27. Disaster Ensued When Rival Byzantine Sports Fans Came Together
The Byzantine capitol’s chariot racing teams had associations, or fan clubs, which often became vessels for airing political and social issues for which no other outlet existed. The fan clubs became a combination of sports hooligans, street gangs, and political parties. They often tried to influence policy by shouting their views during chariot races, letting the emperor know the popular mood. In early 532, the Byzantine Empire was seething with resentment over high taxes. Amidst that tension, two members of the Blues and Greens, arrested for murders in a previous riot, escaped and sought sanctuary in a church. There, they were protected by a mob.
Emperor Justinian commuted their sentences to imprisonment, in an attempt to diffuse the situation. However, the restive mob demanded an outright pardon. At the next races held in the 100,000-seat-capacity Hippodrome, next to the imperial palace, fans began hurling insults at Justinian. Halfway through the race, their cheers changed from the competing “GREENS!“, or “BLUES!” to a unified “NIKA!” – Greek for “victory”, hence the uprising’s name.
