ABSTRACT
It is difficult to imagine the unpretentious street in modern Istanbul called Cerrahpaşa Caddesi as the Mesé, the great Central Avenue of Constantinople, as it made its way in its southern branch from its division west of the Forum of Theodosius to the Golden Gate of Constantine. However, this is what it is, and among the many reasons for thinking so is the still extant base of the column of Arcadius, set up in the forum of that emperor in 402/3, with the addition of a statue of Arcadius on its summit in 421.1 It is pictured here in its present condition, standing just off Cerrahpaşa Caddesi on its northern side – which, we shall see, is exactly where it should be – in the untidy little square, formerly the Slave-girl Market, which is all that is left of the forum (Figure 16.1). In one of the versions of the fifteenth century manuscript plan of the city attributed to Buondelmonti, the column appears in its correct position relative to the column of Theodosius and the Golden Gate of Constantine, if this is what is meant by the caption “porta antiquissima pulchra” that appears on some (though not all) versions of the plan. The River Lycus is correctly shown running in the space between the columns (the valley of Aksaray, the columns and their forums being on the higher ground to each side), though it is mistakenly shown as issuing into the harbour of Julian and not that of Theodosius.2
