Constantinople
The city of Constantinople was built during the seventh century BCE. This ancient city has obtained many names, such names included the City of Desires, Queen of Cities, Istinpolin, and Stambol (History). It was originally located in a place called “Byzantium” (Wasson). Constantinople was an ancient city in what is now modern-day Turkey (History). It is now recognized as a city called Istanbul. The name “Constantinople” came from the Emperor, whose name was Constantine. He built his new capital city in the treasured city of Byzantium in order to establish a thriving trade economy. He also made these efforts to build Constantinople in order ro lay down a foundation of the Christian Religion (History). A quote from a publisher in the Ancient History Encyclopedia says:
“Constantinople would become the economic and cultural hub of the east and the center of both Greek classics and Christian ideals.” (Wasson).
Not only was Byzantium a good place for an economy to be built upon, but Constantine’s buildings were said to be influenced by both classical Roman influencers, and also the Christian God (Wasson). We recognize this city for it’s architecturally advanced works of art, and the wealth they obtained primarily from being located right between Europe and Asia (History). Because of this location, the city was found to be very culturally diverse, and they primarily used the Greek language for communication (History). It was also known to be home to many Roman texts and scriptures throughout the Middle Ages (Wasson).
This extensive building project turned into New Rome, which was about four times the size of old Byzantium (Wasson). The city consisted of 14 regions. Constantine decorated the broad city with public displays of work that he found to be worthy of him and his great capital (Constantinople). For example, Constantine enjoyed strategically placing statues of legendary people around his new city. Such people included Caesar, Alexander the Great, and more. He even had a statue set into the community of himself representing Apollo (History). He also had a Great Palace of Constantine built in the year 331 CE (Wasson).
One of Constantine’s concerns about this city was the hardships they would face to find sufficient amounts of water for the people. New Rome started to have many droughts and they needed to find a way to bring in regularly distributed water supply (Wasson). With this being said, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, in the year 330 CE a system of water tunnels and adequate storage for the city was built. This was a way of getting people to have a desire to live here. He even offered food for free to the population that settled in his new capital, which brought in many residents (History).
According to the New World Encyclopedia, the city of Constantinople was located in a very imperative location, between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara (Constantinople), which is why it was known as the city of desires. This location gave Constantinople the wealth and population that it had during the middle ages. It includes both land routes from Europe to Asia, and route from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean (Constantinople). This makes for a great trade and transportation system. A quote from The New World Encyclopedia says:
“Constantine identified the site of Byzantium as the correct place: a city where an emperor could sit, readily defended, with easy access to the Danube or the Euphrates frontiers, his court supplied from the rich gardens and sophisticated workshops of Roman Asia, his treasuries filled by the wealthiest provinces of the empire.” (Constantinople)
One architecturally advanced aspect that Constantinople is known for was an entertainment arena called the Hippodrome. Constantine simply expanded this building that was originally built by a man named Severus, and made it a place for parades and events for the public. According to the History Channel, it seated up to 100,000 people (History).
Works Cited
Wasson, Donald L. “Constantinople.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 29 Nov. 2018, www.ancient.eu/Constantinople/.
Constantinople.” Ohio River – New World Encyclopedia, New World Encyclopedia, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Constantinople.
History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/topics/middle-east/constantinople.