The Greek town Byzantium had a strategically favorable location, but until the people have enough fresh water you cannot hope to build a large city there. That is why it was only when Roman emperor Constantine and his successors undertook their big building project that the city became the largest in the world, under its new name Constantinople, fed by the longest aqueduct of Antiquity: the Valens Aqueduct. Mariette tells us how it was built and maintained and how the towering remains still standing in Istanbul can speak to us today.

Guest:
Dr. Mariette Verhoeven
Lecturer at the Department of History, Art History and Classcis; researcher at the Radboud Institute for Culture and History, Radboud University, Netherlands.

Further reading:
Verhoeven, Mariëtte, Fokke Gerritsen, and Özgün Özçakır. “Revitalizing Istanbul’s Water Heritage: The Valens Aqueduct”. Blue Papers 2, no. 1 (March 1, 2023): 154–63.
More about the Valens Aqueduct, heritage, and sustainability.

Crow, Jim. “Ruling the Waters: Managing the Water Supply of Constantinople, Ad 330–1204”. Water History 4, no. 1 (April 2012): 35–55.
An overview of the hydraulic system of Constantinople, from its inception through decline and renovation to its continued maintenance up until 1204.


Host:
Dr Ed Hayes, researcher on the project “Source of Life: Water Management in the Premodern Middle East” at Radboud University, Netherlands.
Producer:
Jouke Heringa, MA student Ancient and Medieval history at Radboud University, Netherlands.

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