Constantinople

Constantinople is recognized for its admirable beauty. "Constantinople occupies one of the most beautiful and advantageous sites in the world." (Vailhé) Constantinople also has a nickname because of its beauty. "Constantinople was called polis because it was the most beautiful city in the world." (Vailhé) If the city is so beautiful then it must have a lot of tourists and people living there. "For centuries Constantinople was the largest metropolis in the known world." (Judith)
 * Is Constantinople beautiful? **
 * [[image:2961370242_17ca4fa614.jpg]]

How is the City Built? Any Protection? ** Constantinople was built such a way that it was almost impenetrable. "Constantinople was uniquely situated to give it great advantage against besieging armies." (Brandon) "It is surrounded by water on all sides except the west, which is protected by walls." (Vailhé) " No invading force had breached the land walls since their construction in the 5th Century." (Brandon) The city is built a little bit different than most know places. "The city is divided into ten quarters or circles, each with its own municipality." (Vailhé) Constantinople also has its own bridge which separates it from Asia. "The Bosporus separates Europe from Asia; it is about eighteen miles long and varies in width from about half a mile to a mile and a half." (Vailhé)

Constantinople was discovered long ago. "Constantinople was founded c. 658 B.C by a Greek colony from Megara." (Vailhé) Constantinople was also renamed after some time to "Istanbul".
 * When was Constantinople Discovered? **

For such a beautiful city it didn’t have as much people as you thought it would have. "The population is (1908) at least 1,000,000, perhaps 1,200,000." (Vailhé) Since it was a beautiful city it had churches to keep it "holy" and the churches had bishops. "The first historically know Bishop of Byzantium is St. Metrophanes." (Vailhé) Constantinople had lots of backgrounds some which are. "Protestantism is represented by English, American, German, and Other foreign colonies, also by about one thousand Armenian converts." (Vailhé) Among those there where Christians. "The Christians seem to number over 300,000." (Vailhé) Also there where Persians. "The Persian __mussulmans__, generally __s__hittes, have their own religious organization." (Vailhé)
 * What is the population and what ethnic backgrounds are there? **

Constantinople had lots of Mosques. "There are more than 200 mosques, near which are generally found elementary schools for boys and even for girls." (Vailhé) The schools had a pretty good amount of kids. "It has about 1,200 pupils (mostly __mussulmans__): and instruction is given in both Turkish and French." (Vailhé) The Greeks were good people. "The Greeks have a large charitable establishment at balekli and an orphanage." (Vailhé)
 * __Is__ there any schools or orphanages? **

Even though Constantinople was almost impenetrable it was at an end. "When the tragic hour struck, the emperor had only about 7,000 men, including all foreign succour." (Vailhé) The Turks turned against Constantinople. "When the Turks took Constantinople, the hippodrome was already in ruinous decay." (Vailhé) "The buildings of the old seraglio point are also of Turkish origin; nothing is left of the Byzantine imperial palaces that once stood there." (Vailhé)
 * Did Constantinople ever get taken over? **

The empire was divided. "After the division of the Roman Empire in 395, Constantinople beheld the passage of many great dynasties." (Vailhé) "The Blachernae palace has also disappeared; its church was accidentally burned in the seventeenth century." (Vailhé) The Sultans loved __there__ win. "The sultans in turn endowed their new capital with many beautiful monuments." (Vailhé)
 * What happened after it was conquered? **

**Works Cited**

Turkey Istanbul - []
 * Brandon Crocker. “Remember Constantinople.” __The American Spectator__. 1 Dec. 2005: 72, 74-75. __Research Library__. ProQuest. SdStateLibrary. 6 may. 2009 .
 * Judith Herrin. “The fall of Constantinople.” __History Today__. 53.6 (2003): 12-17. __Research Library__. Proquest. SdStateLibrary. 6 May. 2009 .
 * Vailhé Siméon. “Constantinople.” __The Catholic Encyclopedia__. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 12 May 2009 [].