The Great Palace was the traditional heart of imperial rule in Constantinople. However, in the 11th century Alexios Komnenos built a new palace in Blachernae. As we will see, in the 12th century Manuel Komnenos would bring Blachernae to grandeur as well as restoring and adding to the Great Palace! In the Palaiologan period the Blachernae was the only true imperial residence with much of the Great Palace in ruins, and only used for limited ceremonial purposes. This was a majestic palace complex in its own right, and a fascinating place to read about.
WHERE WAS BLACHERNAE?
The Blachernae suburb was an area in northwestern Constantinople along the Golden Horn harbor. It jutted out beyond the imposing Theodosian walls. The suburb was incorporated into the city to include a famous church dedicated to the Theotokos. The downside was that new walls had to built to protect the suburb, and this meant it had lesser fortifications protecting it. The only time the city would fall in 1204 would be at this weak spot between these weaker walls and the sea walls which were also smaller.
EARLY BLACHERNAE:
In the 11th century, even before Alexios was wearing the purple, there seems to have been an increase in imperial interest in the Blachernae suburb. According to Paul Magdalino, this is because “a miraculous icon of the Virgin was rediscovered.” Isaac I Komnenos, the first of the Komenenoi to rule from 1057-1059, either built or rebuilt a church dedicated to Saint Thekla.
ALEXIOS BUILDS A NEW KOMNENIAN BLACHERNAE PALACE:
After overthrowing Nikephoros Botaneiates in Constantinople, the new Roman Emperor Alexios Komnenos built a new palace. Instead of building a new palace hall in the Great Palace, he built it on the other side of Constantinople in Blachernae. It is likely they is someway related to the fact that Isaac Komnenos had built a church there, clearly the Komnenos family saw something in Blachernae.
This triklinos (hall) of Alexios included a great throne room. It was a great palace, as noted by foreigners, but it was not something large enough to truly rival the sprawling Great Palace complex for all ceremonial purposes. However, the area did have space for another Emperor to come in, build, and make his mark.
THE REIGN OF JOHN II KOMNENOS:
His son John II Komnenos took the throne in 1118 after Alexios passed away. He could have developed the Blachernae palace, however John was a far more modest man focused on military security and liberating Roman lands in Anatolia. In terms of building in Constantinople his ambitions were more pious, and he built the Pantokrator monastery. This was a major achievement for the Komnenian dynasty, as it was meant to be a burial chapel for their family. John II and Manuel Komnenos were both buried there, and later some Palaiologan emperors as well. As for Blachernae, all John did was add some imperial apartments to the complex, I assume for relatives and court officials to live in.
THE GREAT BUILDER – MANUEL I KOMNENOS:
Manuel I Komnenos was a great builder, restorer, and “a lover of fine things.” Typically Emperors who wanted to make their mark built a church or monastery. But Manuel did not build a church or monastery in Constantinople. He was a more civic builder & restorer of Constantinople.
Manuel (reigned 1143-1180) reminds me of Justinian (6th century), of course with a scaled-down empire. Both men had great ambitions and spent lavishly with the money accumulated by their predecessors. This made them seem like they did a lot, and indeed both were active in building and in foreign policy, but their capability not all their own doing. They inherited good financial and military situations and left behind more challenging ones. Both the rulers also taxed their subjects heavily. To be fair to both, they had a lot of willpower to get things done. They both also reinvigorated Constantinople.
In the words of Paul Magdalino: “The effects which Manuel produced on the fabric of Constantinople outside the imperial palaces were even less typical of recent imperial patronage. The accent was on public works and on restoration. He made extensive additions and repairs to the land and sea walls, he improved the water supply after some prompting, and he restored the column of Constantine.” He built an entire new wall to help protect Blachernae, the wall of Manuel Komnenos. Though he built no new church or monastery in Constantinople, “he did provide money for the restoration of existing churches and monasteries; he also founded, at Kataskepe near the northern end of the Bosphorus, a monastery supported by state subsidies rather than endowments.” This is in addition to lavish constructions which he ordered for the Blachernae palace complex and the Great Palace. He also built palaces outside Constantinople along the Bosphorus, essentially vacation homes.
In Blachernae the Emperor built himself a grand new hall for himself. One thing I find very interesting is a detail recorded by Niketas Choniates, that his new palaces “shimmered with gold mosaics that depicted in the variegated colors of flowers and in the wondrous craft of the artists his feats against barbarians.” What I would give to see those glorious lost mosaics…I imagine that Alexios must have had some in his palace too, but who knows. It also certain that built a hall for his wife, the German Empress Bertha-Eirene. Other buildings were renovated by him, the touch of Manuel was everywhere in the palaces of Constantinople.
According to Choniates Manuel was “a lover of fine things.” This is certainly evident in his building projects. Manuel Komnenos truly was among the great builders in Eastern Roman history. The choice of buildings speak to his personality. By contrast his father John II Komnenos was more modest and instead of building any new palaces he built the Pantokrator monastery.
THE BLACHERNAE COMPLEX:
By 1200 the complex was quite large – here is a guide made by Byzantium1200: 1. Theotokos Church 2. Soros Chapel 3. Danubios 4. Okeanos 5. Anastasiakos 6. Alexiakos 7. So called Anemas Dungeons 8. Palace bath recently found 9. Palace of Manuel Comnenus 10. Chapel 11. Palace of Empress Bertha 12. Tower of Isaac Angelus
THE STATUS OF THE GREAT PALACE IN THE KOMNENIAN ERA:
Manuel’s grand building efforts did not neglect the Great Palace of Constantinople, far from it. Instead, in the words of Paul Magdalino (an expert on Manuel), Manuel gave “the ancient complex a new lease of ceremonial life, not only in its new additions, but also in some of its more venerable structures, such as the Chrysotriklinos and the possibly even older Trullan Hall.” He added that the Great Palace was irreplaceable, “an emperor with Manuel’s priorities could never desert it entirely for the more Komnenian Blachernae. In any case, the proximity of the Hagia Sophia and the Sea of Marmara gave it enduring advantages, as did the sheer continuity within its walls of basic administrative installations – barracks, prisons, treasuries, ministries, the mint – which were unaffected by the emperor’s pattern of residence.”
It is clear that Manuel used both of the palaces for different functions. In 1147, he received King Louis VII of France at Blachernae – this would have been in the hall built by Alexios. However despite building new palaces in Blachernae, in 1161 Manuel welcome the Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan to the Great Palace. Not only that, he had built the Mouchroutas. This was a more Seljuk/Persian style hall to receive him. It was devoid of the religious imagery prominent in the churches and palaces. Thus, Manuel was adding to the Great Palace not neglecting it. He also restored the older buildings, as mentioned by Magdalino above. It is clear Manuel used both palaces to to cater his image to select audiences and impress them with the great plethora of palaces he had as well.
THE PALAIOLOGAN PERIOD AND THE END OF THE GREAT PALACE:
Some people I see in my interactions online seem to believe Blachernae just replaced the Great Palace, and this is not true until the the Palaiologan Emperors take over the city after liberating it in 1261. Manuel restored and upgraded Constantinople made a huge impression on those foreigners who saw it, including the Great Palace. Manuel was the last emperor to command such astute resources and the last to enjoy that level of splendor. 24 years after his death, his grand palaces were all looted by Crusaders who marveled as they defiled them.
The Latin Emperors who ruled the city after the Fourth Crusade let the whole city decay, and the Empire was too poor to fully restore both the Great Palace and Blachernae. Michael VIII Palaiologos chose Blachernae – and then it fully replaced the Great Palace until 1453 when the Mehmed II built Topkapi to be the new palace for the new rulers of Constantinople.
SOURCES:
The Empire of Manuel Komnenos by Paul Magdalino
O City of Byzantium, the Annals of Niketas Choniates, translated by Harry J. Magoulias.
shadowsofconstantinople.com 