The Aqueduct of Valens: Water for an Imperial City

This episode explores the Aqueduct of Valens, the massive 4th-century water system that supplied Constantinople for over a thousand years. Lucas and Luna trace the aqueduct's route from the hills of Thrace through the Valens Aqueduct Bridge into the city's cisterns and distribution points. They discuss the engineering challenges, the role of water in imperial ceremony, and how the system survived sieges, earthquakes, and neglect. Specifics include the Aquaeductus Valens, the Nymphaeum Maius, the Philoxenos Cistern, the role of the comes formarum, and the system's eventual decline under Ottoman rule. The episode touches on how water shaped daily life in the Byzantine capital and the legacy of Roman infrastructure in Istanbul.

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