It is widely recognised that Constantinople functioned as a setting for imperial ceremony from the time of the dedication of the city by Constantine in 330. However, aspects of the topographical features of the city which made it attractive as a stage for the communication of imperial power have been understudied. Especially, the importance of the city's coastline including the Golden Horn, Bosporus Straits and Sea of Marmara have been have been overlooked.
 
This paper investigates how monumental buildings in Constantinople were constructed to communicate with audiences looking at the city from the sea during Constantine's development of the city between around 324 and his death in 327. It is argued that in this period panoramic visions from the sea of Constantinopolitan monumental buildings projected a message which emphasised the centrality of the city to the Roman Empire and legitimised Constantine’s sole dominion as emperor. The paper further proposes that audiences’ experience of panoramic visions from the sea may have led to a growing conviction in the generations after Constantine’s death of the permanence of Constantinople as an imperial centre.