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Istanbul. Between Cross and Crescent Moon
Sezione 1
Sezione 2
Sultanahmet Square
Constantine I. 324 AD
PLAY ME
This city, Byzantium,
has very remote origins now.
It was founded over six hundred years before Christ, by Greek colonists from Megara, on the European shore of the Bosphorus, and so named in honor of King Byzas. Many things have changed since then, but many customs have remained the same, such as those of entertainment. In my time, major sporting events, It was founded over six hundred years before Christ,
by Greek colonists from Megara, on the European shore of the Bosphorus, and so named in honor of King Byzas. Many things have changed since then, but many customs have remained the same, such as those of entertainment. In my time, major sporting events, especially chariot and horse races, were one of the most beloved pastimes of our civilization.
The impressiveness and beauty of the hippodrome saw construction begin just two hundred years after the birth of Jesus Christ, when the need to have a place where the people could enjoy themselves by watching shows and sporting competitions, led Emperor Septimius Severus to commission the construction of an arena.
Later, during my reign, this hippodrome was expanded and renovated. It took on a U-shape, with a length of over four hundred meters and could contain, inside, up to one hundred thousand people! The Kathisma, that is the imperial tribune in which I sat with my family, was located to the east, while, to the north, there were the stands for the spectators.
Sezione 3
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