CONSTANTINOPLE IN BYZANTINE APOCALYPTIC THOUGHT1

Andrs Kraft
According to canonical Scripture the culmination of Christian salvation history
entails the eventual destruction of the earthly realm. The Byzantine Empire,
however, promoted the image of invincible and sustaining rulership. Hence, every
Byzantine faced the intrinsic tension between Christian eschatological thought
and imperial ideology. The only way to resolve this tension was by proposing
that these notions, in fact, converge.2 If the Byzantine Empire, in general, and
Constantinople, in particular, were to play an eminent role in the last events, then
one could argue that this temporal and topographical proximity to the divine realm
meant that the Empire enjoyed a privileged position in the divine providential
scheme. Moreover, such proximity would emphasize the orderly transfer into
the heavenly dominion and would thus be capable of mollifying anxieties arising
from the anticipated apocalyptic rupture.3
In what follows, I investigate the increasingly important role that
Constantinople came to play in this scheme of convergence. The source
material surveyed here consists primarily of the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius,4

This article is a revised version of a paper I delivered at the Legacies and Discontinuities
in the Eastern Mediterranean conference organized by the Central European University
in Budapest, June 4th, 2011.
2
See Paul Magdalino, The History of the Future and its Uses: Prophecy, Policy and
Propaganda, in The Making of Byzantine History. Studies Dedicated to Donald M. Nicol, ed.
Roderick Beaton and Charlotte Roueche (Aldershot: Variorum, 1993), 1115.
3
Paul Alexander, The Strength of Empire and Capital as Seen Through Byzantine
Eyes, Speculum 37, no. 3 (1962): 3445.
4
The Syriac version: Gerrit J. Reinink, ed. and tr., Die Syrische Apokalypse des PseudoMethodius. Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium [CSCO] 540 (Leuven: Peeters,
1993). The Greek version: W. J. Aerts and G. A. A. Kortekaas, ed. Die Apokalypse des
Pseudo-Methodius: Die ltesten griechischen und lateinischen bersetzungen. CSCO 569 (Leuven:
Peeters, 1998). While Roman numerals refer to chapters of the Syriac, Arabic numerals
refer to the Greek version.
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Andrs Kraft

various apocalyptic narratives from the Visions of Daniel genre,5 the Andreas Salos
Apocalypse,6 and patriographic writings.
In the Byzantine apocalyptic tradition the most formative extra-canonical
narrative was the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius (henceforth Apocalypse),7 which had
tremendous impact throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.8 It was composed
originally in Syriac, probably in Northern Mesopotamia, at the end of the seventh
century. Its pseudonymous author provides a historical apocalypse that starts with
recounting world history beginning with Adam in Paradise down to the cataclysmic
events of the last days, which culminate in the Parousia (the reappearance of
Christ as judge for the Last Judgment). Probably the most essential feature of
this late antique text was its promotion of Byzantine imperial ideology. In his
narrative Pseudo-Methodius promotes the figure of a last Roman emperor who
will liberate Christians from the Arab dominion, rebuild churches, and establish
a period of peace and prosperity. Ultimately, this Last Roman Emperor is said
to rule over all Christians until the approaching advent of the Antichrist causes
him to abdicate in Jerusalem, thereby removing the katechn9 which was generally
understood to be Byzantine imperial suzerainty.
5
Klaus Berger, Die griechische Daniel-Diegese (Leiden: Brill, 1976), 1223 [Diegesis Danielis];
Hans Schmoldt, Die Schrift Vom jungen Daniel und Daniels letzte Vision (Ph.D.
dissertation, University of Hamburg, 1972), 122144 [Last Daniel]; 190198 [Seven-Hilled
Daniel]; 202218 [Daniel rh]; 220236 [Pseudo-Chrysostomos Apocalypse].
6
Lennart Rydn, The Andreas Salos Apocalypse. Greek Text, Translation, and Commentary,
Dumbarton Oaks Papers 28 (1974): 197261 (at 201214).
7
Paul Alexander, The Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition, ed. Dorothy de F. Abrahamse
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), 14: In fact, it is no exaggeration to say
that in the development of the Byzantine apocalyptic tradition the translation of the
Syriac text of Pseudo-Methodius into Greek marked the end of the era of Antiquity,
and the beginning of that of the Middle Ages. None of the apocalypses written after the
translation was made fails to show traces of its influence.
8
For a first overview of the Pseudo-Methodian tradition in the Latin West, see Paul J.
Alexander, Byzantium and the Migration of Literary Works and Motifs. The Legend
of the Last Roman Emperor, Medievalia et Humanistica, ns. 2 (1971): 4854. See
further Hannes Mhring, Der Weltkaiser der Endzeit: Entstehung, Wandel und Wirkung einer
tausendjhrigen Weissagung (Stuttgart: Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 2000), esp. 321349.
9
2 Thess 2:7. The katechn, i.e., the one who holds back, is universally understood
as the impeding factor that hinders the revelation of the Antichrist. Generally, the
katechn was understood to refer to the Roman, i.e., Byzantine Empire. See Gerhard
Podskalsky, Byzantinische Reichseschatologie: die Periodisierung der Weltgeschichte in den vier
Grossreichen (Daniel 2 u. 7) und der tausendjhrigen Friedensreiche (Apok. 20); eine motivgeschichtliche Untersuchung (Munich: Fink, 1972), 55, n. 332. Pseudo-Methodius shares this
interpretation.

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Constantinople in Byzantine Apocalyptic Thought

Constantinople is not once mentioned unambiguously in the Apocalypse.

There are, however, references to Rome (V.8) and Great Rome (V.4). These
mentions are adjacent to references to Thessaloniki, Illyria, and the Black Sea,
which indicate that what is meant here is the New Rome, i.e., Constantinople. This
reluctance to mention the imperial capital by name is partially due to the absence
of its name from canonical scripture. The few references to Constantinople serve
only a minor purpose, which is to demonstrate the enormous military expansion
of the Midianites,10 whom Pseudo-Methodius recounts as having conquered most
of the Eastern oikoumen at the beginning of the fifth millennium anno mundi.11
The subsequent eschatological drama is set in the Near East and takes place
in Palestine, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, and Arabia. Constantinople plays
no part in this. Still, it is the person of the Last Roman Emperor who as the
representative of the Byzantine Empire has an essential eschatological function
which is played out, however, in Jerusalem and not in Constantinople. Thus, the
original Syriac Apocalypse disregards Constantinople in its eschatological account.
The focus on Constantinople was introduced in the Apocalypse of PseudoMethodius when the composition reached a Byzantine audience. It has been argued
that a first translation of the Syriac Apocalypse into Greek must have been made
between 700 and 710 due to the fact that four eighth-century Latin manuscripts
present the Merovingian Latin metaphrasis of a Greek translation of the Apocalypse.12
This first Greek recension presents, on the whole, a faithful translation of the
Syriac original.13 At the same time, it contains various emendations, additions, and
three longer interpolations. The most noted interpolation was inserted some time
during the eighth century and placed at the very heart of the dramatic narrative,
that is, at the place just before the Roman emperor is about to awake like a man
10

Pseudo-Methodius presents the Midianites mentioned in Judges 6:18:35 as the

typological counterpart of the seventh-century Arabs. That is, the Midianites are
considered to be a proto-Arab people who prefigured the Arab conquest.
11
Apocalypse V.17.
12
See Aerts and Kortekaas, ed., Die Apokalypse des Pseudo-Methodius, 16, 30. For characteristics of the first Latin recension, see ibid., 209 and for Latin manuscript situation,
see ibid., 4857. See also Robert G. Hoyland, Seeing Islam as Others Saw It: A Survey and
Evaluation of Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam (Princeton: Darwin
Press, 1997), 296297.
13
For a detailed comparison of the Syriac with the Greek version, see Alexander, Byzantine
Apocalyptic Tradition, 5160, Aerts and Kortekaas, ed., Die Apokalypse des Pseudo-Methodius,
914, W. J. Aerts, Zu einer neuen Ausgabe der Revelationes des Pseudo- Methodius
(syrisch-griechisch-lateinisch), in XXIV. Deutscher Orientalistentag: ausgewhlte Vortrge, ed.
W. Diem, A. Falaturi (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1990), 124127 and Mhring, Der
Weltkaiser der Endzeit, 97100.
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Andrs Kraft

from sleep after having drunk much wine.14 A section of the interpolation reads
as follows:
Woe to you, [City of] Byzas, that Ishmael will conquer you. Since
every horse will cross over and the first of them will set up his tent
opposite you, Byzas, and will begin the fight and crush the Xylokerkos
gate and enter until the [Forum of the] Ox. Then the Ox will bellow
loudly and the Xrolaphos15 will roar, since they are being smashed by
the Ishmaelites. Then a voice from heaven will arrive and say: This
vengeance suffices for me, and then God, the Lord, will take away
the cowardice of the Romans and throw it into the hearts of the
Ishmaelites and he will throw the bravery of the Ishmaelites into the
hearts of the Romans and after having turned around they will drive
them out of their [lands] smashing them without mercy. Then will be
fulfilled what is written: One [man] will chase a thousand, and two
put ten thousands to flight.16 Then they will be finished off and their
sailors will be destroyed.17
This interpolation describes the Arab siege on Constantinople, probably the
siege of 717/718.18 During the siege the Arabs are said to penetrate the land
14

Apocalypse [13] 11,34. Cf. Ps 78:65. The interpolation can be found at Apocalypse [13]
710.
15
The author seems to have deliberately adapted the place name of Xrolophos to read
Xrolaphos so that it resembles , i.e., deer, which supports the idea of the place
producing animal-like sounds. See W.J. Aerts, G.A.A. Kortekaas, ed. Die Apokalypse des
Pseudo-Methodius: Die ltesten griechischen und lateinischen bersetzungen. CSCO 570 (Leuven:
Peeters, 1998), 4950.
16
Cf. Deut. 32:30.
17
Apocalypse [13] 910: [13] 9 , ,

, ,

, . [13]
10 ,


.
.
.
18

For a discussion on the dating, see Hans Schmoldt, Die Schrift Vom jungen Daniel
und Daniels letzte Vision, 173; Hoyland, Seeing Islam, 296297; Wolfram Brandes, Die
Belagerung Konstantinopels 717/718 als apokalyptisches Ereignis. Zu einer Interpolation
im griechischen Text der Pseudo-Methodios-Apokalypse, in Byzantina Mediterranea.
Festschrift fr Johannes Koder zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. Klaus Belke, Ewald Kislinger, Andreas
28

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Constantinople in Byzantine Apocalyptic Thought

walls at the Xylokerkos gate north of the Golden Gate. The Arabs fight their
way through the streets until they reach the Forum of the Ox located along the
Mes, the primary thoroughfare through the capital. There the Ishmaelites will be
beaten back by divine intervention. The Arabs will be put to flight just before the
Last Roman Emperor is about to awake (in the subsequent section).
As a result of this narrative, the Xylokerkos gate, the Forum Bovis,19 and the
(also mentioned) Xrolophos, that is, the seventh hill of Constantinople, became
strongly associated with apocalyptic events. As Albrecht Berger and Wolfram
Brandes have properly remarked, this prophecy came to shape the citys urban
planning and outlook throughout Byzantine history and beyond.20 For instance,
the Xrolophos was later on regarded as the only Constantinopolitan remain which
would survive the eschatological flood that was expected to annihilate the imperial
city.21 The fact of its very name might have contributed to its characterization as
the only place escaping the great deluge, since xeros means dry.22 As a result
of this apocalyptic association, it was said that a huge column stood in the vicinity
Klzer, Maria A. Stassinopoulou (Vienna: Bhlau Verlag, 2007), 71. Cf. Aerts and
Kortekaas, ed., Die ltesten griechischen und lateinischen bersetzungen (CSCO 570), 48 (n.[13]
7,1ff) and Aerts, Zu einer neuen Ausgabe der Revelationes, 130, who proposes an early
ninth century date.
19
The motif of the bellowing ox, which was inserted into Apocalypse [13] 9,45 (
), became a standard motif reappearing, for
instance, in the Seven-Hilled Daniel 2.3 (although in modified form, <>
(?) ) and in Last Daniel 45 (
). Averil Cameron and Judith Herrin, ed., Constantinople in the Early
Eighth Century: The Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai (Leiden: Brill, 1984), [henceforth Parastaseis
syntomoi chronikai] 28, where the harbor of Neorion is said to have had a bronze ox statue
that would bellow ( ) once a year when distasters happened. The harbor
eventually sank in the reign of Emperor Maurice (r. 582602).
20
See Albrecht Berger, Das apokalyptische Konstantinopel. Topographisches in
apokalyptischen Schriften der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit, in Endzeiten: Eschatologie in den
monotheistischen Weltreligionen, ed. Wolfram Brandes, Felicitas Schmieder (Berlin: Walter
de Gruyter, 2008), 1367 and Wolfram Brandes, Kaiserprophetien und Hochverrat.
Apokalyptische Schriften und Kaiservaticinien als Medium antikaiserlicher Propaganda,
in Endzeiten: Eschatologie in den monotheistischen Weltreligionen, ed. Wolfram Brandes, Felicitas
Schmieder (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 1935. For Ottoman appropriations of
Byzantine apocalyptic topoi related to Constantinople, see Kaya ahin, Constantinople
and the End Time: The Ottoman Conquest as a Portent of the Last Hour, Journal of
Early Modern History 14 (2010): 342, 351f, esp. 3445, n. 103.
21
Last Daniel 70. Cf. Diegesis Danielis 9.46 and Andreas Salos Apocalypse 868B (lines 243
54).
22
Berger, Das apokalyptische Konstantinopel, 144.
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Andrs Kraft

of the Xrolophos which contained the engraved eschatological narratives of

the city and its capture(s).23
Due to the ubiquitous popularity of the Apocalypse, the Xylokerkos gate
was henceforth seen with awe and suspicion. It is a well known that Isaac II (r.
11851195, 12031204) ordered the Xylokerkos to be walled up as a preventive
measure to ensure that crusading Germans would not enter the city.24 The fear that
Constantinople would ultimately fall to invaders due to a breach at this very gate
was a living tradition well into the last days of the Empire. In 1453 the Xylokerkos
was most certainly bricked up in an attempt to slow down the eschatological and
therefore unavoidable fall of the land walls. Moreover, the credibility which this
prophecy enjoyed can be measured by the fact that the Ottomans following the
conquest of the city kept this gate shut until 1886.25
Similarly, the vaticination of the invaders being repelled at the Forum Bovis
lived on until the final capture by Mehmet II. The historian Doukas tells about
the false prophecy that the Turks would be beaten back by an angel at the Column
of Constantine, leading a large crowd to rush to the church next to the Forum
Tauri.26 It appears that, in time, the Forum Tauri became associated with the
eschatological role that had originally been attributed to the Forum Bovis.27 This
might be explained with the close semantic resemblance of both fora as well as
with the fact that both public squares were located along the Mes. Apparently,
the eventual divine intervention rescuing the Constantinopolitans from the Arab
or Turkish onslaught was moved further down the Mes, giving a further sense
of drama by delaying the completion of the established prophecy. Also, by the
23

Theodor Preger, ed. Patria II, 47 in Scriptores Originum Constantinopolitanarum, Vol. 2

(Leipzig: Teubner, 1907):
. [Similarly,
the slim and high column that is there and the Xrolophos hold the engraved last (i.e.,
eschatological) narratives of the city and its capture(s).] Translation mine.
24
See Jan L. van Dieten, ed. Nicetae Choniatae Historia (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1975),
404, 67. See alternatively Harry J. Magoulias, tr. O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas
Choniates (Detroit: Wayne State University, 1984), 222.
25
See Berger, Das apokalyptische Konstantinopel, 136137 and Brandes, Kaiserprophetien und Hochverrat. 193194.
26
See Donald M. Nicol, The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos,
Last Emperor of the Romans (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 100101.
27
As is apparent from Apocalypse [13] 9, the Forum Bovis was originally considered the place
where the fortunes of the battling Constantinopolitans would change for the better. Berger
points to the fact that in the seventh and eighth centuries the Forum of the Ox was often
the scene of public execution, see Berger, Das apokalyptische Konstantinopel, 138.
Therefore, one might argue that the square carried the connotation of just retribution.
30

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Constantinople in Byzantine Apocalyptic Thought

time of the Palaiologan period, the column of Constantine had long taken on
eschatological meaning. For instance, in the (probably tenth-century) Andreas
Salos Apocalypse one finds that the column is associated with precious nails (
),28 that is, with the nails of the crucifixion. This association was meant to
attribute indestructibility to the column.
It is well known that Constantine the Great imported various statues and
monuments into his new city in order to produce the cultural capital which might
be expected from a city favored by the emperor.29 In time, however, the original
meaning of the manifold mythological motifs which these artifacts carried
became more and more obscure. They often gained an enigmatic, even mysterious
character. The Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai tells the story how the statue of Maximian
(which represented the builder of the Kynegion, i.e., a quarter on the acropolis
of ancient Byzantium near the sea walls) fell upon narrators companion, striking
him dead. The narrator adds that he later learnt that the statue was destined to kill
a prominent man.30 This incident exemplifies the mystique and alarming aura that
was sometimes attributed to pagan statues.
Often the identification of ancient sculptures was ambiguous. For instance,
by the tenth century an equestrian statue located on the Forum Tauri was considered
by some to represent Joshua, the son of Nun,31 others, however, saw it as the
mythological hero Bellerophontes.32 The base of the equestrian statue is said to
have hold carved-in narratives about the last days of Constantinople, when the city
would be devastated by the Rus. This event was thought to be visually represented
in a small man-like object that was chained and keeling in front of the left forefoot
28

Andreas Salos Apocalypse 868B (line). Cf. Diegesis Danielis 9.36:

, , .
.
,
. . [Woe you, Seven-Hilled Babylon, mother of

all cities, since God will direct His wrath (against you), which is full of fire. And your high
walls will sink in the sea. And nothing shall remain in you except one pillar of the great
scepter of Byzantium, (i.e.,) of Constantine the Great, in order that there those who sail
the sea shall wail. Thus, your reign will be taken away from you.] Translation mine.
29
See Sarah Bassett, The Urban Image of Late Antique Constantinople (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004), esp. 37136.
30
The Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai, 28.
31
Joshua is a minor character in the Torah, who is said to be Moses apprentice (Ex. 32:17).
He is also said to have been an informant sent out explore the land of Canaan (Num.
13:1617). Joshua, son of Nun, is mentioned in the canonical books of Exodus, Numbers
and Joshua.
32
Homer, Iliad VI.155203, Pindar, Olympian Odes XIII.6396.
31

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Andrs Kraft

of the horse statue.33 The fact that eschatological events were associated with a
rider statue is due to the apocalyptic imagery taken from canonical scripture.34
However, the exact meaning and the provenance of this scenery are still unclear.
What is important, though, is to recognize that imagery on public monuments
was frequently appreciated as representing apocalyptic narratives. The fact that
Constantinopolitans considered apocalyptic imagery to be present in the everyday
urban space of the megalopolis supports Gilbert Dagrons assertion that le
sentiment subsiste que lhistoire de la capitale chrtienne nest quune apocalypse
progressivement ralise.35
In sum, ever since the Greek Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius introduced
Constantinople into the eschatological end-of-days drama, numerous prophecies
and apocalyptic narratives became associated with locations, buildings and statues
in the Queen of Cities. Of course, Constantinople appeared in earlier apocalypses
as well. For instance, in the early sixth-century Oracle of Baalbek Constantinople,
or City of Byzantium, was said to last no longer than 180 years, thus dating its
final destruction to the year AD 510.36 The fifth-century Armenian Seventh Vision
of Daniel also tells about the Seven-Hilled Citys wickedness and subsequent
destruction. However it is possible that the reference to the Seven-Hilled City
refers to Rome instead of Constantinople.37 In any event, in these earlier Christian
apocalypses Constantinople did not play any significant role in the eschatological
narrative of the last days.
33

Preger, ed., Patria II, 47:

, P
. ,
,
, . [The square-shaped hewn stone base of the

equestrian statue holds carved-in narratives about the last days of the city when the Rus
will destroy this city. And there is an object resembling a very small bronze man-like figure
that is bound and kneeling, which signifies what is engraved there. I read instead
of , I thank Professor Perczel for this suggestion.] Translation mine.
34
Most importantly: Rev. 6:18 and Gen. 49:17.
35
Gilbert Dagron, Constantinople imaginaire. tudes sur le recueil des Patria (Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France, 1984), 324.
36
Paul Alexander, The Oracle of Baalbek. The Tiburtine Sibyl in Greek Dress (Washington, D.C.:
Dumbarton Oaks, 1967): 14 (lines 945): , ,
. [Do not boast, city of Byzantium, thou shalt not hold imperial
sway for thrice sixty of thy years!] tr. by P. Alexander See further Cyril Mango, Byzantium,
the Empire of New Rome (New York: Scribners, 1980), 203.
37
See Lorenzo DiTommaso, The Book of Daniel and the Apocryphal Daniel Literature (Leiden:
Brill, 2005), 102103 and Mango, Byzantium, the Empire of New Rome, 203.
32

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Constantinople in Byzantine Apocalyptic Thought

This changed when Constantinople gradually became identified with the

Seven-Hilled City of the Revelation of John. It is unclear when this identification
was first formulated; it is possible that the Armenian Seventh Vision of Daniel
presents one of the earliest instances. The oldest topographical source, the midfifth-century Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae does not mention this name.38 A later
source, the ten-century Patria Konstantinoupoleos, which is basically a collection of
topographical descriptions and folkloristic reports, mentions Constantinople as
having seven hills.39 It is far from clear when the attribute seven-hilled became a
recognized designation and when the seven hills were actually identified.40 What is
clear, though, is that by the early seventh century this identification was endorsed
by Andrew of Caesarea,41 and that by at least the eighth century Byzantine
apocalypses generally followed his lead.42 Therefore, it was the association of
Constantinople with the sinful Babylon of the Revelation of John (Rev. 1718)
that led to the generally accepted notion that the Byzantine megalopolis was
the Seven-Hilled City.43 Originally, the sinful Babylon was understood to refer to
Rome; therefore, it was only a matter of time until the Byzantines appropriated
this characterization and applied it to their New Rome.44 As noted above, the
Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius refers to Constantinople as the Great Rome.
38

Otto Seeck, ed., Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae, in idem, ed., Notitia dignitatum
Accedunt Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae et Laterculi Provinciarum (Berlin: Weidmann, 1876),
227243.
39
Preger, ed., Patria III, 19: .
, .
. [The so-called Middle-hill (Mesolophon) is located in

the middle of the seven hills. That is to say, one part of the city has three hills and the
other also has three hills, and this one is in the middle. The uneducated call it Middle-navel
(Mesomphalon.)]
40
For further reference to Byzantine sources that employ this topos, see Wolfram Brandes,
Sieben Hgel Die imaginre Topographie Konstantinopels zwischen apokalyptischem
Denken und moderner Wissenschaft, Rechtsgeschichte 2 (2003): 5871, esp. 6267.
41
See Eugnia S. Constantinou, Andrew of Caesarea and the Apocalypse in the Ancient
Church of the East: Studies and Translation, Ph.D. dissertation (Quebec: Universit
Laval, 2008), 173 (181). See also Andreas Klzer, Konstantinopel in der apokalyptischen
Literatur der Byzantiner, Jahrbuch der sterreichischen Byzantinistik 50 (2000): 68.
42
See, for instance, Diegesis Danielis 4.59, 5.8, 6.5, 8.12, 9.3.
43
See Berger, Das apokalyptische Konstantinopel, 140. See Wolfram Brandes, Das
Meer als Motiv in der byzantinischen apokalyptischen Literatur, in Griechenland und das
Meer. Beitrge eines Symposions in Frankfurt im Dezember 1996, ed. E. Chrysos et al. (Mannheim:
Bibliopolis, 1999),124125, esp. n. 34.
44
This is so despite the initial reluctance among Byzantines to accept the Revelation of
John as a canonical book, which was an issue of debate until about the sixth century. See
33

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Andrs Kraft

By gradually identifying Constantinople with the Seven-Hilled Babylon,

the imperial capital gained scriptural legitimacy to play an essential role in the
end drama. At the same time, this implied that Constantinople would eventual
be destroyed by a great flood as foretold in Rev. 18:21. Indeed, the Diegesis
Danielis, Daniel r h, Last Daniel, and the Andreas Salos Apocalypse all mention
the citys ultimate submergence into the sea.45 One also finds a reference in the
Patria Konstantinoupoleos, where it says that the earth, the sea, and the seven ages
are consumed by the flood.46 The development to integrate the sinking of the
imperial capital into the eschatological scheme was, in part, motivated by this
canonical verse of the Revelation of John. Additionally, Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius
identifies three cataclysmic events in world history: the Great Flood, the invasion
of the Midiantes, and finally, the Ishmaelite conquest.47 Looking at the PseudoMethodian typological framework, one can easily speculate that just as the Muslim
Arabs were the eschatological repetition of the ancient Midianites, so too the
submergence of the Roman capital would be the typological antitype of the
Great Flood. In the Andreas Salos Apocalypse one finds a reference to Matt. 24:37,
which compares the time prior to the advent of the Antichrist to the prosperous
and peaceful days preceding the Great Flood.48 Thus, in a typological framework
one might expect an eschatological flood to be associated with the arrival of the
Antichrist. At the same time, one should also not forget the possible influence of
oracular traditions which prophesy the sinking of various cities and islands.49
The central role that Constantinople came to play in the Byzantine
apocalyptic tradition was most certainly amplified by the Arab expeditions against
Constantinople in the seventh and eighth centuries (particularly the sieges of 674
678 and 717/718). In fact, Muslim eschatology focused on the capitals eventual
Wolfram Brandes, Endzeitvorstellungen und Lebenstrost in mittelbyzantinischer Zeit
(7.-9. Jahrhundert), in Varia III (Poikila Bizantina 11) (Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH,
1991), 5051, n. 108. See also John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and
Doctrinal Themes (New York: Fordham University Press, 1979), 78. However, its use in
Byzantine apocalyptic literature is increasingly recognized, see Paul Magdalino, The Year
1000 in Byzantium, in Byzantium in the Year 1000, ed. idem (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 249
254.
45
Diegesis Danielis 9.46, 12.19, Daniel r h 3.10, 4.24, Last Daniel 70, and Andreas
Salos Apocalypse 868B (lines 24354).
46
Preger, ed., Patria II, 77: ,
. Translation mine.
47
See Michael Kmosko, Das Rtsel des Pseudomethodius, Byzantion 6 (1931): 276ff.
48
Andreas Salos Apocalypse 856C (lines 578).
49
For examples, cf. Brandes, Das Meer als Motiv, 127128.
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Constantinople in Byzantine Apocalyptic Thought

capture and considered that the end of the world was dependant on it falling into
Muslim hands.50 Consequently, Constantinople became the new focal point of
eschatological expectations of both Christians and Muslims. As a result, the fate
of the capital and the actions of a last victorious imperial ruler in the PseudoMethodian topos, i.e., the Last Roman Emperor, became increasingly linked. First,
this eschatological emperor is said to arrive in the capital from the East (Diegesis
Danielis 5.58) in order to fend off the besieging Ishmaelites, then he is said to be
crowned emperor in Constantinople (Seven-Hilled Daniel 2.7, Last Daniel 49); in
other narratives he would even be revealed within the city itself (Last Daniel 47).
In the Byzantine tradition, the eschatological emperor functioned as an agent
who, first and foremost, safeguards the defense of the capital and the imperial
restoration while Constantinople developed gradually to represent the empire in
toto. Thus, in the case of the Andreas Salos Apocalypse and Last Daniel the SevenHilled City is said to outlive its last emperor. Ultimately, Byzantine apocalypses
increasingly advanced conceptual models that would delay the ultimate end of the
world by prolonging the eschatological decline of the Byzantine Empire.51
In conclusion, these examples should demonstrate that apocalyptic imagery
and motifs played a pivotal part of the common conceptual landscape of the
Byzantines. Notions such as the Xylokerkos gate being breached first influenced
the urban planning of Constantinople at least down to 1886.52 The prophecy
of divine rescue at the Forum Bovis or Tauri caused crowds to converge onto it
when the city finally fell in 1453. Such spectacular consequences were, in the
end, generated by apocalyptic motifs. What is more, the same compelling force
of these notions could promote or oppose public policies;53 these ideas could
even support or threaten emperors.54 Eschatology is most essential for Christian
theology, just as apocalyptic themes are most vital for Byzantine Realpolitik. At
the very center of imperial policy-making stood the New Rome, which in the
50

See Vasiliev, Medieval Ideas of the End of the World, 4726. See further David
Cook, Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic (Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, 2002), 5366, 166171.
51
Cf. Podskalsky, Byzantinische Reichseschatologie, 102 and Brandes, Endzeitvorstellungen
und Lebenstrost, 58.
52
See Berger, Das apokalyptische Konstantinopel, 137.
53
See Brandes, Kaiserprophetien und Hochverrat. See further Paul Magdalino, Isaac
II, Saladin and Venice, in The Expansion of Orthodox Europe: Byzantium, the Balkans and
Russia, ed. Jonathan Shepherd (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007), 93106.
54
See, for instance, Alexander, Byzantine Apocalyptic Tradition, 7795, where Alexander
argues that Daniel r h advances a justification of Basil I murdering Michael III.
Concerning the political repercussions of apocalyptic compositions in general, see
Brandes, Kaiserprophetien und Hochverrat, 157200.
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Andrs Kraft

course of the seventh/eighth-century struggle with Islam emerged as a new focal

point of the eschatological drama of the last days.55 Therefore, in the eyes of
the Byzantines, the unavoidable end of the world came to be associated with the
end of Constantinople.56 Thus, one can rightly argue that Byzantine apocalypses
became a Constantinopolitan genre.57 Based on the canonical apocalyptic
narratives first of all the Revelation of John notions such as the gnashing of
teeth,58 the sinful Seven-Hilled City,59 the eventual fall of the city,60 or the concept
of an eschatological flood61 were gradually identified with the fortunes of the
wicked Babylon, i.e., the New Rome Constantinople.

55
The apocalypses that are presumably of Sicilian origin (i.e., Daniel r h and the
Pseudo-Chrysostomos Apocalypse) pay only moderate attention to Constantinople. This
indicates, as one might expect, that provincial apocalypses were slightly less interested
in the fate of the imperial capital. It also suggests that the apocalypses that devote much
attention to the Seven-Hilled City were composed with a Constantinopolitan audience in
mind. Cf. Mango, Byzantium, the Empire of New Rome, 207208.
56
Cf. Alexander, The Strength of Empire, 343.
57
Dagron, Constantinople imaginaire, 328.
58
Matt. 24:51. Cf. Preger, ed., Patria III, 170.
59
Rev. 17.
60
Matt. 23:3724:1, Rev. 18:119:5.
61
Rev. 18:21. Cf. Jer. 51:42, 51:63f., Ezek. 26:19, 27:34.

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