Constantinople and the heavenly Jerusalem?: Through the Imperial Palace

The aim of this paper is to analyse two lines of thought that develop in a parallel way and merge together in the definition of the meaning of Constantinople during Late Antiquity: the image of Constantinople as a second or new Jerusalem and that of Constantinople as a heavenly Jerusalem. The urban development of the city created a symbolic topography that affected the meaning of the city itself, making it a new Jerusalem. The meaning of Jerusalem in Christianity involves different connotations that need to be considered before we attempt to clarify their relationship to the image of Constantinople. The difference between the historical Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem, and the heavenly Jerusalem is an extremely important distinction that will be critical for the comprehension of Constantinople. Constantinople’s relationship with the meaning of Jerusalem revolves around the symbolic identification of the imperial palace as a heavenly Jerusalem, a crucial point that was long ignored.