go 2 T H E V E N o T j Travels Book III 
of (lately Floufes and lovely Gardens. This Channel 
affords Plenty of Fifh, efpecially Sword-Fifh and Dol- 
phins. Six Mites from Conftantinople are two Forts, 
built to hinder the Inroads of the Cojfacks, who would 
otherwife feek their Booty in that City. At the Mouth 
of the Bofphorus is a Rock, about fifty Paces from the 
Land, where ftands a Pillar of white Marble, called 
Pompey^s Pillar, becaufe raifed by him (d.s it is faidj in 
Memory of his Yiftory over Mithridates. Over-againft 
this Rock in Europe is a Village by the Sea-fide, call’d 
Fanare^ where is a Tower, with a Light on it always 
for the Convenience of VefTcls to keep them from the 
Rocks, on which they are in Danger from frequent 
Tempefts and Currents, caufed by the Fambe^ Boriji- 
henes^ Fanais^ and other Rivers falling into this Sea, to 
luffer Shipwrecks, and from thence it is called Mauro- 
Fhalaffa^ i. e. The Black-Sea 5 and by the Greeks^ the 
Euxine-^ or Axene Sea, i. e. Inhofvitahle. Near the Chan- 
nel of the Black-Sea there are a great many Siacalles^ 
Or wild Dogs, fomething like P’oxes, but fuppofed to 
be engendered between Wolves and Dogs. They 
howl dreadfully in the Evenings and Nights, efpecially 
in cold and bad Weather, They are very mifchievous, 
and as fierce as Wolves. The Land on Europe fide is 
a fine Country, full of Gardens and good Failure, and 
Villages inhabited by Greeks. A little further are the 
fine AquEedufts that fbpply Conftantinople with Water in 
great Abundance. 
22. As we are now conflrained to think of every Method 
of faving Room, inflead of giving feveral Travels thro’ 
the fame Country, we mull be obliged to fupply the 
Defedls of fuch as we infert, by Additions from other 
Authors, at the Clofe of every Sedlion, and this plain 
Account of the Matter may very well ferve for an In- 
trodudlion. Our Author has given a very good Defcrip- 
tion of the Dardanelles., which the Turks call Bogar Hef- 
farleri., that is, the Streights of the Hellefpont. It is 
certain, that they fpeak in very high Terms of thefe 
new Caflles, which they would have the World believe 
are the fl'rongeft Fortreffes in the World, as well as the 
great Security of Conftantinople j but though they are 
right as to the Importance of thefe Caflles, yet they are 
much out of the Way as to the Caflles themfelves, which 
undoubtedly are very pitiful Fortifications. 
There is Reafon to believe, notwithflanding this fwel- 
ling Language in which they fpeak of them, that the 
Turks are not in Reality perfuaded of the Truth of what 
they fay, with Refpedl to thefe Caflles, for they are fo 
jealous of a Chriflian’s making any Draught of them, 
that if a Man looks at them more fteadily than ufual, 
they prefently confine him • and if he fliould be caught 
■with a Pencil in his Fland, he would certainly be put to 
Death, The Batteries level with the Water, are terri- 
ble only to Sight, from the large Size of the Cannon, 
and the prodigious Stone Bullets which they difeharge. 
It is indeed true, that after the great Viflory gained 
near thefe Streights by the Venetians., in 1657, their Ad- 
miral Mocenigo was dellroy’d in attempting to pafs, 
which hindered their vidlorious Fleet from going up to 
Conftantinople', and this has raifed their Credit with the 
Chrillians, yet without any great Reafon. There is a 
wide Difference between the Paffage of a Galley, and 
that of a Man of War with a brisk Gale ; for as thefe 
Cannon are fixed, and not upon Carriages, they can 
make only one Difeharge, for to load them again takes 
a great Deal of Time, and the People employed in that 
Service muff be expofed all the while they are per- 
forming it. 
In order to force this Paffage, two different Methods 
may be made Ufe of, neither of which can be faid to 
be expofed to infurmountable Difficulties. In the firft 
Place, the Caflles may be attacked by Land, and that 
without any formal Siege, as they are no otherways for- 
tified than by a fimple Rampart and a Parapet, fo that 
a Battery or two of large Cannon would quickly make 
•a Breach nor is it at all impoffible, that thefe Caflles 
might be carried by a Scalade, and then the Paffage 
would be free from all Interruption. The fhme Thing 
might perhaps be effcdled by a Bombardment, or rather 
Ihero is no Doubt of it, and therefore there is no Ne- 
ceffity to run the Rifle of thofe formidable Batteries* 
But, Secondly, even this might be very praflkable* 
fuppofing it ncceffary, for with a brisk Gale, a whole 
Fleet might pafs, and if two or three of the firft Vef- 
fels were old Ships laden with Wool, it is highly pro- 
bable the Stone Bullets would not do them much Harmj 
fo that after all the impregnable Fortreffes of the Dar- 
danelles, as the Turks call them, are in Reality little bet- 
ter than Bugbears, and fo it will certainly appear when- 
ever an Attempt of this kind ftiall be made. 
The Account our Author gives of the Turkifh Name 
of the Capital of their Empire, is not very facisfa< 5 lory, 
and indeed it is very hard to meet with any that is fo* 
and therefore we will endeavour to dear up that Matter 
efledlually. All the Turkifh Authors of any Note, but 
efpecially their Hiflorians, call it, Confthanthinah ov Con^ 
ftantiniah, which is the City of Conftantine, and is the 
Tranflation of Conftantinople into their Tongue. As to 
the Vulgar Name of Stamboul, it arofe thus; The 
Turks hearing the Greeks often fpeak in their Language 
of going to the City, for fo emphatically they call Cm- 
ftantinople, miftook the Greek Words, I.? which 
they pronounced, is Stinpolen, for the Name of the 
Place, and fo called it corruptly, Stanpoli and Stamboul ; 
but their learned Writers being affiam’d of fo grofs a 
Corruption, and yet finding it impoffible to rid them- 
felves of a Word fo long in Ufe, have brought in a new 
Orthography, and write it Jflamhol, which fignifies in 
their Language, the Affembly of the true Belief, or the 
Capital of Believers ; and to the beft of our Knowledge, 
this is the cleareft and moft corredl Account that can be 
given of the Matter. 
Our Author has barely touched, as became a Travel- 
ler, on the feveral Changes that has happened to this 
famous City ; but perhaps the Reader will be pleafed to 
fee thefe Matters placed in a clearer Light, the rather 
too, becaufe very few of our Books of Geography, or 
of general Hiftory, are tolerably corredl or cxadl in this 
Point. The City of Conftantinople received that Name, 
according to Eufebius, Anno Domini, 328, from Conftan- 
tine its Founder, who removed hither the Seat of 
his Empire from Rome. It was firft befieged under the 
Reign of the Emperor, or rather Tyrant Phocas, by 
Chozrees, King of Perfia, or rather it was blocked up 
by him for eight Years together, that is, from An. Dorn. 
603. ro 611, when it was delivered by Heraclius, who 
thereby merited and obtained the Empire. 
In the Year of the Hegira 52. A, D. 672. it was be- 
fieged by Tefid the Son of Moavia, the firft Caliph of 
the Family of the Ommiades. This happened under the 
Reign of the Emperor Conftantine, furnamed Pegonates, 
and it was atthis Siege that Aiub, of the Com- 
panions of the Prophet Mahomet, ended his Days. The 
Greek Emperor found himfeif fo preffed by this Siege, 
that he v/as almoft in Defpair ; for at the fame Time 
that the Saracens Army lay before it on the Land Side, 
it was blocked up by a prodigious Fleet of theirs afe 
Sea. But the famous Engineer Callinictis invented a 
Sort of Wild-Fire, called from thence the Greek Fire, 
which would burn under Water, and therewith deftroyed 
the whole Ideet* 
A. H. 99. A. D. yiy. It was again befieged by Mof- 
lemah the Brother of Solyman, the feventh Caliph of the 
Family of the Ommiades, Theodofius the Illd. being then 
Emperor of the Greeks. It was relieved by Leo, the 
Jfaurian, who caufed the Emperor to be fhaved and 
ffiut up in a Gloifter, fearing himfeif upon his Throne. 
A.H.iS^. A.D. 780. Haroun Rafchid, Son of the 
Caliph Mahadi, came before it with a vaft Army of 
Saracens, the Greek Empire being at that Time govern- 
ed by Irene, as Regent to her Son Conftantine the VI th. 
furnamed Porphyrogenetes, who found herfelf fo hard 
prefled, that flie was glad to deliver herfelf by a fcan- 
dalous Treaty, in which ffie promifed to pay an annual 
Tribute to the Caliph, of Seventy thoufand Pieces of 
Gold. 
The Greek Empire declining from this Time, and 
the Power of the Mahometans increafing to fuch a De- 
gree as threatned all Chriftendom wfith Slavery, produ- 
ced thofe famous Expeditions, that make fuch a Figure 
in 
