January 13th, 532, was cold and clear, and in Constantinople it was a race day, so the people looked forward to descending on the enormous Hippodrome to watch a program of chariot races. However, there was also tension in the air, as many citizens were calling for the release of two rioters who had gone to their execution the day before, but had survived their hanging - by divine intervention some said. When the emperor Justinian I (482-565) took his seat in the stadium, the crowd called for the release of the men, and also for other changes, as the emperor had imposed heavy taxes and made himself unpopular in several ways. He ignored them at first, then made minor concessions, leaving the crowd unsatisfied, and by the evening of that day rioting broke out in several parts of the city as officials and buildings were attacked, and fires started.

This set is roughly split half and half between civilians and soldiers, with the civilians potentially being either rioters or victims. The riots grew worse on the following day, and were to continue for five days, during which large parts of the city were destroyed, including government buildings and churches, most notably the famous Hagia Sophia. Citizens feared going into the street in case they were attacked, shops were looted and there was a complete breakdown of order. The civilians we find here could be rioters, but most look more like victims, perhaps fleeing the violence or defending themselves from attack. One man dressed as a priest holds a cross up, perhaps to try and save his church, but there are several people already on the ground.

Initially, efforts to restore order were unsuccessful, and some aristocrats, either capitalising on the disturbances or through prior planning, proclaimed a new emperor in the Hippodrome on the 17th, turning the riots into an insurrection, and directly threatening the position of Justinian. His response, on the following day, was to send in troops under two of his most trusted generals, with orders to suppress the disorder and arrest the usurper. Many of the troops actually used were German mercenaries in Byzantine pay, mainly Goths and Herulians, but imperial troops also participated. The orders were to put down the uprising with as much violence as required, and we see all the soldier poses here in hand-to-hand combat, using swords and spears. Several clearly strike down, as if against an opponent on the ground, which must have been very common as they were fighting largely unarmed civilians who were panicking and stumbling to escape. Here again, the civilians in this set can serve as these people, now at the mercy of the soldiers as they cut and thrust their way through the mob. The first figure appears to be about to stamp down on some unfortunate, perhaps the man with his hands bound (third row), though we are unsure why his hands would be bound, unless of course he is the pretender or one of his aristocratic supporters, worth taking alive. Nevertheless, the scenes of soldiers attacking rioters are where this set works best, and we thought all the poses were very effective.

The soldiers were ordered to enter the Hippodrome, still containing the ‘new’ emperor and thousands of the mob, at dawn on the 18th, and basically annihilate them. The attack began, the exits were sealed, trapping many thousands in the arena. Ancient sources speak of 30,000 or more deaths in a panorama of carnage that shocked even contemporaries not unfamiliar with massacres. Confused and terrified citizens ran for the exits, only to find them blocked, or looked for places to hide. Many must have begged for their lives, and perhaps a few attempted to defend themselves with whatever tools they could find, but the fight was always very one-sided.

The look of the soldiers is fairly typical of the time, especially given that there were locals and Germans in the ranks. All wear a cuirass of scale or a full mail shirt, over tunic and trousers. Some have pteruges at the waist, and all have helmets of typical design, some with crests as might befit imperial or other elite troops. Some have extra protection along the arms which we could not identify, and most naturally wear a cloak, given the cold weather. Where shields are carried they are oval, and have different but accurate designs, including one with the Chi Rho.

The civilians are also suitably attired for the period, and for the time of year. Most wear a long robe or mantle for the women, and a couple of the men also wear a cloak against the cold. The man lying on his front and reaching up (second figure in final row above) wears a shorter tunic, suggesting he is a younger man who feels the cold less than the others (or at least pretends to), and the last figure in the bottom row, lying on his back, has more decoration on his tunic, so is probably a citizen of some rank or wealth. The priest holding the cross wears a long dalmatica with the vertical clavus stripes that helped to mark his ecclesiastical position.

While the accuracy and poses are good here, the sculpting is not impressive. There is a fair amount of detail on show, but it has a chunky feel to it, and the figures are quite stocky and inelegant. Faces and hands in particular tend to be quite basic, although some of the armour and helmets are nicely done. Sometimes bits have gone missing, so the stripes on the priests robe are incomplete on one side, and the first pictured soldier has a sword which is broken before the tip. There is about an average amount of flash on these figures, with all having some on most of the seam, but the poses have been achieved without excess plastic in hidden areas.

The killing in the Hippodrome did not subside until perhaps the early afternoon of the 18th, and while brutal, it had the desired effect as the disorder quickly subsided, leaving a devastated city but Justinian once more safe on his throne. The newly proclaimed emperor was swiftly executed, and Justinian went on to rule for another 33 years, delivering hugely important goals in terms of reconquering lands lost in the West, reforming the legal system, and taking the opportunity of the destruction to rebuild magnificently in the capital, including a new Hagia Sophia, which stands to this day. This set has some good poses and good accuracy, though the style can hardly be described as magnificent. It is still quite rare for someone to make a set depicting a major event in history that is not a battle, and this one seems mainly to concentrate on that bloody final day rather than the whole disturbance. When the crowds in the Hippodrome first started chanting Nika! (which means ‘victory’ or ‘conquest’ in Greek), they can have had no idea of how violent, and brief, their victory would be, but the events of that week dramatically changed Roman society in so many ways, and their impact would be greater than many wars, so violent as it was, it makes for an interesting subject for a set of interesting figures.