The Great Palace of Constantinople: Forgotten Heart of an Empire

When you think of Constantinople, you probably picture Hagia Sophia or the Hippodrome. But at the city's political and ceremonial core lay a sprawling complex that for eight centuries housed Roman emperors: the Great Palace. In this episode, Lucas and Luna walk through the halls of the Daphne, the Chrysotriklinos, and the Nea Ekklesia. They discuss the palace's labyrinthine layout, its role in imperial ceremonies like the prokypsis, and how it was slowly abandoned for the Blachernae Palace. They also explore the palace's afterlife — its ruins beneath the Blue Mosque and the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, where mosaic floors depict hunting scenes and mythological figures. This is a story of power, ritual, and decay, told through a vanished architectural wonder that once connected the Roman Empire to the Byzantine world.

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