Walled Obelisk
History
The 32 m (105 ft)-high The obelisk was most likely a Theodosian construction, built to mirror the Obelisk of Theodosius on the spina of the Roman circus of Constantinople; the Circus Maximus in Rome also had two obelisks on its spina.
The 10th-century emperor Constantine VII had the monument restored and coated with plates of gilt bronze; a Greek inscription in iambic trimeter was added at this time. The inscription mentions the repair works carried out by Constantine VII and compares it to the colossus in Rhodes. In addition to this the inscription also mentions the name of his son and successor, Romanos II.
By the 10th and 11th centuries, the obelisk was referred to as the 'tower of brass' in the medieval Arab world, although accounts sometimes confused it with the Obelisk of Theodosius. The late 12th-early 13th-century writer al-Harawi was the source for several Arabic geographers' inclusion of a detail about the monument: the Byzantines put potsherds and nuts amongst the masonry in order to see them crack when strong winds would cause the stones to shift.
At that time, it was decorated with gilded bronze plaques that portrayed the victories of Basil I, the grandfather of Constantine VII.
The obelisk's gilded bronze plaques were removed and melted down by the Fourth Crusaders in 1204.
Since young Janissaries liked to show their prowess by climbing the obelisk, the masonry suffered further damage to its surface.
The Walled Obelisk was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknotes of 1953–1976.
Inscription
The inscription in iambic trimeters commemorating the Obelisk's restoration by Constantine VII is as follows:
Τὸ τετρ[άπλευρον] θαῦμα τῶν μεταρσίων |
The four-sided marvel of the uplifted, |