tjonstant!- 

 nople. 



Situation. 



CON U 



with action, not to be surprised into same injustice, 

 through the bias of affection, or the specious sugges- 

 tions of artful and designing people. Though, there- 

 fore, there may have been some transactions in this 

 rei<ni which cannot be easily justified, and others that 

 must be condemned, yet we are not to consider Con- 

 stantine as a cruel prince, or a bad man.'"' See Lard- 

 ner's Credibility of the Go --pel History, vol. vii. Gib- 

 bon's Roman Empire, vol. ii. p. 190, and vol. iii. p. 99, 

 8vo. Milner's History of the Church, vol. ii. c. i. and 

 ii. Esprinchard, L'Hisloire Auguste, mi les vies des 

 Empereurs Romains, vol. i. p. 520. Mosheim's Eccl. 

 Hist. vol. i. p, 320. ( p) 



CONSTANTINOPLE, called by the Turks Stam- 

 boid, the ancient Byzantium, and capital of the Turk- 

 ish empire, stands on the western shore of the Thracian 

 Bosphorus. This strait, which divides Asia from Eu- 

 rope, and joins the Euxine with the Mediterranean Sea, 

 affords an easy communication with the most fertile re- 

 gions and principal nations of the three continents ; and 

 points out Constantinople as admirably situated for be- 

 ing the centre of a rich and extensive commerce, t The 

 situation of the city is also equally remarkable for beau- 

 ty and security. It is built upon seven hills, which ap- 

 pear to rise above one another in beautiful succession ; 

 and has the figure of an unequal triangle, with the base 

 facing the west, and the obtuse angle jutting into the 

 sea. Its northern side is bounded by an arm of water 

 navigable for several miles, and which forms a safe and 

 commodious harbour. On the south, it reclines upon 

 the sea of Marmora; and towards the land it is defend- 

 ed by a strong wall, with a triple fortification 18 feet 

 distant from each other. This wall, notwithstanding 

 the effects of time, and the many memorable sieges 

 which the city has sustained, is still in great preserva- 

 tion. It is flanked with lofty towers of various shapes, 

 and has five gates, with stone bridges over the foss, 

 which is 25 feet wide, and, in many places, decorated 

 with trees of great beauty and variety. The most re- 

 markable of these gates, though the most ruinous, is the 

 Porta Sancti Romani, which first yielded to the barbar- 

 ous valour of the Turks, and where the emperor Con- 

 stantine PaleologtTs, its magnanimous defender, was 

 slain. The wall is composed of large flat bricks and 

 freestone laid in alternate courses ; and the internal ar- 

 cades and rooms in the towers are all of brick, and of 

 most curious construction. The fortifications towards 

 the sea are in a more decayed state, and are partly de- 

 stroyed. At the southern extremity of the city is a small 

 Fort of the ^ ort ^ ca yi e( j hy the Turks Yeddikuli, or the seven towers. 

 It was built by some of the Greek emperors, probably 

 John Zimitzes, in 1000, and had originally only four 

 towers. Other three were added in 1458 by Maho- 

 met II., who also rebuilt a great part of it, and con- 

 verted it into a state prison. This fort forms a to- 

 lerably regular pentagon ; and the area of the whole 

 inclosure, according to Dr Pouqueville, is about 5500 

 square toises. All the five angles were formerly flank- 

 ed by towers with conical roofs, which give them a 

 clumsy and mean appearance; but of these one was 

 thrown down by an earthquake in 1768, and another 

 is falling fast into decay. On the front, towards the 

 west, stands the ancient triumphal arch of Constantine, 

 with a marble tower on each side. Both these towers 

 sure enormous masses with platforms at the top, but are 



Walls and 

 gates. 



Seven 

 Towers. 



2 CON 



only between 80 and 90 feet high, and scarcely over- Comtantj-. 

 top the adjacent walls. This place is now chiefly used nople. 

 by the Turks for confining the ministers and ambassa- """"■Y"™*' 

 dors of the powers with whom they happen to be at 

 w£ir. 



The walls of Constantinople inclose an area of about 

 2000 acres, and its total circumference is from twelve 

 to fourteen English miles. The summits of its hills 

 are covered with innumerable mosques and baths, in- 

 termixed with lofty cypresses ; and their declivities are 

 crowded with habitations and terraced streets. The 

 multitude of houses painted of different colours, the 

 gilded domes, and the elegant and slender minarets, 

 crowned by the shining crescent, impress the beholder 

 with a high idea of its magnificence and splendour. 

 The interior of the city, however, but ill corresponds 

 with the beautiful coup d'ceil which it presents at a 

 distance. " To say something of Constantinople, in 

 general," says Mr Sandys, " I think there is not in 

 the world any object that promiseth so much afar off, 

 and entered, that so deceiveth the expectation." It con- Stree>. 

 sists of an assemblage of dark and narrow streets with- 

 out names, badly paved, and choked either with dust 

 or mud. The office of scavenger is left entirely to the 

 dogs and vultures, which prowl about during the 

 night; and the only time that the streets are toler- 

 ably clean is after rain, which, oAving to their decli- 

 vity, washes away and carries off the filth. The 

 houses are constructed of wood and earth, and are, Houses, 

 in general, low and mean, full of unglazed windows, 

 and without chimneys. The best apartments are al- 

 ways appropriated to the Harem, and are remarkable 

 for" the neatness and elegance of their furniture. None 

 of the houses, however, are allowed to exceed twenty- 

 six feet in height, which gives the streets a very mean 

 appearance. Indeed there is scarcely a tolerable street 

 in all Constantinople ; and if the Turks claim for then- 

 capital the appellation of new Rome, it must be owing 

 entirely to its public edifices, which being interspersed 

 among its crowded lanes, diffuse over it an air of gloomy 

 magnificence. 



On the eastern promontory, stands the palace and Seraglio 

 gardens of the Seraglio, which cover one of the seven 

 hills, and occupy the site of the Byzantine republic. 

 This spot was judiciously chosen by Mahomet II. for 

 his imperial palace. In 1478, he enclosed with lofty 

 walls an area of about 150 acres, which he destined to 

 be the seat of Turkish jealousy and despotism. Suc- 

 ceeding Sultans have beautified and enlarged its build- 

 ings ; and the whole space is now covered with detach- 

 ed suites of apartments, mosques, baths, gardens, and cy- 

 press groves. So many glittering domes, rearing their 

 lofty heads above the verdant foliage and painted ter- 

 races, produce at a distance a very beautiful effect, 

 which, however, is entirely lost upon a nearer inspec- 

 tion ; for they are huddled together without symmetry 

 or order. The principal entrance is on the west, through 

 the Baba-hoomajin, or Sublime Porte, which is built of 

 marble, and has a very heavy appearance. It is here 

 that state delinquents are decapitated, and their heads 

 exposed for three days. In front of this gate is an ex- 

 tensive and irregular area, the ancient Augusteum, hav- 

 ing in the centre a richly ornamented fountain built by 

 Achmet III. ; and on the north the magnificent church 

 of St Sophia. Within is the first court, which contains 



f " Est in Europa ; habct in conspectu Asiam. J5gyptum Africamque a dextra : qua: tametsi contiguae non sunt, maris tamen itfrvj. 

 *nnd:<yie comrrioditatc velirti junguntur. A sinistra vero Pontus est Eosinus." Bushe^im, Epist. i. ]?• 64. 



