The Reds (Rousioi) and the Whites (Leukoi) gradually weakened and were absorbed by the other two major factions (the Blues and Greens).ДЄ total of up to eight chariots (two chariots per team), powered by four horses each, competed on the racing track of the Hippodrome. Huge amounts were bet on chariot races, and initially four teams took part in these races, each one financially sponsored and supported by a different political party (Deme) within the Roman/Byzantine Senate: The Blues (Venetoi), the Greens (Prasinoi), the Reds (Rousioi) and the Whites (Leukoi). Throughout the Byzantine period, the Hippodrome was the centre of the city's social life. In his book De Ceremoniis (book II,15, 589), the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus described the decorations in the hippodrome at the occasion of the visit of Saracen or Arab visitors, mentioning the purple hangings and rare tapestries. The hippodrome was filled with statues of gods, emperors and heroes, among them some famous works, such as a Heracles by Lysippos, Romulus and Remus with their wolf and the Serpent Column of the Plataean tripod. The track was lined with other bronze statues of famous horses and chariot drivers, none of which survive. These four gilded horses, now called the Horses of Saint Mark, whose exact Greek or Roman ancestry has never been determined, were looted during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and installed on the faГ§ade of St Mark's Basilica in Venice. The Hippodrome Boxes, which had four statues of horses in gilded copper on top, stood at the northern end and the Sphendone (curved tribune of the U-shaped structure, the lower part of which still survives) stood at the southern end.

The Kathisma could be accessed directly from the Great Palace through a passage which only the emperor or other members of the imperial family could use. The race-track at the Hippodrome was U-shaped, and the Kathisma (emperor's loge) was located at the eastern end of the track. Its stands were capable of holding 100,000 spectators. It is estimated that the Hippodrome of Constantine was about 450 m (1,476 ft) long and 130 m (427 ft) wide. Constantine greatly enlarged the city, and one of his major undertakings was the renovation of the Hippodrome. This name failed to impress and the city soon became known as Constantinople, the City of Constantine. In AD 324, the Emperor Constantine the Great decided to move the seat of the government from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Nova Roma (New Rome). In AD 203 the Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilt the city and expanded its walls, endowing it with a hippodrome, an arena for chariot races and other entertainment.

The first Hippodrome was built when the city was called Byzantium, and was a provincial town of moderate importance. Although the Hippodrome is usually associated with Constantinople's days of glory as an imperial capital, it actually predates that era.

Chariot races in constantinople