City
Constantinopolis
Istanbul
Listen to the story
Constantinopolis, the city of Constantine, was the old Greek Byzantion, renamed in 324 and dedicated as the new imperial capital in 330; today it is Istanbul. Its red name is split around a large, elaborate picture: a throned figure with spear and shield points to a column whose statue holds a globe. That is Constantine's porphyry column, as if the city drew its claim to world rule from its founder. Older research saw an emperor in the seated figure; today it is read as the city itself. Oddly, the copyist entered the stations and miles here but forgot the red road line.