Constantinople: A Sketch of its History from its Foundation to its Conquest by the Turks in 1453/Preface
PREFACE.
N this little volume it is intended to present a sketch of the leading events of the history of Constantinople during a period of about 2,000 years. It begins with the slight and meagre accounts which have come down to us of its foundation as Byzantium, and it ends with the conquest of the Turks in 1453, when the Eastern empire finally ceased to exist.
The narrative does not profess to be complete and exhaustive. Nor is it mainly based on original sources. It is, for the most part, a compilation. We have sought to present in a small compass the most striking events of a history which is full of interest. For this purpose we have freely used the great work of Gibbon, Finlay's careful and industrious "History of the Byzantine Empire," and Le Beau's voluminous History of the Lower Empire. But for some portions of the work, the sieges of the city, for example, by Philip and Severus, and the final siege by the Turks, the original sources have been consulted. As a compilation, then, and as an account of a city whose history yields in interest to that of two only, and in dramatic events to that of none, we trust that the work may be found useful and interesting.
There would seem to be no description of the situation and importance of Constantinople so clear, so eloquent, and so minutely accurate, as that of Gibbon. We have therefore transferred it to the following pages, to serve as an introduction, warning our readers that a knowledge of the topography of Constantinople is absolutely necessary to the right understanding of its history. This, which is true of all cities, is more peculiarly true as regards Constantinople. For this reason we have not only preferred to quote Gibbon's account in full, but we have prefixed as frontispiece a map of the city.