the four Moors, poised in eternal confabulation to the right of the basilica of San Marco.
The Tetrarchs
In an attempt to stabilise the Roman Empire after the crisis of the third century, the Emperor Diocletian imposed a new Imperial office structure: a four co-emperor ruling plan called The Tetrarchy. The famous porphyry statue of the Four Tetrarchs represents the interdependence of the four rulers. It was taken from Constantinople, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and set into the south-west corner of the basilica (the above-mentioned low tower) at the level of the Piazza San Marco. Part of the missing foot of one of the figures was discovered in Istanbul (near the Bodrum Mosque) in the 1960s, where it is still on display, clarifying the original location of the work.
