This column in Istanbul, Turkey commemorates the founding of Constantinople in 330 CE. This landmark of Çemberlitas was scarred by fire after a conflagration in 1779 that destroyed the area.
The Burnt Column or Colonne Brûlé (in French) which stands imposingly along Divan Yolu on the Grand Bazaar, was erected on May 11 in the Year 330 by the Emperor Constantine the Great to celebrate Constantinople's designation as the new capital of the Roman Empire.
The blackened column was the centerpiece of the Forum of Constantine, a grand, colonnaded plaza which resembled the one designed by Bernini facing St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.