Читать книгу Byzantine Constantinople, the walls of the city and adjoining historical sites онлайн

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There, also, Constantine erected for himself a mausoleum, surrounded by twelve pillars after the number of the Apostles;^[136] and in the porticoes and chapels beside the church most of Constantine’s successors and their empresses, as well as the patriarchs of the city, found their last resting-place in sarcophagi of porphyry or marble. Whether Constantine had any part in the erection of St. Sophia is extremely uncertain. Eusebius is silent regarding that church; Socrates ascribes it to Constantius. Possibly Constantine laid the foundations of the famous sanctuary.

Among other churches ascribed to the founder of the city are those dedicated, respectively, to St. Mokius, St. Acacius, St. Agathonicus, and to Michael the Archangel at Anaplus (Arnaoutkeui), on the Bosporus.^[137] There is no doubt that in the foundation of New Rome, Constantine emphasized the alliance of the Empire with the Christian Church. “Over the entrance of his palace,” says Eusebius, “he caused a rich cross to be erected of gold and precious stones, as a protection and a divine charm against the machinations and evil purposes of his enemies.”^[138]