Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
CONSTANTINOPLE
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: COM-COR
del.icio.us it!
|
CONSTANTINOPLE , the See also:capital of the See also:Turkish See also:empire, situated in 41° o' 16" N. and 28° 58' 14" E. The See also:city stands at the See also:southern extremity of the See also:Bosporus, upon a hilly promontory that runs out from the See also:European or western See also:side of the straits towards the opposite See also:Asiatic See also:bank, as though to See also:stem the See also:rush of See also:waters from the See also:Black See also:Sea into the Sea of See also:Marmora. Thus the promontory has the latter sea on the See also:south, and the See also:bay of the Bosporus, forming the magnificent See also:harbour known as the See also:Golden See also:Horn, some 4 M. See also:long, on the See also:north. Two streams, the Cydaris and Barbysus of See also:ancient days, the See also:Ali-See also:Bey-Su and Kiahat-Hane-Su of See also:modern times, enter the bay at its north-western end. A small See also:winter stream, named the Lycus, that flows through the promontory from See also:west to south-See also:east into the Sea of Marmora, breaks the hilly ground into two See also:great masses,—a long See also:ridge, divided by See also:cross-valleys into six eminences, over-See also:hanging the Golden Horn, and a large isolated See also: The city was founded by Constantine the Great, through the enlargement of the old See also:town of See also:Byzantium, in A.D. 328, and was inaugurated as a new seat of See also:government on the 11th of May, A.U. 330. To indicate its See also:political dignity, it was named New Rome, while to perpetuate the fame -of its founder it was styled Constantinople. The See also:chief See also:patriarch of the Greek church still signs himself " See also:archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome." The old name of the See also:place, Byzantium, however, continued in use.' The creation of a new capital by Constantine was not an See also:act of See also:personal caprice or individual See also:judgment. It was the result of causes long in operation, and had been foreshadowed, See also:forty years before, in the policy of See also:Diocletian. After the See also:senate and See also:people of Rome had ceased to be the sovereigns of the Roman See also:world, and their authority had been vested in the See also:sole See also:person of the See also:emperor, the eternal city could no longer claim to be the rightful See also:throne of the See also:state. That See also:honour could henceforth be conferred upon any place in the Roman world which might suit the convenience of the emperor, or serve more efficiently the interests he had to guard. Furthermore, the empire was now upon its See also:defence. Dreams of conquests and See also:extension had long been abandoned, and the pressing question of the See also:time was how to repel the persistent assaults of See also:Persia and the barbarians upon the frontiers of the See also:realm, and so retain the dominion inherited from the valour of the past. The See also:size of the empire made it difficult, if not impossible, to attend to these assaults, or to See also:control the ambition of successful generals, from one centre. Then the East had grown in political importance, both as the See also:scene of the most active See also:life in the state and as the portion of the empire most exposed to attack. Hence the famous See also:scheme of Diocletian to See also:divide the See also:burden of government between four colleagues, inorder to secure a better See also:administration of See also:civil and of military affairs. It was a scheme, however, that lowered the See also:prestige of Rome, for it involved four distinct seats of government, among which, as the event proved, no place was found for the ancient capital of the Roman world. It also declared the high position of the East, by the selection of See also:Nicomedia in See also:Asia See also:Minor as the See also:residence of Diocletian himself. When Constantine, therefore, established a new seat of government at Byzantium, he adopted a policy inaugurated before his See also:day as essential to the preservation of the Roman dominion. He can claim originality only in his choice of the particular point at which that seat was placed, and in his recognition of the fact that his See also:alliance with the Christian church could be best maintained in a new See also:atmosphere.
But whatever view may be taken of the policy which divided the government of the empire, there can be no dispute as to the widsom displayed in the selection of the site for a new imperial throne. " Of all the events of Constantine's life," says See also:Dean See also:Stanley, " this choice is the most convincing and enduring See also:proof of his real See also:genius." Situated where See also:Europe and Asia are parted by a channel never more than 5 M. across, and sometimes less than See also:half a mile wide, placed at a point commanding the great waterway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the position affords immense See also:scope for commercial enterprise and political See also:action in See also:rich and varied regions of the world. The least a city in that situation can claim as its appropriate See also:sphere of influence is the vast domain extending from the Adriatic to the See also:Persian Gulf, and from the See also:Danube to the eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, the site constituted a natural citadel, difficult to approach or to invest, and an almost impregnable See also:refuge in the See also:hour of defeat, within which broken forces might rally to retrieve disaster. To surround it, an enemy required to be strong upon both See also:land and sea. Foes advancing through Asia Minor would have their See also: Nature, indeed, cannot relieve men of their See also:duty to be See also:wise and brave, but, in the marvellous configuration of land and sea about Constantinople, nature has done her utmost to enable human skill and courage to establish there the splendid and See also:stable throne of a great empire. Byzantium, out of which Constantinople sprang, was a small, well-fortified town, occupying most of the territory comprised in the two hills nearest the See also:head of the promontory, and in the level ground at their See also:base. The landward See also:wall started from a point near the See also:present Stamboul See also:custom-See also:house, and reached the ridge of the 2nd hill, a little to the east of the point marked by Chemberli Tash (the column of Constantine). There the See also:principal See also:gate of the town opened upon the Egnatian road. From that gate the wall descended towards the Sea of Marmora, touching the See also:water in the neighbourhood of the Seraglio lighthouse. The See also:Acropolis, enclosing venerated temples, crowned the See also:summit of the first hill, where the Seraglio stands. Immediately to the south of the fortress was the principal See also:market-place of the town, surrounded by porticoes on its four sides, and hence named the See also:Tetrastoon. On the southern side of the square stood the See also:baths of Zeuxippus, and beyond them, still farther south, See also:lay the Hippodrome, which Septimius See also:Severus had undertaken to build but failed to See also:complete. Two theatres, on the eastern slope of the Acropolis, faced the See also:bright waters of the Marmora, and a See also:stadium was found on the level See also:tract on the other side of the hill, See also:close to the Golden Horn. The Strategion, devoted to the military exercises of the brave little town, stood close to Sirkedji Iskelessi, and two artificial harbours, the See also:Portus Prosforianus and the Neorion, indented the See also:shore of the Golden Horn, respectively in front of the ground now occupied by the station of the Chemins de Fer Orientaux and the Stamboul custom-house. CONSTANTINOPLE One See also:Statute Mile o '',Ancient sites are shown by thick lines and lettered thus:- Hippodrome Wall of Byzantium Wall of Constantine Byzantine Walls 5th. Mili - • Gate Gate of eu~ Gate of S.See also:Romanus% See also:Top Mapus kk Gate of Rhegiu Yeni Meuleoi Mhaneh Keepasi Ch.o ary See also:Pan,j rantos rote of Gy mmne Gait of the Kaligaris7 See also:Gin of 8laehe .ofS.Sav E ca. Jv pnuf of ,Mn am n mataz i =f o 4th. Military Gate z Abdal Jati , onrtlr \ G os See also:Cist See also:Area Gate of the Pep G. of Setivru sdiun Kapai yrd. Military f // in of Foru, ob the H, us Foru Amastri a0 a of S and. Mili Gateop re It iisi GOden See also:ate ut.Mif.G., See also:Professor .&.vanMillingen, inv. A graceful See also:granite column, still erect on the slope above the head of the promontory, commemorated the victory of See also:Claudius Gothicus. over the Goths at Nissa, A.D. 269. All this See also:furniture of Byzantium was appropriated for the use of the new capital. According to See also:Zosimus, the line of the landward walls erected by Constantine to defend New Rome was See also:drawn at a distance of nearly 2 M. (15 stadia) to the west of the limits of the old town. It therefore ran across the promontory from the vicinity of Un Kapan Kapusi (Porta Platea), at the Stamboul head of the Inner See also:Bridge, to the neighbourhood of Daud See also:Pasha Kapusi (Porta S. Aemiliani), on the Marmora, and thus added the 3rd and 4th hills and portions of the 5th and 7th hills to the territory of Byzantium. We have two indications of the course of these walls on the 7th hill. One is found in the name Isa Kapusi (the Gate of Jesus) attached to a mosque, formerly a Christian church; situated above the quarter of Psamatia. It perpetuates the memory of the beautiful gateway which formed the triumphal entrance into the city of Constantine, and which survived the See also:original See also:bounds of the new capital as See also:late as 15o8, when it was overthrown by an See also:earthquake. The other indication is the name Alti Mermer (the six columns) given to a quarter in the same neighbourhood. The name is an ignorant See also:translation of Exakionion, the corrupt form of the designation Exokionion, which belonged in Byzantine days to that quarter because marked by a column outside the city limits. Hence the Arians, upon their See also:expulsion from the city by See also:Theodosius I., were allowed to hold
See also:Emery See also: The barbarians had meantime also grown more formidable, and this made it necessary to have stronger fortifications for the capital. Accordingly, in 413, in the reign of Theodosius II., See also:Anthemius, then praetorian See also:prefect of the East and See also:regent, enlarged and refortified the city by the erection of the wall which forms the innermost line of defence in the bulwarks whose picturesque ruins now stretch from the Sea of Marmora, on the south of Yedi Kuleh (the seven towers), northwards to the old Byzantine See also:palace of the Porphyrogenitus (Tekfour Serai), above the quarter of Egri Kapu. There the new See also:works joined the walls of the suburb of Blachernae, and thus protected the city on the west down to the Golden Horn. Some-what later, in 439, the walls along the Marmora and the Golden Horn were brought, by the prefect See also:Cyrus, up to the extremities of the new landward walls, and thus invested the capital in complete See also:armour. Then also Constantinople attained its final size. For any subsequent extension of the city limits was insignificant, and was due to strategic considerations. In 447 the wall of Anthemius was seriously injured by one of those earthquakes to which the city is liable. The disaster was all the more See also:grave, as the See also:Huns under See also:Attila were carrying every-thing before them in the See also:Balkan lands. The desperateness of the situation, however, roused the government of Theodosius II., who was still upon the throne, to put forth the most energetic efforts to meet the emergency. If we may See also:trust two contemporary See also:inscriptions, one Latin, the other Greek, still found on the gate Yeni Mevlevi Khaneh Kapusi (Porta Rhegium), the capital was again fully armed, and rendered more secure than ever, by the prefect Constantine, in less than two months. Not only was the wall of Anthemius restored, but, at the distance of 20 yds., another wall was built in front of it, and at the same distance from this second wall a broad moat was constructed with a breastwork along its inner edge. Each wall was flanked by ninety-six towers. According to some authorities, the moat was flooded during a See also:siege by opening the aqueducts, which crossed the moat at intervals and conveyed water into the city in time of See also:peace. This opinion is extremely doubtful. But in any See also:case, here was a See also:barricade 190-207 ft. thick, and Too ft. high, with its several parts rising tier above tier to permit concerted action, and alive with large bodies of troops ready to pour, from every coign of vantage, missiles of death—arrows, stones, Greek fire—upon a foe. It is not See also:strange that these fortifications defied the assaults of barbarism upon the civilized life of the world for more than a thousand years. As might be expected, the walls demanded frequent restoration from time to time in the course of their long history. Inscriptions upon them See also:record See also:repairs, for example, under See also:Justin II., See also:Leo the Isaurian, See also:Basil II., See also: Lastly, the portion of the fortifications between the wall of Manuel and the wall of Heraclius presents too many problems to be discussed here. Enough to say, that in it we find See also:work belonging to the times of the Comneni, See also:Isaac See also:Angelus and the Palaeologi. If we leave out of See also:account the attacks upon the city in the course of the civil See also:wars between See also:rival parties in the empire, the fortifications of Constantinople were assailed by the Avars in 627; by the See also:Saracens in 673-677, and again in 718; by the Bulgarians in 813 and 913; by the forces of the See also:Fourth Crusade in 1203-1204; by the See also:Turks in 1422 and 1453• The city wastaken in 1204, and became the seat of a Latin empire until 1261, when it was recovered by the Greeks. On the 29th of May 1453 Constantinople ceased to be the capital of the Roman empire in the East, and became the capital of the Ottoman dominion. The most noteworthy points in the See also:circuit of the walls of the city are the following. (1) The Golden gate, now included in the Turkish fortress of Yedi Kula. It is a triumphal archway, consisting of three See also:arches, erected in honour of the victory of Theodosius I. over See also:Maximus in 388, and subsequently incorporated in the walls of Theodosius II., as the state entrance of the capital. (2) The gate of Selivria, or of the Pege, through which Alexius Strategopoulos made his way into the city in 1261, and brought the Latin empire of Constantinople to an end. (3) The gate of St Romanus (Top Kapusi), by which, in 1453, Sultan Mahommed entered Constantinople after the fall of the city into Turkish hands. (4) The great See also:breach made in the ramparts See also:crossing the valley of the Lycus, the scene of the severest fighting in the siege of 1453, where the Turks stormed the city, and the last Byzantine emperor met his heroic See also:death. (5) The palace of the Porphyrogenitus,long erroneously identified with the palace of the Hebdomon, which really stood at Makrikeui. It is the finest specimen of Byzantine civil architecture See also:left in the city. (6) The tower of Isaac Angelus and the tower of Anemas, with the See also:chambers in the See also:body of the wall to the north of them. (7) The wall of Leo, against which the troops of the Fourth Crusade came, in 1203, from their See also:camp on the hill opposite the wall, and delivered their chief attack. (8) The walls protecting the quarter of Phanar, which the See also:army and See also:fleet of the Fourth Crusade under the Venetian See also:doge Henrico See also:Dandolo carried in 1204. (9) Yali Kiosk Kapusi, beside which the southern end of the See also:chain drawn across the mouth of the harbour during a siege was attached. (1o) The ruins of the palace of See also:Hormisdas, near Chatladi Kapu, once the residence of Justinian the Great and See also:Theodora. It was known in later times as the palace of the Bucoleon, and was the scene of the assassination of Nicephorus See also:Phocas. (1i) The sites of the old harbours between Chatladi Kapu and Daud Pasha Kapusi. (12) The See also:fine See also:marble tower near the junction of the walls along the Marmora with the landward walls. The interior arrangements of the city were largely determined by the configuration of its site, which falls into three great divisions,—the level ground and slopes looking towards the Sea of Marmora, the range of hills forming the midland portion of the promontory, and the slopes and level ground facing the Golden Horn. In each See also:division a great See also:street ran through the city from east to west, generally lined with arcades on one side, but with arcades on both sides when traversing the finer and busier quarters. The street along the ridge formed the principal thoroughfare, and was named the Mese (M&r ), because it ran through the See also:middle of the city. On reaching the west of the 3rd hill, it divided into two branches, one leading across the 7th hill to the Golden gate, the other conducting to the church of the See also:Holy Apostles, and the gate of See also:Charisius (Edit-See also:net Kapusi). The Mese linked together the great fora of the city,—the Augustaion on the south of St Sophia, the See also:forum of Constantine on the summit of the 2nd hill, the forum of Theodosius I. or of See also:Taurus on the summit of the 3rd hill, the forum of Amastrianon where the mosque of Shah Zadeh is situated, the forum of the Bous at Ak Serai, and the forum of See also:Arcadius or Theodosius II. on the summit of the 7th hill. This was the route followed on the occasion of triumphal processions. Of the edifices and monuments which adorned the fora, only a slight See also:sketch can be given here. On the north side of the Augustaion See also:rose the church of St Sophia, the most glorious See also:cathedral of Eastern Christendom; opposite, on the southern side of the square, was the Chalce, the great gate of the imperial palace; on the east was the senate house, with a See also:porch of six See also:noble columns; to the west, across the Mese, were the law courts. In the area of the square stood the Milion, whence distances from Constantinople were measured, and a lofty column which See also:bore the equestrian statue of Justinian the Great. There also was the statue of the empress Eudoxia, famous in the history of See also:Chrysostom, the See also:pedestal of which is preserved near the church of St See also:Irene. The Augustaion was the See also:heart of the city's ecclesiasticaland political life. The forum of Constantine was a great business centre. Its most remarkable See also:monument was the column of Constantine, built of twelve drums of See also:porphyry and bearing aloft his statue. Shorn of much of its beauty, the column still stands to proclaim the enduring influence of the See also:foundation of the city. In the forum of Theodosius I. rose a column in his honour, constructed on the See also:model of the hollow columns of See also:Trajan and See also:Marcus Aurelius at Rome. There also was the Anemodoulion, a beautiful pyramidal structure, surmounted by a See also:vane to indicate the direction of the See also:wind. Close to the forum, if not in it, was the capitol, in which the university of Constantinople was established. The most conspicuous See also:object in the forum of the Bous was the figure of an ox, in See also:bronze, beside which the bodies of criminals were sometimes burnt. Another hollow column, the pedestal of which is now known as Avret Tash, adorned the forum of Arcadius. A column in honour of the emperor See also:Marcian still stands in the valley of the Lycus, below the mosque of Sultan Mahommed the Conqueror. Many beautiful statues, belonging to See also:good periods of Greek and Roman See also:art, decorated the fora, streets and public buildings of the city, but conflagrations and the vandalism of the Latin and Ottoman conquerors of Constantinople have robbed the world of those treasures. The imperial palace, founded by Constantine and extended by his successors, occupied the territory which lies to the east of St Sophia and the Hippodrome down to the water's edge. It consisted of a large number of detached buildings, in grounds made beautiful with gardens and trees, and commanding magnificent views over the Sea of Marmora, across to the hills and mountains of the Asiatic See also:coast. The buildings were mainly grouped in three divisions—the Chalce, the See also:Daphne and the " sacred palace." Labarte and Paspates have attempted to reconstruct the palace, taking as their See also:guide the descriptions given of it by Byzantine writers. The work of Labarte is specially valuable, but without proper excavations of the site all attempts to restore the See also:plan of the palace with much accuracy lack a solid foundation. With the See also:accession of Alexius Comnenus, the palace of Blachernae, at the north-western corner of the city, became the principal residence of the Byzantine court, and was in See also:con-sequence extended and embellished. It stood in a more retired position, and was conveniently situated for excursions into the See also:country and See also:hunting expeditions. Of the palaces outside the walls, the most frequented were the palace at the Hebdomon, now Makrikeui, in the See also:early days of the Empire, and the palace of the Pege; now Balukli, a short distance beyond the gate of Selivria, in later times. For municipal purposes, the city was divided, like Rome, into fourteen Regions. As the seat of the chief See also:prelate of Eastern Christeadom, Constantinople was characterized by a strong theological and ecclesiastical temperament. It was full of churches and monasteries, enriched with the reputed See also:relics of See also:saints, prophets and martyrs, which consecrated it a holy city and attracted pilgrims from every quarter to its shrines. It was the See also:meeting-place of numerous ecclesiastical See also:councils, some of them ecumenical (see below, CONSTANTINOPLE, COUNCILS OF). It was likewise distinguished for its numerous charitable institutions. Only some twenty of the old churches of the city are left. Most of them have been converted into mosques, but they are valuable monuments of the art which flourished in New Rome. Among the most interesting are the following. St John of the Studium (Emir-Achor Jamissi) is a See also:basilica of the middle of the 5th century, and the See also:oldest ecclesiastical fabric in the city; it is now, unfortunately, almost a complete ruin. SS. See also:Sergius and Bacchus (Kutchuk Aya See also:Sofia) and St Sopl_ia are erections of Justinian the Great. The former is an example of a See also:dome placed on an octagonal structure, and in its See also:general plan is similar to the con-temporary church of S. Vitale at See also:Ravenna. St Sophia (i.e. 'Aryia Mo4ia, Holy See also:Wisdom) is the See also:glory of Byzantine art, and, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. St See also:Mary Diaconissa (Kalender Jamissi) is a fine specimen of the work of the closing years of the 6th century. St Irene, founded by Constantine, and repaired by Justinian, is in its present form mainly a restoration by Leo the Isaurian, in the middle of the 8th century. St Mary Panachrantos (Fenari Isa Mesjidi) belongs to the reign of Leo the Wise (886-912). The Myrelaion (Bodrum Jami) See also:dates from the loth century. The Pantepoptes (Eski Imaret Jamissi), the Pantocrator (Zeirek Kilisse Jam issi), and the body of the church of the Chora (Kahriyeh Jamissi) represent the See also:age of the Comneni. The Pammacaristos (Fetiyeh Jamissi), St See also:Andrew in Krisei (Khoja Mustapha Jamissi, the narthexes and side See also:chapel of the Chora were, at least in their present form, erected in the times of the Palaeologi. It is difficult to assign precise dates to SS. See also:Peter and See also:Mark (Khoda Mustapha Jamissi at Aivan Serai), St See also:Theodosia (Gul Jamissi), St See also:Theodore See also:Tyrone (Kilisse Jamissi). The beautiful See also:facade of the last is later than the other portions of the church, which have been assigned to the 9th or loth century. For the thorough study of the church of St Sophia, the reader must consult the works of Fossati, Salzenburg, Lethaby and Swainson, and Antoniadi. The present edifice was built by Justinian the Great, under the direction of Anthemius of See also:Tralles and his See also:nephew Isidorus of See also:Miletus. It was founded in 532 and dedicated on See also:Christmas Day 538. It replaced two earlier churches of that name, the first of which was built by See also:Constantius and burnt down in 404, on the occasion of the See also:exile of Chrysostom, while the second was erected by Theodosius II. in 415, and destroyed by See also:fire in the Nika See also:riot of 532. Naturally the church has undergone repair from time ,to time. The original dome See also:fell in 558, as the result of an earthquake, and among the improvements introduced in the course of restoration, the dome was raised 25 ft. higher than before. Repairs are recorded under Basil I., Basil II., Andronicus III. and Cantacuzene. Since the Turkish See also:conquest a See also:minaret has been erected at each of the four exterior angles of the See also:building, and the interior has been adapted to the requirements of Moslem See also:worship, mainly by the destruction or concealment of most of the mosaics which adorned the walls. In 1847–1848 during the reign of Abd-ul-Mejid, the building was put into a state of thorough repair by the See also:Italian architect Fossati. Happily the sultan allowed the See also:mosaic figures, then exposed to view, to be covered with See also:matting before being plastered over. They may reappear in the changes which the future will bring. The exterior See also:appearance of the church is certainly disappointing, but within it is, beyond all question, one of the most beautiful creations of human art. On a large See also:scale, and in magnificent See also:style, it combines the attractive features of a basilica, with all the glory of an edifice crowned by a dome. We have here a stately See also: They were subsequently carried to Rome by See also:Aurelian, and at length presented to Justinian by a See also:lady named Marcia, to be erected in this church " for the salvation of her soul." The columns of verde See also:antique on either side of the nave are commonly said to have come from the temple of See also:Diana at See also:Ephesus, but See also:recent authorities regard them as specially cut for use in the church. The inner See also:narthex of the church formed a magnificent See also:vestibule 205 ft. long by 26 ft. wide, reveted with marble slabs and glowing with mosaics. The citizens of Constantinople found their principal recreation in the See also:chariot-races held in the Hippodrome, now the At Meidan, to the west of the mosque of Sultan Ahmed. So much did the See also:race-course (begun by Severus but completed by Constantine) enter into the life of the people that it has been styled " the See also:axis of the Byzantine world." It was not only the scene of amusement, but on account of its ample See also:accommodation it was also the See also:arena of much of the political life of the city. The factions, which usually contended there in See also:sport, often gathered there in party strife. There emperors were acclaimed or insulted; there military triumphs were celebrated; there criminals were executed, and there martyrs were burned at the stake. Three monuments remain to mark the line of the See also:Spina, around which the chariots whirled; an See also:Egyptian See also:obelisk of Thothmes III., on a pedestal covered with bas-reliefs representing Theodosius I., the empress Gallo, and his sons Arcadius and See also:Honorius, pre-siding at scenes in the Hippodrome; the triple See also:serpent column, which stood originally at See also:Delphi, to commemorate the victory of See also:Plataea 479 B.C.; a lofty See also:pile of See also:masonry, built in the form of an obelisk, and once covered with plates of gilded bronze. Under the Turkish buildings along the western side of the arena, some arches against which seats for the spectators were built are still visible. The city was supplied with water mainly from two See also:sources; from the streams immediately to the west, and from the springs and See also:rain impounded in reservoirs in the See also:forest of See also:Belgrade, to the north-west, very much on the See also:system followed by the Turks. The water was conveyed by aqueducts, concealed below the surface, except when crossing a valley. Within the city the water was stored in covered cisterns, or in large open reservoirs. The See also:aqueduct of Justinian, the Crooked aqueduct, in the open country, and the aqueduct of Valens that spans the valley between the 4th and 3rd hills of the city, still carry on their beneficent work, and afford See also:evidence of the See also:attention given to the water-See also:supply of the capital during the Byzantine See also:period. The cistern of Arcadius, to the rear of the mosque of Sultan Selim (having, it has been estimated, a capacity of 6,571,720 cubic ft. of water), the cistern of Aspar, a short distance to the east of the gate of Adrianople, and the cistern of Mokius, on the 7th hill, are specimens of the open reservoirs within the city walls. The cistern of See also:Bin Bir Derek (cistern of Illus) with its 224 columns, each built up with three shafts, and the cistern Yeri Batan Serai (Cisterna Basilica) with its 420 columns show what covered cisterns were, on a See also:grand scale. The latter is still in use.' Byzantine Constantinople was a great commercial centre. To equip it more fully for that purpose, several artificial harbours were constructed along the southern shore of the city, where no natural haven existed to accommodate See also:ships coming up the Sea of Marmora. For the convenience of the imperial court, there was a small harbour in the See also:bend of the shore to the east of Chatladi Kapu, known as the harbour of the Bucoleon. To the west of that gate, on the site of Kadriga Limani (the See also:Port of the See also:Galley), was the harbour of See also:Julian, or, as it was named later, the harbour of Sophia (the empress of Justin II.). Traces of the harbour styled the Kontoscalion are found at See also:Kum Kapu. To the east of Yeni Kapu stood the harbour of Kaisarius or the Heptascalon, while to the west of that gate was the harbour which bore the names of See also:Eleutherius and of Theodosiur I. A harbour named after the Golden gate stood on the shore to the south-west of the triumphal gate of the city. The Modern City.—As the capital of the Ottoman empire, the aspect of the city changed in many ways. The works of ' For full See also:information on the subject of the ancient water-supply see See also:Count A. F. See also:Andreossy, Constantinople et In Bosphore; Tchikatchev, Le Bosphore et Constantinople (2nd ed., See also:Paris, 1865) ; Forchheimer and Strzygowski, See also:Die byzantinischen Wasserbehalter; also See also:article AQUEDUCT.art which adorned New Rome gradually disappeared. The streets, never very wide, became narrower, and the, porticoes along their sides were almost everywhere removed. A multitude of churches were destroyed, and most of those which survived were converted into mosques. In race and garb and speech the population See also:grew largely See also:oriental. One striking alteration in the appearance of the city was the See also:conversion of the territory extending from the head of the promontory to within a short distance of St Sophia into a great See also:park, within which the buildings constituting the seraglio of the sultans, like those forming the palace of the Byzantine emperors, were ranged around three courts, distinguished by their respective gates—Bab-i-Humayum, leading into the court of the See also:Janissaries; See also:Orta Kapu, the middle gate, giving See also:access to the court in which the sultan held state receptions; and See also:Bah-i-Saadet, the gate of Felicity, leading to. the more private apartments of the palace. From the reign of Abd-ul-Mejid, the seraglio has been practically abandoned, first for the palace of Dolmabagche on the shore near Beshiktash, and now for Yildiz Kiosk, on the heights above that suburb. It is, however, visited annually by the sultan, to do See also:homage to the relics of the See also:prophet which are kept there. The older apartments-of the palace, such as the throne-See also:room, the See also:Bagdad Kiosk, and many of the See also:objects in the imperial See also:treasury are of extreme See also:interest to all lovers of oriental art. To visit the seraglio,. an imperial See also:Trade is necessary. Another great See also:change in the general aspect of the city has been produced by the erection of stately mosques in the most commanding situations, where dome and; minarets• and huge rectangular buildings present a See also:combination of See also:mass and slenderness, of rounded lines and soaring pinnacles, which gives to Constantinople an See also:air of unique dignity and grace, and at the same time invests it with the glamour of the oriental world. The most remarkable mosques are the following:—The mosque of Sultan Mohammed the Conqueror, built on the site of the church of the Holy Apostles, in 1459, but rebuilt in 1768 owing to injuries due to an earthquake;; the mosques of Sultan Selim, of the Shah Zadeh, of Sultan Suleiman and of Rustem Pasha—all works of the 16th century, the, best period of Turkish architecture; the mosque of Sultan Bayezid II. (1447--1505); the mosque of Sultan Ahmed I. (Oro);Yeni-Valide-Jamissi (1615–1665); Nuri-Osmanieh (1748–1755); Laleli-Jamissi (1765). The Turbehs containing the tombs of the sultans and members of their families are often beautiful specimens of Turkish art. In their architecture, the mosques present a striking instance of the influence of the Byzantine style, especially as it appears in St Sophia. The architects of the mosques have made a skilful use of the semi-dome in the support of the See also:main dome of the building, and in the consequent extension of the arched canopy that spreads over the worshipper. In some cases the main dome rests upon four semi-domes. At the same time, when viewed from the exterior, the main dome rises large, bold and commanding, with nothing of the squat appearance that See also:mars the dome of St Sophia, with nothing of the See also:petty prettiness of the little domes perched on the drums of the later Byzantine churches. The great mosques See also:express the spirit of the days when the Ottoman empire was still mighty and ambitious. Occasionally, as in the case of Laleli Jamissi, where the dome rests upon an octagon inscribed in a square, the influence of SS. Sergius and Bacchus is perceptible. For all intents and purposes, Constantinople is now the collection of towns and villages situated on both sides of the Golden Horn and along the shores of the Bosporus, including See also:Scutari and Kadikeui. But the principal parts of this great agglomeration are Stamboul (from Gr. eis rile iroXty, " into the city "), the name specially applied to the portion of the city upon the promontory, Galata and Pero. Galata has a long history, which becomes of general interest after 1265, when it was assigned to the Genoese merchants in the city by See also:Michael Palaeologus, in return for the friendly services of See also:Genoa in the overthrow of the Latin empire of Constantinople. In the course of time, notwithstanding stipulations to the contrary, the.' town was strongly fortified and proved a troublesome See also:neighbour During the siege of 1453 the inhabitants maintained on the whole a neutral attitude, but on the fall of the capital they surrendered to the Turkish conqueror, who granted them liberal terms. The walls have for the most part been removed. The noble tower, however, which formed the citadel of the See also:colony, still remains, and is a striking feature in the scenery of Constantinople. There are also churches and houses dating from Genoese days. Galata is the chief business centre of the city, the seat of See also:banks, See also:post-offices, steamship offices, &c. Pera is the principal residential quarter of the European communities settled in Constantinople, where the See also:foreign embassies congregate, and the fashionable shops and hotels are found. Since the middle of the 19th century the city has yielded more and more to western influences, and is fast losing its oriental See also:character. The sultan's palaces, and the residences of all classes of the community, adopt with more or less success a European style of building. The streets have been widened and named. They are in many instances better paved, and are lighted at See also:night. The houses are numbered. Cabs and tramways have been introduced. Public gardens have been opened. For some distance outside the Galata bridge, both shores of the Golden Horn have been provided with a See also:quay at which large steamers can See also:moor to See also:discharge or embark their passengers and See also:cargo. The Galata quay, completed in 1889, is 756 metres long and 20 metres wide; the Stamboul quay, completed in 1900, is 378 metres in length. The harbour, quays and facilities for handling merchandise, which have been established at the head of the Anatolian railway, at Haidar Pasha, under See also:German auspices, would be a See also:credit to any city. It is true that most of these improvements are due to foreign enterprise and serve largely foreign interests; still they have also benefited the city, and added much to the convenience and comfort of See also:local life. There has been likewise progress in other than material respects. The growth of the imperial museum of antiquities, under the direction of Hamdy Bey, within the grounds of the Seraglio, has been remarkable; and while the collection of the sarcophagi discovered at See also:Sidon constitutes the chief treasure of the museum, the institution has become a rich storehouse of many other valuable relics of the past. The existence of a school of art, where See also:painting and architecture are taught, is also a sign of new times. A school of handicrafts flourishes on the Sphendone of the Hippodrome. The fine medical school between Scutari and Haidar Pasha, the Hamidieh See also:hospital for See also:children, and the See also:asylum for the poor, tell of the advance of See also:science and humanity in the place. Considerable attention is now given to the subject of See also:education throughout the empire, a result due in great measure to the influence of the See also:American and See also:French See also:schools and colleges established in the provinces and at the capital. More than See also:thirty foreign educational institutions flourish in Constantinople itself, and they are largely attended by the youth belonging to the native communities of the country. The Greek population is provided with excellent schools and gymnasia, and the Armenians also maintain schools of a high grade. The Turkish government itself became, moreover, impressed with the importance of education, and as a consequence the whole system of public instruction for the Moslem portion of the population was, during the reign of Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II., more widely extended and improved. Beside the schools of the old type attached to the mosques, schools of a better class were established under the See also:direct control of the See also:minister of education, which, although open to improvement, certainly aimed at a higher See also:standard than that reached in former days. The progress of education became noticeable even among Moslem girls. The social and political influence of this intellectual improvement among the various communities of the empire soon made itself See also:felt, and had much to do with the startling success of the constitutional revolution carried out, under the direction of the See also:Committee of See also:Union and Progress, in the autumn of 1908. See also:Climate.—The climate of the city is healthy, but relaxing. It is See also:damp and liable to sudden and great changes of temperature. The winds from the north and those from the south are atconstant See also:feud, and See also:blow See also:cold or hot in the most capricious manner, often in the course of the same day. " There are two climates at Constantinople, that of the north and that of the south wind." The winters may be severe, but when mild they are wet and not invigorating. In summer the See also:heat is tempered by the prevalence of a north-east wind that blows down the channel of the Bosporus. Observations at Constantinople and at Scutari give the following results, for a period of twenty years. Constantinople. Scutari. Mean temperature 57° 7' 58° 1' Maximum 99° I' toe 6' Minimum 17° 2' 13 0' Rain . . 28.3 in. 29.29 in. Number of See also:rainy days . 112 128.6 The sanitation of the city has been improved, although much remains to be done in that respect. No great epidemic has visited the city since the outbreak of See also:cholera in 1866. Typhoid and pulmonary diseases are See also:common. Population.—The number of the population of the city is an uncertain figure, as no accurate See also:statistics can be `obtained. It is generally estimated between 800,000 and 1,000,000. The inhabitants present a remarkable conglomeration of different races, various nationalities, See also:divers See also:languages, distinctive costumes and conflicting faiths, giving, it is true, a singular interest to what may be termed the human scenery of the city, but rendering impossible any close social cohesion, or the development of a common civic life. Constantinople has well been described as " a city not of one nation but of many, and hardly more of one than of another." The following figures are given as an approximate estimate of the size of the communities which compose the population. 384,910 Moslems . Greeks . 152,741 Greek Latins 1,082 Armenians . 149,590 Roman Catholics (native) 6,442 Protestants (native) . 819 Bulgarians . 4,377 See also:Jews . 44,361 Foreigners . . 129,243 873,565 Water-Supply.—Under the See also:rule of the sultans, the water-supply of the city has been greatly extended. The reservoirs in the forest of Belgrade have been enlarged and increased in number, and new aqueducts have been added to those erected by the Byzantine emperors. The use of the old cisterns within the walls has been almost entirely abandoned, and the water is led to basins in vaulted chambers (Taxim), from which it is distributed by underground conduits to the fountains situated in the different quarters of the city. From these fountains the water is taken to a house by water-See also:carriers, or, in the case of the humbler classes, by members of the See also:household itself. For the supply of Pera, Galata and Beshiktash, Sultan Mahmud I. constructed, in 1732, four bends in the forest of Belgrade, N.N.W. and N.E. of the See also:village of Bagchekeui, and the fine aqueduct which spans the head of the valley of Buyukder6. Since 1885, a French See also:company, La Compagnie See also:des Eaux, has rendered a great service by bringing water to Stamboul, Pera, and the villages on the European side of the Bosporus, from See also:Lake Dercos, which lies close to the shore of the Black Sea some 29 M. distant from the city. The Dercos water is laid on in many houses. Since 1893 a German company has supplied Scutari and Kadikeui with water from the valley of the Sweet Waters of Asia. Trade.—The trade of the city has been unfavourably affected by the political events which have converted former provinces of the Turkish empire into autonomous states, by the development of business at other ports of the empire, owing to the opening up of the interior country through the construction of railroads, and by the difficulties which the government, with the view of preventing political agitation, has put in the way of easy intercourse by natives between the capital and the provinces. Most of the See also:commerce of the city is in hands of foreigners and of Armenian and Greek merchants. Turks have little if anything to do with trade on a large scale. " The capital, " says a writer in the Konstantino See also:pier Handelsblatt of See also:November 1904, " produces very little for export, and its See also:hinterland is small, extending on the European side only a few kilometres—the outlet for the fertile Eastern See also:Rumelia is Dedeagach—and on the Asiatic side embracing the Sea of Marmora and the Anatolian railway district. Even part of this will be lost to Constantinople when the Anatolian railway is connected with the port of See also:Mersina and with the Kassaba-See also:Smyrna railway. Some 750 tons of the sweetmeat known as ` Turkish delight ' are annually exported to the See also:United See also:Kingdom, See also:America and Rumelia; embroideries, &c., are sold in See also:fair quantities to tourists. Otherwise the chief articles of Constantinople's export trade consist of refuse and See also:waste materials, See also:sheep's See also:wool (called Kassab bashi) and skins from the slaughter-houses (in 1903 about 3,000,000 skins were exported, mostly to America), horns, hoofs, See also:goat and See also:horse See also:hair, guts, bones, rags, See also:bran, old See also:iron, &c., and finally See also:dogs' excrements, called in trade ` pure,' a Constantinople speciality, which is used in preparing See also:leather for ladies' gloves. From the hinter-land comes mostly raw produce such as See also:grain, drugs, wool, See also:silk, ores and also carpets. The chief article is grain." The See also:average value of the goods passing through the port of Constantinople at the opening of the 20th century was estimated at about £ T 11,000,000. From the imperfect statistics available, the following tables of the class of goods imported and exported, and their respective values, were drawn up in 1901 by the late Mr Whittaker, The Times correspondent. Imports. £ T 13,500,000 Manufactured goods (See also:cotton, woollen, silk, &c.) Haberdashery, ironmongery 90,000 See also:Sugar 500,000 See also:Petroleum 400,000 See also:Flour 400,000 See also:Coffee 300,000 See also:Rice 250,000 See also:Cattle 100,000 Various . 850,000 See also:Total £ T 7,000,000 Exports. Cereals . £T1,000,000 See also:Mohair . 800,000 Carpets . 700,000 Silk and cocoons . 500,000 See also:Opium 400,000 See also:Gum tragacanth . 150,000 Wool 100,000 Hides 1oo,000 Various . 250,000 Total . £ T 4,100,000 About 40% of the import trade of Constantinople is See also:British. According to the trade See also:report of the British consulate, the See also:share of the United Kingdom in the value of £7,142,000 on the total imports to Constantinople during the year 1900–1901 was £1,811,000; while the share of the United Kingdom in the value of £2,669,000 on the total exports during the same year was £998,000. But it is worthy of See also:note that while British commerce still led the way in See also:Turkey, the trade of some other countries with Turkey, especially that of See also:Germany, was increasing more rapidly. Comparing the average of the period 1896–1900 with the total for 1904, British trade showed an increase of 33%, Austro-Hungarian of nearly 6o%, Germany of 130%, Italian of 98%, French of 8%, and Belgian of nearly 33%. The See also:shipping visiting the port of Constantinople during the year 1905, exduding sailing and small See also:coasting vessels, was 9796, representing a total of 14,785,080 tons. The percentage of steamers under the British See also:flag was 37.1; of See also:tonnage, 45.9. Administration.—For the preservation of order and security, the city is divided into four divisions (Belad-i-Selassi), viz. I A Turkish See also:lira = 18 shillings (See also:English).Stamboul, Pera-Galata, Beshiktash and Scutari. The minister of See also:police is at the head of the administration of the affairs of these divisions, and is ex-officio See also:governor of Stamboul. The See also:governors of the other divisions are subordinate to him, but are appointed by the sultan. Each governor has a See also:special See also:staff of police and gendarmery and his own police-court. In each division is a military See also:commander, having a part of the See also:garrison of the city under his orders, but subordinate to the commander-in-chief of the troops guarding the capital. The municipal government of the four divisions of the city is in the hands of a prefect, appointed by the sultan, and sub-See also:ordinate to the minister of the interior. He is officially styled the prefect of Stamboul, and is assisted by a See also:council of twenty-four members, appointed by the sultan or the minister of the interior. All matters concerning the streets, the markets, the bazaars, the street-porters (hamals), public weighers, baths and hospitals come under his See also:jurisdiction. He is charged also with the collection of the city dues, and the taxes on See also:property. The city is furthermore divided into ten municipal circles as follows. In Stamboul: (1) Sultan Bayezid, (2) Sultan Mehemet, (3) Djerah Pasha (Psamatia); on the European side of the Bosporus and the See also:northern side of the Golden Horn: (4) Beshiktash, (5) Yenikeui, (6) Pera, (7) Buyukdere; on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus: (8) Anadol See also:Hissar, (9) Scutari, (1o) Kadikeui. Each circle is subdivided into several wards (mahalleh). " The out-lying parts of the city are divided into six districts (Cazas), namely, Princes' Islands, Guebzeh, Beicos, Kartal, Kuchuk-Chekmedje and Shile, each having its governor (kaimakam), who is usually chosen by the palace. These districts are dependencies of the See also:ministry of the interior, and their municipal affairs are directed by agents of the prefecture." In virtue of old See also:treaties, known as the See also:Capitulations (q.v.), foreigners enjoy to a large extent the rights of See also:exterritoriality. In disputes with one another, they are judged before their own courts of See also:justice. In litigation between a foreigner and a native, the case is taken to a native court, but a representative of the foreigner's consulate attends the proceedings. Foreigners have a right to establish their own schools and hospitals, to hold their special religious services, and even to maintain their respective See also:national post-offices. No Turkish policeman may enter the premises of a foreigner without the See also:sanction of the consular authorities to whose 'jurisdiction the latter belongs. A certain measure of self-government is likewise granted to the native Christian communities under their ecclesiastical chiefs. Bvravrcval MeM Mac (1877) ; Scarlatos Byzantios, 'E KWvoravrtvov rats (1851) ; E. See also:Pears, Fall of Constantinople (1885), The Destruction of the Greek Empire (1903) ; See also:Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Salzenberg, Altchristliche Baudenkmale von Konstantinopqeell, Lethaby and Swainson, The Church of Sancta Sophia; Pulgher, See also:Les Anciennes Eglises byzantines de Constantinople; Labarte, Le Palais imperial de Constantinople et ses abords. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] CONSTANTINE X |
[next] CONSTANTINOPLE, COUNCILS OF |