Boukoleon Palace
The Palace of Boukoleon (Greek: Βουκολέων) or Bucoleon was one of the Byzantine palaces in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul in 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.
Boukoleon Palace
Restoration
Palace
5th century
Names[edit]
Hormisdas is an earlier name of the place. 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".
Palace structure from the year 1850
Palace structure from the year 1850
In the 1204 sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, Boukoleon was taken by Boniface of Montferrat who:
Among the prizes, then, was Empress Margaret, daughter of Bela III of Hungary, whom Boniface married. During the subsequent Latin Empire (1204–1261), the Bucoleon continued to be used as an imperial residence. After the recapture of the city by Michael VIII Palaiologos, however, the palace, along with the entire Great Palace complex, was gradually abandoned in favour of the Blachernae Palace.
When Mehmet II, the Ottoman emperor, entered the city in 1453, it was noted that the then-famous palace still stood, albeit in ruins. Upon his entrance to the palace, he allegedly uttered:
Palace of Boukoleon, 1923.
Boukoleon Palace. Architectonical fragments of terracotta and stucco.
Bukoleon Palace, built in the 5th century.
Boukoleon Palace Marble fragment of an icon with angel.
