Second Military Gate

The Gate of Belgrade in Constantinople was built in the 5th century by Flavius Anthemius on the commission of Emperor Theodosius II, as were all the walls of Constantinople.

The project

The Gate of Belgrade was a military gate, and it was designed like all the other military gates of Constantinople, and therefore it was supposed to lead to the various gates of the fortifications. The Gate of Belgrade, like all the other gates of Constantinople, had a double entrance because it was necessary to allow passage through the two walls.

The inner gate, which was the main one, was built within the inner wall of the Theodosian line. Two large towers that rose far above the barrier watched over all the entrances. The towers were of a design very similar to those found along the length of the walls described above.

The Gate of Belgrade provides an excellent example of this type, highlighting how the designed walls allowed defenders to develop good flanking fire to protect the inner entrance from archers. The other purpose was to maintain the distance of the peribolos through the two portions of the gates which, by contrast, in the outer walls were of rather modest volume and consisted of a simple gate arch not much larger than the level of the outer wall.