98 Coptic Christian Church thing lacking Here the Theodosian emperors (or perhaps Valens) rectified the situation in typical Roman fashion They engineered a remarkable system that connected water sources in the hinterland as far as 60–70 miles away with vast water reservoirs inside the city Imperial sculptors even elaborately decorated the underground cisterns Constantine’s walls were too restrictive for the burgeoning population, so the walls were expanded and the area of the city doubled Some 400 defensive towers were constructed along the whole wall and the shoreline The three-arched Golden Gate, still standing, goes back to these days, as many of the walls presently standing Here the Council of Constantinople was held in 381 to affirm the creedal statements of the Council of Nicaea (325) By the end of the fifth century the religious dimension of the empire registered itself more strongly Urban monasticism developed in the city, along with an abundance of Christian artwork In addition, Oriental and Egyptian influences started infiltrating its urban culture Constantinople was no longer only an aspirant to the old Rome, but a new and transformed capital city in its own right The height of the ancient city was reached under Justinian I and Theodora in the sixth century It was the most important political, commercial, and cultural center in all of Europe Lavish religious and imperial building occurred in this period The monument that best defined Constantinople’s glory was the Hagia Sophia, a basilica that still dominates modern Istanbul’s skyline Not only was the domed structure a daring and innovative symbol of Christianity’s official stature, but also it was a statement about Constantinople’s own grandeur The city probably had between 500,000 and million residents An eclectic mixture of architecture and cultures was found in the sixthcentury city, imported from the far-flung corners of the globe Even the Christianity of the emperors was more diverse than Hagia Sophia would lead the observer to believe, as the city offered sanctuary to various nonOrthodox Christians MUSLIM INVASION A plague devastated the city in 542, and half the population died The optimism that had marked the city as it grew economically and militarily for the previous 200 years was also soon to be challenged severely by the Byzantine-Sassanid wars, the unsuccessful sieges of the city by the Persians (616) and the Avars (626), and especially the rise of the Muslims in the latter part of the seventh century The invasion of the Arabs in 717 and the loss of imperial territory to them brought the city to the brink of disaster Nonetheless, the Theodosian walls faithfully kept out foreigners for some 1,000 years Ironically, there was only one exception: In 1204 the city opened up its gates to the Western crusader “allies” who turned on the city and pillaged it The treachery caused such outrage among the Byzantines that surrender to the Muslims was countenanced as a better fate In 1453 the demoralized city gave up to the Ottoman Muslims with hardly a skirmish See also Diocletian; Greek Church; Latin Church; Roman Empire; Rome: buildings, engineers; Rome: decline and fall; Rome: government; Theodosius I Further reading: Brown, Peter The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150–750 History of European Civilization Library; London: Thames and Hudson, 1971; Dalrymple, William From the Holy Mountain New York: Henry Holt, 1997; Gawtkin, H M “Constantine and His City.” In The Cambridge Medieval History Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1936 Mark F Whitters Coptic Christian Church The Coptic period covers most of the first six centuries of the Common Era Copt derives from the Greek word Aegyptus, in turn derived from Hikaptah, or Memphis, the original Egyptian capital Coptic Christianity is the form that arose in Egypt in the first century c.e By tradition Coptic Christianity began when St Mark, the African-born gospel writer, went to Alexandria, Egypt, sometime between 48 and 61 c.e Previously, Egyptian Christians were mostly Alexandrian Jews, and some Greeks became Christian Between his arrival and his martyrdom in 68 c.e., Mark founded the church and converted many native Egyptians The religion grew rapidly in its first half-century, and by the second century it spread into the rural areas Scriptures were translated into Coptic, the local language The rapid conversion of Egyptians to Christianity led to Roman persecution of those who denied the emperor’s divinity An edict of 202 prohibited conversion to Christianity An edict of 250 required all citizens to carry a certificate at all times, issued by local authorities, affirming that the bearer had sacrificed to the gods Failure to comply resulted in punishments, including beheading, being tossed to the lions, or being burned alive The government closed the Catechetical School of Alexandria, forcing members to meet secretly elsewhere The state limited the number of bishops