The Importance of Chariot Racing

The Hippodrome became the only place where ruler and ruled could come face to face. The emperor is also paid for most of the chariot racing and entertainment, which was a mark of imperial legitimacy. It might sound odd that essentially hosting a sporting event could be a sign of your worthiness to rule. However, the spectacle of 100,000 people gathered to watch something you've provided was a powerful political tool. Anastasia's wisely chose to favour the irrelevant red faction to try and avoid conflict. You'll recall that the red and white teams were essentially just parts of the blues and greens by this point.