Constantinople

BIOGRAPHY
Constantinople is the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. In 324, the ancient city of Byzantium was renamed “New Rome” and declared the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was renamed, and dedicated on 11 May 330. From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe. The city became famous for its architectural masterpieces, such as Hagia Sophia, the cathedral of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the sacred Imperial Palace where the Emperors lived, the Galata Tower, the Golden Gate of the Land Walls, and opulent aristocratic palaces.

HISTORY
Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex fortifications, which ranked among the most sophisticated defensive architecture of Antiquity. The Theodosian Walls consisted of a double wall lying about 2 kilometres to the west of the first wall and a moat with palisades in front. Constantinople 's location between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara reduced the land area that needed defensive walls. The city was built intentionally to rival Rome, and it was claimed that several elevations within its walls matched Rome 's 'seven hills '. The impenetrable defenses enclosed magnificent palaces, domes, and towers, the result of prosperity Constantinople achieved as the gateway between two continents and two seas. Although besieged on numerous occasions by various armies, the defenses of Constantinople proved impenetrable for nearly nine hundred years.