Note 44 — BOOK II.
Aubrey Stewart translation
‘The text (Procopius) is so conformable to the topography of the town, that it would appear to have been written on the spot.
‘We do not find, near the banks of the river, any vestige of the hippodrome mentioned by Procopius in “De Bello Persico,” book i., ch. xii. (L.) ‘A stranger is struck by the imposing aspect of the ancient castle; the same which was constructed by Justinian. Its form is that of a parallelogram, 400 by 200 yards, defended by several square and two large semi-octagonal towers. The capitals of the two Corinthian columns are surmounted by blocks of stone which show that they were intended to have some further decoration—probably the statues of Justinian and Theodora.—The diameter of each column is nearly two yards.’—Texier and Pullan, pp. 181-184.
‘In Smith’s “Dict. of Geog.,” it is stated that as late as 1184, there were fifteen large churches, which fell into the hands of the Saracens. It was deserted in 1285.