Milyon Taşı
Milyon Taşı, known in English as the Milion Stone, lies near Hagia Sophia in central Istanbul. Its surviving fragments recall the Byzantine Empire’s zero-mile marker, where imperial distances began.
Septimus Severus erected the monument in the third century AD, marking the start of the Mese, Constantinople’s main road. The original structure formed a domed building supported by four large arches. Statues and paintings adorned the monument as its role grew within the imperial city. Justinian I and Justin II later added sundials and statues, turning the site into a ceremonial centre.
By the sixteenth century, the monument had vanished, possibly during urban development. Excavations in the 1960s uncovered fragments that preserve its connection with Byzantine measurement and ceremony. Its place near Hagia Sophia anchors a small surviving trace to the grand route of ancient Constantinople.
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