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144 THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. Turks. Hitherto the south of the Balkan peninsula had been regarded as the portion of the empire which was least open to attack. From the moment of the appearance of the Nor- mans in Sicily a considerable body of troops had to be con- tinually on the spot to prevent new invasions. In this way the Normans contributed their part to the weakening of the empire. In Constantinople were many Italian colonies, whose rival- ries during the last years of the twelfth century contributed not a little to the same result. Before, however, speaking of these colonies and of the troubles of wdiich they were the cause, I propose to call attention to the conditions under which foreigners lived in the empire. The subject is one which I venture to think has been overlooked, notwithstand- ing the fact that in its main features the system under which Italians and others lived during the middle ages has survived down to the present day. 2. The Foreign Colonies in Constantinople mid the Condi- tions under which Foreigners in the Fmjpire Lived. The population of the New Rome, at almost every period of its history, has been composed of people of widely different races, religions, and tongues. Its geographical position causes it even now to have the most diversified population in the world. It is still the meeting-place of the East and West. It contains an En owlish colony with its own courts and nivGi'pe (jlc- ments amonpr its owu ludo^es, who administer EnHish law. Ger- population of ^ " i . • /-^ • i • • Constantino- man and Irench colonies in Constantinople, simi- ple. larly under their own rulers, aim at reproducing the institutions of their respective countries. No nation in Europe is unrepresented. There is also a colony of Persians, with its own laws, its Shiah observances, and its national govern- ment, transplanted on the Bosphorus. A Bokhariot bey rules over Bokhariot subjects in Stamboul. Mervians and Kurds, Cabulese and Hindoos, jostle against Montenegrins, Epirots, and Albanians. In no other city do the people of the vari- ous races which inhabit it keep so distinct from each other as they do in Constantinople. In no other European city is the