This is what Istanbul (historical peninsula) would have looked like if the ancient Constantinople Hippodrome had survived until today. via: Dogukan Palaman

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1. **Hippodrome of Constantinople**

   Hippodrome of Constantinople, located in Sultanahmet/Istanbul, was a public arena mainly for chariot races. The word hippodrome comes from the Greek hippos (horse) and dromos (way). The Hippodrome of Constantinople was also home to gladiatorial games, official ceremonies, celebrations, protests, torture to the convicts and so on. Hippodrome functioned all in Roman (203-330 CE), Byzantine (330-1453 CE), and Ottoman (1453-1922) periods.

   **History**

   When Roman Emperor Septimius Severus conquered ancient Constantinople named Byzantion in 203 CE, he named the city as Augusta Antonina and built many structures. Hippodrome was one of the significant structures built by Severus. However, the first Hippodrome was a small one. In 330 CE, Constantine I declared the city as the capital of the Byzantine Empire and named it Constantinople, meaning Constantine’s city in Greek. One of the first things that Constantine I rebuilt was the Hippodrome. He enlarged the hippodrome and connected it to the Great Palace of Constantinople that today lies underneath the Blue Mosque. Today the foundations of the Great Palace of Constantinople can be seen at the Museum of the Great Palace Mosaics.

   **The end of the great hippodrome**

   Following the Fourth Crusade in the early 13th century CE, the Hippodrome fell out of use and its spectacular monuments and artworks were looted.