Monday, July 1, 2024

Apparently sports fans have always been rowdy

Rowdy sports fans nearly overthrew a Roman emperor.

World History

A ncient Romans were fanatical about chariot races, and were devoted to one of four teams: the Reds, Whites, Greens, or Blues. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, the four teams consolidated into two, the Greens and Blues. The rivalry was more potent than ever, and often led to violence. In Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, competitions took place at the local hippodrome, an arena with a capacity of more than 60,000. In 532 CE, the bitter sports rivals, enraged by some recent tax increases, found a common enemy in Emperor Justinian I. After some particularly nasty fighting broke out at the hippodrome, Justinian, a longtime Blues fan, put his foot down, relinquished his fandom, and sent for the military. He sentenced seven leaders in the fighting to death, but two of them, one fan from each team, survived when the hanging scaffolding broke.

At the next big chariot race, the Greens were resentful of Justinian's longtime preference for the Blues, the Blues were angry that Justinian was no longer a fan, and both demanded that the two riot leaders be spared. Both teams started chanting "nika," meaning "win," but they were cheering less for the charioteers and more for a violent revolt against the emperor. The crowd poured out into the streets, and the ensuing riot went on for five days. On the last day, the rioters returned to the hippodrome and attempted to install a new leader. Justinian was ready to retreat, but his wife, Theodora, convinced him to hold his ground. Troops stormed the hippodrome and massacred the crowd, while some soldiers guarded the exits to make sure nobody could escape. The death toll was around 30,000, or around 10% of the city's population. Justinian reigned for another 33 years, until 565 CE.

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By the Numbers

Year Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul

1930

Years Emperor Justinian I was in power

Did you know?

Ancient Roman sports fans would try to curse the other team.

When ancient Romans wanted to invoke the supernatural to manipulate others, they'd create a "curse tablet," a thin sheet of lead carved with an inscription directing a deity of their choice to step in. (They weren't limited to one religious tradition, and the specific deity was sometimes unspecified or represented in an image rather than text.) Charioteers were common targets: Dedicated fans and gamblers with money on the line would try to curse the athletes to fix the race's outcome, burying the tablets in the hippodrome or hiding them behind turning posts along the track or at the starting gates. One tablet found in 1984 curses the Blue and Red factions, naming individual horses and riders; one found under a race venue in Antioch in 1934 curses each individual Blue horse, invoking various Greek gods and demigods; and another dating back to the fifth century CE calls upon god and angels to drown the opposition.