Retrospect of French Literature— History. 
now enriched the cities placed on their 
banks. ; 
OBJECTS OF COMMERCE. 
The merchandise exported from 
Constantinople during the crusades, 
thence to be distributed throughout 
Germany by the Hungarians, consisted 
of all the productions both of nature 
aud art appertaining to Greece, as 
wellas the commodities ofthe Levant. 
Among these are enumerated saffron, 
laurel leaves, nuts, oil, liquorice, raw 
silk, sacerdotal habits, purple robes, 
gold, stuffs, pomels of swords, pep- 
per, ginger, &c. This catalogue is 
extracted from two tarfs or regula- 
tions for the custom-house of the town 
of Stain on the Danube, in Lower 
Austria, where a toll was taken on 
the great road leading from Constan- 
tinople to Germany. 
The merchandise imported, con- 
sisted of slaves, arms, sadlery, woollen - 
eloth, linen, certain wooden manv- 
factures ; and finally gold, silver, cop- 
per, tin, lead and mercury. Ail these 
productions actually existed in Ger- 
many and Hungary, and were trans- 
ported through Lower Austria along 
the Danube to Constantinople, whence 
part was carried to the East. The 
slaves, consisted chiefly of the Vendes 
and Slavi, who were transmitted from 
Bohemia and Mortavia to Greece, and 
many of them were employed in hard 
labour, of which blowing the bellows 
of the organs at Constantinople is spe- 
cified as furming a part. Liege, where 
iron and other metals had been disco- 
vered so early as the 10th century, 
was famous for the manufacture of 
arms. Flanders furnished the sadlery, 
the Low Countries the woolen goods ; 
Franconia and Thuringia linens ; many 
of the metals came from Transylvania, 
and as to the gold it was obtained 
from the Danube near Papau, as well 
as from the Rhine, while mines of the 
precious metals were at the same time 
worked both in Hungary and Tran- 
sylyania. 
Commerce or tHe Norra, 
Byzantium is very advantageously 
situate for commerce with the inha- 
bitants bordering on the Black Sea, 
and accordingly it first became the 
grand entrepot to this trade. A great 
intercourse was kept up with the 
Greek colonies in the Taurida ;. and so 
early as the sixth century abundance 
of cattle was brought from the Bospho- 
rus. Constantinople kept up a constant 
communication with the Chazares, 
68% 
the Patzinaques and the Cumanes, 
all Turkish tribes, who in the 12th - 
century were dispossessed of part 
of their country by the Venetians. 
The Patzinaques ought to be compre- 
hended among the Tauro-Scythians, 
with whomthe Greeks of the capital 
entered into a bloody contest in 1043, 
whence resulted a long and disastrous 
war, in which the Russians were im- 
plicated, they taking part with the 
enemies of Byzantium. 
With these last, the Greeks had lone 
and frequent connections, for many of 
them, under the name of Farjans and 
Varins, entered into the service of the 
emperors. A great commerce also 
was carried on with Russia, and a par- 
ticular quarter was assigned to the’ 
travellers from that country, in the 
suburb of St. Mamant. In the tenth 
century, their merchants were main. 
tained at Constantinople at the ex. 
pence of the public. No sooner, how- 
ever, did they begin to traffic directly 
with other nations, such as the Vene- 
tians, the Genoese, and the Germans, 
than the Greeks. became jealous,’ and 
would not permit them to ‘remain 
during the winter at Constantinople, 
nay, they prohibited them from stay- 
ing during- the same period at the 
mouth of the Dnieper. On this the 
Germans and other nations repaired 
for the purpose of traffic to Kiow. 
Furs and slaves formed two great ar- 
ticles of trade. . 
But the Greek merchants in conse- 
quence of the despotism of their go. 
vernment, and the luxury that reigned 
inthe effeminate courts of their em- 
perors, soon lost their foreign trade, 
trom indolence, mattention, and the 
nature of their political institutions, 
Towards the end of the crusades the 
Italians and Germans began to inter- 
change their commodities, partly by 
means of the roads across the Alps,. 
and partly through the streichts of Gib. 
raltar. From that moment too, ‘the 
balance of trade began to lean against 
the inhabitants of Constantinople,as the 
importation of spiceries and metals from 
the east was greater in point of value 
than their own indigenous productions 
exported by them. The annual deficit 
was, however,concealed, if not covered 
by the large sums expended by a bril- 
liant court, and the internal trade 
which was still carried on’ with such 
vigour, as to render Constantinople 
the most rich and luxurious capital 
during the middle agg, ) 
