CONSTANTINOPLE 



1557 



CONSTELLATION 



hammedanism. The most magnificent of its 

 churches, the Mosque of Saint Sophia, which 

 was erected by Emperor Justinian in the sixth 

 century as a Christian temple, has been the 

 glory of Islam since the Turkish occupation 

 of the city in 1453. The four minarets and 

 lofty dome of the Mosque of Suleiman, an 

 edifice built between the years 1550 and 1566, 

 give added distinction to this minaretted city. 

 There are also many other structures of his- 

 toric interest the Serpent Column, brought to 

 Constantinople by Constantine from Delphi, 

 where it had stood for eight centuries ; the 

 splendid Museum of Antiquities, in Seraglio 

 Park; the Castle of Seven Towers, once a gov- 

 ernment house of execution; the hippodrome, 

 completed by Constantine and the scene of 

 many public festivals; not the least of the 

 wonders of the city are the several fine aque- 

 ducts whose underground cisterns are among 

 the largest in the world. South of the Museum 

 of Antiquities is the famous group of govern- 

 ment buildings known as the Sublime Porte. 



Constantinople offers free instruction to its 

 people through numerous elementary public 

 schools connected with the mosques, and 

 through about 170 secondary schools. In 1900 

 there was opened a university, with depart- 

 ments of philosophy, Mohammedan theology, 

 mathematics, law and medicine. Robert Col- 

 lege, an American institution for men, founded 

 in 1863, is also of importance. There are, in 

 addition, several schools conducted by the 

 French, the Imperial Art School and the Greek 

 National School, the latter supplying many 

 teachers for the Greek schools in Turkey. 



The handmade wares of Constantinople, dis- 

 played in picturesque bazars and street shops, 

 are more important than the products of its 

 factories, which consist mainly of tobacco 

 goods, fezzes and iron wares. Food products, 

 textiles, coal, metal ware, instruments and 

 implements of a widely-varied nature, petro- 

 leum and wood are brought into the city; 

 carpets and rugs, lambskins and wool, attar 

 of roses, embroideries and filigree work are 

 exported. Under normal conditions over 20,000 

 ships enter the Golden Horn each year; this 

 magnificent harbor can accommodate more 

 than 1,000 of the largest ocean vessels. Since 

 1888 the city has enjoyed direct railroad con- 

 nection with the outside world, and small 

 steamboats and ferries carry passengers from 

 Stamboul to the suburbs. It is estimated that 

 the city and its suburbs have a population of 

 1,250,000. 



History. In the myths of ancient Greece 

 we read that the Argonauts, under the leader- 

 ship of Jason, sailed up the Bosporus, long 

 before a city called Byzantium was founded on 

 its shores by Greek adventurers. This was in 

 the sixth century before Christ. In 513 B. c. 

 the Persian monarch, Darius II, crossed the 

 Bosporus at the point where Robert College 

 now stands, and for a brief period he con- 

 trolled the place. After its name was changed 

 to Constantinople, the city became the center 

 of Greek civilization in the East, and in 395 

 it was made the capital of the Byzantine, or 

 Eastern, Empire. 



For over a thousand years it was subjected 

 to the attacks of hostile nations; three times 

 it fell, in 1203 and 1204 to the armies of the 

 Crusaders, and in 1453 to the conquering Turks, 

 led by Mohammed, or Muhammad, II. That 

 year, 1453, is one of the chief dates in European 

 history. The capture of the city sent as fugi- 

 tives to Western Europe hundreds of Greek 

 scholars who carried with them priceless manu- 

 scripts of the Greek classics, and in this way 

 gave new impetus to the revival of learning. 

 During the centuries of Turkish rule Con- 

 stantinople was an important factor in Eastern 

 politics. In the War of the Nations the allies 

 vainly tried to capture it (1915). After the war 

 the city was governed by a mandate under the 

 authority of the League of Nations. Turkey 

 did not lose its bit of European territory, how- 



ever. 



J.R. 



Related Subjects. The reader who is inter- 

 ested in the history and life of Constantinople 

 will find the following articles helpful : 

 Bosporus Renaissance 

 Byzantine Empire Scutari 

 Constantine Sophia, Church of Saint 

 Crusades With illustration in 

 Dardanelles article Architecture 

 Golden Horn War of the Nations 

 Jason 



CONSTELLATION, kon stel a' shun, a word 

 derived from a Latin term meaning studded 

 with stars, and applied in astronomy to groups 

 of stars which have been classed together and 

 named for the purpose of identification. It is 

 generally considered that the naming of the 

 constellations dates back to some very primi- 

 tive civilization in the East. From the banks 

 of the Euphrates, probably, the divisions and 

 names spread into Egypt, Greece, Rome and 

 thence to Western countries. The names were 

 usually those of animals or of some event or 

 person in ancient mythology. 



The most familiar constellation in the north- 



