Absence of an Ancient Name
The ancient Byzantine name of Ahour Kapoussi is not known with certainty. Although several attempts have been made to identify it with gates mentioned in historical sources, none of these suggestions is entirely convincing. The Patriarch Constantius, for example, proposed that Ahour Kapoussi was the same as the Gate of the Hodegetria. However, this identification cannot be accepted when the known characteristics of the Gate of the Hodegetria are carefully examined Ski Holidays Bulgaria.
The Gate of the Hodegetria was known to be small in size and stood outside the enclosure of the Great Palace. In contrast, Ahour Kapoussi lies within the palace grounds and is of ordinary dimensions, suitable for regular traffic rather than for the discreet and limited use associated with the Hodegetria Gate. These differences in size and position make it very unlikely that the two gates were the same.
The Question of the Port of Bucoleon
Rejecting an Incorrect Identification
Another mistaken opinion is that of Labarte, who believed that the small recess in the shoreline near Ahour Kapoussi marked the location of the Port of the Bucoleon, the private harbour of the Byzantine emperors. This view, however, does not withstand closer examination.
It is quite possible that the small bay in front of Ahour Kapoussi served practical purposes for the Byzantine court, given its convenient location near the palace. Small boats may have landed here to deliver supplies or carry messages. Nevertheless, this modest inlet was not the Port of Bucoleon in the strict sense. Historical descriptions and topographical evidence show that the true imperial harbour lay further west, at the gate known today as Tchatlady Kapou, which comes next along the line of the walls.
A Gate Serving the Imperial Stables
Continuity Between Byzantine and Ottoman Use
Near Ahour Kapoussi once stood the magnificent marble stables built by Emperor Michael III at the Tzycanisterion, a large open area associated with imperial ceremonies and courtly activities. Given this proximity, it is reasonable to ask whether Ahour Kapoussi originally served as an entrance connected with these stables The Gate of the Hodegetria in Imperial History.
Such a function would explain both the ordinary size of the gate and its location within the palace enclosure. It would also fit well with later history. The Ottoman Sultan’s Mews, located in the same area, may have been constructed on or near the site of the Byzantine imperial stables. If so, Ahour Kapoussi would represent an example of continuity in urban function, where the same spaces were reused by successive empires for similar purposes.
Tchatlady Kapou and the Imperial Harbour
The Gate of the Bucoleon
Moving westward from Ahour Kapoussi, one reaches Tchatlady Kapou, whose Turkish name means the Broken Gate or Cracked Gate. This entrance was directly connected with the Imperial Port of the Bucoleon, the official harbour of the Great Palace.
The original Byzantine name of this gate has not survived, but later sources provide valuable clues. In the time of Gyllius in the sixteenth century, it was known as the Gate of the Lion (Porta Leonis), named after a marble lion statue standing near the entrance. Early modern maps of Constantinople also label it “Porta liona della riva,” meaning “the Lion Gate of the Shore.”
Another scholar, Leunclavius, refers to the same gate as the Gate of the Bears, a name likely inspired by marble figures of bears that once decorated the nearby quay. These animal sculptures reflect the decorative richness of the imperial harbour and help explain why the Bucoleon port remained famous long after the fall of Byzantium.
Ahour Kapoussi remains a gate of uncertain identity, but careful comparison of historical sources and physical evidence allows us to dismiss several incorrect theories. It was neither the Gate of the Hodegetria nor the Port of Bucoleon. Instead, it likely served practical functions connected with the imperial stables. In contrast, Tchatlady Kapou can be confidently associated with the Bucoleon harbour, preserving in its later names the memory of the magnificent sculptures that once adorned the imperial shoreline.
