Fashioning Sixth-Century Constantinople

Text, Translation and Commentary of Book I of the Buildings by Prokopios of Kaisareia

Max Ritter, Elodie Turquois, Marlena Whiting

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040712092
• Subtopic: European History
• Index: History

The Buildings is a sixth-century text by Prokopios of Kaisareia (Caesarea Maritima) on the building works attributed to the eastern Roman emperor Justinian I (r. 527–65 CE), extolling the virtues of good rulership through praise of architecture. Book I centres on the imperial capital Constantinople: rich in its use of rhetoric and aesthetics, it portrays the emperor as a builder-patron, but also portrays the city itself as a place of beauty and delight to its inhabitants. Several of the buildings described in Book I – such as Hagia Sophia – are extant today; they and others are also documented in a range of historical sources that allow us to compare Prokopios's account with that of his contemporaries, and to observe the legacy and changing uses of the spaces he describes into the Middle Ages.

Fashioning Sixth-Century Constantinople presents an all-new English translation of Book I paired with a revised edition of the Greek text. It is accompanied by a detailed interdisciplinary commentary, informed by the respective disciplines of philology, history, archaeology and art history, but bringing a new perspective through cross-disciplinary collaboration, especially on points of technical and topographical descriptions, aiming at the most comprehensive and up-to-date commentary of the text.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of Byzantine literature, history, art and archaeology, as well as those interested in the florescence of Byzantine Constantinople.

This volume originates in the project 'Procopius and the Language of Buildings' (2018–2022), funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and hosted by the Universities of Mainz and Halle-Wittenberg.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of Illustrations
• List of Abbreviations
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Maps and Plans
• Text and Commentary
• Preface: Rhetorical and historical exordium, Justinian’s military, legal and religious achievements and delayed revelation of the subject (1.1.1–19)
• Hagia Sophia: Historical context, design elements – focus on the central space (1.1.20–49)
• Hagia Sophia: Description of interior features – focus on the rest of the church (1.1.50–66)
• Hagia Sophia: Two episodes of Justinian’s personal intervention (1.1.67–78)
• The Column of Justinian (1.2.1–12)
• Hagia Eirene and the hospices of the patriarchate (1.2.13–19)
• The churches of the Virgin Mary at Blachernai, Pege and elsewhere in the city and its environs; the churches of Anne, Zoe and the archangel Michael in the city (1.3.1–18)
• The churches dedicated to the apostles: SS Peter and Paul in the Palace of Hormisdas and the church of SS Sergios and Bakchos (1.4.1–8)
• The church of the Holy Apostles: Architectural description and discovery of the relics (1.4.9–24)
• The churches dedicated to the martyrs Akakios, Plato, Mokios, Thyrsos, Theodore, Thekla and Theodota (1.4.25–31)
• Constantinople’s maritime topography (1.5.1–13)
• The churches on the Golden Horn: St Lawrence, SS Priskos and Nicholas, SS Kosmas and Damian, and St Anthimos (1.6.1–14)
• St Eirene at Sykai, the Forty Martyrs and Justinian’s miraculous healing (1.7.1–16)
• The churches on either side of the Bosporos: The churches of the archangel Michael at Anaplous and Brochoi/Proochthoi, and a church of Mary near the latter (1.8.1–20)
• The Metanoia convent (1.9.1–10)
• The churches of the upper Bosporos (St Panteleimon, the Argyronion leprosarium, archangel Michael at Mochadion) and more in the city (St Tryphon, SS Menas and Menaios and St Ia) (1.9.11–18)
• The Augoustaion area: The Baths of Zeuxippos and the Senate House (1.10.1–9)
• The Chalke Gate (1.10.10–20)
• Arkadianai: Description of the court and statue of Theodora (1.11.1–9)
• The water supply of the city and the Basilica Cistern (1.11.10–15)
• The harbours and suburban palaces at Heraion and Ioukoundianai (1.11.16–22)
• End of the section on Constantinople: The hospice at Stadion (1.11.23–27)
• Appendix: The Great Palace at the Time of Justinian
• Bibliography
• Index