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Constantinopleis situated after such a Manner in aPeninsula, that ’tis scarce bounded by the Continent; for on three Sides ’tis inclosed by the Sea. Nor is it only well fortified by its natural Situation, but ’tis also well guarded by Forts, erected inlarge Fields, extending from the City at least a two Day’s Journey, and more than twenty Miles in Length. The Seas that bound thePeninsulaarePontus, or theBlack Sea, theBosporus, and thePropontis. The City is inclosed by a Wall formerly built byAnastasius. ’Tis upon this Account that being secured as it were by a doublePeninsula, she entitles her self the Fortress of allEurope, and claims the Preheminence over all the Cities of the World, as hanging over the Straits both ofEuropeandAsia. For besides other immense Advantages peculiar to it, this is look’d upon as a principal Convenience of its Situation, that ’tis encompassed by a Sea abounding with the finest Harbours for Ships; on the South by thePropontis, on the East by theBosporus, and on the North by a Bay full of Ports, which can not only be secured by a Boom, but even without such a Security, can greatly annoy the Enemy. For the Walls ofConstantinopleandGalatastraitning its Latitude into less than half a Mile over, it has often destroy’d the Enemies Ships by liquid Fire, and other Instruments of War. I would remark farther, that were it secured according to the Improvements of modern Fortification, it would be the strongest Fortress in the World;viz.if the four ancient Ports, formerly inclosed within its Walls by Booms, were rebuilt; two of which (being not only the Ornament, but the Defence of oldByzantium) held out a Siege againstSeverusfor the Space of three Years; nor could it ever be obliged to a Surrender, but by Famine only. For besides the Profitsand Advantages it receives from thePropontisandÆgeanSea, it holds an absolute Dominion over theBlack Sea; and by one Door only, namely by theBosporus, shuts up its Communication with any other part of the World; for no Ship can pass this Sea, if the Port thinks fit to dispute their Passage. By which means it falls out, that all the Riches of theBlack Sea, whether exported or imported, are at her Command. And indeed such considerable Exportations are made from hence of Hydes of all Kinds, of Honey, of Wax, of Slaves, and other Commodities, as supply a great Part ofEurope,AsiaandAfrica; and on the other hand, there are imported from those Places such extraordinary Quantities of Wine, Oil, Corn, and other Goods without Number, thatMysia,Dacia,Pannonia,Sarmatia,Mæotis,Colchis,Spain,Albania,Cappadocia,Armenia,Media,Parthia, and both Parts ofScythia, share in the great Abundance. ’Tis for this Reason, that not only all foreign Nations, if they would entitle themselves to any Property in the immense Wealth of theBlack Sea, but also all Sea Port and Island Towns are obliged to court the Friendship of this City. Besides, ’tis impossible for any Ships to pass or repass, either fromAsiaorEurope, but at her Pleasure, she being as it were the Bridge and Port of both those Worlds; nay, I might call her the Continent that joins them, did not theHellespontdivide them. But this Sea is thought, in many Respects, to be inferior to that ofConstantinople; first, as it is much larger, and then, as not having a Bay as that has, by which its City might be made aPeninsula, and a commodious Port for Ships:And indeed if it had such a Bay, yet could it reap no Advantage of Commerce from theBlack Sea, but by the Permission of the People ofConstantinople.Constantineat first began to build a City uponSigeum, a Promontory hanging over the Straits of theHellespont; but quitting that Situation, he afterwards pitch’d upon a Promontory ofByzantium.Troy, I acknowledge, is a magnificent City, but they were blind, who could not discover the Situation ofByzantium; all stark blind, who founded Cities within View of it, either on the Coast of theHellespont, or thePropontis; which though they maintain’d their Grandeur for some Time, yet at present are quite in Ruins, or have only a few Streets remaining, and which, if they were all rebuilt, must be in Subjection toConstantinople, as being superior in Power to all of them. Wherefore we may justly entitle her the Key, not only of theBlack Sea, but also of thePropontisand theMediterranean Sea.Cyzicus(now calledChazico) is highly in Esteem, for that it joins by two Bridges the Island to the Continent, and unites two opposite Bays, and is, asAristidesinforms us, the Bond of theBlack, and theMediterranean Sea; but any Man, who has his Eyes in his Head, may see, that ’tis but a very weak one. ThePropontisflows in a broad Sea, betweenCyzicusandEurope; by which Means as a Passage is open into both Seas, though the People ofCyzicusshould pretend to dispute it; so they on the other hand, should the People ofHellespontorConstantinoplecontest it with them, could have no Advantage of the Commerce of either of those Seas. I shall say nothing at present ofHeraclea,Selymbria, andChalcedon, seatedon the Coast of thePropontis, anciently Cities of Renown, both for the Industry of their Inhabitants, and the Agreeableness of their Situation; but they could never share in the principal Commodities of other Towns of Traffick, in the Neighbourhood of the Port ofConstantinople, which was always look’d upon as impregnable. The Harbours of those Cities have lain for a considerable time all under Water, so that they were not of sufficient Force to sail theBosporusand theHellespont, without the Permission of the Inhabitants of those Places: But theByzantiansrode Masters of theBlack Sea, in Defiance of them all.Byzantiumtherefore seems alone exempted from those Inconveniencies and Incapacities which have happen’d to her Neighbours, and to many other potent and flourishing Cities, which for several Years having lain in their own Ruins, are either not rebuilt with their ancient Grandeur, or have changed their former Situation. All its neighbouring Towns are yet lost: There is only the Name ofMemphisremaining. WhereasBabylon, seated in its Neighbourhood, from a small Fort, is become a large and populous City; and yet neither of them is so commodious asConstantinople. I shall take no Notice ofBabyloninAssyria, who, when she was in her most flourishing State, had the Mortification to see a City built near her, equal in Largeness to her self: Why is notAlexandriarebuilt, but because she must support her self more by the Industry of her People, than the Agreeableness of her Situation? ’Twas the Sanctity of St.Peter, and the Grandeur of theRomanName, that contributed more to therebuilding oldRome, than the natural Situation of the Place itself, as having no Convenience for Ships and Harbours. I pass by in SilenceAthensandLacedæmon, which were more remarkable for the Learning and resolute Bravery of their People, than the Situation of their City. I omit the two Eyes of the Sea Coast,CorinthandCarthage, both which falling into Ruins at the same Time, were first repaired byJulius Cæsar; afterwards, when they fell entirely to decay, nobody rebuilt them: And thoughCarthageis seated in aPeninsulawith several Havens about it, yet in no part of it are there two Seas which fall into each other: For thoughCorinthmay be said to lie between two Seas, and is call’d the Fort ofPeloponnesus, the Key and Door ofGreece; yet is it so far from uniting in one Chanel two Seas, or two Bays adjoining to thePeninsula, that she was never able to make Head against theMacedoniansorRomans, asCyzicoandNegropontdid; the one by its well built Forts and other War-like Means, and the other by the Strength of its natural Situation. ButConstantinopleis the Key both of theMediterraneanandBlack Sea, which alone, by the best Skill in Navigation, nay though you were to make a Voyage round the World, you will find to meet only in one Point, and that is, the Mouth of the Port. I shall say nothing ofVenice, which does not so much enclose the Sea for proper Harbours, as ’tis enclosed by it, and labours under greater Difficulties to keep off the Swellings and Inundations of the Seas, than unite them together. I pass by the Situations of the whole Universe, wherever there are, have, or shallbe Cities; in none of them shall you find a Port abounding with so many and so great Conveniencies, both for the Maintenance of its Dominion over the Seas, and the Support of Life, as in this City. It is furnish’d with Plenty of all manner of Provisions, being supply’d with Corn by a very large Field ofThrace, extending itself, in some Parts of it, a Length of seven Days, and in others, of a more than twenty Days Journey. I shall say nothing ofAsiaadjoining to it, abounding with the greatest Fruitfulness both of Corn and Pasture, and the best Conveniencies for their Importation from both Seas. And as to the immense Quantity of its Wines, besides what is the Product of its own Soil, it is furnish’d with that Commodity from all the Coasts of theBosporus, thePropontis, and theHellespont, which are all well stock’d with Vineyards; and without the Danger of a long Voyage,Constantinoplecan, at her Pleasure, import the choicest Wines of all Kinds, and whatever else may contribute to her own Gratification and Delight. ’Tis for this Reason thatTheopompusgives her this Character, That ever since she became a Mart-Town, her People were wholly taken up, either in the Market, in the Port, or at Taverns, giving themselves up entirely to Wine.Menander, in his ComedyAuletris, tells us, thatConstantinoplemakes all her Merchants Sots.I bouze it, says one of his Actors,all Night; and upon my waking after the Dose, I fancy I have no less than four Heads upon my Shoulders. The Comedians play handsomely upon them, in giving us an Account, that when their City was besieged, their General hadno other Way to keep his Soldiers from deferring, but by building Taverns within the Walls; which, tho’ a Fault proceeding from their popular Form of Government, yet at the same time denotes to us the great Fruitfulness of their Soil, and the great Plenty they have of Wine. They who have been Eye-witnesses can best attest, how well they are provided with Flesh, with Venison and Fowls, which they might share more abundantly, but that they are but indifferent Sportsmen. Their Markets are always stored with the richest Fruits of all Kinds. If any Objection be made to this, I would have it consider’d, what Quantities theTurksuse, after hard Drinking, to allay their Thirst. And as to Timber,Constantinopleis so plentifully supply’d with that, both fromEuropeandAsia, and will in all probability continue to be so, that she can be under no Apprehensions of a Scarcity that way, as long as she continues a City. Woods of an unmeasurable Length, extending themselves from thePropontisbeyondColchis, a more than forty Days Journey, contribute to her Stores so that she does not only supply the neighbouring Parts with Timber for building Ships and Houses, but evenÆgypt,ArabiaandAfrica, partake in the inexhaustible Abundance; while she, of all the Cities in the World, cannot lie under the want of Wood of any Kind, under which, even in our Time, we have observed the most flourishing Cities, both ofEuropeandAsia, sometimes to have fallen.Marseilles,Venice,Taranto, are all famous for Fish; yetConstantinopleexceeds them all in its Abundance of this Kind. The Port is supply’dwith vast Quantities from both Seas; nor do they swim only in thick Shoals through theBosporus, but also fromChalcedonto this Port. Insomuch that twenty Fish-Boats have been laden with one Net; and indeed they are so numberless, that oftentimes from the Continent you may take them out of the Sea with your Hands. Nay, when in the Spring, they swim up into theBlack Sea, you may kill them with Stones. The Women, with Osier Baskets ty’d to a Rope, angle for them out of the Windows, and the Fishermen with bare Hooks take a sort of Fish of theTunnyKind, in such Quantities, as are a competent Supply to allGreece, and a great part ofAsiaandEurope. But not to recount the different Kinds of Fish they are stock’d with, they catch such Multitudes of Oysters, and other Shell Fish, that you may see in the Fish Market every Day, so many Boats full of them, as are a Sufficiency to theGrecians, all their Fast-Days, when they abstain from all sorts of Fish which have Blood in them. If there was not so considerable a Plenty of Flesh atConstantinople, if the People took any Pleasure in eating Fish, and their Fishermen were as industrious as those ofVeniceandMarseilles, and were also allow’d a Freedom in their Fishery, they would have it in their Power, not only to pay as a Tribute a third part of their Fish at least to the GrandSeignor, but also to supply all the lesser Towns in her Neighbourhood. If we consider the Temperature of the Climate of NewRome, it must be allow’d by proper Judges, that it far excels that ofPontus. For my own part, I have often experienced it to be a more healthy Air thanthat of OldRome; and for many Years past, I have scarce observed above a Winter or two to have been very cold, and that the Summer Heats have been allay’d by the northern Breezes, which generally clear the Air for the whole Season. In the Winter, ’tis a little warm’d by the southern Winds, which have the same Effect. When the Wind is at North, they have generally Rain, though ’tis quite otherwise inItalyandFrance. As to the Plague, ’tis less raging, less mortal, and no more rife among them, than it is, commonly speaking, in great Cities; and which indeed would be less rife, were it not for the Multitudes of the common People, and the foul Way of Feeding among their Slaves. But that I may not seem to flourish too largely in the Praise of this City, never to be defamed by the most sourCynick, I must confess that there is one great Inconvenience it labours under, which is, that ’tis more frequently inhabited by a savage, than a genteel and civiliz’d People; not but that she is capable of refining the Manners of the most rude and unpolish’d; but because her Inhabitants, by their luxurious way of living, emasculate themselves, and for that Reason are wholly incapable of making any Resistance against those barbarous People, by whom, to a vast Distance, they are encompass’d on all Sides. From hence it is, that althoughConstantinopleseems as it were by Nature form’d for Government, yet her People are neither under the Decencies of Education, nor any Strictness of Discipline. Their Affluence makes them slothful, and their Pride renders them averse to an open Familiarity, and a generous Conversation; so that they avoidall Opportunities of being thrust out of Company for their Insolence, or falling into Dissensions amongst themselves, by which means the Christian Inhabitants of the Place, formerly lost both their City and Government. But let their Quarrels and Divisions run never so high, and throw the whole City into a Flame, as they have many times done, nay tho’ they should rase her even with the Ground, yet she would soon rise again out of her own Ruins, by reason of the Pleasantness of her Situation, without which theBlack Seacould not so properly be called theEuxine, as theAxineSea, (the Inhabitants of whose Coast used to kill all Strangers that fell into their Hands) by reason of the great Numbers of barbarous People who dwell round theBlack Sea. It would be dangerous venturing on the Coasts of theBlack Sea, either by Land or Water, which are full of Pyrates and Robbers, unless they were kept in a tolerable Order by the Government of the Port. There would be no passing the Straits of theBosporuswhich is inhabited on both Shores by a barbarous People, but for the same Reason. And though a Man was never so secure of a safe Passage, yet he might mistake his Road at the Mouth of theBosporus, being misguided by the false Lights, which theThracians, who inhabit the Coasts of theBlack Sea, formerly used to hang out, instead of aPharos. ’Tis therefore not only in the Power ofConstantinople, to prevent any Foreigners sailing theBlack Sea; but in reality no Powers can sail it, without some Assistance from her. Since thereforeConstantinopleis the Fortress of allEurope, both against the Pyrates ofPontus,and the Savages ofAsia, was the never so effectually demolish’d, as to all Appearance, yet would she rise again out of her Ruins to her former Grandeur and Magnificence. With what Fury didSeveruspursue this City, even to an entire Subversion? And yet when he cool’d in his Resentments against these People, he recollected with himself, that he had destroy’d a City which had been the common Benefactress of the Universe, and the grand Bulwark of the Eastern Empire. In a little time after he began to rebuild her, and order’d her, in Honour of his Son, to be call’dAntonina. I shall end with this Reflection; That though all other Cities have their Periods of Government, and are subject to the Decays of Time,Constantinoplealone seems to claim to herself a kind of Immortality, and will continue a City, as long as the Race of Mankind shall live either to inhabit or rebuild her.
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