Constantinople, a sketch of its history, by W.J. Brodribb and W. Besant |
常見字詞
Adrianople Alexis Amorium Amurath Andronicus Arcadius arms army Asia Minor assault Athens attack Baldwin barbarian Basil began Bosporus brother Bulgarians Byzantine Byzantium Cæsars capital century Chalcedon chief Christian Church of St citizens command Comnenus conquest Constantine Constantinople Count of Blois court crown Crusaders Dandolo defeated defence destroyed East emperor empire empress enemy Europe Euxine favour fight fled fleet Genoese Gibbon Golden Horn Goths Greek hands harbour Hellespont Holy hundred imperial Isaac janissaries Justinian king knights land Latin Latin empire Mahomet Manuel Michael military minister monasteries Montferrat murdered Nicæa noble palace Perinthus Persian Philip Phranza plunder pope possession prince prisoner Propontis provinces reign revolt Roman Romanus III Rome Saracens seems sent ships shores siege soldiers soon Sophia stantinople success sultan Theodora Theodore Lascaris Theodosius Thrace throne tion troops Turkish Turks Valens Venetians Venice vessels victory walls walls of Constantinople West
熱門章節
第 xiv 頁 - We are at present qualified to view the advantageous position of Constantinople, which appears to have been formed by nature for the centre and capital of a great monarchy. Situated in the forty-first degree of latitude, the Imperial city commanded, from her seven hills, the opposite shores of Europe and Asia; the climate was healthy and temperate, the soil fertile, the harbour secure and capacious, and the approach on the side of the continent was of small extent and easy defence. The Bosphorus...
第 xii 頁 - Between the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, the shores of Europe and Asia receding on either side inclose the sea of Marmara, which was known to the ancients by the denomination of Propontis. The navigation from the issue of the Bosphorus to the entrance of the Hellespont is about one hundred and twenty miles. Those who steer their westward course through the middle of the Propontis may at once descry the high...
第 xiv 頁 - ... latitude, the imperial city commanded, from her seven hills, the opposite shores of Europe and Asia ; the climate was healthy and temperate, the soil fertile, the harbour secure and capacious ; and the approach on the side of the continent was of small extent and easy defence. The Bosphorus and the Hellespont may be considered as the two gates of Constantinople ; and the prince who possessed those important passages could always shut them against a naval enemy and open them to the fleets of commerce.
第 xi 頁 - The harbour of Constantinople, which may be considered as an arm of the Bosphorus, obtained, in a very remote period, the denomination of the Golden Horn. The curve which it describes might be compared to the horn of a stag, or as it should seem, with more propriety, to that of an ox.11 The epithet of golden was expressive of the riches which every wind wafted from the most distant countries into the secure and capacious port of Constantinople.
第 ix 頁 - ... acquired with the august .name of Constantinople, the figure of the imperial city may be represented under that of an unequal triangle. The obtuse point, which advances towards the east and the shores of Asia, meets and repels the $ waves of the Thracian Bosphorus. The northern side of the city is bounded by the harbour ; and the southern is washed by the Propontis, or Sea of Marmora. The basis of the triangle is opposed to the west, and terminates the continent of Europe.
第 xi 頁 - The epithet of golden was expressive of the riches which every wind wafted from the most distant countries into the secure and capacious port of Constantinople. The river Lycus, formed by the conflux of two little streams, pours into the harbour a perpetual supply of fresh •water, which serves to cleanse the bottom and to invite the periodical shoals of fish to seek their retreat in that convenient recess. As the vicissitudes of...
第 x 頁 - These fortresses were destroyed and strengthened by Mahomet the Second, when he meditated the siege of Constantinople ; but the Turkish conqueror was most probably ignorant that near two thousand years before his reign Darius had chosen the same situation to connect the two continents by a bridge of boats.
第 xv 頁 - But when the passages of the straits were thrown open for trade, they alternately admitted the natural and artificial riches of the north and south, of the Euxine, and of the Mediterranean. Whatever rude commodities were collected in the forests of Germany and Scythia, as far as the sources of the Tanais and the Borysthenes; whatsoever was...
第 xv 頁 - The sea coasts of Thrace and Bithynia, which languish under the weight of Turkish oppression, still exhibit a rich prospect of vineyards, of gardens, and of plentiful harvests ; and the Propontis has ever been renowned for an inexhaustible store of the most exquisite fish, that are taken in their stated seasons, without skill, and almost without labour.
第 ix 頁 - A crowd of temples and of votive altars profusely scattered along its steep and woody banks attested the unskilfulness, the terrors, and the devotion of the Grecian navigators, who, after the example of the Argonauts, explored the dangers of the inhospitable Euxine. On these banks tradition long preserved the memory of the palace...