Forum of the Ox
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The Forum of the Ox (or Forum Bovis), was a Forum located at the Beyazid District in the city of Constantinople.
History
The Forum of the Ox was located on the Mese thoroughfare between the Forum of Arcadius and Taurian (or Theodosian) Forum, about 2 km from the Hagia Sophia. The Forum was named after its central monument, a large antique bronze furnace in the shape of an ox's head taken from Pergamum. Hardly anything is left from this forum. The Forum of the Ox was situated on the site of the present Aksaray Square.
In 1511, Ezio Auditore da Firenze discovered Niccolò Polo hid one of the Masyaf Keys beneath the Forum of the Ox. He discovered Byzantines were also present, and pursued them through the underground course of the River Lycus. After killing them all, he recovered the third Key.[1]
Database entry
Located near the western walls of early-Roman Constantinople, the Forum of the Ox – or Forum Bovis – saw most of its traffic in the form of pompous parades thrown by Emperors entering the city.
One of many forums built by the early Emperors of Nova Roma, and one of a number gradually built over by subsequent generations, the Forum of the Ox succumbed to the fate of so many public spaces: people see open land, and they can’t help but fill it up with stuff.
Gallery
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Ezio and the Byzantines beneath the Forum of the Ox.
