On the tombs of the emperors in the Church of the Holy Apostles

One of the various antiquarian compositions of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-959) was De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae.  The work was revised in the following reign.

In the Book of Ceremonies ii, 42, the following list of tombs in the church may be found.  Other excerpts from this work translated by Paul Stephenson can be found here.  Glanville Downey gave the following translation 1 from the CSHB edition  2.

CONCERNING THE TOMBS OF THE EMPERORS WHICH ARE IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY APOSTLES

Heroon of the Holy and Great Constantine.

1 In the principal place, to the east, lies the sarcophagus of St. Constantine, [of] porphyry, or rather ‘Roman’ [stone], in which he himself lies with the blessed Helen his mother.
2 Another sarcophagus, [of] porphyry Roman [stone], in which lies Constantius the son of Constantine the Great.
3 Another sarcophagus, porphyry Roman, in which lies Theodosius the Great.
4 Another sarcophagus, green hieracites, in which lies Leo the Great.
5 Another sarcophagus, porphyry Roman, in which lies Marcianus with his wife Pulcheria.
6 Another sarcophagus, green Thessalian, in which lies the Emperor Zeno.
7 Another sarcophagus, Aquitanian, in which lies Anastasios Dikoros with Ariadne his wife.
8 Another sarcophagus, of green Thessalian stone, in which lies the Emperor Michael, the son of Theophilos. Note that this sarcophagus of Michael is that of the Emperor
Justin the Great. It lay in the monastery of the Augusta, below the Apostle St. Thomas, in which the robes of the apostles were found. And Lord Leo the Emperor took it and placed it here for the burial of the body of this Michael.
9 Another sarcophagus, green Thessalian, in which lies Basil with Eudokia and Alexander his son.
10 Another sarcophagus, Sagarian or pneumonousiani, in which lies the renowned Leo with his son Constantine, who died later, the Porphyrogennetos.
11 Another sarcophagus, [of] white, so-called imperial, [stone], in which lies Constantine the son of Basil.
12 Another sarcophagus, green Thessalian, in which lies St. Theophano, the first wife of the blessed Leo, with Eudokia her daughter.
13 Another sarcophagus, Bithynian, in which lies Zoe the second wife of the same Leo.
14 Another sarcophagus, green Thessalian, in which lies Eudokia the third wife of the same Lord Leo, she who was surnamed Baine.
15 Another sarcophagus, Proconesian, in which lie Anna and Anna the daughters of the blessed Leo and Zoe.
16 Another small sarcophagus, Sagarian or pneumonousian, in which lies Basil the brother of Constantine Porphyrogennetos, and Bardas the son of Basil his grandfather.
17 Another small sarcophagus, of Sagarian stone, in which lies . . .

Heroon of the Great Justinian

18 At the apse itself, to the east, is the first sarcophagus, in which lies the body of Justinian, of unusual foreign stone, in colour between Bithynian and Chalcedonian, something like stone of Ostrite.
19 Another sarcophagus, of Hierapolitan stone, in which lies Theodora the wife of Justinian the Great.
20 Another sarcophagus lying to the west, on the right hand, of stone of Dokimion, of variegated rose colour, in which lies Eudokia the wife of Justinian the Younger.
21 Another sarcophagus, of white Proconesian stone, in which lies Justin the Younger.
22 Another sarcophagus, of Proconesian stone, in which lies Sophia the wife of Justin.
23 Another sarcophagus, of white stone of Dokimion, onyx, in which lies Heraklios the Great.
24 Another sarcophagus, green Thessalian, in which lies Fabia the wife of Heraklios.
25 Another sarcophagus, Proconesian, of Constantine Pogonatos.
26 Another sarcophagus, of green Thessalian stone, in which lies Fausta the wife of Constantine Pogonatos.
27 Another sarcophagus, Sagarian, in which lies Constantine, the descendant of Heraklios, the son of Constantine Pogonatos.
28 Another sarcophagus, of variegated Sagarian stone, in which lies Anastasios also called Artemios.
29 Another sarcophagus, of Hierapolitan stone, in which lies the wife of Anastasios also called Artemios.
30 Another sarcophagus, of Proconesian stone, in which lies Leo the Isaurian.
31 Another sarcophagus, of green Thessalian stone, in which lay Constantine, the son of the Isaurian, who was surnamed Kaballinos; but he was cast out by Michael and Theodora, and his cursed body was burned. Likewise his sarcophagus was cast out and broken up, and served for the foundations of the Pharos. And the great blocks which are in the Pharos belonged to this sarcophagus.
32 Another sarcophagus, of Proconesian stone, in which lies Eirene the wife of Constantine Kaballinos.
33 Another sarcophagus, green Thessalian, in which lies the wife of Kaballinos.
34 A small coffin of Proconesian stones, in which lie Kosmo and Eirene, sisters of Kaballinos.
35 Another sarcophagus, Proconesian, in which lies Leo the Chazar, son of Constantine Kaballinos.
36 Another sarcophagus, of Proconesian stone, in which lies Eirene the wife of Leo the Chazar.
37 Another sarcophagus, green Thessalian, in which lies Michael Travlos.
38 Another sarcophagus, of Sagarian stone, in which lies Thekla the wife of Michael Travlos.
39 Another sarcophagus, of green stone, in which lies Theophilos the Emperor.
40 Another small sarcophagus, green, in which lies Constantine the son of Theophilos.
41 Another small sarcophagus, of Sagarian stone, in which lies Maria the daughter of Theophilos.

The Stoa to the South of the Same Church
42 In this lie the sarcophagi of Arkadios, Theodosios, his son, and Eudoxia his mother. The tomb of Arkadios is to the south, that of Theodosios to the north, that of Eudoxia to the east, each of the two porphyry or Roman.

The Stoa to the North of the Same Church
43 In this stoa, which is to the north, lies a cylindrically-shaped sarcophagus, in which lies the cursed and wretched body of the apostate Julian, porphyry or Roman in colour.
44 Another sarcophagus, porphyry, or Roman, in which lies the body of Jovian, who ruled after Julian.

1. Glanville Downey, The Tombs of the Byzantine Emperors at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, Journal of Hellenic Studies 79 (1959), p.27-51.
2. Constantini Porphyrogeniti De Ceremoniis Aulae Byzantinae, 2 vols ed. J. Reiske, Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae. Bonn 1829

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