Notitia urbis Constantinopolitanae

The "Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae" is an ancient "regionary", i.e., a list of monuments, public buildings and civil officials in Constantinople during the mid-5th century (between 425 and the 440s), during the reign of the emperor Theodosius II. The text lists the fourteen regions in which Constantinople was divided, along with the major public buildings such as fora, theatres, churches, palaces, baths and pools. It also lists the number of "houses" ("domus"), although there is uncertainty over the exact meaning of the term. Finally, the list includes the civil officials of each region, including the curators, the heads of the associations ("collegia") and the heads of neighbourhoods ("vicomagistri").

The Latin text of the "Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae" was published by Otto Seeck, as an appendix to his edition of the "Notitia Dignitatum" (1876). The "Notitia Urbis" was probably written between 447 and 450 and goes back to official sources. Although the simple lists are not always easy to understand, the "Notitia Urbis" helps to know what the city must have looked like before Justinian's building program.

Links

* [http://www.livius.org/cn-cs/constantinople/notitia_urbis_constantinopolitanae.html Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae]
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/journals/EHR/31/Notitia_of_Constantinople*.html The Date of the Notitia of Constantinople] (notice by J.B. Bury)