Aqueduct of Valens

Aqueduct of Valens

Bozdoğan Kemeri
Aqueduct of Valens
Coordinates41°00′57.4″N 28°57′20″E / 41.015944°N 28.95556°E / 41.015944; 28.95556
CarriesAqueduct of Valens to Constantinople
CrossesAtatürk Boulevard
LocaleIstanbul, Turkey
Characteristics
DesignAqueduct bridge
MaterialStone, brick
Total lengthOriginally 971 m (3,186 ft)
Width7.75–8.24 m (25.4–27.0 ft)
HeightCa. 29 m (95 ft)
Longest spanCa. 4 m (13 ft)
History
Construction end368 AD
Location
Map

The Aqueduct of Valens (Turkish: Valens Su Kemeri, Ancient Greek: Ἀγωγὸς τοῦ ὕδατος, romanizedAgōgós tou hýdatos, lit.'aqueduct') 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 (r. 337–361) and was completed in 373 by the Emperor Valens (r. 364–378). 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 268 kilometres (167 miles) long.[1] A second, 5th-century phase added a further 451 kilometres (280 miles) of conduits that took water from Vize, 120 kilometres (75 miles) away from Constantinople.[1][2]: 13 

The final and most visible aqueduct bridge in the system survives in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. Named in Turkish: Bozdoğan Kemeri, lit.'Aqueduct of the Grey Falcon', it is an important landmark in the city, with its arches passing over Atatürk Boulevard (Atatürk Bulvarı). 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.[3]

The Bozdoğan Kemeri bridge of the Aqueduct of Valens crossing Atatürk Boulevard seen from southwest
The western part of the Bozdoğan Kemeri seen from the north
Western end of the Bozdoğan Kemeri
Eastern part of the Bozdoğan Kemeri seen from the south
19th century engraving of the Valens Aqueduct by Joseph Clayton Bentley after William Henry Bartlett
Historical photographs of the Bozdoğan Kemeri
Piers of the Bozdoğan Kemeri seen from the south
  1. ^ a b Crow, Jim (28 March 2012). "Ruling the waters: managing the water supply of Constantinople, AD 330–1204". Water History. 4 (1): 35–55. doi:10.1007/s12685-012-0054-y. ISSN 1877-7244. S2CID 162261784.
  2. ^ Mango, Cyril (1995). "The Water Supply of Constantinople". In Mango, Cyril; Dagron, Gilbert; Greatrex, Gregory (eds.). Constantinople and Its Hinterland: Papers from the Twenty-seventh Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Oxford, April 1993. Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies Publications 3. Aldershot: Variorum. pp. 9–18. doi:10.4324/9781315259567. ISBN 9781351949439.
  3. ^ Mamboury (1953), p. 196.