The Hippodrome Obelisk: Egypt in Constantinople

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of the Obelisk of Theodosius, the ancient Egyptian monument that has stood in Constantinople's Hippodrome for over 1,600 years. They trace its journey from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, where it was originally erected by Pharaoh Thutmose III around 1450 BCE, to its transportation across the Mediterranean by Roman engineers, to its eventual re-erection in the Hippodrome under Emperor Theodosius I in 390 CE. Lucas unpacks the technical feat of moving the 300-ton monolith, the political symbolism of the obelisk as a display of imperial power, and the inscriptions on its base that depict the emperor and his court watching chariot races. The episode also touches on the missing companion obelisk, the obelisk's restoration by Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, and how the monument survived the city's transformation from Byzantine to Ottoman rule. A conversation about ancient imperialism, engineering, and the long arc of a single stone.

#History #FexingoHistory #Constantinople #Hippodrome #Obelisk #TheodosiusI #ThutmoseIII #Karnak #Luxor #Egypt #Byzantium #RomanEmpire #AncientEngineering #Porphyrogennetos #ChariotRaces #Topkapi #Istanbul #MiddleEast

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