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the physical context of power 137
city for sea-borne travellers. It was impressively suited to the tasks of
governance and providing comfort for its residents. Contemporaries imagined
heaven as a palace, 6 and surviving remains confirm its grandeur. The
complex expanded considerably in the fifth and sixth centuries. By the
shore, the future Boukoleon palace was begun, possibly in the time of
Theodosius II, and the north-east area of the palace was lavishly rebuilt by
Justinian. Justin II and Tiberius added further ambitious buildings, gardens
and monuments, until the rhythm slackened under Maurice as imperial
resources declined.
The western empire’s palace occupied the south-eastern quadrant of
Ravenna. The government buildings into which Honorius moved and
which have been uncovered so far underwent only superficial remodelling.
Valentinian III added a new palace ‘Ad Laureta’. However, excavation suggests
– and it is symbolic of the west’s straitened circumstances – that the
western residence approached eastern standards of luxury and magnificence
only under the Ostrogoths. 7 Though sparse, the archaeological and
literary record from Ravenna is not contaminated by the living medieval
tradition that so colours our data from Constantinople.
A number of lesser palaces and residences also served the emperors and
their families in Constantinople and its environs. In addition to the Great
Palace and four other nearby imperial establishments, the Notitia of
Constantinople mentions at least five more mansions associated with the
imperial family to the west and north. 8 During the Nika revolt, in fact, the
usurpers gave some thought to establishing the rebel government in one of
these secondary palaces. 9 Suburban palaces catered for the imperial family’s
enjoyment of the aristocracy’s villeggiatura lifestyle. In some seasons, the
emperor retired to a country residence and slowed the rhythm of court life:
thus laborious negotiations aimed at unifying dissident church factions
were suspended for thirty days when Justin II left the city to relax in the
Asian suburbs. 10 The accompanying procession explains why these excursions
became known as prokensa in the multilingual jargon of the court,
reflecting a popular Latin pronunciation of processus.
In the European suburbs, the imperial family frequented the great military
complex on the Via Egnatia at the Hebdomon (Septimum), the seventh
milestone from central Constantinople, on the shore of the Sea of
Marmara. There, near the present-day airport, the army assembled on a
great parade ground, the Kampos. At its southern end, the Tribunal, a large
platform adorned with statues, rose five metres above the field, whence the
emperor and his entourage could be seen by the troops in relative security.
Here the army acclaimed new emperors down to 457. 11 The Asian shore
6 Nil. Ep. ii.170. 7 Deichmann (1976–89) ii.3.58–70. 8 Notitia ii, iv, x,xi, xv.
9 Procop. Wars i.24.30. 10 John Eph. HE iii.1.26–7. 11 Demangel (1949).
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