Boukoleon Palace

The Palace of Boukoleon (Greek: Βουκολέων) or Bucoleon was one of the Byzantine palaces in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey). The palace is located on the shore of the Sea of Marmara, to the south of the Hippodrome and east of the Little Hagia Sophia.

The area was initially called Hormisdas after the Sasanian Persian prince Hormizd. The name Bucoleon was probably attributed after the end of the 6th century under Justinian I, when the small harbour in front of the palace, which is now filled, was constructed. According to tradition, a statue featuring a bull and a lion stood there, giving the port its name (βοῦς and λέων are Greek for "bull" and "lion" respectively). The palace is accordingly also called the "House of Hormisdas" and "House of Justinian".

Boukoleon palace was probably built during the reign of Theodosius II in the 5th century. Emperor Theophilos rebuilt and expanded the palace, adding a large façade on top of the seaward walls and in 969 Emperor Nikephoros II built a circuit wall. Boukoleon would remain the main palace for the Byzantine court until the 11th century with the construction of the Palace of Blachernae by the Komnenos dynasty.

Boukoleon was still used for state meetings; 1161 with the sultan of Rum, Kilij Arslan II, and 1171 with the King of Jerusalem, Amalric, and served as a religious meeting place, when Emperor Manuel I Komnenos held a church council in 1166.

Boukoleon housed the regalia of the Byzantine emperors, and the palace chapel included sacred relics. Access to the palace chapel was restricted, but despite this there are indications it was part of Christian pilgrimages.

"rode all along the shore to the palace of Bucoleon, and when he arrived there it surrendered, on condition that the lives of all therein should be spared. At Bucoleon were found the larger number of the great ladies who had fled to the castle, for there were found the sister of the King of France, who had been empress, and the sister of the King of Hungary, who had also been empress, and other ladies very many. Of the treasure that was found in that palace I cannot well speak, for there was so much that it was beyond end or counting.

Text adapted from “Boukoleon Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Boukoleon Palace ranks #473 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #14 of the 126 mapped in Turkey. Founded c. 450, it is older than 97% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 23 atlas entries founded in the 5th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 7,925 times in the last 60 days, more than 90% of the atlas. 22 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Istanbul, 2 km away. See how Turkey compares in the castle statistics.

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