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lefki

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The Byzantine Monuments of the

Evros/Meri River Valley

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2007 by the European Center for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments

2, Leoforos Stratou
GR-546 40 Thessaloniki
tel.: +30.2310.88 98 30
e-mail: ekbmm@the.forthnet.gr
ISBN: 978-960-88423-4-2

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EUROPEAN CENTER

FOR

BYZANTINE

AND

P O S T-B Y Z A N T I N E M O N U M E N T S

The Byzantine Monuments of the

Evros/Meri River Valley

Robert Ousterhout & Charalambos Bakirtzis

Thessaloniki 2007
iii

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lefki

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In memory
of our friend and colleague
Thanasis Papazotos (1951-1996)

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Contents
INTRODUCTION (R.O. C.B.)

CHAPTER 1. The Evros/Meri valley in Byzantine times (R.O. C.B.)

CHAPTER 2. Ainos (Enez) and its monuments (R.O.)

17

CHAPTER 3. Vera (Pherai) and its monuments (C.B.)

49

CHAPTER 4. Didymoteichon and its monuments (R.O. C.B.)

87

CHAPTER 5. Pythion and Pranghi (R.O. C.B.)

145

CHAPTER 6. Adrianopolis (Edirne) and its monuments (R.O.)

161

CONCLUSION (R.O. C.B.)

179

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Distant view of the fortress at Pythion, with the Evros/Meri River valley in the background

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Introduction
The river dividing Thrace between Greece and Turkey today was known in antiquity as the
Hebrus River the Evros in Modern Greek, the Meri in Modern Turkish, and the Maritsa in
Slavic languages. A sleepy backwater today, its appearance gives no hint of its historic vitality.
In contrast to its current, liminal situation, throughout the Byzantine period (330 -1453 CE), the
valley maintained close cultural connections with the nearby Byzantine capital Constantinople,
for which it figured as an important hinterland. Until the nineteenth century, in fact, the river
functioned as a thoroughfare, the major transportation artery from the north Aegean Sea into
Thrace, connecting to the chief regional city, Adrianopolis (now Edirne, Turkey), with rivergoing vessels traveling as far inland as Philippopolis (now Plovdiv, Bulgaria).
Historical disjunction. The advent of the railroad in the 1890s signaled the demise of the river
network and dramatically altered the economy of the valley. Entire towns were abandoned or
shifted as the population moved into closer proximity to the railroad. The port town of
Ainos/Enez, for example, had been a transportation hub throughout the Byzantine and Ottoman
periods, but when bypassed by the railroad, it declined into a virtual ghost town. Most of its
population moved across the river to the previously insignificant village of Dedeaga (now
Alexandroupolis, Greece), the final station stop before the railroad turned northward, bypassing
the lower river valley.
The demise of the river system was completed with the establishment of the modern international
border along the Evros/Meri with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, as Western Thrace passed to

001 OS 008.qxd 27-03-07 12:47 2

Greece following negotiations at then conclusion of the Balkan Wars, World War I, and the
breakup of the Ottoman Empire. Subsequently, the river became a liminal zone, allowed to silt
over, and what was once a vital connective axis was transformed into a frontier. The valley
became quite literally a backwater. Towns such as Soufli, which had thrived prior to this time,
found the residential and commercial areas on the western side of the river cut off from the fields
and orchards, on which their economic vitality depended, on the eastern side. Long an important
center for silk production, the prosperity of Soufli came to an end as the new border was
established.

Edirne (Adrianopolis) at the end of the Ottoman period

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The separation of the river valley was exacerbated by the population exchange that followed the
Greek-Turkish War in 1922-23. The displacement of more than 2.5 million Greeks and Muslims
from Anatolia and the Balkans resulted in a loss of cultural continuity and recurring conflicts
between groups that had previously cohabitated. With the dramatic political and demographic
changes, a visitor to the Evros/Meri valley today on either side of the river comes away with
no sense of its historic vitality.
Scholarly disjunction. For the Byzantine history of the Evros/Meri valley, modern scholarship
began in the late nineteenth century, as historians and epigraphers, such as Lampakes,
Lampousiades, Samothrakes, Kourtides, Papadapoulos-Kerameus, Hasluck, and numerous
dedicated Thracian hommes de lettres explored the region to record its Classical and Byzantine past.
In doing so, they noted much incidental information concerning the survival of historic monuments
(into which inscriptions were set) and their context at that time. Their pioneering work was cut short
by the outbreak of hostilities in the Balkan Wars, World War I, the Greek- Turkish War, and World
War II. Active scholarly exploration only began again in the late twentieth century. By that time,
however, the border had become a psychological barrier, encouraged by political, religious, and
linguistic differences. Displaced Greeks from the eastern side of the river often preserve a nostalgic
memory of their lost heritage, as place names, bishoprics, even icons and church furnishings were
relocated (as is the case in Ainos/Enez) to the western side. Among the resettled villages on the
Turkish side, the inhabitants have no historical memory and often little curiosity about the historical
artifacts in their midst, which are dismissed as Greek.
In the 1970s, the Greek Archaeological Service began a series of surveys and excavations in Western
Thrace to determine its historical character and its cultural position. Although they were aware of
the earlier regional investigations, their efforts were hampered by lack of access to the monuments
in Eastern Thrace and to Turkish scholarship. Moreover, they labored against numerous prejudices.
Modern Greece is Classically-oriented and Athens-centered, and in this cultural configuration, the
Evros valley is a distant, provincial backwater; its major historical monuments may be viewed as
late, decadent, and impure, contaminated by proximity to the Turks and the Bulgarians.
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In the same period, Turkish Classical archaeologists began explorations at Enez (Ainos).
Although their interests were in the ancient city, they uncovered the remnants of numerous
Byzantine monuments. Most of the excavated buildings had been standing into the late
nineteenth century and had been noted in the epigraphic studies, but without access to the Greek
scholarship, the Turkish archaeologists were unable to identify them. Moreover, as in modern
Greece, the privileging of the Classical period was combined with a general suspicion of the later
constructions. In modern Turkey, Byzantine monuments are invariably associated with Orthodox
Christianity and with Greece, and thus may be viewed as both religiously and politically
contaminated. At Adrianopolis/Edirne, on the other extreme, the Byzantine city has been entirely
overshadowed by its Ottoman successor, which played a critical role in the history of Ottoman
conquest and the construction of Turkish national identity. New excavations at Edirne may begin
to redress this imbalance, but at the time of this writing, they remain unpublished. In both Greece
and Turkey, then, the international border forms a psychological barrier, which few Greek or
Turkish scholars were willing to cross.
Byzantine monuments reclaimed. In contrast to the epigraphical studies of a century ago, which
privileged the text, more recent studies recognize the value of archaeology and studies of
material culture to the writing of history. This is particularly important in the examination of
periods and regions for which the written record is incomplete. In our attempt to reclaim what
has become a marginalized borderland as a vital area of cultural production in its historical
setting, this study examines the Byzantine architecture of the Evros/Meri River valley. Because
of the limitations of the written record, we will take the architectural monuments of the region
as the primary documents for constructing a cultural history of the region. In addition to the
historic buildings that survive, we include those that no longer survive but were recorded before
their destruction and those known from archaeological investigations.
The monuments included in the following study form an important regional grouping, from
which a better picture of the significant historical culture of the valley may be derived, bringing

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Carved wooden icon from Ainos (Enez), now in Alexandroupolis (13th century)

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together the evidence from both sides of the river for the first time. Although this area is little
known today, and many sites have fallen off the map, the architecture is both sophisticated and
distinctive. Until the twelfth century, there were close associations with the Byzantine capital.
For example, the now destroyed Hagia Sophia at Edirne (Adrianopolis) parallels the better
known structural experimentation of sixth-century Constantinople. New discoveries at Enez
broaden our understanding of construction during the poorly documented Transitional Period of
the seventh through ninth centuries. The two large twelfth-century churches in Enez and Pherai
clearly were been built by Constantinopolitan workshops, emphasizing the continued relations
with the capital. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, however, technical and stylistic
developments throughout the valley testify to the growing importance of local workshops, and
they parallel the cultural fragmentation of the Byzantine Empire in its last centuries. Taken
together, the monuments of the Evros/Meri valley tell a remarkable story of a vital area of
cultural development during the Byzantine period.
In many ways, national identity, and current national boundaries shape our worldview today;
they also affect the ways in which scholarship is written and how regional studies are defined.
The dramatic events of the early twentieth century described above redefined the international
frontier and created a scholarly barrier between Greece and Turkey. They pose challenges to the
modern historian, but at the same time, they may offer differing ways of interpreting the cultural
remains of the region. The overview of the monuments presented in the following chapters
represents the long-standing interests of its two authors. Our assessment of the monuments of
Eastern Thrace depends to a large part on the reports of the Turkish archaeologists and art
historians working in that region, rather than on new surveys. In deference to our Turkish
colleagues, we refer to their ongoing research efforts but limit our discussion to what has been
published. For Greek Thrace, we are able to include to information from surveys and excavations
conducted by the authors under the auspices of the 12th Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities at
Kavala. By viewing the Evros/Meri River valley from both sides, in effect, we hope to offer a
new perspective on an important region of Byzantine cultural development.

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Bibliography
Byzantinische Forschungen 14 (1989), Papers of the First International Symposium for Thracian
Studies:Byzantine Thrace: Image and Character (Komotini, 28-31 May 1987), 2 vols,
ed. Ch. Bakirtzis

The Kosmosoteira at Pherai (Vera, Ferecik) at the end of the nineteenth century (Uspensky)

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The delta of the Evros/Meri River, with the town of Enez (Ainos) at the lower left (Google Earth)

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CHAPTER 1

The Evros/Meri Valley in the Byzantine Period

Routes of Transportation. Throughout the Byzantine period, the Evros/Meri River was strategic
to transportation in Thrace and the Balkans. The river was navigable by large boats from its
mouth inland as far as Adrianopolis, and further inland by smaller boats to Philippopolis.
Communication from one bank to the other was effected in a variety of ways. Boats of various
sizes could ferry passengers across and several points. For example, the abbot of the
Kosmosoteira at Vera had the privilege of owning a vessel for ferrying the monks across the
river, and the port at Vera is mentioned as late as the sixteenth century. Pontoon bridges could be
erected for the movement of army troops, as Anna Komnena related in the Alexiad. Crossing
could be made by foot or by horse in places when the river was low or where the water was
shallow, as for example at the Ford of Philokalos, also mentioned by Anna, on the eastern
shore near the mouth of the river. There was a masonry or wooden bridge across the river at
Adrianopolis, mentioned by Akropolites. Another bridge or another sort of crossing must have
been located on the route of the Via Egnatia as it traversed the river near Vera. There were
occasional years when the river not only carried down ice from the Rhodope mountains, but it
also froze solid, permitting a crossing by foot, as happened, for example, in the harsh winter of
1208/9, when the Latin army of King Henry was able to march across the ice near Kypsella.
Although the alluvial deposits have altered the positions of the rivers estuaries, during the
Byzantine period there were three harbors in the delta that formed at the mouth of the river.
These connected the overland routes with the sea: near Traianopolis, inland on the western bank;
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A traditional flat-bottomed river boat of the Evros

Valley

at Vera, on the western bank near the innermost reaches of the delta; and at Ainos, by the sea on
the eastern shore. The first two of these were also stations on the Via Egnatia, the great Roman
road that connected Constantinople to the Adriatic, while Ainos served the main harbor for ships
arriving by sea. At some point on the Egnatia, near Vera and before the crossing of the river,
began one of the well-established land routes that led northward along the narrow western bank
of the Evros, through Didymoteichon and Pythion, to Adrianopolis. This route continued further
to the north to connect the Aegean to the Danube. The route to Didymoteichon also connected to
a road that led into the valley of the Arda, a tributary of the Evros, and continued through the
Rhodope mountains to link the Propontis and Constantinople with the cities of the Balkans and
with the harbors of the northern Adriatic. Another overland route passing through Adrianopolis
was the major road connecting Constantinople with Central Europe.
History. The transportation networks clearly indicate the strategic geopolitical position of Thrace
in general and of the Evros Valley in particular during the Byzantine period. It formed quite literally
the crossroads of the Byzantine world, the bulwark and hinterland of Constantinople. Throughout
its history, the region maintained close contacts with the Byzantine capital, for better or worse. The
relationship of Byzantine capital and Thracian hinterland began dramatically: Constantine defeated
his rival Licinius at Adrianopolis in 324, giving him sole rule of the Roman Empire and
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precipitating the transfer of the capital from

Rome to the site of Byzantion on the
Bosphorus. Others leaders found their
beginnings or met their fates in the same area.
In 378, Emperor Valens was routed and killed
by the Goths in the Battle of Adrianopolis.
Alexios I Komnenos proclaimed himself
emperor in Adrianopolis in 1081. John VI
Kantakouzenos did the same in Didymoteichon in 1341 and was subsequently
crowned in Adrianopolis. Others important
historical figures found their exile in the river
valley: the Sebastokrator Isaakios Komnenos
founded and retired to the Kosmosoteira
monastery at Vera, following his banishment
from the capital. The statesman and scholar
Theodore Metochites was exiled to
Didymoteichon following the palace revolt of
1328.
As the hinterland of the capital, Thrace
served as its breadbasket and its bulwark, its
agricultural lands supplying both grain and
other foodstuffs, its towns and villages providing soldiers. With any mention of Thrace, there
comes to mind some thought of courage, masses of soldiers, war, and battle, for these things are
innate and hereditary in that province, noted Justinian in 535 [Novel 26], who fortified or refortified many cities in the region. Justinians concerns were justified, for any land-based attack
on the capital by necessity came through Thrace. Adrianopolis played a particularly significant
role. During the second half of the sixth century, Slavs and the Avars besieged the city and its

Didymoteichon, funeral innscription of the komes

Diogenes, end of the 5th c.

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surroundings. With the subsequent rise of Bulgaria as a political power, the city became an
important military outpost. Throughout the ninth and tenth centuries, Adrianopolis,
Didymoteichon and the upper river valley felt the brunt of the conflicts between the Byzantines
and the Bulgars. The kastron at Didymoteichon was besieged, and Adrianopolis fell briefly to
both Krum and Symeon.
Less of the early history is recorded for the lower river valley, although Ainos, at the mouth of
the river, must have suffered similar threats. According to Procopius, Justinian strengthened its
defensive walls, but prior to the late eleventh century the harbor town rarely appears in the
historical record, except for its participation in church councils. Toward the end of the eleventh
century, the nomadic Pechenegs entered the region. In 1078 they raided the area around
Adrianopolis and in the following decade, allied with the Cumans and Uzes, they penetrated as
far as the sea of Marmara, in the region of Ainos. There Alexios I confronted them in battle, as
Anna Komnena recounts, soundly defeating them at the Mt. Lebounion, near the mouth of the
Evros.

Pherai (Vera), Kosmosoteira monastery, capital, 12th century (now in the Benaki Museum, Athens)

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During the later twelfth and thirteenth

centuries, the region was a major point of
contention between the Byzantines,
Crusaders, and Bulgars, with the major
towns and fortresses changing hands several
times. Prior to the Latin conquest of
Constantinople in 1204, both the Crusaders
and Venetian merchants had established
themselves in the region, and their presence
is noted from Ainos to Adrianopolis.
Bulgaria was on the rise in this same period,
and led by Kalojan, the Bulgarians
plundered the countryside around Adrianopolis and Didymoteichon, fighting both
Byzantine and Latins. The Byzantines
gradually regained control of the region, and
by 1225, both cities came under the control
of Laskarids of Nicaea, although Adrianople
fell once again to the Bulgars in 1230. The
Laskarids subsequently used both cities as
bases for a campaign against the Bulgars.
View from the Pythion fortress looking the road to
Edirne/Adrianopolis
Cumans and Tatars both appear in the
regional conflicts of the thirteenth century.
With the reestablishment of Byzantine rule in Constantinople in 1261, Adrianopolis became the
strategic center on the border with Bulgaria.
The Catalan Grand Company, Spanish mercenaries hired by Andronikos II, turned against the
Byzantines following the murder of their leader Roger de Flor at Adrianople in 1305, by Alan
mercenaries probably at the instigation of Michael IX. Using Kallipolis (Gelibolu) as their base,
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they raided throughout Thrace during 1305-07, laying siege to Ainos, Adrianopolis, and other
centers. Michael IX used the kastron Didymoteichon as a base and a staging post in his campaign
against them.
Didymoteichon appears frequently in the accounts of the civil wars of the fourteenth century. In
the conflict between Andronikos II and his grandson Andronikos III, the latter used the town as
his military base and residence after his flight from Constantinople in 1321. In the second civil
war, after the death of Andronikos III in 1341, John VI Kantakouzenos was proclaimed emperor
in Didymoteichon, and the city became his de facto capital during the civil war of 1341-47. His
residence and treasury was located nearby at the fortress of Pythion. In early 1344/5, John
Kantakouzenos brought the fleet of Umur of Aydn to Ainos to assist him, and in 1348, Orhan
dispatched Turkish troops to his aid. Following the victory of John V Palaiologos and the
abdication of Kantakouzenos in 1347, Thrace underwent a sort of feudal subdivision. In 1352,
Didymoteichon became an apanage of John V Palaiologos, while Adrianopolis was given to
Matthew Kantakouzenos, leading to further conflicts and interventions by Orhan. Control of the
port town of Ainos regularly was contested in this period, and the unstable situation there led to
an invitation to Genoese freebooter Francesco Gattilusio to rule the city, sometime around 1384.
The Gattilusi family maintained control of Ainos until it fell to the Ottomans in 1456. With the
Italian presence, the subsequent history of the coastal region and north Aegean islands differs
somewhat from that of areas further inland.
Orhans participation in the civil war of 1341-47 is often viewed as the introduction of the
Ottomans onto European territory. In 1354, the Ottomans occupied Kallipolis (Gelibolu) and
used the fortress as a base of operation for expansion into the Balkans, with Orhan son
Sleyman Pasa gaining control of much of southeastern Thrace. Orhan, married to a daughter of
John VI, was often entangled with Byzantine politics. Although he was on occasions both
supportive and conciliatory, his expansion of Ottoman control of Thrace resumed after 1359 and
continued unabated. Didymoteichon was probably conquered twice by Orhan, first in 1359 and

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decisively in 1361. His son and successor Murad I established his residence in Didymoteichon
(Dimitoka) ca.1373-77 and continued his fathers expansionist policy.
Adrianopolis seems to have been seized by the Turks in or around 1369, and ca. 1376-77, Murad
I established his residence there. The city subsequently was developed as the Ottoman capital.
Slightly more than a millennium Constantines decisive battle over Licinius, much of the region
had been conquered by the Ottoman Turks, and, like Constantine, they set their sights on the
Bosphorus. It was from the new Ottoman capital in Adrianopolis/Edirne that the final siege of
Constantinople was launched, ending with the fall of the city in 1453.

Bibliography
Soustal, Peter. Thrakien (Thrake-, Rodope- und Haimimontos),Tabula Imperii Byzantini 6 (Vienna,1991)

Bulgarian troops before Edirne, 1912-13

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Enez, view from citadel looking northwest, with the Fatih Camii in foreground

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CHAPTER 2

Ainos (Enez) and its Monuments

Situated on a spit of land, the harbor town now known as Enez (Turkey) is surrounded by
lagoons to the north, west, and south. The present channel of the Evros/Meri River meets the
Aegean Sea immediately to its north. The acropolis hill is fortified by a well-preserved wall,
dating from the ancient and medieval periods. Strengthened by numerous towers, the plan of the
citadel is oval, extended in the NNW-SSE direction, with the main entrance on the west side. The
unwalled lower city extends to the south. The marshy lagoon to the west of the acropolis was the
harbor of the historic city. From the north and south ends of the acropolis, fortifications walls
extend to the banks of the lagoon.

History
As the ongoing Classical excavations of the University of Istanbul are demonstrating, Enez is a
site of great antiquity. Mentioned in the Iliad, the city flourished in the fifth and fourth centuries
BCE, from which time its coinage is distinctive. Its position was strategic, as it connected by
land and water routes to Adrianople/Edirne to the north, and eastward to both Kallipolis/Gelibolu
and Constantinople/Istanbul.
In the Byzantine period, Ainos was the capital of the province of Rhodope. Procopius included

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Enez, map of area by Choisseul-Gouffier (1808),

showing the mouth of the Evros/Meri

Enez, plan of present city (after Ersen)

the city walls of Ainos among the achievements of Justinian, claiming that its low walls were
raised and made inpregnable, and that the open entrance to the sea was blocked for security.
From the seventh century onward, Ainos is listed as an autonomous archbishopric of the
province of Rhodope, and from the end of the eleventh century as a metropolis.

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The 1152 typikon of the Panagia Kosmosoteira at Vera situates the monastery in relationship to
Ainos. The typikon instructs the monks to purchase olive oil directly from the ships that docked
at Ainos rather than from the town merchants - suggesting something of the role played by the
city in regional trade and commerce. In addition to its port, the prosperity of Ainos was based on
salt production, as well as the wealth of fish and other animals in its vicinity. At the time of the
foundation of the Kosmosoteira monastery, numerous villages in the vicinity of Ainos were
turned over to it.
From the Komnenian period onward, Ainos appears both as a military headquarters and a site of
contention. In 1090/1, Alexios I Komnenos headquartered his troops in Ainos before battling
with the Pechenegs nearby, on the opposite bank of the river. In 1189, Duke Friedrich of
Schwaben plundered the city, and its inhabitants fled. The city and its storehouses subsequently
fell to the armies of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. With the Cuman influx following the Mongol
invasion, the Cumans penetrated and plundered Thrace as far as Ainos in 1237. In 1264,
Byzantine troops were besieged at Ainos by Constantine Tich and the Tatars. Following an
agreement of June 1265 with Michael VIII, Venetian business establishments were maintained
in the vicinity of the town, although in 1320 the doge complained about the mistreatment of
Venetians by the imperial officials at Ainos. The Catalan Grand Company besieged the city
unsuccessfully in 1307.
During the Second Civil War, in early 1344/5, John Kantakouzenos accompanied the fleet of
Umur of Aydn to Ainos. The port town was subsequently contested between John Palaiologos
(margrave of Montferrat), John V Palaiologos, John VI Kantakouzenos, Nikephoros II of Epiros,
and the rebellious commander of the fleet, Limpidarios. The instability of Ainos during this
period may have led its citizens to invite the family of the Genoese freebooter Francesco
Gattilusio to rule the city, ca. 1384. The Gattilusi maintained control of the city until it fell to the
Ottomans in 1456, when Mehmet II beieged the city by land, while his captain Yunus Pasa
attacked it from the sea. In 1462 Mehmet briefly turned Ainos over to Demetrios Palaiologos,

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Enez, entrance to citadel, mid-20th century (Eyice)

the deposed despot of Moreia. It subsequently returned to Ottoman control, but was briefly
conquered by the Venetian Niccolo` da Canale in 1469. The town frequently appears on sea charts
of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries as Denio, Enio, Ponta Deno, etc., in connection with trade
and piracy.

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Monuments
For Greek scholars, the Byzantine monuments of Enez are known primarily from the 1902 visit
by G. Lampakes, who recorded the inscriptions evident at that time, and by a later, less
systematic account by Mystakides. The first study of the architecture came from the Turkish
scholar Semavi Eyice, published in 1969, whose conclusions may be refined and expanded by
the subsequent excavations conducted by the University of Istanbul, which are ongoing at Enez.
Combining the published information from the archaeological investigations with the older
Greek epigraphical record yields a much richer portrait of the town, however, as Thanasis
Papazotos demonstrated, matching the descriptions of Eyice with the buildings visible in the
unpublished photographs of Lampakes. Although much of Enez was already abandoned and
derelict at the time of Lampakes visit, he nevertheless called the town a mega mouseion tes
Christianikes technes - a great museum of Christian art.
Fortifications. Excavations within citadel have produced Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and
Ottoman remains, and a reused ancient inscription in the fortress gate mentions a praetorium.
The fortifications of the citadel have not been properly studied. The rebuilding by Justinian noted
by Procopius presupposes an ancient circuit. Unfortunately, the walls were heavily restored in
the 1990s, precluding a proper archaeological examination. The recorded inscriptions may give
some idea of their history, as well as of the military significance of the site. Most date from the
thirteenth through fifteenth centuries. These include two marking a reconstruction following an
incursion of the Tataro-Bulgars toward the end of the thirteenth century, another marking
partial reconstruction in 1307/8, and several from the period of the Gattilusi rule. The latter are
the most impressive. One, marking the construction of a tower, may be dated 1 May 1382 or
1385, by its Latin inscription, which is embellished with emblems of Gattilusi (or possibly
crowned eagle of Doria family), in the south ramparts. Another, also marking the construction of
a tower, is dated 1 August 1413; the Latin inscription is accompanied by the armorial plaque of
Gattilusi, set in south face of a square tower of fortress. A third provides only the date, 1416/7.

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Enez, inscriptions of the Gattilusi (Hasluck)

Enez, inscription of the Gattilusi in fortifications,

dated 1382 or 1385

22

Enez, inscription of the Gattilusi in fortifications,

dated 1413

009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 23

Foundations of medieval residential architecture and a large building complex, perhaps a palace,
has been excavated along the northwest wall of the citadel, but this awaits full publication.
Impressive examples of glazed ceramics and sgraffito ware have been found as well.

Byzantine Churches
Fatih Camii. The most important Byzantine monument inside the acropolis wall is the ruined
church that probably served as the cathedral of the city, a large domed basilica now known as the
Fatih Camii. First published by Eyice in 1969 as a Palaiologan church, Ousterhouts analysis of
the building two decades ago proposed a twelfth-century date. The large scale of the church,
which measures ca. 21 x 38 meters overall, not including the apses, makes it larger than almost
all Middle or Late Byzantine churches in Constantinople. Now in ruins, it was already in a
dilapidated state when it was studied by Eyice in 1962. At that time, it still functioned as a
mosque, although it collapsed in the 1965 earthquake and was subsequently abandoned. At that
time the north wall and vaults fell. The original Byzantine dome had been replaced in the

Enez, Fatih Camii, portico faade, seen from southwest,

1982

Enez, Fatih Camii, plan (Ousterhout, redrawn after

Eyice)

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 24

Enez, Fatih Camii, seen from north, ca, 1960 (Eyice)

Enez, Fatih Camii, seen from south, 1979 (Ousterhout)

Ottoman period by a shallow dome without a drum. There is also evidence of much repair to the
building in the Ottoman period - notably the resurfacing areas of along the apses and the
repositioning of windows. Portions of the south walls of the narthexes collapsed between 1979
and 1982. Some attempts were made to repair the western portico faade ca. 1990, and the team
from Istanbul University recently cleaned the interior, but this important building still stands
derelict. On the south side, the walls still stand to the height of the dome cornice. With the
photographs published by Eyice and observations made on site by Ousterhout in 1979-82, it is
possible to reconstruct the original form of the building.
The design of the church is unusual, and it might be termed a domed basilica. The large naos is
cruciform in plan, preceded by two narthexes. The eastern arm of the cross comprises the bema,
which is flanked by large, barrel-vaulted pastophoria. All three chambers of the sanctuary
terminate in apses that are semicircular on the interior and polygonal on the exterior. The western
cross arm is attenuated, flanked by abbreviated side aisles, which are separated from the nave by
arcades. The crossing was covered by a broad dome - greater than 7 m. in diameter - supported
on piers. The piers are L-shaped, each accentuated at floor level by two engaged columns, which
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support pilaster strips on the upper level. The cross arms of the naos were originally covered by
barrel vaults, as are the pastophoria. The side aisles are covered by pairs of groin vaults. The
inner narthex, divided into three bays, was covered by groin vaults to the sides and a transverse
barrel vault at the center. The form of the west wall of the inner narthex remains unclear. The
outer narthex is fronted by a graceful portico faade and is not bonded with the main body of the
church, although it must have been constructed at the same time. It was probably covered by a
wooden roof originally.

Enez, Fatih Camii, interior, looking southeast, 1979

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 26

Enez, Fatih Camii, detail of wall construction

Enez, Fatih Camii, brick pattern on the prothesis apse

The Byzantine construction technique is all parts of the building consists of courses of recessed
brick alternating with courses of squared stone. Much of this may be reused material, and the
construction often appears crude and clumsy - a distinct contrast to the elegant features of design
and detailing. In many areas, the mortar is apparently of inferior quality and has fallen away. In
general, the recessed brick technique, in which alternating courses of brick are set back from the
wall surface and hidden behind what appear to be exceedingly wide mortar beds, is associated
with the architecture of eleventh- and twelfth-century Constantinople, although both earlier and
later examples have been noted. Moreover, numerous other decorative details and the general
sloppiness of construction correspond with the twelfth-century churches of the Byzantine capital.
In several areas of the interior, for example, where the mortar surfaces are well preserved, the
edges are scored with impressed lines of string, and even the looped ends of the strings have left
their impressions.
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Enez, Fatih Camii, view into prothesis, looking east

Enez, Fatih Camii, reused stones in dome cornice

The decorative brick patterning and details of construction accord with contemporaneous
buildings in Constantinople. These include a meander pattern on the prothesis apse, a lunette
field of herringbone pattern on the south faade of the diakonikon, and a cross set within a disk
within the lunette field on the north faade of the prothesis. Within the apse conch of the
prothesis, the brick courses are laid in an elaborated chevron pattern. Similar details appear in
the Pantepoptes (Eski Imaret Camii), Chora (Kariye Camii), and Pantokrator (Zeyrek Camii)
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 28

churches in the capital. The arches of the west faade are highly stilted, as were the windows of
the north cross arm, recorded in Eyices photograph. The form is tripartite, with a tall thin light
at the center, flanked by lower, broader lights - an unusual form found at the Theotokos
Kyriotissa (Kalenderhane Camii) in Constantinople and nowhere else. The south crossarm
windows were altered in Ottoman times, perhaps with the conversion of the church to a mosque,
when the south wall became the qibla. Similar lunette windows may have appeared on the lateral
walls of the western naos as well, where the arch is still evident on the south faade, but these
were altered on Ottoman times as well.
The plan of the church is unusual, with the standard Greek cross unit of the naos extended
westward to form a sort of domed basilica with a transept. The scale of the building and the
cruciform plan of the naos encourage comparison with the church now known as the Gl Camii
and with the Kyriotissa in the capital, both twelfth-century buildings. At the same time, the plan
may appear closer to that of churches of the Transitional Period, such as Hagia Eirene of
Constantinople in its eighth-century form, or the ninth-century church at Vize in eastern Thrace.
The attenuated plan and the domed basilica design of the Enez church may have been influenced
by older regional examples, and it may have followed the plan of an older building. Soundings
along the south faade conducted in 1986 revealed older foundations below the lateral wall,
although the soundings were not extended to other parts of the building. At the same time, the
Fatih Camii relates closely to developments in twelfth-century Constantinople. Along with
related buildings in the capital, it may represent a revival of older architectural forms, reflecting
the conservative milieu of the Komnenian court.
The graceful portico faade of the exonarthex remains the most attractive portion of the building,
with a central triple arcade flanked by double arcades, rhythmically alternating piers and
columns. Although it was assumed to be a Palaiologan creation, Ousterhout has demonstrated
that the portico faade must be contemporaneous with the main block of the building and thus
twelfth-century in date. Recessed brick is employed throughout, and the masonry courses were

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 29

Enez, Fatih Camii, capital of exonarthex

aligned from the narthex to the exonarthex,

even though the two units we not bonded.
The lack of bonding may be explained by
the fact that the exonarthex was lighter and
more open in character than the main block
of the building. It was most likely covered
by a wooden roof rather than heavy,
masonry vaulting. The two units would have
required different foundation systems, and
the lack of bonding would have allowed for
differential settlement.

As with much of the building material in the

Fatih Camii, the marble elements all appear to be reused. Byzantine marble quarries ceased to
function after the seventh century, but in a town with a long history like that of Enez, the older
dilapidated buildings would have provided building materials. The columns of the portico faade
and the naos are reused, as are all the capitals. Within the naos, the surviving Corinthian capitals
are clearly sixth-century, while the simple, cubic capitals may be sixth-century as well. All four
capitals of the exonarthex have cubic forms, based on sixth-century prototypes but were
executed later, perhaps in the ninth or tenth century. The south capital, which has concave
surfaces and more elaborate patterning, may be slightly later than the others. All have trapezoidal
fields with a central roundel or arch flanked by leaves or branches. The central feature within the
arch or roundel is either a cross or a rosette. At least four different forms of string course appear
in the naos. The ovolo molding may date from the Transitional Period; the decorated chamfered
moldings from the tenth or eleventh centuries. The doorframes were also spoliated; the south
portal in the narthex is clearly assembled from mismatched pieces. The marble blocks of the
dome cornice, still pinned together, are spolia, including a reused Classical inscription and one
panel preserving an older cross decoration.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 30

Enez, Fatih Camii, fresco above main entrance, showing Virgin and ecclesiastical figure

The fragmentary frescoes of the Fatih Camii have been cleaned and were summarily published
by Ihsan Tunay in 1993. Most important is the partially preserved image in the lunette above the
main entrance to the naos, which represents a female figure standing on a footstool flanked by
an ecclesiastical figure, set on a green ground against a dark blue background. The left side of
the panel and the upper portions of the figures are missing. The central figure is undoubtedly the
Virgin, for only she appears standing on a footstool like this. The fresco would recommend a

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 31

dedication to her, rather than to either

Constantine or Hagia Sophia, as the Greek
tradition would have it. The Virgin wears a
dark blue garment with a purple robe over it.
The bishop to her left wears a plain dark blue
sticharion (tunic) with a green and brown
phelonion (cape) over it. The omophorion
(bishops scarf, embroidered with crosses)
hangs down his front. He holds a book in his
left hand and gestures toward the Virgin with
his right. Neither his face nor his inscription
survives

Enez, Fatih Camii, fresco in prothesis, showing

standing saint

Above and to the right of the lunette, an area

of paint survives, including the uppermost
portion of the wall panel, with blue
background and part of a halo. Above this, a
red line separates this panel from a narrative
scene that extended onto the barrel vault. Of
this, the feet of at least three figures appear
on a green ground, but not enough to
identify the scene.

Another figure is preserved in the arch leading into the prothesis, a haloed, bearded figure with
dark hair, who wears a simple red-orange tunic. His face and hands have been scratched away,
and the lower portion of his body is missing, but areas of the drapery are well preserved, with
the folds highlighted in white. Based on the limited stylistic details, an early Palaiologan date
may be proposed for the wall paintings.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:10 32

Enez, view looking south across citadel taken by Lampakes in 1902,

showing the Theotokos Chrysopege on the right side, with St. Gregory and the Fatih Camii in the background

Theotokos Chrysopege. Located inside the fortifications, a marble inscription once built into the
wall of the church named Demetrios Xenos as founder of the Theometor Chrysopege, dated
1422/3, under Palamede Gattilusio, styled Palamedes Phrantzesos Gateliousios Palaiologos. The
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 33

Enez, Theotokos Chrysopege, excavation plan by

Erzen, 1971

Enez, Theotokos Chrysopege, excavation photograph

by Erzen,1971, looking east

simple, single-naved building measured ca. 7 x 10.5 m overall. A large section of the north wall
still stands; it is unarticulated and made of a rough stone and brick construction. Eyice published
the church in 1969 with an incorrect plan and without identification, but it may be clearly
identified from Lampakes photographs as the Theotokos Chrysopege. The inscription is now
apparently lost. In 1971, Afif Erzen excavated the church and identified it correctly, based on the
account by Hasluck. His excavation clarified the plan of the church, which had a small central
apse raised above the floor level and protruding slightly from the east wall. A small prothesis
niche appeared to the north side, set into the thickness of the wall, with a small rectangular niche
set into the adjacent north wall. No parallel features appeared to the south side. Within the
church, Erzen found the stylobate of the templon and immediately west of it, two tombs. One
was centrally positioned and set beneath the floor and the other raised above floor level, in a
masonry sarcophagus set against the south wall. Burial remains were preserved in both. In
addition, fragmentary frescoes of Constantine and Helen once appeared on the north wall; these
must date from the fifteenth century as well.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 34

Enez, Theotokos Chrysopege, inscription photographed

by Lampakes 1902

In addition to the several local names noted

above, the informative dedicatory inscription,
photographed by Lampakes in 1902, is signed
by KOCT O MACT: that is, Maistor Kostas
or Konstantinos. The name of the same
master mason appears in another lost
inscription, which Lampakes photographed in
the church of H. Vlasios, but which came
from a church of St. Nicholas, dated 1420/1.
A second inscription, recorded by Lampakes
inside the Chrysopege and dated 1423/4, is
similarly informative, naming the reigning
emperor Manuel II, his wife Eleni, a bishop
John, and the patriarch Joseph.

Hag. Gregorios Neokaiserias. A small, domed Byzantine church appears in Lampakes

photograph of the citadel. The view shows very clearly the relationship of the church to the Fatih
Camii and the Theotokos Chrysopege; he must have been standing on the western wall of the
city when he took the photograph. Unfortunately, the photograph is not very clear, but from it,
Papazotos was able to identify the church as Hag. Gregorios Neokaiserias. Mystakides tells us
that the church was located inside the walls; it was expanded on the right-hand side for the
womens section; and the dome was supported internally by four columns, with two in the
sanctuary. Two additional photographs of Hag. Gregorios from the archives of the British School
at Athens, taken by F.W. Hasluck in 1908, show the church from the northeast and from the
southwest. The first is more useful for clarifying the Byzantine form of Hag. Gregorios, while
the second shows the later additions. Along the north faade, we see banded brick and stone wall
construction, with setback brick arches corresponding to the gabled crossarm and to the low
corner bays of the naos, and with a slightly lower arch marking the narthex. The spatial divisions
of the building are marked by simple pilasters along the faade. Although the arches have an
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 35

Enez, Hagios Gregorios Neokaiserias, seen from

northeast, photographed by Hasluck in 1908

Enez, Hagios Gregorios Neokaiserias, seen from

southwest, photographed by Hasluck in 1908

Enez, Hagios Gregorios Neokaiserias, plan, redrawn

after Erzen

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 36

extra setback, this does not continue into the pilasters - this system of arcading was known in
Constantinople in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries. The eastern faade appears to have
been heavily reworked and is unarticulated, with traces of an arched (perhaps triple-arched)
window in the apse, where the photographs shows a single, tiny opening. The tall dome of Hag.
Gregorios is noteworthy; it billows at the crown, suggesting a pumpkin dome inside. The
octagonal drum is detailed with pilasters and half-columns at the corners. The attenuated form,
with the tall drum rising well above the springing of the dome proper, makes the dome more
comparable to those of early Palaiologan Thessaloniki, rather than to anything in the Byzantine
capital. Partially blocked windows appear in the facets on the cardinal axes, with niches in the
diagonal facet, although the niches may represent the blocking of windows in the drum. The
regularity of the wall construction and the details of the pilasters suggest that Hag. Gregorios
may be Middle Byzantine in date, while the dome must have been rebuilt in the Palaiologan
period.
Excavations at Enez partially uncovered the remains of the church of Hag. Gregorios in 1985. It
was published as the Area G Chapel; it is here identified as Hag. Gregorios for the first time.
The excavators cleared the interior of the church, but they did not expose the exterior of the
walls. From the details of the plan, it was clearly a small cross-in-square church. Column bases
are still visible toward the east wall, and the stylobates to either side may mark the position of
the templon. The corner compartments must have been quite small, with rectangular
terminations. A tiny, semicircular niche appears in the north wall of the prothesis. Rectangular
stone foundations (but not in situ column bases) mark the positions of the western two supports
for the dome. A tomb was set into the north aisle; this may have been a later insertion, as it does
not correspond with the spatial divisions of the building. Another tomb was set on axis, into the
floor of the narthex. Some abraded Post-Byzantine tombstones were also found at the site, their
original positions unclear. The excavators also noted evidence of several layers of fresco
decoration and architectural fragments found in the area of the apse.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 37

Enez, Hagios Gregorios Neokaiserias, view of

excavated site, seen from west (1987)

Enez, Hagios Gregorios Neokaiserias, opus sectile

pattern from floor (1987)

The church preserves elements of a marble floor with an impressive hexagonal inlay of opus
sectile in one large marble block of pavement, ca. 1.65 in length. The marble panel forms a solid
matrix for a curvilinear hexagon set within a circle, its segments filled with colorful opus sectile
of triangular, square, and circular tesserae. The panel appears to have been in second use in the
church, with additional cuttings at the corners and to one side. Curiously, the opus sectile was
not mentioned by any of the early visitors to the town, and it must have been covered at the times
of their visits.
As noted by the early visitors, the original building was expanded to the south and west, and the
archaeological evidence corresponds to that visible in Haslucks photograph. Lampakes recorded
an inscription on the lintel of a window (yperthyro), a dedication by Hadji-Thordores Nakases
of 1807, and this may be related to the expansion.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 38

Enez, Photograph by Lampakes 1902, showing view to

new district, looking northeast

Enez, Detail of photograph by Lampakes 1902,

showing Hagios Ioannes

Hag. Ioannes Prodromos. In Lampakes general view of the lower town (Kato Machala) of Enez,
Papazotos identified the small domed church as Ag. Ioannes, which had served as the metochion
of the monastery of Ag. Panteleimon. He was also able to associate this church with a ruined
building published by Prof. Eyice in 1969, who called it simply the Yenimahallede kilise - the
church in the new district. The church is clearly Byzantine, of the cross-in-square type, with a
tall dome above gabled cross arms, and arched setbacks within the cross arms. The form of
internal supports is not known; nor is the exterior form of the apses; Eyice indicated the interiors
as semicircular. There was a slight setback in the interior north wall at the cross arm, and a
rectangular niche in the prothesis.
Lampakes dated the church in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, but Papazotos favored a
twelfth-century date for Hag. Ioannes, because of the similarity of the recessed brick masonry
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 39

Enez, plan of Hagios Ioannes (after Eyice)

Enez, Hagios Ioannes, surviving wall (1987)

to that of the Fatih Camii. However, this suggestion was based on a misidentified photograph in
the publication of Eyice: the masonry in Eyices fig. 68 looks like that of the Fatih Camii because
it is the Fatih Camii, a part of the wall now destroyed, but recorded in 1979. This is quite unlike
the masonry visible in Eyices figs. 64-67, which is much cruder, and which certainly belongs to
Hag. Ioannes. To be sure, recessed brickwork was also employed in the construction of Hag.
Ioannes, but it is significantly different character than that of Fatih Camii, considerably less
even, of a type more common in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 40

Lampakes photograph does not allow a more detailed examination of the masonry, but it shows
the form of the dome, which has long since vanished. It has a billowing, pumpkin-like form on
the exterior, with scalloped eaves above a tall, octagonally faceted drum, with pilasters and halfcolumns at the corners - that is, very similar to the dome of Hag. Gregorios, and similar to those
of Palaiologan Thessaloniki. Tall, thin windows appear on the cardinal axes but not on the
diagonal facets - although it is unclear if perhaps there were windows in the diagonal facets that
were blocked prior to the time of the photograph. As Lampakes originally suggested, a date in
the thirteenth or fourteenth century seems most likely. Fragments of wall painting were once
visible on the interior, which probably date to a restoration of 1680. Lampakes recorded that he
could detect an older layer beneath these.
Panagia Phaneromene. Located outside the walls in the rocky slopes to the south of the Fatih
Camii are the remains of a rock-cut chapel, published by Eyice in 1969. It can be identified as
the Panagia Phaneromene, based on the description by Mystakides. The rock-cut chamber
measures 8.65 x 4.5m internally and is barrel-vaulted, with a single apse and a prothesis niche
in the northeast corner. To the south, the chapel was expanded with masonry construction
forming the south wall and extending
beyond it into a space not destroyed which
served as a sort of narthex. There is also a
door to the west and roughly cut passageway
to the north. The southern entrance opens
with a vault within which was a marble
plaque roughly inscribed: Epi ton ydaton
fone K[yrio]u. As it was recorded by Eyice,
it was decorated with crosses, interspersed
in the single line of text.
Enez, Rock-cut church of the Panagia Phaneromene
(after Eyice)

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 41

Enez, Yunus Bey Trbesi (Hagios Evplos)

Enez, Yunus Bey Trbesi, photograph by Lampakes,

1902

Yunus Bey Trbesi/Hag. Evplos. Situated in the lower city near the harbor, the small cross-domed
chapel was converted into an Ottoman tomb for the commander of the fleet under Mehmet II.
Lampakes and other Greek philologists, identified the trbe of Has Yunus Baba as formerly the
church of Ag. Evplos, a saint whose cult center in Ainos is noted in a fourteenth-century Life of
the saint from the Chalke Theological School library. Although Lampakes and Eyice both had
compared its form to the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, the small, roughly built
chapel must be considerably later in date, perhaps from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. The
chapel measures ca. 8 x 6.6 m overall, with barrel-vaulted crossarms and a central dome raised
on a tall, unarticulated drum. There is no indication of the liturgical arrangement of the interior,
other than the apse. The north cross arm has a single thin window on the upper level and a door
inserted at the lower level. The tomb of Yunus Baba lies opposite, in the south crossarm. The
original western door is blocked. The dome rises above a simple, cylindrical drum, open by four
thin windows on the cardinal axes.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:11 42

The reasons for associating the chapel with

Hag. Evplos are not clear. An inscription
recorded by Lampakes in the nineteenthcentury church of Hag. Blasios came from a
church of Hag. Nikolaos, built 1420/1 by
Augoustarikes Kanaboutzes. Because of its
harbor-side location - common for dedications
to St. Nicholas - and presumed late date, we
might also consider Hag. Nikolaos as a
possible original dedication for the Yunus Bey
Trbesi.

Enez, Yunus Bey Trbesi, plan (after Eyice)

Kral Kilisesi. Perhaps the most exciting Byzantine discovery of the University of Istanbuls
excavation was the so-called Kral Kz Mevkii Kilisesi (which we shorten here to the Kral
Kilisesi), located outside the citadel, near the lagoon to the southeast. Only incompletely
excavated in the 1980s, the preserved portions of the eastern end of the church are finely
constructed of brick and stone, with highly articulated corner piers in the nave and particularly
distinctive in the pastophoria, with multiple setbacks at the corners. There were both annexed
chapels flanking the eastern end of the building, and lateral aisles flanking the nave. The main
apse and the apses of the annexed chapels are slightly greater than semicircular on the interior
and three-sided on the exterior. The western portion of the building, still buried by the rising
slope, was never excavated.
Numerous small crosses were carved on the piers, suggesting that the church was the object of local
veneration. In addition, the excavators found an important hoard of 10 gold coins of the Komnenian

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period near one of the piers, as well as 86

silver coins. Within the area of the apse, the
excavators found a large marble fragment of
what was probably a closure panel from the
templon. Finely profiled, its upper surface has
cuttings for two inset metal crosses. Traces of
glass mosaic and fresco were also noted, and
the original building seems to have been
richly appointed.
As to the chronology, the excavators had
suggested a twelfth-century date based on
the coin findings, but the construction
technique of the Kral Kilisesi is distinctive,
considerably more careful than that of the
Fatih Camii, and the church must be
considerably older. The stone is more evenly
squared, the brick more evenly laid, without
the recessed courses. The construction
technique, combined with the unusual plan,
Enez, Kral Kilisesi, hypothetical plan (Ousterhout,
after excavation plan by Ersen)
would suggest an earlier date, perhaps in the
Transitional Period of the late sixth-to-ninth
centuries, and this is encouraged by a comparison with the masonry of buildings of the period,
such as Hag. Sophia in Thessaloniki. Moreover, there would appear to be at least two phases to
the construction of the Kral Kilisesi, with the parts of the enclosing wall of the naos much cruder,
and presumably later in date, than the eastern portions of the building. The state of the church
when excavated would suggest that it had been out of use for quite some time and was thus
unknown to scholars of the last century.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 44

Enez, Kral Kilisesi, remains of northeast nave pier

Enez, Kral Kilisesi, fragment of templon panel(?) with

cuttings for inset crosses

Some suggestions can be made for its reconstruction. The bases of two large masonry piers are
imbedded in the later rubble masonry between the south nave piers. This detail encourages a
reconstruction of the building as a domed basilica, similar in plan to the ninth-century church at
Vize. A domed, basilican plan for the Kral Kilisesi would also be similar to the domed church at
Amorion, which had been transformed from a standard basilica perhaps in the ninth century.
Within the nave of the Kral Kilisesi, a dome with a diameter of ca. 7.60 m may be positioned
between the large piers, with barrel vaults to the east and west.
Post-Byzantine churches. Lampakes listed a total of 26 churches in Enez. The other recorded
buildings would all appear to date from the Ottoman period.
Three monasteries in the hinterland of Enez are regularly mentioned during the Ottoman period.
The nearby monastery of the Theotokos tes Skalotes (or Skaloti) was probably the most
important. It preserved a tradition of a Komnenian foundation. An inscribed cross, once recorded
at the monastery and now in London, gives the names of Manuel I and Patriarch Michael III.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 45

Enez environs, Skaloti Monastery from west, photograph by Lampakes 1902

Enez environs, Skaloti Monastery, courtyard looking

south, photograph by Lampakes 1902

Enez environs, Skaloti Monastery, reconstructed plan by tken and Ousterhout

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 46

Because of the Komnenian tradition, Petit once suggested that Skaloti might be identified with
the Kosmosotiera monastery, and this suggestion is occasionally repeated in print. But the
photographs of Lampakes and the identification of the site by tken and Ousterhout put this
suggestion to rest. The site lies above the village of Amigdalia/Cavusky, where the rock-cut
features are still preserved and traces of the walls can be ascertained. The apse of the main
church was cut into the rock, and chambers to its south were cut in a step-like manner. The
monastic enclosure appears fortress-like in Lampakes photograph, with a machicolation above
the entrance and traces of a lower, outer enclosure. In the views of the interior, the buildings
forms appear rather simple; the church was single-aisled and unvaulted. Nothing photographed
or evident on site gives the slightest suggestion of a Byzantine date, and we suspect the
foundation is entirely from the Ottoman period. Lampakes recorded a date of 1632 on the
entrance faade of the monastery, and this may be the date of its construction.
The sites of the Post-Byzantine monasteries of Hag. Panteleimon, and Hag. Athanasios may also
be identified, although virtually nothing is preserved at the sites.

46

009 OS 086.qxd 29-03-07 07:47 47

Bibliography
Asdracha, Catherine. La rgion des Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe sicles (Athens, 1976), 120-24
____________. Inscriptions byzantines de la Thrace orientale et de lile dImbros (XIIe-XVe sicles).
Prsentation et commentaire historique, Archaiologikon Deltion 43/ A (1988), 219-291; 4446 part A (1989-91), 239-334
Basaran, Sait. Enez (Ainos) 1995 Yl Kaz ve Onarm Calismalar, Kaz Sonular Toplants 18 (1996),
489-514; and subsequent reports; NB: 26 (2004), II, 115-28
Erzen, Afif. Enez (Ainos) 1972 Kazlar, Gney-Dogu Avrupa Arastrmalar Dergisi 10-11 (1981-82),
348-51
___________. Enez Kazs Calsmalar, Kaz Sonular Toplants 5 (Ankara, 1983), 297-300; 6 (1984),
213-34; 7 (1985), 603-618; 8 (1986), II, 273-91; 9 (1987), II:279-98; 14 (1992), II, 205-21;
15 (1993), 455-94
Eyice, Semavi. Trakyada Bizans Devrine ait Eserler, Trk Tarih Kurumu Belleten 33 (1969), 325-58.
____________. Les monuments byzantins de la Thrace turque, Corsi di cultura sullarte ravennate 18
(1971), 293-308
Hasluck, F.W. Monuments of the Gattelusi, Annual of the British School at Athens15 (1908-09), 248-57
Lampakes, G. Periegeseis, Deltion tes Christianikes Archaiologikes Etaireias 8 (1908), 3-41
Lampousiades, G. Hodoiporikon, Thrakika 15 (1941), 99-134
Mystakides, B.A. Enia-Ainia, Thrakika 2 (1929), 47-62; 3 (1932), 44-54
Ousterhout, Robert. The Byzantine Church at Enez: Problems in Twelfth-Century Architecture,
Jahrbuch der sterriechischen Byzantinistik 35 (1985), 261-80
tken, Yldz, and Robert Ousterhout. Notes on the Monuments of Turkish Thrace, Anatolian Studies
39 (1989), 121-49
Papazotos, Thanasis. Schediasma peri ton mnemeion tes Ainou eos tis arches tou parontos aionos,
Thrakike Epeteris 9 (1992-94), 89-125
Samothrakes, A. He Ainos kai hai ekklesiai tes, Thrakika 19 (1944), 11-38
Soustal, Peter. Thrakien (Thrake-, Rodope- und Haimimontos), Tabula Imperii Byzantini 6 (Vienna, 1991),
170-72

47

009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 48

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, seen from the southwest (2005)

48

009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 17:19 49

CHAPTER 3

Vera (Pherai) and its Monuments

Situated in the middle of the town of Pherai (Greece), known in Ottoman times as Ferecik, on a
hill overlooking the valley of lower Evros River some 4 km away, is a large and impressive
Byzantine church set within the remains of a fortified enclosure. The site was first identified by
Th. Uspensky as the Byzantine Vera, where in 1152 the Sebastokrator (crown prince) Isaakios
Komnenos founded the monastery of the Panagia Kosmosoteira, with the unusual dedication to
the Virgin as the savior of the universe. Isakios describes the site thus:
And so I think that the charms of the monastery and the site will draw many men to
them. There is the spot itself - even if previously it was the dwelling of snakes and
scorpions - the river Ainos, the sea with its surf and its calms, the pasturage and grazing
land of evergreen meadows to nourish horses and cattle. There is the site on the crest
of the hill, with its easy access. There is the fine temperance of the currents of air and
the power of strong breezes with the everlasting reeds rustling in tune with them about
the mouth of the river. There is the immense plain, and the panoramic view, especially
in summertime, of corn in flower and in ear, which impresses great gladness on those
who gaze there. There is the grove of lovely saplings growing so near the monastery,
and bunches of grapes are entwined among them. As a joy to the throats of the thirsty,
water gushes forth wonderfully beautiful and cold. [Typikon, 74]

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 50

Pherai, view from the south, 1906 (Uspensky)

The monasterys abbot had the privilege to own a vessel in the river for fishing and transferring
monks to Ainos on the opposite bank, only 20 km to the south. Alluvial deposits have altered the
morphology of the rivers estuaries, but the port of Vera, mentioned by John VI Kantakuzenos
and later by Pierre Belon (1550), was probably not on the sea but on the river, at the spot where
the rivers width necessitated the transfer of travelers from its one bank to the opposite.
History. Much of our information about the Kosmosoteira comes from the monastic charter, or
typikon, drawn up by Isaakios in 1152. Following the example of his mother Eirene Doukaina,
who founded the Monastery of Kecharitomene and drew its charter, and his brother John, who
founded the Monastery of Pantokrator and drew its charter, Isaakios prepared his own typikon
50

009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 51

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira seen from northeast (mid-1920s)

for the Kosmosoteira. First introduced by M. Gedeon, who published some fragments of the text
in 1898, the typikon was published in full by Louis Petit ten years later. There are such close
similarities to the older charter of the Monastery of the Panagia Evergetis in Constantinople that
the parts that deal with the diet and the conduct of the monks are identical. This imitation is a
sort of Byzantine creativity, in which Isaakios took pride:
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 17:19 52

Among those wise men who restored holy monasteries and assigned monks to them to
sing praise to God, there were many who preferred the Typikon of the Evergetis to the
[typika] used in other monasteries. I, too, following their [example], prefer this one,
and I wish the monks to join in using it for all instructions ... [8]
The typikon of the Kosmosoteira nevertheless contains plenty of unique information concerning
the site and the region, as well as Isaakios personal opinions on administrative and economic
matters. Petit describes the authors style as fiery, subtle, and decked with Homeric expressions.
In 1994, Georgios Papazoglou published a critical edition of the typikon, accompanied by a
translation in Modern Greek and extensive annotations. An English translation by Robert Jordan
appeared in 2000, with notes by John P. Thomas.
As the typikon relates, Isaakios had his tomb moved from its original location at the Chora
monastery in Constantinople to his new foundation at Vera. He seems to have died shortly after
writing the charter in 1152, and the more personal sections of the document read like a last will
and testament. In 1183/4, Isaakios son Andronikos I stopped at Vera to visit his fathers grave
while hunting in the vicinity of the monastery. In subsequent decades, the monastery figured in
the struggles between the Latins, Bulgarians, and Byzantines for control of the region; it is often
mentioned in relationship to its river crossing. The area was plundered by the Turks in 1329/30,
as the region became a focus of the civil wars. In 1343, John VI Kantakuzenos camped his troops
near Vera, by which time the monastery was fortified. John III Vatatzes subsequently took
possession of it. In the severe winter of 1342/43, Umur Pasa anchored his fleet at the mouth of
the river, and 300 of his soldiers froze to death. John V Palaiologos took control of the fortress
in 1355, by which time the monastery was no longer functioning, and he found the enclosure was
inhabited by peasants. Vera probably fell to the Turks under Lala Sahin and Evrenos, first in 1371
and again in 1373. In 1433, Bertrandon de la Broquire noted that Vera was an important town,
with a mixed population of Greeks and Turks, its fortress partially destroyed, and its church
converted into a mosque.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 53

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, view from the southeast (S. Mavromates)

Architecture. The church is a variation of the five-domed, cross-in-square type. Its plan, as
survives today, is almost square, measuring approximately 15 x 20 m, subdivided internally into
nine bays. Irregularities in the layout may be attributed to the sloping site, which required deeper
foundations along the south side. To the east, three faceted apses project further eastward. The
central apse is five-sided, with a large three-light window, now partially blocked. To either side,
the apses of the pastophoria were originally four-sided, with two-light windows.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 54

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, plan drawn by P. Xydas

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, longitudinal section,

looking north drawn by P. Xydas

54

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, south faade elevation

drawn by P. Xydas

009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 55

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, interior looking east (S.

Mavromates)

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, interior looking west,

thin coupled columns separate the corner bays from
the naos (S. Mavromates)

The spacious interior has a tripartite sanctuary to the east, with the bema separated from the
prothesis and diakonikon by thick walls pierced by arched openings. On the west side, the corner
bays are separated from the naos by thin coupled columns. The column pairs are set parallel to
the main axis of the church, and combined with the elongation of the western bays, suggests the
axiality of a three-aisled basilica, while in its elevation, an inscribed cross is expressed in the
vaulting, with three arms of equal length (north, south and east), while the western arm is
attenuated.
The walls of the church up to the height of the cornice are built in local stone alternating with
courses of brick. These are built in the recessed brick technique, in which alternating courses of
brick are concealed behind what appear to be exceptionally broad bands of mortar. The masonry
is reinforced with internal wooden chains.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 56

The vaulting begins above the level of the

cornice, some 5 m above floor level. Wide
barrel vaults cover the four arms of the
cross, while small domes, raised on eightsided drums, cover the corner compartments, and conches cover the apses of the
sanctuary. All the vaulting is built in the
recessed brick technique. The main dome
rises above a dodecagonal drum pierced by
windows, about 7 m in diameter and rising
to a height of 11 m. All of the domes are
pumpkin domes, scalloped on the interior
surfaces, and compare to contemporary
examples in Constantinople.
Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, axonometric plan
drawn by M. Korres

The main static problem that had to be addressed at the Kosmosoteira was the outward thrusts
caused by the weight of the main dome, which rises on pendentives above the high barrel vaults.
In the interior, the dome rests above heavy masonry piers to the east, and thin coupled columns
to the west. The difference in stability between the eastern and western points of support is
obvious. To compensate for this difference and to increase the stability of the columns, iron tie
rods were inserted, extending from above the column capitals to the outer walls. The use of metal
in a structural capacity is unusual in Byzantine architecture, but it provided a stronger and more
permanent solution than wooden tie beams, although elsewhere in the church, wooden bracing
was used. At the cornice level, four wooden tie beams stabilized the barrel vaults at their
springing.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 57

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, west faade elevation drawn by P. Xydas

The outward thrusts exerted onto the walls the church may have also been countered by an
ambulatory that enveloped the building along its north, west, and south sides. The ambulatory
may have been of light construction, for its only remaining indications are the brackets on the
north and south faades. However, the western part of the ambulatory has left its marks in the
west faade and may have been vaulted; this portion may have constituted the exonarthex,
mentioned in the typikon, where special burials were to be located.

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 58

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, view from the northwest

(S. Mavromates)

All walls of the church are pierced with openings. The main entrance appears in the west faade.
Probably there were secondary entrances to either side, opening into the western domed bays,
but these were subsequently blocked. The present north entrance to the nave is not original. It
and the blocked doorway in the south faade belong to the Ottoman period when the church
served as mosque, from the end of fourteenth century until the early twentieth century. The west
window in the southwest corner dates from this period as well.
The number, size and placement of the windows results in the sense of great height within the
church and the abundant natural light pervades its interior during the daytime.
The lunettes of the west, north, and south cross arm contain large, distinctive tripartite windows.
The middle light of each is topped by a semicircular arch, while the two lights culminate in halfarches so that as a unit, the windows appear to be framed by the curvature of the barrel vaults.
Along the north and south facades, the triple windows are augmented by three additional arched
windows, which are set below the cornice and aligned with the three lights above, enhancing the
height of tall triple window.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 59

Set within the half-cylinder of main apse is a tall triple window, its lights separated by marble
mullions, while the apses of the prothesis and diakonikon originally had smaller, two-light
windows with one mullion each. In each apse window, the mullions are placed at the corners of
the external facets, as was the practice in Constantinople. All are now partially blocked. Arched
windows are found both in the north and south walls of the western corner compartments. They
enhance the natural light of these spaces.

The domes are raised on windowed drums.

The main dome has twelve tall arched
windows, one in each facet. The four smaller
domes have simple arched windows only on
their external facets but not in the sides
towards the base of the main dome, where
they abut the rising walls of the cross arms.
At the sill of the south window of the
southeastern corner dome, part of the
original window has been preserved, made
of cast mortar with pieces of yellowish glass
panes set into alternating circular openings,
with the triangular openings in the corners.

Pherai, Panagia Kosmososteira, northeast corner

dome, detail of construction in recessed brick
technique

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:12 60

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, original window preserved in the southeast corner dome

The faades of the building remain relatively plain below the level of the lunette windows. The
walls are constructed of alternating bands of stone and brick, the latter built in the recessed brick
technique where the mortar beds measure three times that of the brick thicknesses, following the
standard Constantinopolitan technique of the day, as in the south church of the Pantokrator
Monastery (1118-1124), and in the church now known as the Fatih Camii nearby at Enez
(Ainos). The arches of the windows have been built using the same technique. Several areas have
been repaired in rough rubble masonry, most notably on the east and west faades.
The lunettes of the crossarms are framed by two concentric arches. The surface of the lunette is
steps back from the arches, while the windows add a fourth setback. The great size of the
windows combines with the consecutive setbacks of their arches to offer considerable variety to
the upper faades of the church.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 61

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, southeast corner dome

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, detail of brick letters on

a pilaster of the main dome

The facets of the dodecagonal drum of the main dome are accentuated with pilasters and setbacks
around the windows. Probably the dome originally had a scalloped cornice, following the arches
of the windows, but the drum was raised in the Ottoman period and its cornice leveled, now
formed by a double band of dogtooth in brick. Six of the pilasters facing east and south bear
ornamental brick letters, although their meaning is not clear. The lesser domes have similarly
faceted drums, with half-columns at the angles and setbacks around the windows. Moreover, the
drums were also raised and now terminate in horizontal courses of dogtooth. There is a greater
plasticity in the main dome, while the minor domes blend with the faades.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 62

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, detail of masonry at the

southeast corner

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, detail of brick

decoration of an eagle (S. Mavromates)

In addition to the curious letters on the dome drum, several areas of ornamental brickwork
enliven the exterior of the building. Between the middle and the eastern lower window of the
south faade, there is a stepped fret pattern in brick. The shallow niches on the upper level of
apses have either flat or concave fields that include brick patterning. On the main apse, one
surviving niche has a W-shaped chevron pattern in the lunette; the other a reticulate pattern. A
similar W-shave chevron appears in a niche of the diakonikon apse, while the southeast corner
niche is filled with the unusual image of an eagle. The plasticity of the apses and the ornamental
brickwork is similar in the twelfth-century phase of the Chora monastery (Kariye Camii) in
Constantinople, probably also built by Isaakios Komnenos.
Repairs and transformations occurred during the Ottoman period when the building was
converted to a mosque and the orientation was shifted so that the south wall became the qibla.
The building suffered from numerous structural problems. Most critically, the great thrust of the
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 63

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, interior looking

southwest, 1906 (Uspensky)

main dome resulted in the vertical deviation of the western supports. Consequently, the barrel
vaults on which the base of dome rests have sunk up to 0.50-0.70 m, a process exacerbated by
the aging of the masonry and the deterioration of the wooden reinforcement in the base of the
dome. This may have motivated raising the eight-sided base by ca. 0.50 m. Additional
interventions in the roof probably were intended to address the same problem, notably with
changes to the roofline and the added bracing at the springing of the large arches. It is unclear
what motivated the refacing of much of the eastern faade. On the interior, half of the arch that
connects the south pair of columns to the southern wall was reconstructed as well. Damage may
have been the result of an unrecorded calamity, such as an earthquake.
In recent years, during the 1920s the Service for the Restoration of Monuments under the
direction of A. Orlandos intervened to stabilize the building. They constructed the four large
buttresses on the south and north sides of the church in order to prevent the further outward
rotation of the lateral faades. A metal ring was inserted in the base of the dome, and the southern
pair of columns were given additional bracing. During the years 1973-1998, the 12th Ephoreia
of Byzantine Antiquities committed a series interventions in order to strengthen the monuments
solidity: the lead cladding of the domes and arches was replaced, the masonry was repointed;
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 64

additional reinforcing rods were added to the

southern columns; and the columns were
provided with steel braces. A system to
monitor vertical movement was installed at
that time.
Built by a member of the imperial family
who had patronized the arts through his
career, the Kosmosoteira fits squarely within
our picture of Constantinopolitan church
architecture. The scale, great volumes, the
rhythmical repetition and variation of
architectural shapes and forms, and the
austere ornamentation all correspond to the
characteristic style of the Komnenian era, as
evident in the twelfth century at the Chora
(Kariye Camii) and the Pantokrator (Zeyrek
Camii).
Although the Kosmosoteira is sometimes
considered as a combination of the fivePherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, southwest corner bay.
domed cross-in-square type with the twoAdditional reinforcing rods are added to the columns;
column cross-in-square church, the latter
the columns are provided with steel braces (S.
Mavromates)
type is unknown in Thrace and rarely
applied on such a large scale. On the other
hand, the five-domed cross-in-square is a type of church that comes certainly from
Constantinople, perhaps originating at the Nea church in the Great Palace (881), and also seen
at the north church of Constantine Lips (907). The Constantinopolitan prototype probably

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 65

influenced the elaborated design of Sv.

Sophia in Kiev (1037-1046) and the simpler
plan of Sv. Panteleimon at Nerezi (1164).

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, paired columns in the

northwest corner of the naos (S. Mavromates)

The coupled columns of the western

supports, however, find no parallels in the
capital. It may be that the unusual solution
developed in response to the available
materials. The columns are too thin to have
supported the central dome in standard fourcolumned cross-in-square church of this
scale. The need to structurally stabilize the
great dome may account for the presence of
the two eastern piers and the coupling of the
columns to the west. A second consideration
is the mortuary character of the church.
Opening the western bays allowed founders
tomb to be visible from the naos and allow
the tomb closer proximity to the liturgy,
while still indicating that this was a separate
functional area. A final possibility is that the
coupled columns reflect a Western influence
- the fashion in the culture of the Komnenian
court. Coupled columns also appear in
Crusader architecture at the same time.

Wall paintings. The church was fully covered with paintings of which some survive in fragments.
After their recent cleaning a new discussion of the iconographic program and the style is

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 66

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, interior looking north

(1990)

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, interior looking south

(1990)

possible. In many ways, the paintings fit squarely within the developing picture of Byzantine
painting of the twelfth century, while including several unique features in their iconography and
arrangement.
In the central dome it is unclear whether any of the mural paintings are preserved beneath the

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 67

Turkish plaster. In the upper zone of the

north and south walls of the cross arms,
busts of two hierarchs are depicted in each.
Beneath them, between the tall lights of the
triple window, we find two full-length
figures of prophets holding scrolls. Below,
between the three arched windows, we have
busts of military saints. In the lower zone of
the wall paintings, processions of
concelebrant hierarchs face toward the
sanctuary. Above the pairs of columns in the
eastern faces of the walls have a two-part
composition of the Annunciation, with the
Angel to the north and Virgin to the south.
On the north face of the wall above the
southern pair of columns, the Presentation in
the Temple is depicted. On the eastern
intrados of the southern barrel vault is the
Nativity of Christ.
In the inner arch of the southeast bay is the
Pentecost. A bust of Christ originally
appeared in the crown of the southwest
dome above. In the inner arch of the northwest bay, the scene of the Holy Women at the Tomb
is represented. In the northwest minor dome, the Virgin Mary appears orans in medallion, with
standing figures (perhaps prophets) in the drum. In the prothesis, the Communion of the Apostles
appears on the south wall, while in the dome an Archangel appears in medallion, and unidentified
figures appear in the conch of the apse. In the diakonikon dome, another Archangel appears in

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, Angel of the

Annunciation

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 68

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, Presentation in the

Temple

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, six-winged angel

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, hierarch

medallion, surrounded by standing figures in the drum, with a six-winged angel in the southeast
pendentive, and St. Romulus on the eastern wall. On the vertical walls and in the barrel vault are
hierarchs. Several other fragmentary and isolated scenes now barely visible can be found
throughout the church. The lowest zone of the walls was painted to imitate a marble dado.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:13 69

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, St Gregory of the

Decalogue and St Sylvester

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, St Romulus and Saint

Vincent

The hierarchs (holy bishops) in the diakonikon are identified by the accompanying inscriptions:
St. Gregory of the Decalogue, Roman pope (d. 604), and St. Sylvester, Roman pope (c. 314-355),
in the northern wall; St. Vincent, bishop of Capua (4th c.) in the southern wall, and St. Romulus,
student of Apostle Paul, bishop of Fiesole in the eastern wall; and St. Onesiphorus, bishop of
Colophon, in the smaller domes drum. They are therefore mainly hierarchs of the Roman
Patriarchate. Onesiphorus, bishop of Colophon in Ionia is related to Rome through the Apostle
Paul. Hierarchs of the Roman Patriarchate are depicted assembled in Saint Sophia in Ohrid
(1040-1045), where they are joined with hierarchs of all other four patriarchates: Constantinople,
Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and thus this grouping in the diakonikon may have been
part of a larger program.
In the lower zone of paintings along the north and south walls of the cross arms, processions of
full-length hierarchs are partially preserved, six on each side, turned to face the sanctuary. They
hold scrolls and appear as concelebrants, participating in the liturgy. As such, they are unique in
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Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, celebrating hierarch

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, Communion of the

Apostles

their placement; normally concelebrating bishops are depicted in the bema, as for example at the
church of the Virgin in Veljusa (ca. 1080). Moreover, when hierarchs are represented outside the
sanctuary area, they are normally depicted frontally, in full length.
We do not know the iconographical program of the bema. The scene of the Communion of the
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Apostles was sometimes represented in the main apse, but at the Kosmosoteira the scene has
been shifted into the prothesis, the space where the Eucharist was prepared. Similarly, the scene
of the Annunciation was usually represented on the wall surfaces flanking the arch leading into
the bema, but here it has been transferred to the opposite arch beneath the main dome, so that the
scene faces toward to the sanctuary.
Set prominently on the north and south walls of the cross arms, between the small arched
windows, are haloed male figures in bust-length with military attire, two on each side. Although

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, military saint (with

features of Andronikos Komnenos?)

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, military saint (with

features of Alexios I Komnenos?)

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009 OS 086.qxd 29-03-07 07:47 72

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, military saint (with

features of John II Komnenos?)

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, military saint (with

features of Isaakios Komnenos?)

normally identified as military saints, they wear crowns and appear without inscriptions and with
unusual facial features. In fact, their features resemble those of the members of the founders
family, specifically Andronikos (? Isaakios brother) and Alexios I Komnenos (Isaakios father)
on the north side; John II (Isaakios brother) and Isaakios Komnenos himself on the south side.
While not exactly portraits in the modern sense, the unusual depictions may have been
intended to pay tribute to the military valor associated with the Komnenos family. Their faces
are infused with an inwardness and tension, but without bright linear highlights and intense
movements common in the painting of the second half of the twelfth century.
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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:14 73

As for the dating of the wall paintings, it is generally accepted that they are not far removed from
the year 1152, when the monasterys typikon was written, although the document makes no
mention of the wall paintings. The charter notes only a mosaic of the Koimesis, possibly a
portable icon, which was to appear on the west wall, above the entrance. Stylistically, in the wall
paintings of the Kosmosoteira, the linearity that characterizes the figural art of the eleventh
century has been replaced by the solidity of fully modeled figures. The scale and restraint confer
rigor, grandeur, and a classical sense of calmness to the whole. For example, the folds of the
angels garment in the Annunciation are not turned into decorative flourishes, as occurs in later
Komnenian art, as at the church of Saint George in Kurbinovo (1191), while the plasticity of the
body suggests graceful movement in space. Due to these characteristics, the wall paintings of the
Kosmosoteira could be called conservative. Because of this, Djuric and Mouriki have attempted
to date them around the year 1200 or at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Nevertheless,
compared to the wall paintings of the chapel of the Virgin in the Monastery of St John the
Theologian on Patmos (late twelfth-early thirteenth century), where the lights and shadows in the
fleshy faces are more intense and result in an otherworldliness, the paintings of the Kosmosoteira
appear much closer to the human condition. Their grand rigor and classical calm may be related
to the princely background of the founder and to the contemporary court culture of
Constantinople.

Architectural sculpture. Although Isaakios

prided himself on the gleaming marbles and
gold of the interior decoration of the church,
today its adornment seems to be rather
austere. The coupled columns of the naos are
nevertheless noteworthy. The four shafts are

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, capitals in the

northwest corner (S. Mavromates)

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of white polished marble, set on stepped bases. Both the shafts and the bases are spolia, which
the founder acquired, but not without difficulties, as he explained in the typikon. The four
capitals with their abaci are also spolia, but they were worked anew in the present setting,
probably because they did not have the right ornaments. In their original form, the capitals have
their surfaces covered with alternating lotus and spiky acanthus leaves. The beveled surfaces of
the abaci are covered with frieze of spiky acanthus leaves.
Both capitals and abaci subsequently were covered with plaster and recarved, with surfaces
ornamented with wreathes in high relief, framed by leafy branches, with floral rinceaux in the

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, capitals in the southwest corner, late 19th century (Uspensky)

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abaci. The plaster covering survived in poor condition only on the south capitals but were
partially removed during recent conservation. It was noted that the plaster corresponded with that
of the wall above, where the scene of the Presentation in the Temple is located, indicating that
plaster coverings of the capitals date are from the Byzantine period and must be the same date
as the wall paintings. Most likely, the capitals were resurfaced to cover imperfections in the
reused capitals or to enhance their volume to better fit with the massive wall above.
Similar plaster coverings were applied to the marble cornice that extends around the interior of
the church at the springing of the vaults, and to the dome cornices. These have not been
preserved, but the dimensions of the plaster cornices must have been sizeable, if we judge by the
empty bands that extend into wall paintings below and above the cornice. The thin marble
cornice must have served as an anchor for the fixing of the plaster cornice to the wall. The size
of the plaster cornice and its detailing must have been similar to that of the capitals.
The marble chancel screen of the bema is also part of the architectural sculpture. Fragments of
the epistyle 0.19 m in height carry in their front decoration consisting of a frieze of three-leaved
acanthus above a torus molding, with decorative bosses. Other fragments of the epistyle are
0.15m in height and carry simpler decoration, a frieze of alternating lotus and acanthus; they
come from the epistyles of the prothesis and the diakonikon. These are now incorporated into the
modern chancel screen of the church which imitates screen a Byzantine style. The lintel above
the main entrance is decorated with a similar spiky acanthus frieze. The door frame itself is
reused and probably not in its original position.
The founders tomb. The monastery typikon ( 89 and 90) provides much information about the
tomb Isaakios had prepared for himself at the Kosmosoteira:
It was once my intention to have my humble remains interred in the monastery of
Chora, and I set up a tomb there [to contain] them, in accordance with the wishes I
expressed to the Chora monks. But now that I have renewed, with Gods help, this holy
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monastery of my ever pure Mother of God, the Kosmosoteira, another thought has
come to mind, namely, to have my remains interred in this one. Indeed, I have begun
to [take measures] towards this [end], which I [lay down as] injunctions in the present
typikon of mine. Already, I have indicated in other requests and agreements with the
Chora [monks] that the slabs of the coffin [that was to contain] my remains should be
taken up, and placed here in order to receive my remains-that the [slabs] be taken up,
plus whatever I myself joined to the tomb, just as the content of the letter addressed to
me by the superior of the monastery of Chora indicates. This very [letter] has been
deposited in the sacristy of this holy monastery of my Kosmosoteira the Mother of
God. It is my duty to carry out this plan, just as I wish [to do], with Gods help, if I
have time yet to live. But if I pass away, it is the duty of the superior, along with the
others, to fulfill this plan of mine and have the marbles of my tomb taken up from the
monastery of Chora and to transport them to this newly established monastery (just the
way I transported the marbles for the church), and to set up this tomb on the left side
of the narthex, there where I made an extension to the building on account of the tomb.
In the center of the lid of my tomb, I wish my enkolpion [of] the Mother of God to be
fastened in a prone position in [a setting of] silverwork; [this] has been readied and
handed over, and I have just now deposited it in the sacristy. The important [elements]
of my tomb at Chora (along with the marbles of the tomb), are the following: a cast
bronze railing, and the portraits of my revered holy parents the emperors, and the stand
for my mosaic [icon of the] Mother of God. As for the portrait of myself, made in my
youth, in the vanity of boyhood, I do not wish for it to be removed from Chora, but to
stay where I set it up. For my wretched body, which worms will tear apart, will not
need to be honored with a likeness, after its dissolution. If by chance [the monks of
Chora], with a greedy hand or out of willfulness with regard to my orders, balk and do
not hand over the things of which I spoke, the superior of my Kosmosoteira the Mother
of God, accompanied by some of the monks, must approach the holy emperor and file
charges regarding this unjust business. He-for I know well the goodness of his

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conscience and his character-will not deem me unworthy of such a just appeal, but, for
the sake of God, will return with [his] imperial hand the things that are being requested,
that have been deposited in Chora for safekeeping.
But since the degradation of an unfortunate life has nursed me from infancy, and, in the
course and flow of this life of ill-luck, [I have] been separated from my sweet
fatherland for most of the years of my existence, a stranger to my kinsmens renown
and [since] of course I did not heedlessly choose the tomb here [to house] my remains,
having run through in my mind and reckoned up all the things in life that together
turned out badly for me, as I lie on a bed in a dark corner, alas grievously ill, by Gods
will, and already falling into Lethe, and of the memory . . . . .instead of any other kind
of adornment of fantastic glory for my tomb, [I want] the icon from Rhaidestos of the
Mother of God as the Kosmosoteira, [which was] sent down to me from heaven, and
which I framed with an ornament of gold and silver. [I want it] to be placed at one end
of my tomb in its projected form. It should remain resting in that spot throughout all
time, preserved without change, to mediate for my wretched soul. Furthermore, I wish
[the icon of] Christ, which is the same size, to rest alongside it, the placement of these
icons being appropriate for them, and pleasing as well, and the illumination suitable.
Indeed if he fails to carry out this wish of mine, the superior and the rest of the monks
will be judged along with me on the Day of Judgment. After my tomb is set up I need
no other great expenses for it, as I will be insensible to the sight of the sensible and
visual [world]. At any rate, I wish the tomb to be divided from the entire narthex by the
bronze railing that I mentioned earlier, but access to the tomb [should be] through [this
railing].
From the text we learn the following: Isaakios earlier had founded his tomb at the Chora
monastery in Constantinople. The tombs founding may be dated between his two exiles in 1136
and 1143. After his permanent removal from Constantinople and the founding of the

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Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, Holy Women at the

Tomb of Christ

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, plan with hypothetical

arrangement of the founders tomb

Kosmosoteira monastery, Isaakios decided to be interred in the katholikon of this monastery on

the left side of the narthex, there where I made an extension to the building on account of the
tomb. Locating the exact placing of the tomb depends on the meaning attested by Isaakios to
the two architectural terms of narthex and extension (parekvole). The term narthex might
indicate the now-destroyed vestibule to the west of the church. However, Isaakios also mentions
an exonarthex, where the tombs of his secretary Michael and his servant Leon Kastamonites
were to be buried in marble sarcophagi set in frescoed arcosolia ( 107). The lost western
vestibule was more likely the exonarthex, and to the east of this, in the west part of the main
church, was the narthex.
Nancy Sevcenko proposed that extension (parekvole) means a sort of structure, a small funerary
room attached in the north wall of the katholikon. She wondered whether the wall of an
additional structure that seems to be protruding from the north wall of the Kosmosoteira in an
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old picture is the extension. In contrast,

Robert Ousterhout has suggested that the
narthex is the elongated western part of the
church - that the extension is the northwest
corner compartment, which was separated
with a bronze railing from the rest of the
naos. Isaakios specifies that no other burials
were to be inside the church and its
narthex, and the major icon of the church
Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, northwest dome with
was to be at his tomb and not in the naos
the Theotokos in roundel (S. Mavromates)
proper. The dome above this bay contains an
image of the Virgin, whom Isaakios
implores fervently for the salvation of his soul, and the arch contains a scene of the Holy Women
at the Tomb, a common funerary theme. In the latter, the Angel seated on Christs tomb, points
downward toward the proposed location of the founders tomb.
The form of Isaakioss tomb is not known. Since marbles are being mentioned we can assume
that it was a sarcophagus made up of four marble slabs with a lid on which there was a special
place for the founders enkolpion of the Virgin. From the area around the Kosmosoteira, Ch.
Bakirtzis has collected pieces of carved marble that were originally mounted on a wall and may
come from the founders tomb.
Several articles were to be brought from the founders tomb at the Chora monastery: (a) a bronze
railing; (b) paintings of his parents, the imperial couple Alexios I Komnenos and Eirene
Doukaina; and (c) an icon stand with the mosaic icon of the Virgin Kosmosoteira, which the
founder acquired in Radestos, and an icon of Christ. The position of the icons suggests that the
visible part of the tomb monument was freestanding under the corner dome.
At the same time, Isaakios specifies that his own portrait from the Chora monastery, done in my
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youth in the vanity of boyhood, was to remain at the Chora. Elsewhere in the charter he asked
that his portrait should not be depicted anywhere inside the monastery (77). The strictness of
the order suggests either great humility on the part of Isaakios, or that such orders as this were
not obeyed. Nevertheless, Isaakios adds the following as an expression of the utmost humility:
For my wretched body, which worms will tear apart, will not need to be honored with a likeness
after its dissolution (89).
Th. Uspensky noted the existence of a funerary inscription, which he saw in the middle of the
church, and he rightly supposed that it came from another part of the building. It is a reused
marble slab with dimensions 0.95 X 0.97 m, its upper part missing. It bears seven lines of
couplets, the uppermost incomplete. It is not know whether it bore more.
... embittering feeling and the heart. But thou who dispenseth the blessings in this
world and withdraweth them again according to thy will, preserve him as an ear of
corn, as a pearl, as sweet honey in your storehouses. Plant your worshiper, the despotes
as a flourishing tree in the valley of bliss.

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, inscription from the tomb

of Isaakios Komnenos (?). Now in the Ecclesiastical
Museum of Alexandroupolis

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The writing is elegant in capital letters with correct orthography and punctuation. The carving is
shallow, with capital letters terminating in drill holes. Each line ends with a decorative scroll.
The form of the letters can be securely dated to the twelfth century. The despotes (lord, or
master) who is the object of the inscription may be Isaakios himself, and it is possible that the
slab formed the lid covering his tomb. It should be noted that Isaakios refers himself indirectly
as despotes in the typikon (107).
Of course there were other graves as well, either inside or outside of the church, of notables and
plain people. In addition to the information about burials provided in the typikon, an underground
chamber, perhaps a tomb, was found beneath the floor of the diakonikon. In addition, the French
traveler Robert de Dreux, who visited in 1669, wrote, We stayed at Vera/Feredjik and we had
the chance to visit the mosque that is very beautiful. The imam who is the minister of the
mosque, showed us many graves with inscriptions, which led me to the conclusion that the
mosque was once a church.
Other monuments. In the typikon, Isaakios
mentions the outer and inner walls of the
monastery, gates, towers, and other
buildings inside and outside the enclosure:
cells of the monks, the refectory, baths,
storerooms, a treasury, a library, cisterns, a
dwelling for his secretary Michael, a hospice
for the elderly, a hostel for visitors, a
residence for the founder, stables, mills,
chapels, and oratories. In addition to the

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, proposed plan of

fortifications (Orlandos)

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:15 82

82

009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:15 83

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, fortification tower to

southeast of the church

Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, fortification tower to

southwest of church

buildings of the monastery, he mentions villages and rural settlements of the area, and two
bridges that connected the monastery to its estates, as well as to the main road (Egnatia).
Today sections of the fortification wall and towers survive. They are built of cut stone with bands
of brick or not. However, it is uncertain if the surviving sections of the enclosure are those
mentioned by Isaakios, for they may represent a later work, perhaps of the first half of the
Pherai, Panagia Kosmosoteira, aerial view,
two towers of the fortification are visible south of the church

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fourteenth century, when the monastery

served as a fortress. At that time, the
peasants of the area, together with the
monks, defended the fortress against the
incursions of the Bulgars and the Turks. In
the middle of the fourteenth century, Vera is
mentioned by Kantakouzenos as a fortress
but not as a monastery.
The deep gorge, to the west of the
monastery, leads the water from springs in
the neighboring hills into the plain and ultimately to the Evros River. On its banks were the mills
noted by Isaakios once, as well as one of the bridges. From the springs, the monastery also drew
water by means of an underground channel. The line and the slope of the gorge necessitated an
acqueduct, from which rectangular foundations constructed of stones and two arches constructed
of bricks survive. The aqueduct was established to carry water to a lower settlement that
developed on the edge of the plain to the east and south of the fortress of Vera after its conquest
by the Ottomans in 1371/1373. This extensive agricultural settlement, known as Ferecik, had
baths, fountains, ceramic workshops and trbes.

Pherai, remains of the Early Ottoman aqueduct

Bibliography
Asdracha, C. - Ch. Bakirtzis. Inscriptions byzantines de la Thrace (VIIIe-Xve sicles). dition et
commentaire historique, 35/A (1980) [=1986], 261-3
Avdes, Thales - Ch. Bakirtzis, Parakolouthese mikrometakineseon tou naou tes Kosmosoteiras, Pherai
Evrou, Mnemeion kai Perivallon 3/I (1995), 90-101

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009 OS 086.qxd 27-03-07 13:15 85

Bakirtzis, Ch. Ho esoterikos choros kai to mystiko noema tes toichodomias sten Kosmosoteira,
Gnorimia 18 (1977), 6-11
Bakirtzis, Ch. W. Thrace in the Early Christian and Byzantine Periods, Byzantinische Forschungen XIV
(1989), 41-58
Bakirtzis, Ch. Warrior Saints or Portraits of Members of the Family of Alexios I Komnenos ? Mosaic,
Festschrift for A. H. S. Megaw, ed. J. Herrin, M. Mullet, C. Otten-Froux, British School at
Athens, 2001, 85-7
Konstantinide, Ch. Paratereseis se parastaseis hierarchon sto katholiko tes mones Panagias
Kosmosoteiras ste Vera, Byzantinische Forschungen XIV (1989), 303-28
Koundourakis, D. - Tsouris, K. He hydreuse tou oikismou ton Feron kata ten Tourkokratia, Thrace Postbyzantine (XVe - XIXe s.), Actes du 3e Symposium International des tudes Thraciennes, d.
K. Manaphis, Komotini, 2005, 549-69
Orlandos, A.K. Ta byzantina mnemeia tes Veras, Thrakika 4 (1933), 3-34
Ousterhout, R. Where was the Tomb of Isaak Komnenos? Byzantine Studies Conference Abstracts 11
(Toronto, 1985), 34
_____________, Master Builders of Byzantium (Princeton, 1999), 119-27
Papazoglou, G. Typikon Isaakiou Alexiou Komnenou tes Mones Theotokou tes Kosmosoteiras (1151/52),
Komotini, 1994
Petit, L. Typikon du monastre de la Kosmosotira prs dAinos (1152), Izvestiia Russkago
Arkeologicheskago Instituta v Konstantinopole 13 (1908), 17-75
Sevcenko, Nancy P. The Tomb of Isaak Komnenos at Vera/Ferecik. Greek Orthodox Theological Review
29 (1984), 135-40
Sinos, S. Die Klosterkirche der Kosmosoteira in Bera (Vira) (Munich, 1985)
Skawran, K.M. The Development of Middle Byzantine Fresco Painting (Pretoria, 1982)
Thomas, J. P., and A. Hero, eds. Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents (Washington, D.C., 2000),
II:782-858 (with translation by R. Jordan)
Tsouris, K. Neapolis-Christoupolis-Kavala, Archaiologikon Deltion 53/A (1998)[=2002], 436-7
Uspenskij, Th. Loctateuque de la Bibliothque du Srail Constantinople, Izvestiia Russkago
Arkeologicheskago Instituta v Konstantinopole 12 (1907), 21-2
Varzos, K. He genealogia ton Komnenon (Thessaloniki, 1984), I:238-54

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Didymoteichon, general view of Didymoteichon and Erythropotamos, looking west toward citadel

86

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CHAPTER 4

Didymoteichon and its Monuments

A favorite hunting retreat and residence of the Byzantine emperors during the late thirteenth and
early fourteenth centuries, the town of Didymoteichon (Greece) is located on the
Erythropotamos River, a tributary of the Evros/Meri, and was connected to major transportation
routes through Thrace. The fortified citadel rises above a rocky outcropping and forms an
irregular oval, bordered by the river to the south and west. Within the citadel are the substantial
remains of two chapels, as well as numerous rock-cut cisterns, storage chambers, and the
foundations of houses. As today, an unwalled lower city lay to the east, known in the fourteenth
century as the emporio.

Didymoteichon, plan of town showing relationship to

Hagia Petra/Plotinopolis (Ch. Bakirtzis)

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View from Didymoteichon looking toward the hill of Hagia Petra/Plotinopolis

History
The Byzantine town was preceded by the Roman Plotinopolis, which had been founded by Trajan
in the second century and located on the adjacent hill, now known as Hag. Petra. The road
connecting Trajanopolis and Adrianopolis passed between the two hills. A bishop of Plotinopolis is
first mentioned in the 530s. According to Procopius, the fortifications of Plotinopolis were improved
under Justinian. Perhaps at the same time, the neighboring hill was also fortified. Plotinopolis seems
to have been subsequently razed and abandoned in the seventh or eighth century.
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087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:25 89

It was long believed that Didymoteichon was the successor, mentioned as a bishopric for the first
time in the ninth century - that is, after the demise of Plotinopolis. Excavations of the walls of
Didymoteichon have uncovered large areas of Early Christian construction, with bands of brick
and carefully squared stone, which must date from before the eighth century at the latest. Similar
construction has been found between the two citadels, for which the ceramic evidence provided
a sixth-century date. Consequently, it is clear that the two hills were occupied at the same time,
with the major overland road passing between them. Presumably as the urban role of
Didymoteichon diminished, the less secure of the two hills was abandoned. The excavations
confirm the 1937 conjecture of N. Vapheides that the name Didymoteichon meant twin castles,
rather than twin walls, referring to the coexistent fortified citadels.
The name Didymoteichon appears for the first time in 591 or 592, when it was mentioned as a
stopping place for the troops of Priskos during the war with the Avars. The castle of
Didymoteichon is one of the cities refounded in Thrace by the emperor Constantine V in 751.
Plotinopolis continued to be listed as a suffragan of the metropolitan of Adrianopolis from the
seventh through the ninth centuries; the town is still named as Plotinopolis in the Council of 787.

Didymoteichon, funeral inscription of Britannia,

September of 501

Didymoteichon, excavated remains between two hills

89

087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:25 90

In 813, Didymoteichon was besieged by Krum, and an inscription of about this time on an
boundary stone, now in the Sofia Archaeological Museum, identifies it as kastron
Didymotychou. The name is mentioned frequently after that time, and by the thirteenth century,
its ecclesiastical status had risen to Metropolis without suffragans. A kommerkiarios is
mentioned already in the ninth century, and the kastron is noted as a post during several military
campaigns.
Didymoteichon served as a place of refuge when the crusaders took Adrianopolis in 1189. In the
subsequent siege by Friedrich von Schwaben, the inhabitants were killed and the town destroyed,
although a well-built tower below the town was spared. In the Byzantine-Venetian agreement of
1198, the districts of Didymoteichon and Adrianopolis were connected to form a province.
The town was taken by Baldwin and the crusader forces in 1204, although they were driven out
the following year, and the town welcomed the population of the surrounding countryside, which
had been plundered by the Bulgarian Kalojan. The Latin siege was brought to an end by the
flooding of the river in the fall of 1205. In 1206 Kalojan plundered the town and countryside,
damaging the water system and the fortifications to the extent that the Frankish lords of
Constantinople considered its rebuilding an unviable proposition: and he [Henry of Flanders] and
his noblemen saw that there was no possibility of rebuilding Didymoteichon, such was its state,
as Villehardouin relates.
Didymoteichon fell to Theodore of Epiros in 1225 and subsequently to the Laskarids of Nicaea.
The town became a military post in the Bulgarian campaign of Theodore II Laskaris in 1255/56,
and the Laskarids seem to have undertaken its refortification. Michael IX used the kastron as a
base and staging post in his campaign against the Catalans in 1306.
The town appears frequently in the accounts of the civil wars of the fourteenth century. In the
conflict between Andronikos II and his grandson Andronikos III, the latter used Didymoteichon
as his military base and residence after his flight from Constantinople in 1321. Following the
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Didymoteichon, plaque with Late Byzantine monograms

of Andronikos Raoul Asanes Palaiologos

conclusion of hostilities with the retirement of the elder Andronikos in 1328 and the accession
of his grandson to the throne, the old Prime Minister Theodore Metochites was exiled to
Didymoteichon. During his two years of exile, Metochites complained about the meanness of the
inhabitants, the vegetables that gave him indigestion, and the wine that went sour in no time.
Didymoteichon also figured in the second civil war. A few months after the death of Andronikos
III in 1341, John Kantakouzenos was proclaimed emperor (known historically as John VI) in the
palatial church of Saint George Palaiokastrites in Didymoteichon on 26 October 1341, and the
city became his de facto capital during the disastrous civil war of 1341-47, and the town became
the base from which he launched his campaigns. His personal hideout and treasury was located
at the castle of Pythion, about 15 km. outside the town. During the conflict, a ditch was dug to
protect the suburbs (exo synoikia) of Didymoteichon. In the proskynetarion of Saint Demetrios
inside the old town there is a plaque bearing four monograms of Andronikos Raoul Asanes
Palaiologos, the son of the Commander of Didymoteichon (1342) and nephew of the wife of
John VI Kantakouzenos. Pressed by both Byzantine and Bulgarian forces during the winter of
1343, John VI Kantakouzenos called for assistance from the Emir of Aydin, who brought Turkish
troops into Thrace.
With the victory of John V Palaiologos and the abdication of Kantakouzenos in 1347, the city
was joined to the territory ruled by the Palaiologoi. In 1352, Didymoteichon was given as an
apanage to John V Palaiologos, who quickly came into conflict with Matthew Kantakouzenos,
who ruled in Adrianopolis. The city was probably conquered twice by Orhan, first in 1359 and
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Didymoteichon, view toward Pentazoon looking south, by A. Desarnod (1829-1830)

decisively in 1361; later it was besieged by John Ugljesa. In September 1373, Murat I took the
city and made his residence there until at least 1377. His grand-son Mehmed I built a large
mosque in the lower city. Bertrandon del la Broquire visited the town in 1433.
Following his defeat by Peter the Great in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Charles XII of Sweden
fled into Ottoman territory, was taken captive, and subsequently in 1713, he was imprisoned in
Dimitoka (Didymoteichon). A popular local tradition identifies a Byzantine cistern near the
church of Hag. Athanasios as the Philakes Karolou (Prison of Charles).
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Monuments
Both written sources and archaeology indicate the fourteenth century as the major period of
development. The Historiai of John Kantakouzenos and Nikephoros Gregoras provide some
information: a palace and several churches and monasteries are mentioned, as well as the
division between the upper (walled) town and the lower town to the east, the emporium, or the
quarter of the peasants and artisans, which was enclosed by a moat. The rock-cut dwellings and
cisterns are also noted.

Didymoteichon, fortifications on east slope

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Fortifications
Almost the entire circuit of defensive walls is surviving for the citadel of Didymoteichon. The
walls follow the contours of the rocky outcropping, and because of the natural defenses it
provided, in some places no wall was necessary - notably along the western perimeter. The

Didymoteichon, Kaleportes, pentagonal bastion built

of large ashlar blocks, 6th c. with later additions

94

Didymoteichon, Pentazonon, round bastion and well,

Late Byzantine period

087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:25 95

eastern side of the fortification facing the lower town was the main faade of the castle. It
comprised the wall and bastions with the Christian symbols, monograms of the Protostrator
Constantine Tarchaneiotes (1351/2), and other inscriptions. The later, outer wall includes a
rectangular tower that belongs to the Roman fortification of Didymoteichon. The unwalled lower
town communicated with the upper walled town with the main gate, the Kastroportes or
Kaleportes (castle gates), flanked with two pentagonal bastions built in the sixth century of

Didymoteichon, Neroportes

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large ashlar blocks that had been removed from earlier buildings of Didymoteichon. A second,
later gate Sarayoportes (palace gates) was located further north next to the Roman tower,
where a sixth-century section of the walls is visible behind the Palaiologan curtain. There was a
third gate at the northernmost edge of this side. The Pentazonon, a Late Byzantine round bastion
at the north corner of the fortification, stands out like a barbican but actually served as a well and

Didymoteichon, Neroportes, inner arched gate, Late

Byzantine period

96

Didymoteichon, Neroportes, outer triumphal gate,

Early Ottoman period

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Didymoteichon, tower on south wall with brick

decoration

Didymoteichon, tower at southeast corner of citadel;

cistern to ensure a supply of water, drawn from the Erythropotamos. A later gate is mentioned
adjacent to the Pentazonon. The wall followed the course of Erythropotamos and terminates at
the western main double gate, the Neroportes (river gates), leading to the Erythropotamos and
to the road coming from the Arda valley. On the inside of the gate is a Byzantine arched entrance
between two pentagonal bastions, the east one of which covers its sixth-century precursor. On
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Didymoteichon, tower with Tarchaniotes monogram

Didymoteichon, Tarchaniotes monogram on a tower,

framed by brick patterning

Didymoteichon, inscription in walls reading

KOMNHNOY

the outside, an early Ottoman triumphal gate with ogival arches was added next to the western
pentagonal bastion. On the south side of the fortification, masonry of different periods may be
discerned, including two rectangular Middle Byzantine towers. On one of these preserves a brick
ornament of the tree of life. The round bastion at the south corner is called the Tower of
Vasilopoula and it is related to a legend of a princess killed during the Ottoman siege.
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Settlement
The Kastroportes and the Neroportes delimit the central urban thoroughfare, cut into the soft
rock, off which branched the secondary streets leading into the neighborhoods of the town.
The citadel is composed of soft rock, a sort of decomposed limestone, and the foundations of all
buildings were cut into the bedrock, thus leaving the footprint of the urban development. This
means that the pattern of settlement may be clarified simply by the removal of the topsoil.
Numismatic evidence found in recent excavations indicate a mid fourteenth-century period of
inhabitation, although the cuttings may in fact be older. Within the walls are the remains of rock-

Didymoteichon from south

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Didymoteichon, area of Byzantine settlement on

southeast slope of citadel

Didymoteichon, rock-cut storerooms

100

Didymoteichon, Byzantine cistern excavated on south

slope of citadel

087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:26 101

Didymoteichon, rock-cut storerooms

cut cisterns, storerooms, and the foundations of houses - in fact, entire neighborhoods of houses,
most evident in an area cleared along the western slope of the citadel. Foundations identified
tentatively as the palace at the top of the hill remain to be explored. Due to the lack of water
at Didymoteichon, cisterns were excavated in the soft rock stratum beneath the houses: they
hollow underground cellars and wells to receive rainwater, as Gregoras relates [I, 357].
The houses of Didymoteichon had a characteristic form. Set onto a slope, the superstructure was
apparently constructed of wood and rubble above a rock-cut storage area: the cuttings that
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remain are primarily the storerooms below the dwelling. Many of the surviving, post-Byzantine
houses still exhibit this form. Excavated neighborhoods appear dense in their settlement, with
individual units separated by narrow alleys and stairs leading up the grade. There is a
randomness to the organization, and the positioning of the dwellings appears to have been
subject to the variations in the topography. Similar rock-carved features extend around the
citadel, often with circular indentations to anchor pithoi, or large storage jars.
A Byzantine cistern, finely constructed in the recessed brick technique, was excavated on the
south slope of the citadel. Unlike the often crude rock-cut cisterns, the construction may suggest
a Middle Byzantine date.

Byzantine Churches
Hagia Aikatherini. The small funeral chapel now dedicated to Hag. Aikaterini lies on the north
slope of the citadel of Didymoteichon. The 12th Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities excavated
and studied the building in two campaigns during in 1986-87. Clearly a work of the Late
Byzantine period, the chapel was surrounded on all sides by tombs cut into the bedrock, and the
building seems to have served as a funerary chapel. A substantial burial area was uncovered to
the south.
The plan of Hag. Aikaterini measures slightly less than 5 x 9 meters on the exterior. It has a
single-aisled interior, measuring slightly greater than 3 x 7 m. along the same walls. More than
half of the standing walls survive from the Byzantine period. The north wall is preserved in
relatively good condition, although some parts are missing or damaged, particularly in the upper
portion. The west wall is also surviving, but in poor condition: the position of the portal has been
altered, and the upper termination is unclear. On the east faade, the Byzantine construction is
preserved only along the north side and in the foundations. The shallow curvature of the apse is

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Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, seen from north

visible in the lower courses, but the upper wall was reconstructed without an apse. On the south
faade, only a fraction of the Byzantine wall remains at the south end and along the foundations.
As most of the upper walls no longer survive, it is unclear if the original building was vaulted or
covered by a wooden roof.

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Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, archaeological plan (drawing by Arghyris Bakirtzis)

The exterior faades originally were decorated with blind arcades, best seen on the north faade,
where the wall was articulated with stepped pilasters, and radial patterns in brick appear in the
lunettes of the arches. Judging from the excavated foundations of the south faade, it must have
been similar. On the west faade, the portal was flanked by shallow segmental niches, as
apparently was the apse on the east faade, where only the north niche survives.
The single-aisled interior was lined with three pilasters along each of its lateral walls, the stubs
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Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, east faade

Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, interior after excavation,

looking northeast

of which were uncovered in the excavation. The lower part of each was cut directly from the
bedrock, with masonry construction above. From the damaged surface of the north wall, it is
evident that the pilasters continued the entire height of the building. The pilasters are not evenly
spaced, but they would have modulated the interior space. The eastern pair identifies the areas
of the bema; perhaps the western pair were meant to identify a sort of narthex. A setback niche
articulates the wall between the eastern two pilasters on the south wall.
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The curvature of the apse is exceptionally shallow and flanked by setbacks, beginning only about
26 cm. above the Byzantine floor level. The original masonry in this area is about a meter in
height. The Byzantine masonry rises the full wall height in the northeast corner, where the
prothesis niche is located. Actually a double niche, it is formed by a tall, round-headed niche,
rectangular in plan, set into the north wall, and an apsidal niche in the east wall, it contained a
stone table. An area of brick paving was preserved adjoining the northeast pilaster, beginning
along its western face and extending into the nave; it may have formed the stylobate for the
templon.
Evidence of original portals may be observed in the wall areas between the western and central
pilasters, and these may help to explain the irregular rhythm of the pilasters. In the north wall, a
portal, now blocked, began at the juncture with the western pilaster. Along the south wall a
distinct break appears in the masonry of both the interior and exterior foundations. The break is
centrally positioned within the bay, and coordinated with the articulation of the exterior. The
position of the south portal seems to have corresponded with an open area between several rows
of tightly spaced burials.
The construction technique is best evident
on the north faade. The walls are
constructed of irregular bands of stone and
brick, utilizing the so-called recessed brick
technique. The stone is irregular and the
brick appears to be reused, but much of the
irregularity would have been disguised by

Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, ceramic rosettes used

in wall decoration found in excavation

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the mortared finish, which has deteriorated. Large putlog holes appear at two levels below the
arches, and another appears close to the roof level at the west end. There is no evidence of
fenestration in the surviving Byzantine masonry. Along the north faade, the three eastern arches
are identical in form, and each is topped by two concentric arches of brick, enclosing a radiating
brick pattern in the lunettes. The upper arches were originally outlined by a row of ceramic
rosettes framed in brick. This detail may be observed in two of the spandrels, although the upper
portion of the wall has been extensively reconstructed. The rosettes were cylindrical and
unglazed, pinched to form a quatrefoil at the exposed end. Several more or less complete
examples were found in the excavation. This
detail stopped after the third arch, where the
portal was positioned, and did not continue
further westward. The lunette of the
westernmost arch includes a chevron pattern
flanked by radiating brick, and the
concentric arches are constructed of
alternating brick and stone voussoirs,
outlined in brick.
Original portions of the east faade survive
in the foundations and in the north section of
the wall. The shallow curvature of the apse
is visible in the foundations. The north
section of the faade includes a shallow,
segmental niche with setbacks, similar in

Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, detail of masonry on

east faade

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form and dimension to those on the west faade. It terminated with a shallow conch of radiating
brick, now only partially preserved. Below the conch is a horizontal band of brick, a dogtooth
course, another horizontal band, and below this a row of ceramic rosettes, all partially preserved.
These details may have continued directly from the outlining of the arches on the north faade.
Several of the bricks in the curvature of the niche were carved specifically for use here.
The construction technique is similar on the interior, but with single courses of small stones
alternating with single courses of brick. The mortar beds are normally sloped downward. The
differences in banding between the interior and exterior indicate that the wall was conceived as
two faces with a rubble fill between, without regular bonding.
Although many stylistic and technical features evident in the architecture of Hag. Aikaterini
suggest a proximity with the Byzantine capital, they also indicate that the workshop responsible
for the chapel was not from Constantinople. However, the style of the capital may have exerted
an influence, and with limited resources, the builders of Didymoteichon seem to have
successfully mimicked the features of a more cosmopolitan architecture. The building may also
reflect the continued influence of a Laskarid workshop in the region, paralleling the
developments in Constantinople. There are also numerous stylistic similarities with Bulgarian
and Serbian monuments. Standing along an important overland route from the Byzantine capital
into the Balkan peninsula, Didymoteichon could draw inspiration from both directions.
In terms of the date of the building, our best chronological indicators may be the architectural
style and the construction technique. Certain features, such as the shallow niches and the
treatment of the banded voussoirs, suggest a late date, probably toward the middle of the
fourteenth century. The generally impoverished nature of the architecture would support a late
date: there is no indication of marble decoration or of any other luxury materials, all construction
materials are spolia, the scale is diminutive, and the form is simple. Moreover, in the early PostByzantine period, the elongated, single-aisled naos, whether covered by a barrel vault or by a
wooden roof, became one of the most common church type in the Balkans.
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Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, detail of wall

painting on lower northeast corner

Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini during excavations

(1986)

Wall Painting. Several areas of painted plaster are preserved along the lower portion of the dado
at the eastern end of the building, rising to a height of only about 30 cm. above the bedrock floor.
The patterns are simple and linear, and the colors are limited to red, dark blue, and grey on a
plain white background. The white plaster continued to floor level, and a broad red band defines
the lower edge of the design, extending upward at the corners. The lower wall areas to either side
of the apse were accentuated by a dark blue frame enclosing a reticulate pattern. Within each
diamond was a red circle accentuated with four red dots forming a cross. Traces of the same
patterning may be detected on the lateral walls immediately adjacent to the east wall. The pattern
seems to be that of a textile: similar designs appear on the garments of figures in late Byzantine
art, and imitative textiles commonly appear in the dado zones of late Byzantine church interiors.
Below the apse, the step was decorated with a rough rinceau in dark grey on a white background.
Burials outside the chapel. The burial area to the south of the church was framed to the west by
a masonry niche, perhaps the remnant of a covered burial area. Ten tombs were cut into the
bedrock, organized in three irregular rows, probably added over a period of time. Several cavities
contained multiple burials. Tomb C, on axis with the niche, may have been the original burial, and
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Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, burial slab with

inscription, found in second use

Didymoteichon, Hag. Aikaterini, burial area to south

of chapel, looking east

the skeleton was found with corroded copper buttons and two simple gold earrings. Tomb D, the
largest of in the western range, was covered by an inscribed slab, which measured 0.70 x 1.83 x
0.08 m. Its inscription, turned downward, indicates that the slab came from the tomb of a certain
monk Dionysios, and it names the reigning emperor Manuel Komnenos and the empress Maria.
The date is given as 1173, and the inscription ends with a curse on anyone who disturbed the
monks tomb. The inscription is the oldest from Didymoteichon but was clearly reused here to
cover a rather modest Late Byzantine or early Post-Byzantine tomb. Another row of tombs extends
along the north wall of the church; the long western tomb may have been originally two cavities.
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Nothing found in the excavation of the tombs could help to clarify the chronology of the chapel,
although on general stylistic grounds a mid-fourteenth-century date seems likely. Eighteen
burials were identified in the 1987 excavation. An additional six had been found in 1930.
Although none was found on the interior of the chapel, these should indicate the function of the
building as a funeral chapel, perhaps with the occupant of Tomb C as its donor.
Chapel by Hagios Athanasios. The remains of a second Byzantine building survive along the
north flank of the metropolitan church of Hag. Athanasios, located on the south slope of the
citadel of Didymoteichon. The 12th Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities excavated and studied the

Didymoteichon, Hag. Athanasios, 19th-century church and site of chapel before excavation

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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios,

archaeological plan showing chapel to south and apotheke and cisterns to north (drawing by Anne Marshall)

site in 1990-92, with support from the Municipality of Didymoteichon. Prior to the investigation,
the surviving north wall and a portion of the east faade of the building could be seen between
the north wall of the nineteenth-century church of Hag. Athanasios and the rock cliff that rises
slightly further to the north. The foundations of the Byzantine building rest on level bedrock, and
other features of the site were carved from the bedrock. A small, trapezoidal courtyard between
the north (exterior) faade of the ruin and the rock cliff allows access to a series of rock-cut
rooms, including a large apotheke (storeroom). One cistern is known locally as the Philakes
Karolou (Prison of Charles): according to local lore the site where Charles XII of Sweden was
imprisoned. Several additional cisterns and storerooms were cut into the bedrock further to the
east.
The original building was long and narrow, perhaps representing the aisle of a larger building.
The single-aisled space extends more than 17 m in length and was divided into two distinct
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sections. A long western nave was lined with arcades, and originally covered by a barrel vault,
reinforced with diaphragm arches, the remains of which are visible at the springing of the vault.
Following the collapse of the vault, the height of the wall was raised with an irregular stone
construction. A separate sanctuary bay to the east was covered by a dome or domical vault raised
above a tall arch, which had been blocked its full height. The remains of pendentives were visible
immediately above. The exterior of the eastern end of the wall was enlivened with arcading and
decorative niches, which continue around the corner onto the remains of a faceted east faade.
In several places in the nave and sanctuary, the ruinous remains of fresco decoration were visible.
Stylistic considerations of the architecture suggest a dating in the early fourteenth century for the
building.
Although numerous decorative features of
the building fit well within architecture of
the Palaiologan period, the long and narrow
plan is unique in Byzantine architecture and
demanded further investigation. The eastern
end was detailed like the apse of a church,
and the interior terminated in a sanctuary,
but the plan did not conform to known
examples of Byzantine church architecture,
Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios,
archaeological plan at floor level showing positions of
which normally have more centralized
tombs, crypts, and beams supporting foundations
plans. Several possibilities were considered.
(drawing by Anne Marshall)
The building could have been the north aisle
of a large, ambulatory-plan church.
Alternatively, if the remains were of a long, thin building, lined with arcades, it could have
served as either a funeral chapel or a trapeza, a Byzantine monastic refectory. In any case, it
would appear that the building was part of a larger establishment, perhaps monastic, which also
included the rock-cut storerooms. It should be noted that the metropolitan church, constructed in
1834, was said to have been built on the site of a very old church, although it is not clear if
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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, interior,

looking northwest, before excavation

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, after

excavation, nave looking east

this reference is to the building in question or to a separate structure, now buried beneath the
nineteenth-century foundations of Hag. Athanasios.
The building was discovered to considerably more unusual than was suggested prior to
excavation. Like the north wall, the south wall of the building consisted of a series of arches,
however, these were built against a solid bedrock wall. The foundations of the nineteenthcentury church were laid directly against the opposite face of the bedrock wall, preventing
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further exploration in that direction. The piers of the south arcade were set farther apart than
those of the north arcade, and thus the arches were wider than their northern counterparts. In
addition, their springing point was lower, and they were set asymmetrically to the arcade
opposite. A plastered floor was uncovered about a meter below the concrete terrace, extending
throughout the nave and sanctuary. It stopped short of the arcades, and beneath each arch, a tomb
was found, cut into the bedrock. Two barrel-vaulted burial crypts were discovered below the
plastered floor, accessible only by means of trap doors in the nave floor. A door opened in the
north wall of the building provided access to the small courtyard and storerooms. Additional
tombs were discovered cut into the bedrock of the courtyard floor, as well as one to the east of
the building.
Prior to the Palaiologan period, the area may have served as an open cemetery. Numerous tombs
were cut into the level bedrock surface, organized into three rows on an east-west axis (see plan
at crypt level). All but one measured just less than 2 m. in length, and the common form is
trapezoidal, narrowing toward the eastern end. Whereas most of the tomb cavities clearly predate
the Late Byzantine building, which sits awkwardly on the irregular bedrock surface, a more exact
dating was not possible.
The first construction phase consisted of the south nave wall, not including the sanctuary. Piers
of brick and stone were added to a bedrock wall above a floor level approximately 40 cm. below
the present plastered floor. Tombs were positioned within each arch, below the floor level, and

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, archaeological plan at crypt level, showing positions of tombs and
ossuary crypts (drawing by Anne Marshall)

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the size of the individual tombs corresponded

to the dimensions of the arches. The building
was decorated with fresco, substantial
portions of which survive, extending below
the level of the plaster floor. The piers were
constructed in the recessed brick technique,
with etched mortar beds. Because of the
limited survival of this building phase, it was
not possible to determine its overall form,
although it must have been similar to the final
form of the building. The construction may be
dated to the early Palaiologan period, based
on the limited evidence of its fresco
decoration and its numerous similarities with
the subsequent construction phase.
The building subsequently underwent a
reconstruction, incorporating the south wall
arcade and adding the sanctuary and the
present north wall. The two phases are
Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, pier of
clearly distinguished by the differences in
south wall, detail of masonry
materials, notably the sizes of bricks and the
thickness of the mortar joints. The resulting
building was completely asymmetrical, with apparently six arches along the south wall (of which
four were excavated) and seven along the north wall, and the sanctuary bay set off-axis with the
nave. The floor level of the building was raised about 40 cm. and vaulted funeral crypts were
added below the nave floor. The construction of the sanctuary and of the north wall rises above
rows of tombs, but the relationship is not as regular as in the earlier construction. In several
places, timber baulks were laid across the tomb cavities, and the superstructure was build directly
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on wooden supports. The sanctuary bay is set off-axis to the nave. The arcades of the north wall
are taller and less regular than their southern counterparts, and their functional relationship to the
tombs below is unclear. It is also unclear how the diaphragm arches of the barrel vault related to
the supports of the south wall.
Construction details suggest a chronological closeness between the two phases that is difficult to
explain. The masonry of both phases was of alternating brick and stone courses, and both
employed the recessed brick technique, although the mortar beds of the north wall are sloped
downward rather than etched. The arches of the later construction have banded voussoirs, and
the eastern exterior surfaces are lavishly articulated. Based on stylistic details, this phase of
construction should be dated approximately to the 1320s or 1330s.
During the Ottoman period, the building underwent several transformations. It continued to be
used for burials perhaps as late as the nineteenth century, and the eastern portion continued to be
used as a chapel or proskynetarion into the early twentieth century. At an unknown date, the
barrel vault of the nave collapsed, and the north wall was raised in height, forming a two-storied
building with a wooden floor to the upper level. Post-Byzantine frescoes in the sanctuary
indicate the functioning of at least part of the building as a church as late as (perhaps) the
seventeenth century. The south wall was apparently destroyed at the time of the construction of
Hag. Athanasios, and a terrace was subsequently laid over the site.
The bema was defined by two tall arches that broadened its space to the north and south, and a
shallow apse extended the space to the east. An arch separated the bema from the nave, possibly
with a narrow templon. The central area was covered by a dome or domical vault raised above
pendentives. The north arch survives almost its full height, rising about 4 m. above floor level.
Along the north wall, a prothesis niche appears to the east, and a second niche is set into the west
wall. The outline of the apse could be discerned in the plaster floor of the bema, which had been
overlaid with square ceramic tiles.
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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, after excavation, looking west

Along the south side, the plastered floor stops abruptly at the line of the pier. About 40 cm. below
this level is a bedrock step, corresponding to the original floor level of the building, and a rockcut tomb fills out the area of the recess. The tomb cavity extends beneath the east wall, where
cuttings and mortared cavities indicate the positions of two squared wooden beams that once
supported the wall construction above the east end of the cavity. Fresco fragments from this area
indicated a painted dado of geometric patterns and imitation marble.

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Fragmentary frescoes were found on the upper north sanctuary walls as well, representing
standing saints in liturgical garb, but these probably date from the 17th century. The frescoes and
numismatic finds in this area of the building indicate its continued Christian usage well into the
Post-Byzantine period - indeed, as recently as 1913. Visitors noted paintings of holy figures in
the building, and they must have been referring to these frescoes.
The central area of the nave was about 15 m. long, but it is only about 2.5 m. wide, expanded
about 50-70 cm on either side by the arcades. Its curious asymmetry may be attributed to the
difficulties encountered in building above the irregular pattern of tombs cut into the bedrock. The
central area is covered by a plastered floor, which rises gradually from east to west and does not
continue into the arcades.
The south arcade was constructed against a bedrock wall, about 71-75 cm. thick, which is
abutted and partially overlapped by the rubble foundations of the 19th-century church. Square
piers were built against the wall, their lower portions cut from the bedrock, and their upper
portions built of brick and stone. The springing of the arches is evident in the brick construction.
Each of the piers measures about 70 cm. square, and each of the intervening arches has a
diameter of 1.80-1.85 m. The piers related to a floor level about 40 cm. below the plastered floor,
roughly corresponding to a bedrock ledge. The springing of the arches appeared at about a meter
above the original floor level, and the height of the original arches may be reconstructed as about
1.90-1.95 m. With the raised floor of the nave, these would have risen only about 1.5 m. above
floor level and would have appeared awkward when contrasted to the taller and thinner arches
of the north arcade.
Evidence of painting appears throughout the area, notably geometric patterning in the dado zone,
meant to imitate marble. Enthroned figures survive on the rear walls of the second and fourth
recesses, of which the lower portions survive. Within the third recess, the bedrock wall is neatly
cut away along one side, and the opening was blocked with a rough rubble fill.

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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, northeast

corner

The north wall and arcade are substantially preserved, rising to just above the springing of the
barrel vault that once covered the nave. The high arch of the sanctuary rises to a springing about
4 m above floor level, and the arched recesses of the north wall rise about 2.25 m above the nave
floor. Fragments of painted decoration may be noted in several places on the upper wall surface.
The vault was reinforced by diaphragm arches of brick, with putlog holes for tie beams at the
springing. Another irregular line of putlog holes appears approximately at the springing of the
barrel vault. A small aperture appears above the third pier, extending through the thickness of the
nave wall, positioned immediately below the springing of the barrel vault. Its upper surface is
formed by reused stone pieces, perhaps from a templon.
The north arcade is considerably more irregular than its southern counterpart, and the dimensions
of both the piers and the recesses vary: the eastern two recesses measure ca. 1.30 in length while
the western five are closer to 1.70 in length. The second recess originally formed a portal opening
into the north courtyard, and at the western end, the arcades intersect the rock face and become
irregular. Remains of the western wall of the building may be seen about 60 cm beyond the
westernmost recess. All of the arches are constructed with alternating brick and stone voussoirs.
Although the spacing and the positioning of the piers were apparently dependent on the location of
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tombs cut into the bedrock below, the relationship of the tomb cavities and the walls above is much
more irregular than that of the south arcade. In several places, the tombs extend into the nave,
beyond the width of the piers, and the piers commonly overlap the tombs. Where the walls extend
over the cavities, a system of corbelling was improvised. The small area of north wall, which joins
to the first recess, extended above a tomb cavity, over which three wooden beams were laid before
the wall was constructed. A similar wooden support was used beneath the second pier.
The entire north wall is set back about 70 cm. from the arched entrance to the sanctuary, and this
created a small area of the wall at the east end of the nave. This was once decorated with fresco;
a small patch representing jeweled drapery suggests a royally-clad saint was depicted here.
Remains of figural frescoes survive in both reveals of the first recess as well, of standing saints
with yellow haloes against a dark blue background.
The east faade of the building was faceted and lavishly detailed, but most of it is now destroyed.
Two facets survive, which formed the transition to the north faade. They were divided into
zones by chamfered stringcourses, with the lower stringcourse appearing at the foundation level
and the upper mid-way up the wall. The east facet is articulated with niches at two levels, the
upper framed by colonnettes. The northeast facet contains a shallow niche in its lower surface.
The north faade exhibits remarkable variety, with each exposed bay articulated differently. It
does not appear to have been coordinated with that of the east faade, although the greatest
degree of detail appears on its east bay, where it would have been most visible. The east bay
corresponds to the sanctuary and is defined by a tall arcade, with broad pilasters to either side.
Within the arcade, the wall surface is divided into two levels by a chamfered stringcourse, set at
a noticeably higher level than that of the east faade. The lower wall area steps back to a
segmental niche, with the conch of the niche composed of wedge-shaped stones. Above the
string course is a centrally positioned window, now blocked, framed by a setback. The arches are
constructed of stone voussoirs, with the outer arch framed in brick. Above the tall arcade, the
original saddle-shaped roofline of the sanctuary is visible.
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Beyond the sanctuary bay, the roof level dropped dramatically to the lower barrel vault over the
nave. In the Post-Byzantine period, the nave was transformed into a two-storied hall, and the
wall surface was raised. A setback stone arch corresponds to the first recess in the north wall of
the nave interior. It includes setbacks to a flat wall surface, and the arches are composed of stone
voussoirs. Although slightly narrower than the lower arch of the first bay, it is identical in height.
The next bay was originally a portal, its arch topped by banded voussoirs. It is approximately the
same width as the second arcade, but both its sill and the arch above are lower. Immediately to
the west of the portal was a small niche, topped by an arch of banded voussoirs. Further to the
west, the facade disappears behind the rubble fill.
The soft stonework of the north facade has been inscribed with a variety of graffiti. Some is
modern, but many appear to be quite old. Notably, graffiti did not appear on the areas of repair
to the building, such as the blocking of the portal. Thus, the graffiti may predate these
modifications. Two kinds of graffiti are most common: images of vulvae or female genitalia, and
depictions of sailing ships. These may be interpreted as visual prayers, inscribed by the faithful
in request of fertility or of safe passage for travelers.
In sum, the excavations revealed a building - or a part of a building - of unique design but clearly
funerary in function. The combination of asymmetrical, elongated plan and domed bema finds
no direct comparisons, and it might be better
interpreted as the aisle of a larger building
that once stood on the site of Hag.
Athanasios. Unfortunately, this area could
not be investigated, and no connection
through the south wall of the chapel was

Didymoteichon, chapel by Hag. Athanasios, north

wall, graffiti

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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, reconstruction of sanctuary faades,

seen from northeast (drawing by Anne Marshall)

found. Although there are a variety of Late Byzantine elongated chapels in Constantinople,
Bulgaria, and the Greek islands, none is as long or proportionally as narrow as the building at
Didymoteichon, and none includes a domed bema. Perhaps the best comparison is the
parekklesion of the Chora in Constantinople (1316-21): its function was clearly funerary, and it
is similarly asymmetrical and lined with arcosolia. However, its dome appears over the
westernmost bay, and there are cisterns rather than funeral crypts below. With the site limitations
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at Didymoteichon, the most important view of the building was from the east, where the faade
received its greatest articulation. In the final analysis, the unique combination of forms at
Didymoteichon reflects a variety of Late Byzantine architectural and funerary concerns in
response to an unusual site.
In spite of the fragmentary and damaged nature of the buildings exterior, its sophisticated formal
articulation is noteworthy. Compositional principles and many details recall the architecture of
Constantinople, although there are some features for which no exact parallels may be found. For
example, the use of arcades with stepped pilasters was standard in the architecture of the capital
and elsewhere from the middle Byzantine period onward. As is common in Palaiologan
architecture, the details of the exterior do not correspond with the interior, and the purpose of the
external arcading must be understood primarily as decorative. Moreover, there is also little attempt
to coordinate the individual features of the facade into a unified system of organization. In addition,
the relationship between the north facade and the flanking surfaces of the east facade is poorly
resolved. A similar lack of visual coordination around corners was evident at the church of Hag.
Ioannes in Selymbria, now destroyed but thought to be the product of a Constantinopolitan
workshop, ca. 1325.
Much in the brick and stone construction corresponds to standard Late Byzantine practices in the
region, although several features are noteworthy. Both brick and stone were apparently used in
the vaulting as well: the pendentives of the sanctuary were of brick, but the barrel vault of the
nave seems to have been of stone. The use of stone in vault construction as well as the sole use
of stone in arches appears in distinct contrast to standard Byzantine practice. The unusual
selection of materials at Didymoteichon is likely the result of the easy availability of stone at the
site. Moreover, brick was not used decoratively on the surviving portions of the exterior, nor do
dogtooth cornices appear. With a single exception, exterior arches are constructed entirely with
stone voussoirs. In addition, the conches of niches are formed by means of stone wedges, rather
than brick. This may be unique in the Byzantine architecture of the region, but it may represent

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an attempt to translate standard brick construction into the more readily available stone. Stone
arches and conches also appear at Hag. Ioannes at Selymbria, but on a much smaller scale, with
conches of the individual niches carved from a single stone.
In spite of numerous unique features, the chapel is best viewed within the sphere of influence of
Constantinople. On the other hand, the uniqueness of the plan and of certain constructional
details emphasizes the distance from the Byzantine capital, and these features are best
understood in a local context - taking into consideration the limitations of the site and the
availability of materials. The building may be the product of a local workshop, indebted to the
stylistic influence exerted by the architecture of Constantinople, and aware of developments
elsewhere in Thrace and the Balkans. The builders were experienced, and they were able to
accommodate the functional requirements of the chapel to a restricted and irregular site, as well
as to adjust the formal articulation to an unusual building.
Formal concerns and particular decorative details help to position the building squarely in the
early Palaiologan period. Although we must rely on stylistic considerations to date the building,
a date in the 1320s or 1330s seems most likely for the second Palaiologan phase. This is also a
period of increased contact with Constantinople and the imperial family. As discussion of the
frescoes will suggest, an association of the building with one or more members of the imperial
family seems likely, although it is not clear with whom.
North courtyard and adjacent spaces. The small, trapezoidal courtyard to the north of the
building measures just under 10 m in greatest length and about 2.5 m at its greatest width. Along
its north side, the courtyard is bounded by a rock cliff and two cisterns, one of which projects to
the east. Several drainage channels were cut into the rock. The western cistern, partially enclosed
in rubble masonry, is known locally and certainly incorrectly as the Filakes Karolou, the socalled Prison of Charles - where the King of Sweden is said to have been imprisoned by the
Ottomans following the Battle of Poltava (1709).

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Didymoteichon, apotheke interior, looking north

At the west of the cliff, immediately before the rubble fill that terminates the trapezoidal
courtyard, is the entrance to a large, rock-cut apotheke, which measures approximately 6 x 9 m.
internally, subdivided by two rock-cut piers. Its floor is cut with 27 depressions to hold large
ceramic pithoi for the storage of foodstuffs. A graffito monogram of the Palaiologues is carved
into the wall immediately to the right of the entrance. Large quantities of Post-Byzantine
ceramics were found in this area as well. Didymoteichon was a major centre of ceramic
production in 18th-19th c.
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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, east

burial crypt

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, west

burial crypt

Crypts beneath the nave. Two barrel-vaulted ossuary crypts were discovered beneath the floor of
the nave, cut into the bedrock to a depth of just over 2 m. - that is, to a lower level than the tombs
flanking the nave. The two are similar in form and size, each accessible only by means of a trap
door in the nave floor. The crypts were clearly funerary in function, with tombs cut into the
bedrock of their floors, and with numerous additional bodies laid at floor level. All of the latter
were found in a disturbed condition. The crypts probably continued to function for burials well
into the Post-Byzantine period.

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios,

longitudinal section through nave, showing ossuary
crypts beneath floor level. The western section (left)
was not excavated (drawing by Anne Marshall)

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Although very nearly identical, the construction of the crypts differs, with brick vault of the
western crypt employing the recessed brick technique, while the brick vault of the eastern is of
standard brick construction, with thin mortar beds. The latter is distinct from the construction
evident in either phase of the superstructure. All four tombs flanking the western crypt have
holes bored into the bedrock that correspond with rectangular openings in the haunches of the
brick vault. The purpose of these is not entirely clear.
Tombs. In addition to the mass burials in the crypts below the nave floor, eighteen tombs were
identified in the course of the excavation, all cut into the bedrock. Nine were found in the arched
recesses flanking the nave and sanctuary; three in the courtyard to the north of the building; one
to the east, extending below the foundations of Hag. Athanasios; one in the east crypt; and four
in the west crypt. All but the east tomb were cut on an east-west alignment. The standard shape
is slightly trapezoidal with rounded corners, wider on the west side. The burials uniformly had
the head of the deceased in the west; normally the arms were folded across the abdomen. Many
of the cavities contained multiple burials. With one exception, the burials were modest, and the
finds were minimal, primarily assorted potsherds, fallen fresco plaster, buttons, and nails. The
evidence suggests that burials continued well into the Post-Byzantine period.
Wall Paintings. Traces of Byzantine wall painting survive throughout the building. Most
impressive are two large areas on the walls of the second and fourth south niches of the nave.
The first, uncovered in 1990, shows a life-size figure from the knees down. The painting runs the
full length of the recess - ca. 1.80 m, with a total height of ca. 60 cm. It shows the lower portion
of a figure, wearing a gold and jeweled robe and red buskins, with feet resting on a red
hypopodion placed on a footstool. Elements of a throne may be discerned behind the figure. The
background is dark blue with a green ground area, and the whole is outlined with a red and white
border. The lower edge corresponds to the height of the bedrock ledge, indicating that the
painting must have been part of the first Palaiologan phase. It cannot be later, because the raised
floor is about 40 cm. higher than the lower border of the fresco. The lower edge curls outward,
suggesting that it once overlapped the floor. A small patch of similar fresco - dark blue and green
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with brown drawing - is visible in the southeast corner, continuing from the south wall, where
pale, finger-like projection appears on a small preserved surface. Based on the analogy of the
figure in the fourth south nave recess, this is probably the tip of a wing.
The figure is likely male because of the size and prominence of the feet. The off-center
positioning of the figure and his relationship to the throne - shown in a sort of perspective suggest that he is sitting. Both the throne and the footstool are rendered in shades of brown,
imitating wood. The throne has prominent legs and is detailed with an arcade across its front
surface. The footstool appears tipped upward, overlapping the lower portion of the throne. The
color employed in the shoes and in the cushion is a rich red; it is identical in both, and the two
are distinguished only by the black outlining of the shoes. The cushion is also outlined in black,
and both cushion and shoes have white striped decoration. The shoes include a three-lobed
pattern at the toes and a row of white pearls across the ankles. A circle decorated with dots
appears on the cushion between the feet.

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, fresco in

niche 2

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, figure in

niche 2 reconstructed

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The robe worn by the figure is painted in a pale ochre, and the area remaining is framed by
horizontal bands at the top and bottom. The bands are decorated with two rows of white pearls,
with red and blue rectangular jewels at the center and ends of each. The field is filled with a
diaper pattern formed by rows of white pearls, with two rows of round red jewels and one row
of round blue jewels. The few surviving traces indicate that a similar field appeared above the
upper decorative band. To the left of the figure, at ground level, is a curious, light brown object.
It is shaded in darker tones, and the coloration is similar to the adjacent footstool. Set at a
diagonal, the object is curved at the top, and the curve is emphasized in the dark band on the
upper edge. It is unclear if a strap of some sort appears further to the left of the object, or if this
is damage to the painted surface. The identity of the object in not certain: it may be a purse or
some sort or a quiver, although neither can be confirmed.
The composition in the fourth south recess is virtually identical to that just described, although
there are a few differences in detail and coloration. Notably, a greater portion of the figure
survives, and its condition is considerably better. The fresco extends the full width of the recess,

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, fresco in

niche 4

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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, figure in

niche 4 reconstructed

087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:34 131

about 1.85 m., and it rises just over a meter to its maximum height at the east corner. The painted
surface is continuous with smaller fragments on the east and west reveals, where fragments of
red fresco representing drapery are visible. The lower border conforms to the first Palaiologan
floor level, but, unlike the previous example, the plaster surface for the fresco was laid flat
against the wall, and it was apparently overlapped by the floor. The area not meant to be exposed
has been left white, and there are several places where the paint has dripped onto the white
surface.
As in the previous example, the field is blue with a green ground, with red and white borders. In
this instance, the figure is preserved almost to waist height, and it is clear that he was both regally
dressed and seated on a throne. A bend at the knee is evident, and the figure holds a scepter with
his right hand. A bit of a cushion is visible on the upper surface of the throne. Curiously, wings
appears to either side of the figure, fragmentary on his left side but clearly preserved on his right.
The throne and footstool are rendered in brown tones resembling wood. They occupy the same
positions as in the previous composition: the throne is shown in perspective with the right side
shaded, whereas the footstool appears to fly in front of the throne, with its front face contiguous
to the lower edge of the fresco. The throne is raised on prominent legs, which are rendered threedimensionally with shading. Its surfaces are articulated with two rows of arcading, highlighted
with white. Three horizontal bands of rinceaux divide the surfaces, detailed with white on a dark
brown. A similar rinceau band appears on the front of the footstool.
The red buskins rest on a red hypopodion. Both are rendered in the same tone of red,
distinguished by the black outlining of the footwear. The cushion is detailed with wavy lines in
pale white and black. The red tone here is closer to a cadmium red, differing from the slightly
deeper red employed in the previous example. The cushion on the throne is a similar red, detailed
with two dark stripes.

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The costume worn by the figure also differs from that of the previous example. The lower portion
is a field of ochre with some white highlights, covered with a diaper pattern of maroon lines.
Inside each diamond-shaped segment is a smaller diamond with discs at the four corners, all in
maroon. Above this is a horizontal band decorated with two rows of white pearls, punctuated by
large rectangular jewels in red and blue. Above this, the drapery surface is patterned with a pale
ochre on a maroon background. A vertical band rises on the axis of the figure. Its left-hand portion
repeats the pattern of the horizontal band just described, whereas the larger right-hand portion
includes diamond-shaped and rectangular jewels surrounded by white pearls on an ochre field. A
swatch of drapery hangs down to the rightapparently over the figures left arm, turned so that
the red inner lining of the costume is visible. The cuff of the sleeve is just visible on the figures
right wrist; it also has an ochre background, decorated with pearls and jewels. The wings, spread
into individual feathers, are rendered in tones of brown, shaded in black with white highlights.
Several general comments may be made about the two paintings. First, because of the limited
height of the recesses, whatever the identity of the figures, in order for them to be depicted nearly
life-size, it was necessary to represent them as seated and to begin the composition at floor level.
Thus, if the paintings were meant to be understood in relationship to the tombs below, it was not
possible to include a sarcophagus above floor level, as was standard in an arcosolium grave.
Although the two compositions are quite similar, the technical differences - such as choice of
pigments and the treatment of the lower surface - suggest that they may not have been painted
at exactly the same time. On the other hand, the iconographical similarities are noteworthy and
require further discussion. The upper portions of the figures must have been positioned frontally,
along the central axis of the recess, with the legs turned to one side and the flank of the throne
visible on the other.
The details of the costumes and regalia - jeweled robes, red buskins, red hypopodion, scepter,
elaborate thrones - indicate imperial nature of the figures. They must be either emperors, or
someone, such as Christ or an archangel, in imperial garb. The fact that there are at least two

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similar compositions, and that both frescoes included wings limits the possibilities. Three
possible identifications should be considered: enthroned archangels, emperors with angelic
attendants, or winged emperors.
Large, individual figures of archangels appear frequently in Byzantine churches, perhaps
intended as guardians of, but in such instances, their costume is more military than imperial.
Moreover, in Byzantine art angels are never represented as seated unless the narrative requires
them to do so, as for example, in scenes of the Old Testament Trinity or of the Holy Women at
the Tomb. No iconic, seated figures of angels have come down to us from Byzantium. Thus, in
spite of the prominent wings, the identification of the figures as angels should be ruled out.
Rulers are sometimes represented with attendants: flying angels with crowns and symbols of
office, or attendants positioned behind the throne; both appear at Ljubostinja in Yugoslavia. A
manuscript portrait of Nicephorus III Botaniates shows personifications crowded behind his
throne. However, in the surviving images, flying angels invariably flank standing rulers, whereas
the standing attendants that appear behind seated rulers are invariably wingless. Considering the
size of the unfurled wings in our frescoes, it is difficult to imagine them attached to what would
have to have been tiny angels. It would be a tight fit, even if angels are immaterial beings.
The third possibility is that the figures represent winged emperors. Actually, such images are
known on Byzantine coinage from the late thirteenth century onward. The image may have been
popularized because of the association of Michael VIII with St. Michael, but it may have
originated earlier, as Bertel suggests. In fact, the association of emperors and angels has a long
history in Byzantine rhetoric and art. It was a rhetorical convention to compare emperors to
angels, as in the curious texts of panegyric poems written by the court rhetorician Holobolos in
praise of the emperor Michael VIII. The poems were used in the Prokypsis ceremony, in which
the emperor and members of his family were dramatically presented to the acclamations of the
people. Curtains were parted to reveal the rulers brilliantly illuminated, and then they were

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lauded with heavenly comparisons. In one of Holobolos verses, the emperor and his two sons
became the three angelic messengers entertained by Abraham. In another, the emperor was
described as seated between Michael and Gabriel, who were called upon to protect him with their
wings. Another poem called the emperor the crown-bearing angel and compared the two sons
to his wings. The inclusion of wings thus reflected court rhetoric, emphasizing the comparison
of emperors with angels.
In another sense, the wings can be seen as symbols representing divine or divinely bestowed
power. It is interesting that in the last Byzantine centuries, as the emperors actual power
decreased, the sacerdotal nature of his rule was given greater emphasis. The appearance of the
images of winged emperors may be seen as a visual reflection of this transformation.
Wall painting fragments. Hundreds of fragments of wall painting came to light during the
excavation, often clustered together as fill in the tombs. They may have been buried intentionally
and represent a range of dates, from the late Komnenian to the Post-Byzantine. Unfortunately,
their original positions within the building - or, indeed, if they belonged to the building - could
not be determined.
A reconstructed niche. Numerous fragments found along the south side of the nave in the vicinity
of the second recess may be reassembled, at least in part. These fragments came from a niche
whose reveals were decorated with a rinceau pattern executed in black silhouette on a white
background. The pattern includes multi-lobed white leaves set into a vine scroll, of a type
common in late Byzantine decoration. Portions of two different reveals could be reconstructed,
one 12 cm. deep, the other 10 cm. deep. For both, the inner and outer borders were clearly
defined. The outer corner is marked with a broad pink stripe on the convex surface and a thin
black stripe on the flanking wall, which was left white. The inner corner has a similar, broad pink
stripe on its concave surface, and then a fragment of the niche is preserved. The last is painted a
deep maroon speckled with ochre to imitate the stone porphyry.

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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, fresco

fragments of figure standing on porphyry; reveal of
niche adjoining same image

Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, inscription

from same

More than a dozen fragments of imitation porphyry were found that could not be reassembled.
Several fragments included both the porphyry and other patterns so that these could be associated
with the decoration of the niche. These included more than twenty fragments of pale blue-grey

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drapery outlined and highlighted in white, with the toes of pink shoes joining to both the border
of the drapery and the porphyry. On a few fragments, the blue-grey drapery is next to a deep red
drapery. The ten fragments of an inscription in white minuscule on a yellow-green background
appear to have come from the same grouping as well: several fragments have the same yellowgreen field bordering the deep red fabric. The inscription seems to begin with the mention of an
empress, her name lost.
A hypothetical reconstruction of the niche decoration may be proposed, with a female figure
standing on the left side, turned slightly to the right. She was clad in a blue-grey robe, wearing
pink shoes, and standing on a porphyry floor. To the right was a red curtain and the inscription apparently the dedicatory inscription for the Phase II building. Because of the porphyry floor, the
other frescoes of emperors, and the reading of the inscription, it would thus appear that the
founder of the building was a late Byzantine empress.
Unfortunately, it is not clear where exactly within the building the niche was located. The
existing recesses are clearly larger than the 10-12 cm. depth of the niche. Because the south wall
appears to have been destroyed when the 19th-century church was built, the niche may have been
located higher up in the south wall - although this is simply a guess. A piece of a half-column
with a diameter of 12 cm was found in the central area of the nave, molded in white plaster and
striated to resemble marble. The unpainted, white ground matches that of the wall surface
flanking the niche. We may speculate that the niche was framed by half-columns.
Other niche reveals. In addition to the reveal patterns just discussed, several patterned fragments
of a second niche were found in the area in front of the third south nave recess. Again, the
original location of the niche is not clear. The pieces include both the convex outer border and
the concave inner border, detailed with a broad pink stripe. The maximum width of the pieces
and the depth of the niche is approximately 10.5 cm. The field of the reveals is white with black
outlining forming a series of large triangles. Within each is a series of chevrons of wavy lines in

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brown, blue-grey, pink, and ochre, perhaps

based on marble patterning. There are
several fragments that once joined the
concave inner border of this niche. Three
fragments preserve a pale ochre halo
outlined in dark blue and white against a
dark blue background. One fragment
preserves a small white cross on a dark blue
background, perhaps the beginning of an
inscription. These details suggest that the
niche contained the image of a saint.
The face of Christ. The most impressive of
the figural fragments come from a life-size
Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, painted
portrait of Christ, found in the excavation of
pattern from reveal of niche
the tomb in the first north nave recess
(estimated height of head: 30 cm.). The face
is seen frontally. One large piece represents the mouth, chin, and beard; another the nose; still
another part of the forehead with the forelocks and the beginning of the hair; and yet another the
right ear with hair and part of the halo. Unfortunately the eyes are missing. The amount of detail
in the rendering of the facial features is remarkable, and much must have been done with a
single-haired brusHag. The face has an ochre cast with olive shading. There is a highlighting of
thin white lines on the forehead, face and lips, and a strong red is used in the lips, nose, and
cheeks. The modeling is very subtle, with a wide range of colors. The lips are small but full,
curving upward, countering the downward curves of the moustache. The nose is long and thin,
outlined in a maroon-brown and red, with white highlights. Along the cheek and chin, the olive
shadows blend into the maroon-brown of the moustache and beard, all executed with very fine
lines. The hair is separated from the face by a double line of thick ochre-white and dark brown.

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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, fragments of a portrait of Christ

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The figures right earlobe is delicately modeled but not clearly detailed. The hair is outlined in
dark brown and striated with ochre and white. The halo is now reddish with a greenish
overpainting for the bar of the cross-nimbus; perhaps it was originally gold.
The exceptional quality of this image is evident even in its fragmentary condition, and it suggests
an artist of the first rank, probably from Constantinople. The highlighting with thin, parallel
white lines and the multicolored outlining of the facial features corresponds to early Palaiologan
mosaics and frescoes in the Byzantine capital, such as the Christ from the Deesis in Hag. Sophia
or the paintings of the Chora. On the other hand, the indistinct treatment of the earlobe, not
separated from the cheek, may be unique in such representations of Christ. In addition, the mouth
of the Didymoteichon Christ differs from the Constantinopolitan examples: although the lips are
characteristically narrow, the moustache extends outward to either side and does not droop,
giving the face a less severe expression. It remains unclear where within the building the fresco
was originally located.
Numerous related fragments of drapery were also found, painted in a purplish brown with pale
ochre hatching meant to resemble chrysography. The drapery pieces have darker, concentric
ovals to define the underlying form. Tonal gradations are within a single color, and darker,
thicker lines represent the folds in the drapery.
Objects found with burials. A single burial preserved significant grave goods. In the third south
nave tomb, a skeleton was found beneath a disturbed layer and above another burial. It was in
deteriorated condition but accompanied by fragments of cloth, including a braided border and a
silk ribbon, copper buttons, a perfume sprinkler, a ring and one earring. Around the skeleton were
16 nails with fragments of wood attached, indicating that the body had been buried in a wooden
coffin.
The glass perfume sprinkler, or myrodocheion, is a good example of an omon-shaped vessel,
popular in Islamic (Syrian or Egyptian) glass manufacture during the 12th-15th centuries, with
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Didymoteichon, Chapel by Hag. Athanasios, grave

good from tomb in niche 3: glass bottle, ring, and
earring

a conical base, a doughnut-shaped body, and a tall neck; trailed handles appear a the joining of
the body and neck. The vessel measures 24 cm. tall by 10 cm. across its body. The translucent
blue glass preserves traces of a rough decoration of red and white paint.
The jewelry found in same burial fits generally within the picture of the development of
Byzantine metalwork, although Late Byzantine jewelry is neither well published nor often
studied. The ring is made of a gold alloy and measures 1.55 cm. exterior diameter and 1.35 cm.
interior diameter. The thin metal band is engraved with a Solomonic knot or basket weave
pattern on its rectangular bezel and with scrollwork on its hoop. The bezel decoration may be
read either as a common Christian apotropaic motif or perhaps as one with particular
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monogrammatic or familial associations. Similar emblems with four crossed bars appears in
association with members of the imperial family during the Late Byzantine period. An almost
identical motif appears on the walls of Didymoteichon, executed in brick, flanking the
monogram of the Protostrator Constantine Tarchaniotes, who was archon of the city ca. 13511352. The motif might thus have been associated with the Tarchaniotes family.
A gold earring from same burial has a pouch-like body and a hinged hook. It measures 1.54 cm.
in height, 1.4 cm. wide and 0.7 cm. thick. The unusual, long closing pin measures 1.23 cm. The
body is hollow, and its lower surface is covered with an openwork foliate design that resembles
filigree. A bead pattern appears on the sides, and the upper surface is plain. The body was
probably made in two pieces with the loops for the hook later soldered to it. The decoration was
probably executed before the pieces were joined, using a stamping and punching technique,
judging from the three-dimensional quality
of the design.
Post-Byzantine churches. The Post-Byzantine churches in Didymoteichon include the
cathedral of Hag. Athanasios (1834), the
church of the Koimesis of Panagia (1843), a
parish church outside the walls constructed
on the site of an older church of 1806, and the
church of Christ (1846). All are three-aisled
basilicas with pi-shaped narthexes. Their
elaborated wooden iconostases were carved
by Stamates from Madytos, and exhibit

Didymoteichon, icon of the Panagia Didymoteichitissa, 14th c.

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Western influences. The nineteenth century

icons on the iconostases were dedicated by
the guilds of Didymoteichon, and most of
them are signed by the hand of Nikolaos
from Adrianopolis. The church of Hag.
Georgios (Surp Kevork) was the centre of
worship for the Armenian community during
the nineteenth century. It was built probably
Didymoteichon, Glazed plates, early 19th c.
on the site of the Byzantine church known as
Hag. Georgios Palaiokastrites, where John VI
Kantakouzenos said prayers after his coronation on 26th October 1341. Kantakouzenos himself
related (III, 167): As after the applause the emperor, mounted on his steed, and whith all his
retinue on horseback, proceeded to the church of the holy martyr Saint George Palaiokastrites.

Bibliography
Asdracha C. La rgion de Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe sicles. tudes de gographie historique (Athens,
1976), 130-37
__________ and Ch. Bakirtzis. Inscriptions byzantines de Thrace (VIIIe-XVe sicles) dition et
commentaire historique, Archaiologikon Deltion 35/A (1980) [= 1986], 263-71
Bakirtzis, Ch. Didymoteichon: un centre de cramique post-byzantine, Balkan Studies 21 (1980), 147-53
Bertel, T. Limperatore alato nella numismatica bizantina (Rome, 1951)
Euthymiou, Gr. To Didymoteichon kata tous byzantinous chronous, Archeion Thrakikou Laografikou
kai Glossikou Thesaurou 22 (1957), 349-78
Giannopoulos, F. Didymoteichon: Istoria enos byzantinou Ochyrou (Athens, 1989) [Greek translation of
Id., Didymoteichon: Geschichte einer byzantinischer Festung, diss. Kln, 1975]
Gouridis, A. To historiko Didymoteicho (Didymoteicho, 1999)
Lampousiades, G. Didymoteichon, Thrakika 2 (1929), 87-93

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087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:41 143

Manakas, D. Sylloge afegeseon, thrylon, paradoseon kai historikon gegonoton Didymoteichou,

Thrakika 37 (1963), 12-39
Meimares, I. - Ch. Bakirtzis Hellenikes epigrafes hysterorromaikon kai palaiochristianikon chronon apo
te Dytike Thrake (Komotini, 1994)
Ousterhout, R. Observations on the Recessed Brick Technique during the Palaeologan Period,
Archaiologikon Deltion 39 (1984) [=1990], 163-170
_________. The Palaeologan Architecture of Didymoteichon, Byzantinische Forschungen, 14 (1989),
Acts of the First International Symposium for Thracian Stuidies Byzantine Thrace: Image
and Character, Komotini, May 28th-31st 1987, 430-443
_________. Unpublished excavation reports, on file with the 12th Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities,
Kavala, 1990-92
__________. Hag. Aikaterini at Didymoteichon, Archaiologikon Deltion 42, B2 Chronika (1987), 471-474
___________. A Late Byzantine Chapel at Didymoteichon and Its Frescoes, in Larte di Bisanzio e
lItalia al tempo dei Paleologi 1261-1453, eds. A. Iacobini and M. della Valle (published as
Milion 5 [Rome, 1999]), 195-207
___________ and Th. Gourides. Ena Byzantino Kterio dipla ston Agio Athanasio Didymoteichonu, To
Archaiologiko Ergo ste Makedonia kai Thrake, 5 (Thessaloniki, 1994), 517-121
Papadopoulos, S. Didymoteicho (Didymoteicho, 1990)
Papatheophanous-Tsoure, E. and Tsouris, K. Palaiologeio monydrio sto kastro Didymoteichou,
Archaiologikon Deltion 44-46/A (1989-1991),12-39
Samothrakes, A. He phylake tou Karolou XII, Vasileos tes Souedias en Didymoteichon, Thrakika 20
(1944), 87-92
Tsouris, K. Anaskafike erevna sto Didymoteicho, Athens Annals of Archaeology 20 (1987), 43-65
_________. Nea evremeta apo to Didymoteicho, Athens Annals of Archaeology 23 (1989), 89-110
_________. Ta kineta evremata tes anaskafes dyo byzantinon spition sten Arta kai sto Didymoteicho.
Prote prossegise, Praktika Diethnous Synedriou To Despotato tes Epirou, Arta 2331.5.1990 (Arta, 1992), 495-504
Vapheides, N. Hai Ekklesiai Didymoteichou, Thrakika 13 (1940), 228-241
_________. Byzantinon parekklesion tes Agias Aikaterines en Didymoteicho tes Thrakes, Archeion
Thrakikou Laografikou kai Glossikou Thesaurou 22 (1957), 165-8

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Pythion, fortress seen from south (1987)

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087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:41 145

CHAPTER 5

Pythion and Pranghi

Located about 15 km east-northeast from Didymoteichon and 32 km south of Edirne, the
massive, ruined fortress of Pythion (Greece) sits on the edge of a plateau, above the plain of the
Evros/Meri River valley, about 2 km west of the river itself. The fortress may be identified with
the tameion or treasury and residence of John VI Kantakouzenos, called by him Empythion or
Pythion. From the Historiai of Kantakouzenos, we know that the fortress existed already at the
beginning of the second civil war in 1341 and that it was built during the reign of Andronikos III
- that is, either his joint rule with Andronikos II, 1321-28, or his sole rule, 1328-41.
Dendrochronological examination of wood beams from the larger tower indicates a felling date
1331 and thus a date in the later period is likely. The historian Nikephoros Gregoras indicates
that there may have been an older, ruined fortress on the site. Gregoras wrote that
Kantakouzenos undertook expensive works in the castle of Pythion .... and managed to make it
look as if suspended in the air. In 1342 Kantakouzenos was besieged at Pythion by Alexios
Apokaukos, and in 1352 by the Bulgarian supporters of the Palaiologues. The fortress fell to the
Ottomans under Hac Ilbeyi around 1359, as the region from Didymoteichon to Adrianopolis
came under Ottoman control, and the fortress assumed his name.

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In its final form, the fortress consisted of an outer and inner enceinte, with two towers and a
gateway where they joined. Only a few traces remains of the outer enclosure, which extended
westward along the plateau to define a trapezoidal space, apparently with towers at the corners,
set at a distance of about 120 m from the surviving gateway. The inner courtyard extended to the
northeast and was entered through a fortified gateway protected by two substantial but
asymmetrical towers. The inner courtyard was also trapezoidal but smaller, following the extent
of the plateau, and extending an estimated 85 m, perhaps terminating in a third tower. Portions
of its enclosure walls remain, and their line may be determined, although this area is poorly
preserved, as the end of the plateau was destroyed with the construction of the railroad and
highway.

Pythion, plan of fortress (drawing by M. Korres)

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Pythion, reconstruction view from southeast (drawing by M. Korres)

What remains most substantial today are the two towers and the gateway. The north tower is the
oldest and most impressive part of the fortress. It served as the donjon, the most secure portion
of the complex and last point of refuge during a siege. In plan, it is almost square, measuring
slightly less than 15 m on each side. Three vaulted stories are preserved, rising to a total height
of approximately 17m. In his study of the fortress, Manolis Korres has hypothesized a fourth,
uppermost level, rising above the battlements. The walls average 2.5 m thick. Each floor was
subdivided into four bays, covered by large domical vaults (ca. 5 m diameter) supported on
arches rising from the outer wall and the central pier. Vaulted passageways filled the spaces
between the domical vaults; these may have been used for storage, or they may have been
included simply to reduce the massiveness of the construction at the level of the vaulting. A
single entrance opens to the northeast, connecting to the inner enceinte. The entrance passage
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Pythion, the entrance of the large tower before

restoration (1974)

Pythion, large tower, vaulted staircase

Pythion, section of the large tower, looking northeast,

with hypothesized upper level (drawing by M. Korres)

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also connects to a vaulted staircase, set into the thickness of the wall and covered by a series of
ramping barrel vaults, and this provides access to the upper floors.
Indicative of its defensive nature, few windows opened to the interior. The ground floor may
have been windowless originally. Immediately above the main entrance, the window includes a
rectangular murder hole in its sill. On the upper levels, only thin slit windows open in the
southwest wall, which was the most exposed, with small arched windows on the other facades.
Those of the upper level are the largest, and as this level included both a fireplace and a built-in
cupboard, we may assume it was the residential floor of the tower.
Most distinctive of the towers features are the
continuous stone machicolations preserved at
its summit. These once supported battlements
to protect the defenders, and they provided
murder holes from which the walls could be
defended from attackers at close range. The
larger windows on the upper levels were also
equipped with at least four defensive
balconies of similar form, rising above stone
corbels on the northeast and northwest
faades.
Some strengthening of the central pier and
pilasters seems to have occurred at a later
time. In spite of its massiveness, the fragility

Pythion, interior of large tower, upper level, showing

the vaulting (1974)

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Pythion, large tower, detail of masonry

Pythion, large tower, first level, showing technique of

vaulting (1974)

of the construction is evident by the perilous state of the vaulting. In its fragmented condition, it
provides and inner aspect suggestive of a Piranesi engraving of Roman ruins. A cistern was
added subsequently as well, by walling in one-quarter of the ground floor. It seems to have been
supplied by rainwater through pipes that led from the roof.
A study of the masonry indicates that the larger tower was constructed first and may have been
freestanding originally. Courses of brick appear within the rough stone masonry of the exterior
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Pythion, towers seen from west (1986)

to mark the transitions between the levels of the interior. The recessed brick technique appears
consistently in these courses. A variation of the recessed brick technique appears in the domical
vaults of the interior, with large fragments of bricks in the mortar joints. This technique appears
in none of the other, presumably later, components of the fortress. The four-bayed plan, with
brick vaulting at all levels, and the extensive use of stone machicolations mark the tower as
unique among Byzantine fortifications and at the cutting edge of military technology in the
fourteenth century. It must have been costly to build, as Gregoras implies, and with its great
height and in its dramatic situation, it would seem to have been suspended in the air.
The smaller tower and the arched gateway were constructed later, simultaneously with the wall
of the inner enceinte. The tower is almost square in plan, measuring ca. 7.4 m on each side,
preserved to a maximum height of 20 m. Although it does not rise to height of the larger tower,
its foundations begin at a considerably lower level, set onto the slope of the hill. In addition, the
walls of the tower are battered, exhibiting diminution as they rise. As in the larger tower, its four
floors are marked on the exterior by courses of brick, although the recessed brick technique is
not employed here. On the interior, the floors are all single chambered, each covered by a
domical vault of brick. The ground floor was only accessible from above and has no windows;
it was probably used as a dungeon, entered by ladder from above. There is no communication
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between the upper floors, each of which was entered separately from the exterior. Windows open
on the upper levels; that on the southeast faade, now damaged, may have connected to a
machicolated balcony. The small tower may have terminated in another level topped by
machicolations, similar to the larger tower.
The two towers are joined by a wall 2.65 m thick with a portal leading to the inner courtyard.
The walkway at its top connected to a window on the third floor of the larger tower. The passage
is covered by a barrel vault ca. 4.6 m in length over an opening 3.3 m wide. On the lateral walls,

Pythion, courtyard during restoration, looking west

toward the entrance (2005)

Pythion, the fortified gateway before restoration

(1974)

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there is evidence for attaching an outer and an inner two-valve door, as well as for bars to secure
them in place. A small chamber covered by a domical vault appears above the passageway. This
was accessible by an internal staircase, which, however, does not extend to the ground level.
Above this rose a corbelled balcony.
The inner courtyard is surrounded by a wall 2.20-2.40 m thick. To the south, the wall is preserved
for a length of 28.5 m, with a maximum height of 9 m. To the north, slightly more than 10 m of
the length is preserved. The curtain walls were reinforced internally with wooden chains and
built with blind arches on their inner surface. Perhaps there were also lightweight buildings set
against them around the interior of the enclosure.
Based on its construction technique, the outer enceinte seems to have been built separately,
apparently in a final phase. Certain problems are posed by the three-phased chronology of the
fortress. If the main tower was built after 1331, the two enceintes must have appeared shortly
thereafter. We may credit these to Kantakouzenos need for better defenses during the period of
the civil wars, although this is nowhere stated in his history. When he mentions the fortress

Pythion, plain greenish glazed cup, 14th c.

Pythion, bottom of a glazed bowl with brown and

green sgraffito decoration, 14th c.

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during the period of the civil war, he writes of it as if it had existed for some time. On the other
hand, the fortress is known in early Ottoman sources as Ilbeyklesi, and it may be that it was
strengthened by Gaz Ilbeyi after he captured it in 1359. This would explain why the fortress
came to bear his name.
Since 1993, the fortress has been the subject of extensive study and restoration under the
direction of the 12th Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities.
Pranghi. Located between Didymoteichon and Pythion, the village of Pranghi or Prangion
(Greece) is known from the fourteenth century as the site of the tomb of the father of Gazi
Evrenos. According to a defter dated to the period of Sleyman the Magnificent, the father of
Evrenos is said to have been Isa Beg, later called Prangi, because he died in the village of that
name; his son Evrenos had a mausoleum built there and established a waqf. According to the
defter, an alternative name for village of Prangi is Karye-i Srck.
Just south of the village, by the present road from Didymoteichon to Pythion, at the site known
as Panokklisi (Upper Chapel) or Gnematoudia (Tombs), the remains of a small church
complex were discovered. The site was excavated by the 12th Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities
in the early 1980s.
The main feature at the site was a single-aisled church, very similar in type to Hag. Aikatherini
at Didymoteichon. The church measures 13.23 x 7.47 m overall, with exterior articulation of
pilasters and blind arcades. Access to the narthex was by means of an axial western portal and
by a secondary doorway to the north. A single entrance, with bivalve doors, led into the naos.
Heavy internal pilasters reinforce the lateral walls, aligned with two on each side. On the basis
of these, we may suggest that the chapel was covered by a banded barrel vault. The floors of the
naos and narthex were covered with large stone slabs, which had been carefully worked. Close
to the center of the naos is a well for drinking water. A slab has been cut to form a wellhead with
a circular well, whose walls were constructed of stone laid without mortar.
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Pranghi, Plan of the excavated church complex (drawing by Arghyris Bakirtzis)

The apse of the bema is three-sided on the exterior and semicircular on the interior, extending
almost the full width of the naos. The stylobate for the templon extends across the eastern part
of the interior, between the setback of the apse and the eastern pilasters. The upper surface of the
stylobate preserves cuttings for the templon piers.
To the south of the church, about 1.25 m away and on the same alignment, is a small chapel,
measuring 3.15 x 2.95 m, with a semicircular apse and a west entrance. Its floor was found
covered with a layer of plaster, beneath which was a layer of stone slabs, apparently its first floor
covering. During the first phase at the chapel, there was an arcosolium tomb of an important
person in the lateral wall, which was removed in the second phase.
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Pranghi, the main church

Pranghi, the south chapels

To the west of the chapel and adjacent to the southwest corner of the church, a second chapel
was found at a lower level and at a slightly different orientation. Perhaps older, it measured ca.
4 x 4 m overall, with a west entrance and a semicircular apse. The floor is covered with stone
slabs. A masonry templon separates the bema, whose floor is raised slightly. On the exterior, the
walls of the chapel were covered with mortar, with straight and cruciform (horizontal and
vertical?) incisions. The chapel was extended to the west with two connected rectangular spaces,
which served as narthex and exonarthex, and which were also paved with stone slabs.
To the west of the church a floor of stone slabs forms a sort of courtyard bounded to the west
and south by piers and closure slabs, as indicated by the cutting in the stone pavement. The
organization of the courtyard pavement appears more similar to the flooring of the southwest
chapel than to that of the church, and may belong to the second phase of use at the site.
The complex is enclosed on the south side by a wall. After the destruction of the church and
chapels, the area was used as a cemetery. About 20 m south of the church five tombs were
excavated: four were cist tombs of children, two of which each contained a glazed pottery vessel.
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Pranghi, glazed bowl with brown sgraffito decoration,

second half of 13th c.

Several carved stone pieces were found during the excavation: closure planels, piers, the epistyle
of the templon, pieces of a window frame and glass. The excellent quality of the sculpture echoes
that of Constantinople, with which nearby Didymoteichon had close connections. The erection
of the church above a well, known as a custom from ancient times, fixes the position of the
Byzantine road from Didymoteichon to Pythion, which is mentioned the fourteenth century as
80 stadia in distance.
The details of the building, such as the lack of alignment of the faade arcades with the interior
supports, as well as the architectural sculpture, suggest a date in the second half of 13th century.

Pranghi, the epistyle of the templon found in the

excavation

Pranghi, Basket capital found in the excavation

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Pranghi, closure panels found in the excavation

Pranghi, closure panel found in the excavation

158

Pranghi, fragments of window frames found in the

excavation

087 OS 178 29-03-07 07:49 159

Bibliography
Asdracha, Catherine. La rgion des Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe sicles (Athens, 1976), 120-24
Bakirtzis, Ch. Archaeologikon Deltion 33(1978), B2, Chronika, 327-29
Bakirtzis, Ch. - D. Triandaphyllos, Thrace, ETB Cultural Guides (Athens, 1990), 74
Barkan, mer Ltfi. Osmanl Imparatorlugunda Bir Iskan ve Kolonizasyon Metodu olarak Vakflar ve
Temlikler, Vakflar Dergisi 2 (1942), 342
Gregoras, Nikephoros Byzantina Historia, ed. L. Schopen, II:708
Hetherington, Paul. Pythion: A Thracian Frourion of John VI Kantakouzenos, Jahrbuch der
sterreichischen Byzantinistik 45 (1995), 307-12
Kantakouzenos, Ioannes. Historiai, ed. Schopen, II:184, 195
Korres, M. The Architecture of the Pythion Castle, Byzantinische Forschungen 14 (1989), 274-78
Kuniholm, P.I., and C.L. Striker, Dendrochronological Investigations in the Aegean and Neighboring
Regions, 1977-1982, Journal of Field Archaeology 10 (1983), 411-420; 1983-1986,
Journal of Field Archaeology 14 (1987), 385-98
Nichol, D. The Byzantine Family of Kantakouzenos (Washington, D.C., 1968), 35-103
Soustal, Peter. Thrakien (Thrake-, Rodope- und Haimimontos), Tabula Imperii Byzantini 6 (Vienna, 1991),
414, 419-20
Tsouris, K and A. Brikas To frourio tou Pythiou kai to ergo tes apokastaseos tou. Prokatarktike anakoinose
(Kavala, 2002)
Vocotopoulos, P. The Concealed Course Technique: Further Examples and a Few Remarks, Jahrbuch
der sterreichischen Byzantinistik 28 (1979), 247-60

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Edirne, An early twentieth-century view toward the old city; the Clock Tower,
built above a Roman-Byzantine bastion, appears at the center; the Tunca River appears in the background

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CHAPTER 6

Adrianopolis (Edirne) and its Monuments

Situated on the Tunca River, close to where it joins the Meri/Evros and some 5 km from its
confluence with the Arda, Edirne (Adrianopolis) was throughout its history a major
transportation center, situated at the intersection of strategic routes, connecting by both
waterways and overland roadways to major centers in Thrace and the Balkans. The Roman and
subsequent Byzantine fortification walls formed a rough parallelogram, parts of which may still
be traced, enclosing an area of about 0.36 square kilometer, and connecting to the Tunca at the
southwest corner. The early Ottoman monuments lie outside the ancient enclosure, situated
primarily to the north.

History
The Thracian town of Uscudama was taken by the Romans in 72 BC. Hadrian subsequently
expanded and fortified the city in the second century AD, giving it his name. By the end of the
third century, there is strong evidence of a Christian population, for the city produced a number
of martyrs, before Licinius fell to Constantine in battle, near Adrianopolis, in 324. Shortly
thereafter, the first Christian bishops are recorded, and Adrianopolis subsequently became the
metropolis for the ecclesiastical administration of the province.

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Adrianopolis, plan of the Roman-Byzantine city (Ousterhout, redrawn after Papazotos and Peremeci).

As the major stronghold and administrative center of the region, Adrianopolis played a
significant role in all conflicts between the Byzantines and their Balkan neighbors, protecting the
capital from invasions from the north. Valens was routed by the Goths in 378 in the Battle of
Adrianopolis. During the second half of the sixth century, Slavs and the Avars besieged the city.
Throughout the ninth and tenth centuries, the city witnessed the conflicts between the Byzantines
and the Bulgars, falling briefly to both Krum and Symeon. The city was a base for John
Tzimiskes war against the Russians in 971, as well as a center for resistance against the
Pechenegs in the eleventh century. Adrianopolis was also a major commercial center; Venetian
traders are noted in the city as early as the late eleventh century. Alexios I Komnenos was
proclaimed emperor in Adrianopolis in 1081.
During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the city was a major point of contention between the
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Byzantines, Crusaders, and Bulgars. Frederick Barbarossa occupied the city in 1190 and from
there negotiated a treaty with Constantinople. The Bulgarian Kalojan defeated the Latins at
Adrianopolis in 1205, although the conflict continued for several subsequent years, with the
Latins evidently maintaining control of the city. In 1225, Adrianopolis passed from the Latins to
John III Dukas Vatatzes of Nicaea but fell in the same year to Theodore of Epiros. In 1230, the
Bulgarians once again took the city, but John III reestablished Nicaean rule in 1242-46. In 125556, Theodore II Laskaris used Adrianopolis as his base for a campaign against the Bulgars. With
the reestablishment of Byzantine rule in Constantinople in 1261, Adrianopolis became the
strategic center on the border with Bulgaria. The Catalan Grand Company besieged the city
during their westward march in 1307.
Adrianopolis played an important role during the civil wars of the fourteenth century. In 1346,
John VI Kantakouzenos was crowned in Adrianopolis by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Shortly
thereafter, the city and its district were given as a fiefdom to his son Matthew Kantakouzenos.
In the subsequent conflict with John V Palaiologos, John VI brought Turkish troops to his aid.
The city seems to have been seized by Turkish begs in or around 1369, and in 1376-77, Murad
I established his residence there. The city subsequently was developed as the Ottoman capital,
serving as such prior to the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries witness major architectural investment in the city by the Ottomans.

Monuments
Little survives in modern Edirne to bear witness to the important Byzantine history of the city.
Continually ravaged by war during the Byzantine period and dramatically rebuilt in the early
Ottoman period, the historic core of the city was devastated by fire and earthquake and suffered
additional damage during the Russian siege and occupation of 1877-78 in the Balkan Wars of
1912-13. An inventory compiled by I. Saraphoglou in 1929 lists one Byzantine church, ten postByzantine churches, four churches that had burned in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries,
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Edirne. A view of the fortifications by A. Desarnod (1829-1830)

and three churches converted to mosques but in ruins or destroyed by the time of his writing. In
1907, C. Gurlitt sought the Christian buildings of the city with little success. Only two Byzantine
churches are known from physical remains, recorded a century or more ago, both had disappeared
by the early twentieth century.

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Edirne, Remains of the fortification wall

Fortifications
The lines of the ancient city walls are no longer visible, but they were described by Evliya
Celebi, Lampousiades, and others. The ancient wall was laid on a parallelogram plan, running
approximately 800 meters on the east and west sides, and 600 meters on the south and north
sides, enclosing an area of about 0.36 square kilometer. Round towers appeared at the corners,
with a barbican at the rivers edge, joined to the southwest corner tower. Each stretch of walls
included several gates; Evliya Celebi named eight gates and claimed that in former times the
walls were surrounded by a moat. Areas of the north wall are preserved, along with the northeast
tower, now known as the Macedonian Tower, which has been much rebuilt and recently restored.
Called by Evliya Celebi the Makeduna Kullesi, the tower is round, about 10 m in diameter, and
constructed of alternating bands of brick and squared stone. It was altered and heightened in
1884 and again in 1894 with the addition of several stepped stages to serve as the Clock Tower
(Saat Kulesi), and it became a distinctive landmark in the city. The upper stages were removed
following damage in the earthquake of 1953.
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Edirne, Clock tower, early 20th century, showing

remains of Byzantine inscription

Edirne, Macedonian Tower, following 2002 restoration,

with the remains of the brick inscription visible

Sometime in the Byzantine period, the tower was rebuilt and a brick inscription was added to
commemorate its reconstruction. The inscription once read: K<YPI>E BOHEI T
EYCEBECTAT K<AI> IOXPICT BACIEI HMN IANNH. This was partially
obliterated with the insertion of windows, but the letters had been accentuated in plaster and
paint following the 1894 reconstruction. After 1953, however, the remains were covered with
plaster, although part of the inscription still survived. The remains were uncovered in the 2002
restoration.
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Edirne, Clock tower, early 20th century, detail of the

inscription

The formulaic inscription gives the name of an emperor John, although it does not specify which
one. K. Kyriazes once proposed that the tenth-century emperor John Tzmiskes was responsible
for its construction, and, indeed, the tower is sometimes called the Tower of John Tzimiskes. But
the inscription more likely belongs either to either John V Palaiologos or John VI
Kantakouzenos; as E. Siderides suggested, it probably records the reconstruction of the
fortifications following the devastating earthquake that struck Thrace in 1353.
Other recorded inscriptions from the walls give the names of Basil II, Nikephoros Bryennios,
John II Komnenos, and Michael VIII Palaiologos.
The area behind the northeast tower was excavated in 2002 under the direction of Sahin Yldrm,
but the results are not yet published. The excavation revealed the lower courses of the
fortification walls, built of large squared stone, and well as evidence of later repairs and
modifications. Parts of a small Byzantine church, were also unearthed, dated by the excavators
to the tenth century, and an industrial area with several ceramic kilns. Finds are on display in the
archaeological museum.

Byzantine Churches
Hagia Sophia. Although known today as Hagia Sophia, the name may be no more than a fanciful
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Edirne, Church known as Hagia. Sophia. Photograph by Lchine, 1888, from south

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designation; the original dedication is unknown. Lady Wortley Montagu visited a ruined church
when she passed through Adrianopolis in 1717, and perhaps confusing it with its namesake in
Constantinople, she wrote: I was in haste to see the ruins of Justinians church, which did not
afford me so agreeable a prospect being little more than a heap of stones. Certainly by the
nineteenth century, when it was photographed and cursorily studied, it lay in ruins. Located in
the Old City, the church seems to have been converted into a mosque but used as such only for
a short period of time. During the reign of Murad II (1421-1451) a medrese building was added
to its one side, and a certain instructor by the name of Omeri Halebi was assigned to it, from
which its Ottoman name derives (Halebi Medresesi Camii). Ignatios Nazianzou, writing in 1760,
records that the building, known both as the Ai-Sophia Camii and as the Halebiye, had been
converted to a mosque but paintings were still visible, including a Pantokrator in the dome. The
building seems to have been destroyed in the earthquake in 1751 and left a ruin. According to
Bad Ahmet Efendi, writing ca.1888-98, the building had a dome, which was positioned on four
arcades and was accompanied by a wooden minaret. By the end of the nineteenth century,
however, there was almost nothing left of the building due to the removal of the masonry for
reuse in new construction.
A. Choisy published two schematic plans of the building in 1876 and 1913. In 1888, the Russian
consul Gh. Lchine took a photograph of the ruined building, seen from the south, which is now
in the archives of the Institute of Bulgarian Archaeology in Sofia. By 1902, the church was said
to be completely destroyed. A second photograph, of poor quality and of uncertain date, was
published in 1928 and shows a single standing pier.
Mateev, Mavrodinov, Eyice, and Papazotos have discussed the church, based on Choisys plans
in combination with the 1888 photograph. Choisy claimed that the building had two construction
phases, and this seems likely. The building was cruciform on the exterior, measuring some 32.40
m in width and length, with the square core measuring about 15.20 m across, or approximately
48 Byzantine feet. On the interior, the core was expanded by cross-arms of equal measurement,

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Edirne, Hag. Sophia, restored plan. Phase 1 (Choisy

and Ousterhout)

Edirne, Hag. Sophia, restored plan. Phase 2 (Choisy

and Ousterhout)

projecting about 8.50 m on each side, each apparently terminating in an apse enveloped by an
ambulatory. The plan of the building in the first phase may be reconstructed as an aisled
tetraconch, similar to that of S. Lorenzo in Milan, which dates from the second half of the fourth
century, and to numerous examples in Athens, Syria, and elsewhere, built during the subsequent
two centuries. The innovative, open design would also suggest a comparison with Hagia Sophia
in Constantinople, and this resemblance may account for its designation.
Many details of the first phase remain unclear. Choisys plan includes four piers or columns set
into the central area to support a dome with an estimated diameter of 7.20 m. Based on other
examples of the aisled tetraconch building type, however, this seems unlikely, and more probably
the central area was completely open. In addition, the plan does not indicate how the
ambulatories were separated from the tetraconch core of the building, but, again, based on
comparable examples, this was most likely accomplished by means of columnar screens, which
would have allowed dynamic spatial relationships in the double-shelled design. None of the
other examples of early tetraconch buildings are squared off on the exterior, but this detail is
indicated clearly on Choisys plan, with niches and corner compartments accessible from the
ambulatory. It is unclear if at this phase the building had a gallery above the ambulatory,
although it its second phase, the building seems to have included a gallery. Because of the scale
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of the building and the relative thinness of the supports, the central area may have been covered
by a pyramidal wooden roof or possibly by a dome of light construction. Choisy dated the first
phase to the seventh century, but most other scholars have suggested a fifth-century date, which
seems more likely.
In a second construction phase, heavy supports were introduced into the corners of the central
area to support arches and pendentives, and a dome with a diameter of approximately 7.20 m
above the central area. As it is evident in the photograph, the rising walls, the pier supports, and
the dome were made of brick. It is unclear if the aisled tetraconch plan was maintained in this
phase, if the church was reduced to a cruciform core, or if the colonnades of the exedrae were
filled with solid walls. The cluster piers are penetrated by narrow passageways on two levels; in
the photograph the lower arcades are almost completely buried, but their presence is clearly
indicated by a lower cornice, and it would appear that in this phase at least the church had a
gallery. The lower cornices are detailed with an astragal and a heavy fascia, while the upper
appear to have been champfered. The dome raised above a cylindrical drum, pierced by large
windows, with setbacks in each opening. The springing of the dome was concealed behind the
rising cylinder of the drum on the exterior. Each cross-arm seems to have ended in an apse or
exedra, perhaps vaulted with a half-dome.
Eyice saw the dome as the only feature that belonged to the second phase, which he attributed
to the Late Byzantine period. However, the construction and detailing of the drum can be
compared to the dome of the Fatih Camii in Trilye, built ca. 800. Moreover, the forms of the
cluster piers at the corners of the naos are similar to those in Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki (late
sixth century), and the lower cornice profiles are similar as well. In contrast to Eyice,
Mavrodinov had dated the second phase to the eighth century, and based on the details of the
piers, dome, and cornices, a date in the Transitional Period seems most reasonable. Papazotos
believed the church to be of a single phase in the seventh or eighth century; he suggested a
tripartite sanctuary with pastophoria in the place of the eastern conch and ambulatory, but there
is no clear evidence of this. Although there must have been some sort of accommodation for the
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later Byzantine liturgy, the corner compartments of the original plan may have utilized as
pastophoria.
Sinaitikon. A small tetraconch chapel has also been documented, known as the Sinaitikon.
According to Ignatios Nazianzou, writing in 1760, the church of Hagios Ioannes Theologos
served as the metochion of Sinai. Saraphoglou situates it inside the palace ton Blachon, by whom
it was given to the monks of Sinai. The building survived into the early twentieth century, when

Edirne, Sinaitikon. Old photograph, seen from south

172

Edirne, Sinaitikon. Plan, elevation, section, and dome

plan by C. Gurlitt

087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:43 173

its plan and elevation were recorded by Gurlitt in 1907. A single photograph of the building also
survives, published by Saraphoglou in 1928-29, but there are notable differences between it and
Gurlitts drawings. In his analysis of the building, Eyice suggests that Gurlitt had attempted to
represent the building as it looked in the Byzantine period, rather than recording its
contemporary appearance.
The chapel measured only 7.70 m in length, with a dome with a diameter of 3 m. The outer walls
followed a tapered cruciform outline while inner layout formed a tetraconch. The west niche
includes a door, the one opposite is lined with small niches set into the thickness of the wall.
There is no evidence whether two of the other arms had similar arrangement. Certain
discrepancies are immediately evident between the photograph and Gurlitts plan: the diagonal
walls are faceted in the photograph, rather than concave as Gurlitt drew them; in addition, the
windows as photographed are positioned lower in the walls and are both larger and differently
spaced that those in Gurlitts drawing.
Eyice compared the plan of the Sinaitikon to that of a Roman tomb at Side, thus implying an
early date, while suggesting that the tall drum reflecting a remodeling of the twelfth century,
based on its similarities with the dome of St. John of Trullo (Hirami Ahmet Pasa) in
Constantinople. However, the plan and the attenuated proportions of the elevation resemble more
closely those of the Theotokos Mouchliotissa in Constantinople, as Gurlitt suggested. The latter
was probably constructed in the late thirteenth century and includes a dome of similar external
design. The proportions and details of the dome would suggest a likely date in the period of the
twelfth-to-fourteenth centuries.
Yldrm Camii. Gurlitt interpreted the cruciform plan and odd orientation of the Yldrm Camii
as Christian in origin, and consequently in his publication he termed it the Kirchenmoschee.
His opinion that the building was originally a church was shared by the 1914 Baedeckers Guide
and later by Semavi Eyice. Gurlitt proposed that the building was originally built in the thirteenth
century, converted ca. 1400, and remodeled in the eighteenth century. Despite its considerably
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larger scale, both Gurlitt and Eyice compared the plan to that of the mausoleum of Galla Placidia
in Ravenna. The mixed brick and stone masonry, with banded voussoirs in the arches, follows
the Byzantine system, but it resembles more closely the wall system of the early mosques of
Bursa than that of Byzantine monuments. Although Byzantine foundations might have been
reused, the building is undoubtedly of early Ottoman origin, probably constructed as a zaviye.
Byzantine spolia were incorporated into the building, including two cubic in the arcaded entry.
One remains atop its column; the other sits in the mosque garden. Both have trapezoidal fields
with herringbone at the corners and must date from the Middle Byzantine period. In the south

Edirne, Yldrm Camii, plan by C. Gurlitt

Edirne, Yldrm Camii, reused templon architrave

174

Edirne, Yldrm Camii, reused templon architrave

087 OS 178 27-03-07 15:43 175

Edirne, Selimiye Camii, outer enclosure, eagle capital

Edirne, Archaeological Museum, Capital no. 30

convent room, or tabhane, a fragment of a templon architrave is reused as the window lintel. Its
inner face is decorated with a scene of the Ascension of Christ, with a small, seated Christ in a
mandorla carried by two flying angels. A lotus-and-palmette motif appears to either side, in
which a six-winged seraph appears. The lower surface is decorated with a geometric pattern of
overlapping circles and rhomboids. The piece must also be Middle Byzantine in date.
Other monuments. Byzantine spolia and disjecta membra appear throughout the city, and an
inventory of these would be a useful undertaking. Within the Bayezid II Camii, for example, the
Hnkr Mahfili (imperial loge) is carried on fifteen marble supports, composed of square
pedestals surmounted by octagonal colonnettes. Of these, possibly eleven (of three different
kinds of stone) are originally Byzantine pieces, a type of pier colonnette used in chancel barriers
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during the Middle Byzantine period. At the Selimiye Camii, a reused column is set into the north
corner of its enclosure wall, topped by a fifth-century acanthus capital with eagles carved in the
abacus bosses. Two Middle Byzantine capitals that had been reused in the nineteenth-century
Metropolitan Church (now destroyed) lie in the garden behind the Sultan Hotel. Cubic in form,
a striated pattern frames semicircular fields that contain crosses or six-pointed stars. At least
seven additional Middle Byzantine cubic capitals are on display at the Archaeological Museum.
Of these, the most interesting is No. 30. Its faces are decorated with coupled leaf stalks, two of
which have twisted stems, and two of which have bead-and-reel astragals in the place of the
stems, terminating in open and closed human hands.

Bibliography
Asdracha, Catherine. Inscriptions byzantines de la Thrace orientale et de lile dImbros (XIIe-XVe
sicles). Prsentation et commentaire historique, Archaiologikon Deltion 43 part A (1988),
219-291; 44-46 part A (1989-91), 239-334
Baedecker, K. Konstantinopel, Balkanstaaten, Kleinasien, Archipel, Cypern (Leipzig, 1914), 50-55
Eyice, Semavi. Bizans Devrinde Edirne ve bu Devre ait Eserler in Edirne Edirnenin 600. Fethi
Yldnm Armagan Kitab (Ankara, 1965) 39-77
________. Edirne Saat Kulesi ve zerindeki Bizans Kitabesi, Gney-Dogu Avrupa Arastrmalar
Dergisi 8-9 (1979-80), 1-22
Gkbilgin, M.T. Edirne, Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden, 1965), II, 683-86
Gregory, T.E. and N.P. Sevcenko. Adrianopolis, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (New York, 1991), I,
23
Gurlitt, C. Die Bauten Adrianopels, Orientalisches Archiv 1 (1910-11), 1-4, 51-60
_______. Die Baukunst Konstantinopels (Berlin, 1912)
Kreiser, K. Edirne in 17. Jahrhundert nach Evliya Celebi. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der
osmanischrennStadt (Freiburg, 1975)

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Lampousiades, G.I. Peri ton teichon tes Adrianoupoleos (Orestias-Komotini, 1923. second edition with
introduction and notes by Thanasis Papazotos, Komotini 2007)
Mavrodinov, N. Lorigine de la construction et du plan de Sainte Sophie Constantinople, Actes du VIe
Congrs International des tudes Byzantines (Paris, 1951), II, 277-98
tken, Yldz, and Robert Ousterhout. Notes on the Monuments of Turkish Thrace, Anatolian Studies
39 (1989), 121-49
Papazotos, Thanasis, Scolio pano se mia fotografia tes Hagias Sophias Adrianoupoleos, Thrakike
Epeterida 9 (1992-94), 29-35.
Peremeci, O.N. Edirne Tarihi (Istanbul, 1939)
Saraphoglou, I. (unsigned notes). Apo ta byzantina mnemeia tes Thrakes, Thrakika 1 (1928), 349, 392
Saraphoglou, I. Peri tes Adrianoupoleos, Thrakika 2 (1929), 66-82
Soustal, Peter. Thrakien (Thrake-, Rodope- und Haimimontos), Tabula Imperii Byzantini 6 (Vienna, 1991),
161-67

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View into the Evros/Meri valley from the fortress at Pythion

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Conclusion
The systematic examination of the surviving and documented monuments of the Evros/Meri
valley yields a new understanding of the cultural role the region played throughout the Byzantine
period. As the heartland of the Byzantine Empire and the hinterland of the capital, the region of
Thrace preserves a rich and varied architectural legacy that both reflects and deviates from that
of the capital. While Thrace offers many parallels for the buildings of Constantinople, at the
same time, it presents a variety of unique architectural solutions. The monuments examined here
both broaden and challenge our traditional picture of architectural developments in the
Byzantine capital.
Very little is preserved from the Early Christian centuries, but the plan of Hagia Sophia in
Adrianopolis/Edirne, insofar as it may be reconstructed, is instructive. As an aisled tetraconch,
the double-shelled plan employed here was widely disseminated throughout the Mediterranean
from the late fourth century onward, attesting to the cosmopolitan nature of the Late Antique
world. Perhaps the best known example is S Lorenzo in Milan of the third quarter of the fourth
century, where a sense of the spatial complexity of the original building is still evident. Other
examples are known in Athens, Antioch, Syria, Armenia, and at Ohrid and Perustica (Bulgaria)
in the Balkans. With the exception of S Lorenzo, these date to the fifth or early sixth centuries.
The proximity of our example to the Byzantine capital has important implications for the
development of the innovative architectural forms of the sixth century, as at HH. Sergios kai
Bakchos (Kk Ayasofya Camii) and at Hagia Sophia, which similarly employed columnar
screens and developed sophisticated interior spatial relationships. As a Byzantine city,
Adrianopolis was both strategic and cosmopolitan.
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For the critical Transitional Period (late sixth through ninth centuries), very few buildings
survive in Constantinople, and scholars have traditionally looked to Bithynia for supplementary
examples. Thrace also provides some compelling transitional churches. The church known as
Ayasofya in Vize is one of the best preserved examples from this period, securely dated by
dendrochronology to the ninth century. Until the excavations at Enez, it stood in virtual isolation.
If our restoration and dating of the Kral Kilisesi are correct, we can offer another example of a
domed basilica from the Transitional Period, as well as a building of exceptional quality. The
central domed area of the Ayasofya in Edirne (now destroyed) seems to have been rebuilt around
the same time, with a moderately sized dome raised above cluster piers. While none of these
buildings finds an exact parallel in the capital, they suggest more broadly-based developments
for a poorly documented period.
For the Middle Byzantine period, two well-known examples, the church of the Kosmosoteira at
Pherai and the ruined church now known as the Fatih Camii at Enez, both correspond in terms
of technique, scale, and spatial disposition with the twelfth-century monuments of
Constantinople. They would appear to have been constructed and probably decorated by
workshops composed at least in part of artisans from the capital. With the Kosmosoteira, the
presence of a crown prince, the Sebastokrator Isaakios Komnenos, emphasizes the connections
with the capital, for even in his exile, Isaakios was not without resources and not without
connections in the capital, as his typikon attests. We might imagine a similar scenario for the
construction of the Fatih Camii at Enez that is, built by a wealthy patron with close ties to
Constantinople. Its well-preserved portico faade offers an excellent example of a building
component now missing from most of its contemporaries. In addition, both buildings offer
spacious, light-filled interiors, capable of housing sizeable congregations, as one finds in the
great twelfth-century churches of the capital.
Nevertheless, both churches preserve features unknown in Constantinopolitan architecture. For
example, should the elongated plan and engaged columns beneath the dome at Enez or the

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coupled columnar supports and open corner compartments at the Kosmosoteira be regarded as
Constantinopolitan or as features of local derivation? At Pherai, the innovative design of the
western domed bays reflects the growing concern for the commemoration of the dead, which
resulted in a variety of new building types in Constantinople. The open interior provided a
unique position for Isaakios tomb, with a clear visual relationship to the setting of the liturgy.
Although the Kosmosoteira finds no exact parallel in the capital, its design is experimental in
precisely the same ways we find in Constantinople in the same century.
The Enez church, on the other hand, parallels the increased scale and sense of openness that
characterizes the great twelfth-century endeavors in Constantinople, such as the Pantokrator
churches (Zeyrek Camii), the Kyriotissa (Kalenderhane Camii), and the church now known as
the Gl Camii. As with the coupled columns at the Kosmosoteira, the engaged columns at Enez
may have resulted from the employment of marble spolia to their best advantage. At the same
time, the elongated domed basilica design is unusual and perhaps reflects older prototypes.
The discovery of the Kral Kilisesi at Enez offers a potential local prototype from the Transitional
Period, as does the church at Vize. Limited soundings along the south side of the Fatih Camii
suggest that the building may in fact rest on older foundations. That is to say, while Thracian
patrons and builders looked to the capital for architectural ideas, they also could find a similarly
rich architectural heritage within their own backyard.
The Late Byzantine churches of Didymoteichon and Enez reflect to a certain degree the
architecture of Constantinople, but they are replete with technical and stylistic details that
suggest the growth of regional workshops in the final centuries of Byzantium. The churches of
Hag. Ioannes and Hag. Gregorios at Enez have attenuated domes quite unlike those of the capital
and which find better comparison further to the west. At Hag. Aikaterini in Didymoteichon and
elsewhere, wall construction is a simple facing on a rubble core, quite unlike the building
technique of Constantinople. The plans of the simple, single-aisled churches like Hag.
Aikatherini or the church excavated at Pranghi find no comparison in the capital.

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On the other hand, cultural and political connections with Constantinople continued. The odd
building by Hag. Athanasios in Didymoteichon may in fact have been the aisle of a larger church,
and as such would reflect the development of ambulatory plans with accommodation for burials,
as at the Monastery tou Libos (Fenar Isa Camii) or the Chora (Kariye Camii). The mysterious
images of winged emperors and the exceptional quality of the painting would also indicate close
relationships with the art of the capital. The fortress at Pythion similarly stands out as a unique
example of defensive architecture. Whereas it reflects the sad state of affairs in the fourteenth
century as Byzantium descended into civil war and was gradually overtaken by the Ottomans, at
the same time, it demonstrates the continued possibility for innovation in the regional
architecture until the very end of the Byzantine period.
In sum, the architectural developments of Byzantine Thrace add important nuances to the
growing picture of architecture in and around the Byzantine capital. At the same time, it is
important to realize that there were local workshops of builders, whose style and construction
techniques differed significantly from those of Constantinople. These local workshops became
considerably more important in the final centuries of Byzantium.
Unfortunately, the Thrace of Ares (as our colleague Danuta Gorecki once called it) continued
through much of the history of the region. Often a battleground in the Byzantine period, the
historical record is filled with accounts of destruction. For the period before the sixth century,
virtually nothing has survived. Although we may blame the Goths or the Avars for this lacuna,
the twentieth century has been just as cruel. Many of the monuments known a century ago have
vanished without a trace, lost in the turbulence of the Balkan Wars, the breakup of the Ottoman
Empire, the Population Exchange, and the Greek-Turkish War. Now, with serious archaeological
activity taking place on both sides of the border, we hope that new discoveries, exchanges of
ideas, and collaborations will yield a richer and more nuanced picture of the Evros/Meri valley
during the Byzantine period. We offer this book in hope that scholarship can transcend national
boundaries, for Byzantium represents the common heritage on both sides of the border.

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View of Didymoteichon from northeast

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The authors on the roof of the Kosmosoteira, 2005

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following institutions and individuals for their assistance: The 12th
Ephoreia of Byzatine Antiquities at Kavala, the Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, Engin Akyrek, Thales Avdes, Arghyris Bakirtzis, Nezih Basgelen, Suna CagaptayArkan, Theodoros Damianou, Lena Dimitriadou, Thanasis Gourides, Photeine Kontakou, Manoles
Korres, Dimitris Korres, Vassilis Marinis, Anne Marshall, Socrates Mavromates, Yldz tken, Demetra
Papanikola-Bakirtzi, Christina Pavlidou, Lila Sambanopoulou, Stathes Smarlamakes, Tassos Tantsis,
Kostas Tsouris, Dimitris Vlachos, Pandelis Xydas, Nikos Zekos.

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