The dignitaries of the State now approached, in the order of their rank, and did homage to the monarch, while the crowds around made the air ring again with every acclamation that loyalty or adulation could invent. As soon as this scene terminated, the emperor addressed a brief allocation to the soldiers, through a herald; claiming to reign by the will of God and their suffrage, promising devotion to the welfare of the Empire, and a generous donative to each of his faithful companion-in-arms, announcements which were greeted with storms of applause. Then the sum of money required for the promised largess was handed over by the emperor to the officers charged with its distribution.

Upon the conclusion of this important part of the day’s proceedings, the ceremonies assumed a religious character. The emperor now repaired, on foot, to a camp-chapel, a tent of many colours, at a short distance from the Imperial tribune, and, leaving his crown without, entered to bow before the King of kings. It was a simple service conducted by ordinary priests, as the patriarch and higher clergy had left the Campus for St. Sophia. Upon issuing from the chapel, the emperor resumed his crown, and proceeded on a white charger, followed by a brilliant escort of dignitaries also on horseback, to the Church of St. John the Baptist, the principal sanctuary of the Hebdomon. This second service may be described as the Consecration of the Crown. For in this case, the crown, upon being again removed from the emperor’s head, was not left in the vestry, but was carried by a court official up to the altar, and then placed by the emperor himself on the sacred table. There it remained until the service closed, when the emperor handed it to the court official, and, having presented a rich gift to the church, returned to the vestry and assumed his diadem once more. This brought the coronation ceremonies, so far as they concerned the Hebdomon, to an end. The stream of life now poured into the city, the Imperial cortége gathering more and more pomp as it passed the Golden Gate, the Helenianæ,[[1258]] the Forum of Constantine, and entered St. Sophia for the supreme coronation of the emperor by the patriarch in the Great Cathedral of the capital.[[1259]]

Only one triumphal procession, that of Basil I.,[[1260]] is expressly described as starting from the Hebdomon, but the suburb was in all probability[[1261]] the starting-point also of the processions which celebrated the victories of Theodosius the Great, Heraclius, Constantine Copronymus, Zimisces, and Basil II., if not of Michael Palæologus.

On the occasion of the triumph accorded to Basil I., the Senate and a vast crowd, representing all classes of the population, and carrying wreaths of roses and other flowers, went forth from the city to the Hebdomon to welcome the conqueror, who had crossed to the suburb from the palace at Hiereia (Fener Bagtchè). After the customary salutations had been exchanged, the emperor proceeded to the Church of St. John the Baptist to pray and light tapers at that venerated shrine. Then having put on his “scaramangion triblation,” he and his son Constantine mounted horse and took the road towards the Golden Gate, the Senate and people leading the way, with banners waving in the air. A short halt was made at the monastery of the Abramiti (τῶν Ἀβραμιτῶν), which stood between the suburb and the gate, that Basil might offer his devotions in the Church of the Theotokos Acheiropoietos (Ἀχειροποίητος), and then the procession resumed its march, and entered through the Golden Gate into the jubilant capital.[[1262]]

Trivmphvs Heraclii.

The first writer who mentions the Hebdomon by name refers to it as an Imperial country retreat which the emperors gladly frequented. From the connection in which Rufinus[[1263]] makes this statement, it is evident that a palace stood at the Hebdomon before the reign of Theodosius the Great. That residence was either rebuilt or enlarged in the reign of Justinian the Great, when mention is made of “the New Consistorium of the Palace of Justinian, at the seventh mile from this renowned city.”[[1264]] How agreeable a retreat the palace was may be inferred from the name bestowed upon it—the Pleasance, Jucundianæ (Ἰουκουνδιαναὶ).[[1265]]

In front of the palace rose the statue of Justinian, on a porphyry column brought for the purpose from the Forum of Constantine, where it had borne the silver statue of Theodosius I.[[1266]] Justinian showed his partiality for the suburb, moreover, by the erection of porticoes, fora, baths, churches, all built in a style worthy of the capital itself, and by having the Harbour of the Hebdomon dredged and provided with jetties for the better accommodation and safety of the shipping frequenting the coast.[[1267]]

In the seventh and eighth centuries the palace of the Hebdomon appears under the name of Magnaura;[[1268]] but whether it was the old residence under a different designation, or a new building added to the Imperial quarters, in the style of the Hall of the Magnaura in the Great Palace beside the Hippodrome,[[1269]] it is impossible to say.

It was to the palace of the Hebdomon, probably, that Pulcheria retired from the Court of her brother Theodosius II., while the influence of the Empress Eudoxia had the ascendency.[[1270]] Basiliscus withdrew to it from the storm of theological hatred which his opposition to the creed of Chalcedon had excited in the capital, and thither the pillar-saint of Anaplus (Arnaoutkeui), Daniel Stylites, went to rebuke him and foretell the loss of the throne which had been usurped and dishonoured.[[1271]] As already intimated, it was a favourite resort of Justinian the Great,[[1272]] and several of his laws were promulgated during his residence there. On the occasion of one of his visits, the Imperial crown mysteriously disappeared and was not heard of again for eight months, when it as strangely reappeared, without a single gem missing.[[1273]] The palace was occupied also by Justin II.[[1274]] and Tiberius II., the latter dying in it.[[1275]]