Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/385

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CONSTANTINOPLE. 325 CONSTANTINOPLE. quarters the dogs are the principal scavengers. The water-works of Constantinople, dating in part from the reigns of .Justinian and Valens, are regarded .among the finest remaining speci- mens of ancient engineering. Some of the cis- terns are the largest in the world; the roof of one of them is supported by 3o(i marble columns. The water comes from the reservoirs of Belgrade, and also from Lake Berkos, the latter source of supply being exploited by a French company. The numerous elementary public schools are attached to the mosques and offer instruction free. Colleges, or 'medresscs.' some loO in num- ber, with public libraries, are found in connec- tion with the principal places of worship. A university was opencil in 1900. with faculties of philosophy, JMussulnian theolog'. mathematics, law, and medicine. The Imperial Art School is not without importance. The French conduct several schools for the children of the wealthier classes. JIany of the libraries are filled with valuable volumes and manuscripts. Within the inclosure of the Seraglio is the Royal JIuseum of Antiquities, containing a fine collection of cu- rious toniI)stones, sarcophagi, Turkisli art ob- jects, natural-history specimens, etc. The benevo- lent institutions are to be counted by the score; indeed, almost every craft has a benevolent guild. The industrial importance of Constantinople is not great. The few large establishments manufacture tobacco products, fezzes, and iron wares. The hand-made products, on the con- trary, are important, both as regards variety and quantity ; and to the trade in these small articles the life of the city lends itself most in- terestingly, with its bustling little shops, its noisy street tratlic before the mosques, and its curious and picturesque trade customs. The geo- graphical position and natural harbor facilities of Constantinople are unsurpassed. The Golden Horn affords accommodation for over 1000 ves- sels of the heaviest draught. It is divided by its two bridges into the outer and inner ports of trade, and the port of war. Not until 1888 did the city have railway con- nection with the rest of the world. Since the establishment of direct steam communication be- tween Persia. Syria, Arabia, and Southern Eu- rope, and the opening up of Central Asia by Russia. Constantinople has lost a considerable part of its commerce. Important imports are food products, textiles, coal, metalware, instru- ments and implements of all kinds, petroleum, and Avood. The exports are largely confined to carpets and rugs, lambskins and wool, attar of roses, embroideries, and filigree-work. The an- nual entrances and clearances of shipping com- prise about 14.500 vessels, with a tonnage of about 10,.500.000. Of these about 11.000 repre- sent foreign trade. The number of Turkish ves- sels is over 0000, but their total tonnage is com- paratively light. For local transportation there are onmibuses. four horse-car lines, and one underground cable road. The Constantinople- Adrianople line has several stations within the city limits. Small steamers and ferries ply be- tween Stanibul and Galata. The population of Constantinople proper num- bers about fioO.OOO. This figure is increased to over 1,100.000 by includimr the suburbs. In the city proper nearly two-thirds of the popula- tion are Mohanimedans. History. — In a.d. .SSO the Roman Emperor Ccinstantine the Great gave the name Con- stantino]do to the new capital which he had built for himself on the Bosporus round the an- cient B3'zantiuni as a nucleus. The presence of the Emperor made Constantinople from the first distinctively the cajiital of the Greek civiliza- tion in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, a.s Rome I'cniained the head of the Latin civilization in the West. From the final disrujjtion of the Roman Empire in 39.5 to 1453, the city was the capital of the Byzantine or Eastern Empire. The Patriarch of Constantinoiile gradually rose to the position of head of the Christian Church in the East. In the course of years, as the Im- perial provinces in Asia and Africa, with the great metropolises of Antioch and Alexandria, fell into the hands of the Mohanimedans, the Christian culture of the East found refuge in Constantinople, and Byzantinism — a blending of the ideas of Oriental despotism with the Roman conception of the State — found its home there. In the struggle between Latin and Eastern Cliris- lianity, Constantinople naturally was the great opponent of Rome, and, as the champion of in- flexible orthodoxy, it welcomed the great schism of 1054, which disrupted the Catholic Church. The strategic position of the city at the meeting- ]ilace of two continents exposed it to attacks from numerous nations — Avars, Arabs, Bulgars, Varangians, Venetians, and the Latin powers of Western Europe, and finally the Turks. It was besieged more than thirty times, and its walls were repeatedly assaulted; but it was taken thrice onl.v — by the Venetians and Crusaders in 1203 and 1204, and by Moham- med II., after a memorable siege, on May 29, 1453. The prosperity of the city sank during the period of the Crusades, when its lucrative commerce was diverted to the Italian towns. Its capture by the Turks marks an epoch in European history, for the scholars and rhet- oricians who fled from Constantinople brought back to Western Europe the knowledge of the ancient Greek literature, and by their contribu- tion to the revival of learning fostered the Renaissance and the Reformation. In more re- cent times Constantinople has been important as a storm-centre in the play of international poli- tics known as the 'Eastern Question.' In 1878 the Russian armies advanced to the fortifications of the city. Consult: Grosvenor, Constantinople (Boston, 1895) ; Hutton, Constantinople (London, 1900) ; Dwight, Constantinople and Its Problems (New York, 1901); Earth, Konstantinopel (Leipzig, 1901). CONSTANTINOPLE, Councils of. Eight councils which are recognized as ecumenical either by the Greek or Latin Church, or by both, were held at the city of Constantinople. The first was the second ecumenical council of the Church, convened in 381 by the. Emi)eror Theodosius I. It consisted of 150 bishops, chosen under the dictation of the Emperor and chiefly from the East, besides the senii-Arians, followers of Macedonius of Constantinople, who with- drew after their opinions had been condemned. This council condemned also the Arians, Euno- mians. and Eudoxians; it reaffirmed the reso- lutions of the Council of Nice, completed the definition by that council of the divinity of the Holy Ghost, and declared that the Bishop of