massacre at the hippodrome…

Yesterday (18th January) in AD 532, six days of riots and revolt in Constantinople culminated in a massacre in the city’s hippodrome. A hippodrome was a Greek racing arena, similar to a Roman circus, where horse races, chariot races, other sports or spectacles and other activities were held for public entertainment. Constantinople was the capital of the ancient Byzantine empire: it is now Istanbul in Turkey. The hipppodrome in Constantinople was next to the emperor’s palace. Apparently the chariot races and the hippodrome were the centre of popular culture in the city.

The Nika riots and revolt had started on the 13th or the Ides of January, actually in the hippodrome (‘Nika’ – ‘victory’ – was what spectators chanted at chariot races and it was the slogan of the rebels). Emperor Justinian was there to watch the races which were held on the Ides. The riots started with the two opposing chariot-racing teams, the Blues and the Greens, and their supporters. There were several contributing factors to the revolt, including food shortages and a power struggle in the ruling elite. The rebels besieged the palace and destroyed half of the city by fire. Justinian returned to the hippodrome to address the crowds. The rebels briefly set up their own emperor, and he even sat in the emperor’s box at the hippodrome. Then Justinian had the revolt brutally suppressed by his soldiers, who massacred the crowds in the hippodrome. It is thought that over 30,000 people died during the massacre. Justinian regained control of the city and ruled the empire for another 30 years. The hippodrome was closed for five years and, not surprisingly, it was the end of chariot-racing in the Byzantine empire…

The spectator events which were held in Roman circuses included violent and gory activities, such as wild-animal fighting and even public executions, as well as the chariot races, but the terrible massacre in the hippodrome at Constantinople really stands out in the history of hippodromes and circuses. The site of the Colchester Roman circus is very peaceful. There are no echoes of the breakneck chariot races, and no surviving evidence of the gory spectator events which were probably also held here. Our Roman circus went out of use and was dismantled and, eventually, even the Roman empire itself declined and fell…

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