CONSTANTINO'PLE, called by the Turks Stamboul or was originally called Byzantium (q.v.). In 330 A.D., the emperor Constantine made it the capital of the Roman empire, and called it after his own name, Constantinople. From this period dates its importance. It continued thenceforth to be the residence of the Roman, and afterwards of the Byzantine emperors, tili in 1453 it was taken by the Turks. Since that time it has been the capital of Turkey, and the principal residence of the sultans. It is situated in lat. 41° n., and long. 28° 59' e., on the European side of the channel of Constantinople or ThraciamBosporus, near to its opening into the sea of Marmora. A narrow arm of the sea, called the Golden Horn, extends about 5 in. into the and forms a safe and most commodious harbor, with water of sufficient depth to float the largest men of war. C. proper, to which Europeans give the name of Stamboul to dis tinguish it from the northern and eastern suburbs of C., lies entirely on the southern side of the Golden Horn, and is protected by a wall built during the time of the Byzantine empire, and partially restored by the Turks. The wall Is about 121 in. in circuit, and is pierced by 28 gates, amongst which that of Top-Kapussi, formerly that of St. Romanus, has a historic interest, as being the one through which the Turl:s entered when they stormed the city, and where the last of the Pahnologi died in the fight. The suburbs of Galata, Pera, and Top-hann are situated on the northern side of the Golden Horn. On the Asiatic side of the Bosporus lie Scutari and Lladikill (the ancient Chalcedony, and to the n.w, of the city lies the town of Eyub. The city itself is built on hilly ground, and from this circumstance, and its numerous gardens, cypresses, mosques, palaces, minarets, and towers, it presents, especially as seen from the side of the Golden Horn, a very spendid appearance. The scenery of the Thracian Bosporus is of almost unrivaled beauty; and the panorama, of which C. forms the principal part, is such as is perhaps nowhere else to be seen in the world. But a nearer approach reveals the characteristics of an eastern town—narrow, crooked, filthy streets, and miserable houses of wood and clay. Since the Crimean war, however, C. has been wonderfully improved. Great fires, which occurred on the 6th and 7th Sept., 1865, the 3d May, 1866, and on 5th June, 1870, swept away square miles of old wooden houses on both sides of the Golden Horn. On these spaces handsome stone houses have been built in the modern European style; but this has not been done with much system, and there are in all directions great gaps tilled with miserable wooden huts, or left as waste places. The formation of
tramways has, however, tended to connect the improved districts by wider thorough fares, and to form a general plan which is gradually giving to C. the appearance of a European city. C. contains many fine buildings, among which may be mentioned the Seraglio, occupying the position of ancient Byzantium, and measuring about 3 m. in circumference; the former church of St. Sophia, now a mosque, is a most magnificent structure, in the form of a Greek cross, 269 ft. long by 243 broad, and has a flattened dome, greatly admired for its lightness, 180 ft. above the ground. The other important mosques arc those of Solyman, Achmed, Sultan Mohammed II. and Eyub. The two obelisks of the ancient hippodrome, called by the Turks time Atmeidan; the castle of the seven towers, now in a state of dilapidation; the aqueducts erected by the emperor Valens; the cistern of Philoxenus, with 424 columns of marble; and the numerous fountains, are among the other most notable objects of Constantinople. The covered bazaars of C. are very numerous, and the goods are displayed with wonderful attractive ness. One feature of C. is its vast number of lean and hungry dogs, which haunt time streets. The dogs are the common property of the city, and they do a consid erable portion of the scavenging. Galata, which was founded by the Genoese as a republic in the Byzantine times, is the residence of European merchants and the princi pal place of trade. It contains many great warehouses, shops, andd welling-houses, but is, if possible, even more filthy than C. proper. Bridges of boats connect the oppo site sides of time Golden Horn. Further eastward, on the Bosporus, lies Top-liana, with time imperial cannon foundry, a beautiful mosque, and an interesting fountain. On the hill behind Galata and Top-han2h, is situated Pera, the residence of the foreign ambassadors. Two thirds of Pera were burned to time ground by the fire of 5th June, 1870. Three thousand houses were then entirely destroyed, including that of the English ambassador; and 40,000 persons were left without shelter. Before the fire, Pera had a European pop. of 70,000, which was reduced by the catastrophe to more than one half. Pent is not being rebuilt on its old site, but new streets are spreading round it and Galata. In 1875, Pera was connected with C. by an underground railway 672 yards long, which is reckoned to convey 30,000 passengers daily.