottoman-era ground levels rose and was excavated again in the 19th century.
In other words:
You didn't just photograph an Egyptian obelisk.
You photographed a 3,500-year-old Egyptian monument sitting on a 1,600-year-old Roman pedestal, in the middle of a Roman chariot-racing stadium, underneath today's Ottoman/modern Istanbul.
e Obelisk of Theodosius (狄奥多西方尖碑) and, especially, its extraordinary marble relief pedestal. You are standing in the middle of the ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople, today Sultanahmet Square, right beside the Blue Mosque.
Obelisk of Theodosius
5
🏛️ The amazing part: this monument is actually two different civilizations
The tall stone itself is Ancient Egyptian.
The carved pedestal underneath is Roman/Constantinopolitan, made about 1,800 years after the Egyptian monument.
The hieroglyph-covered granite originally stood at Karnak in ancient Thebes (Luxor), Egypt.
It was erected for Pharaoh Thutmose III around 1450 BC — approximately 3,500 years ago.
Then, incredibly:
Egypt → Rome → Constantinople
Emperor Theodosius I had it re-erected here around 390 AD. The surviving obelisk is about 19.6 m high; it was originally taller.
So when you look up at those hieroglyphs, you are literally looking at an Egyptian monument from roughly 1450 BC standing in Istanbul.
The marble pedestal was created when the obelisk was erected in Constantinople in the late 4th century.
The reliefs show Emperor Theodosius I and his court watching the chariot races in the Hippodrome.
Look carefully at your photo:
👑 At the top center
You can see the emperor and imperial family inside the imperial viewing box.
The emperor is deliberately placed higher and more prominently than everybody else.
Around him are:
court officials
guards
members of the imperial household
spectators
This wasn't simply decoration.
It was political propaganda:
“The emperor is at the center of the city, above the crowd, controlling the spectacle.”
Look at the middle/lower section.
You can see groups of people approaching and presenting objects/gifts.
These represent foreign/barbarian envoys presenting gifts to the emperor.
The late Roman Empire was incredibly diverse. The relief communicates the idea that peoples from outside the empire came before the emperor and acknowledged his authority.
Other sides show:
the emperor watching the races
chariot racing
spectators
musicians
officials
foreign delegations
the process of raising the enormous obelisk
One surviving relief even depicts the raising/erection of the obelisk itself.
You probably noticed this.
The people are arranged in very orderly rows, almost like a crowd of identical figures.
That's intentional.
Late Roman/early Byzantine art was increasingly interested in showing rank and hierarchy rather than making every person look like an individual portrait.
The emperor is therefore visually separated from ordinary people.
This is one reason the relief looks somewhat different from classical Greek sculpture.
This is the part that makes Sultanahmet so extraordinary.
The square you are walking through today was once the:
Hippodrome of Constantinople
It was the great stadium of the Eastern Roman Empire.
It hosted:
🏇 chariot races
🎉 festivals
👑 imperial ceremonies
🏛️ political gatherings
👥 enormous crowds
GoTürkiye notes that the Hippodrome could accommodate up to around 100,000 people and was one of Constantinople's major entertainment and political spaces.
Today, the stadium itself is largely buried beneath the modern city and square.
But three ancient monuments from its central spine (spina) remain visible:
① Obelisk of Theodosius
Egypt — ~1450 BC
② Serpent Column
Originally Greek — 5th century BC
③ Walled Obelisk
Late Roman/Byzantine period
Serpent Column
Sultanahmet Square
⭐ And this connects directly to what we were discussing about Turkey
You asked earlier why Turkey feels like ancient history is everywhere, while in China you often encounter ancient civilization through museums.
This monument is an almost perfect example.
Stand where you took these photographs and you are looking at:
~1450 BC — Egyptian pharaoh
⬇️
~5th century BC — Greek world
⬇️
390 AD — Roman Emperor Theodosius
⬇️
Byzantine Constantinople
⬇️
Ottoman Istanbul
⬇️
modern Istanbul
The official Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality description confirms that the obelisk's base was eventually buried as Ottoman-era ground levels rose and was excavated again in the 19th century.
In other words:
You didn't just photograph an Egyptian obelisk.
You photographed a 3,500-year-old Egyptian monument sitting on a 1,600-year-old Roman pedestal, in the middle of a Roman chariot-racing stadium, underneath today's Ottoman/modern Istanbul.