Overview
The Aqueduct of Valens (, ) was a Roman aqueduct system built in the late 4th century AD, to supply Constantinople – the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Construction of the aqueduct began during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius II () and was completed in 373 by the Emperor Valens (). The aqueduct remained in use for many centuries. It was extended and maintained by the Byzantines and the Ottomans. Initially, the Aqueduct of Valens carried water from springs at Danımandere and Pınarca; the channels from each spring met at Dağyenice. This 4th-century first phase of the system was long. A second, 5th-century phase added a further of conduits that took water from Vize, away from Constantinople. The final and most visible aqueduct bridge in the system survives in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey.
Named in , it is an important landmark in the city, with its arches passing over Atatürk Boulevard (). The Bozdoğan Kemeri spans the valley between the hills that are today occupied by the Istanbul University and the Fatih Mosque, formerly the site of the Church of the Holy Apostles. The surviving section is 921 metres long, about 50 metres less than the original length. seen from southwest of the Valens Aqueduct by Joseph Clayton Bentley after William Henry Bartlett of the Bozdoğan Kemeri seen from the south alt=
History
The construction of a water supply system for the city of Byzantium began under the Emperor Hadrian. Constantine the Great re-founded the city and greatly expanded it which meant that demand for fresh water greatly increased. The Valens aqueduct, which originally sourced its water from the slopes of the hills between Kağıthane and the Sea of Marmara, was merely one of the terminal points of this new wide system of aqueducts and canals—which eventually reached over in total length, the longest such system of antiquity—that stretched throughout the hill-country of Thrace and provided the capital with water. Once in the city, the water was stored in three open reservoirs and over a hundred underground cisterns, such as the Basilica Cistern, with a combined capacity of over one million cubic metres.
The water comes from two lines from the north-east and one coming from the north-west, which join together outside the walls, near the Adrianople Gate (Edirne Kapı). Near the east end of the aqueduct there is a distribution plant, and another lies near Hagia Sophia. The water feeds the zone of the imperial palace. The daily discharge in the 1950s amounted to . During Byzantine times, two roads important for the topography of medieval Constantinople crossed under the eastern section of the aqueduct.
Roman period
The exact date that construction on the aqueduct began is uncertain, but it was completed in 368 AD during the reign of Valens, whose name it bears. The spectacular Bozdoğan Kemeri section lay along the valley between the third and fourth hills of Constantinople, occupied respectively at that time by the Capitolium and the Church of the Holy Apostles. According to tradition, the aqueduct bridge was built using the stones of the walls of Chalcedon, pulled down as punishment in 366 after the revolt of Procopius. According to Themistius, the first phase of the aqueduct's construction was 1,000 stadia in length – . Together, these three cisterns could hold approximately of water.
Middle Byzantine period
The aqueduct was cut by the Avars during the siege of 626; the supply was only reestablished after the great drought of 758 by the Emperor Constantine V (). In 1075, the official in charge of the aqueduct's maintenance was Basil Maleses, the protovestes and former judge recorded by the Greek historian Michael Attaleiates as having been captured by Alp Arslan's Seljuks at the Battle of Manzikert. After the First Crusade's passage through Constantinople, both William of Malmesbury and Odo of Deuil mentioned the working Aqueduct of Valens in their histories. William of Malmesbury claimed that the Danube's water was carried into the city by hidden channels and washed the dirt from Constantinople, while Odo of Deuil stated that "from the outside conduits flow in, bringing the city an abundance of water".
At this time, the city was the largest in Christian Europe, its population sustained by the water supply.
Late Byzantine period
Andronikos I Komnenos was the last Byzantine emperor who maintained the aqueduct. It was not maintained during the Latin Empire nor during the Palaiologan period. By that time the population of the city had shrunk to about 40,000–50,000 inhabitants, so that the water supply was no longer a very important issue. Nevertheless, according to Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a Castilian diplomat who traveled to Constantinople en route to an embassy to Timur in 1403, the aqueduct was still functioning.
Ottoman period
After the fall of Constantinople (1453) the Ottoman sultan, Mehmed the Conqueror (), repaired the system. The water was then used to supply the imperial palaces of Eski Saray (Old Palace) and Topkapı Sarayı. The system was enhanced by a new connection from the northeast. The great earthquake of 1509 destroyed the arches near the Mosque of Şehzade, which was erected some time later. This gave rise to the popular legend that they were cut in order to allow a better view from the nearby mosque. The repairs to the network continued under Bayezid II (), who added a new line. Around the middle of the 16th century, Suleiman the Magnificent () rebuilt arches (now ogival) 47 up to 51 (counted from the west) near the Şehzade Mosque, and commissioned the imperial architect, Mimar Sinan, to add two more lines, coming from the Forest of Belgrade (Belgrad Ormanı).
The increased flow allowed the distribution of water to the Kιrkçeşme ("Forty Fountains") quarter, situated along the aqueduct on the Golden Horn side, and so called after the many fountains built there under Suleyman. Under Mustafa II (), five arches (41–45) were restored, respecting the ancient form. An inscription in situ, dated 1696/97, commemorates the event. His successor Ahmed III repaired again the distribution net. In 1912, a part of the aqueduct near the Fatih Mosque was pulled down. In the same period, a new modern Taksim ("distribution plant", lit. 'division') at the east end was erected.
Bozdoğan Kemeri
The Bozdoğan Kemeri bridge of the Aqueduct of Valens had a length of and a maximum height of about 29 metres (63 metres above sea level) with a constant slope of 1:1000. Arches 18–73 have a double order, the others a single order. The masonry is not regular, and uses a combination of ashlar blocks and bricks.
External links
* 3D reconstruction of the Aquaeduct of Valens at the Byzantium 1200 project * Turkish Ministry of Culture – Water supply systems and cisterns of Constantinople