The Forum of Arcadius was built by the Emperor Arcadius

Arcadius

Arcadius was the Byzantine Emperor from 395 to his death. He was the eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Western Emperor Honorius...

 in the city of Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, now Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

.

Built in 403, it was built in the in the Xerolophos area and was the last forum

Forum (Roman)

A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...

 before reaching the Constantinian city walls and the Golden Gate in a line of forums, including the Forum of Theodosius

Forum of Theodosius

The Forum of Theodosius was an area in Constantinople. It was originally built by Constantine I and named the Forum Tauri...

, the Forum of Constantine

Forum of Constantine

The Forum of Constantine was built at the foundation of Constantinople immediately outside of the old city walls of Byzantium. It was circular in shape and had two monumental gates to the east and west...

, the Forum Bovis, and the Forum Amastrianum, built westward from the city center along the Mese

Mese (Constantinople)

The Mese was the main thoroughfare of ancient Constantinople . The street was the main scene of Byzantine imperial processions. Its ancient course is largely followed by the modern Divanyolu Avenue.- Description :...

.

The forum was later converted to a bazaar by the Ottomans, referred to as the Avrat Pazarı or "Women's Bazaar", which was used for the auctioning of female slaves, otherwise known as 'Cariye', who technically during the period had a completely different social status than regular slaves.

The Column of Arcadius

Column of Arcadius

The column of Arcadius was a Roman triumphal column begun in 401 in the forum of Arcadius in Constantinople to commemorate Arcadius's triumph over the Goths under Gainas in 400...

, located in the center of the forum, was decorated with spiral bands of sculpture in bas relief representing the triumphs of the emperor, like Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...

 in Rome. At the top of the column, which was more than 50m high, there was an enormous Corinthian capital surmounted by an equestrian statue of Arcadius, placed there in 421 by his son, Theodosius II. This statue was eventually toppled from the column and destroyed during an earthquake in 704. The column itself remained standing for another thousand years until it was deliberately demolished in 1715, when it appeared to be in imminent danger of collapsing on the neighboring houses. Now all that remains are the mutilated base and some fragments of sculpture from the column which are on display in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.