The Oldest Synagogue of Istanbul

Very few people have taken an interest in speaking about the oldest synagogue that existed in Istanbul. As we have no concrete proof of its existence, those interested did not give much importance to what some Byzantine historians said. Importance was given mostly to the church dedicated to the 'Mother of God' that was built in the copper market. Those of my age know very well that the copper market in Istanbul was behind the great covered market called 'KAPALI ÇARŞI' and in front of the market of old books called 'Sahaflar Çarşısı'. Today this market has disappeared, but it was an attraction to hear the sound of the hammer striking the copper and making very special handmade things out of copper. The copper market the Byzantines spoke of was right between the great church called 'Hagia Sophia', 'the Sacred Wisdom', which we know today as the Ayasofya Mosque, an enormous temple built in the 6th century CE, and the park of Roses known today as 'Gülhane Parkı'.

The oldest writing about this synagogue is by Theophanes, the historian who lived between the years 860 and 917 CE. Theophanes tells us that the church was built by Pulcheria (Pulchérie), sister of Theodosius II, in 449-450 CE on the same site where the synagogue of the copper market stood, where the Hebrews (the Jews) lived. This Theophanes does not inspire much confidence, because in another writing he repeats the same thing, saying that the church was built in the time of the Emperor Justin II, who reigned between 565 and 578 CE. In the book 'Patria', written in the 10th century, the same thing is written: that the church of the 'Mother of God' was built in the copper market where Hebrews had lived since the time of Constantine the Great and even before him — that is, even before the year 330 CE, when Constantine made Byzantium, which was a small town, the great capital of his empire and called it Constantinople.

A chronicle of the 12th century written by a certain John Zonaras says that the synagogue of the copper market was built illegally. It seems the Jews decided to bribe Honoratus, the prefect of Constantinople, to build a synagogue in the copper market, and obtained his approval; knowing that Honoratus was not a Christian but a pagan, he even took on the costs of the construction. This caused the Christian community to protest against the existence of a synagogue in this area, and they damaged the building, burning it entirely. The prefect Honoratus decided to punish those who caused the fire, ordering them to rebuild the synagogue according to the law of Theodosius, which agreed to protect the Jews, and informed the Emperor Theodosius, who was then in Milan, of all that had happened in Constantinople.

When Ambrose, a Christian scholar considered one of the fathers of that religion, who lived in Milan, heard of all this, he said to the Emperor: 'For what reason, you, Emperor, are insulting Him who made you king among the men of the people, Him who placed the crown on your head, by accepting that Christians build and pay the costs of a synagogue in the middle of the city where Christ is worshipped?' With this criticism Theodosius changed his conduct and decided that synagogues should be built outside the city. According to these explanations, today we consider that this synagogue stood right where the mosque of 'Arpa Emini Lala Hayrettin Paşa' is. Source: Alexander Panayotov (United Kingdom), 2019