Constantinople

:This article details the history of Constantinople before the Turkish Conquest of 1453. For details on the city since 1453, see ?stanbul.

Importance of the City in its prime

Constantinople was historically important for a number of reasons.

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:First, by the 5th century, it was the largest and richest urban center in Europe, a position it would hold for nearly a thousand years. As the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (now commonly known as the Byzantine Empire), the Greeks called Constantinople simply "the City", while throughout Europe it was known as the "Queen of Cities", the richest and largest city both culturally and economically. A Russian 14th-century traveller, Stephen of Novgorod, wrote, "As for St Sofia, the human mind can neither tell it nor make description of it". Moreover, alone in Europe until the 13th century Italian florin, the Empire continued to produce sound gold coinage, the solidus of Diocletian becoming the bezant prized throughout the Middle Ages.

Related Topics:
5th century - Eastern Roman Empire - Florin - Solidus - Diocletian - Bezant

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:Second, Constantine assured the position of the bishop or Patriarch of Constantinople. His position so near to the counsels of the Emperor inevitably made him first among equals alongside the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, and later those that arose in the Slavic Orthodox churches.

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:Third, the city provided a defence for the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire against the invasions of the 5th century, for Europe against the Arabs, and for European Christendom against Islam.

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