Situated in the forty-first degree of latitude,
the imperial city commanded from her seven hills the
opposite shores of Europe and Asia; the climate was healthy
and temperate; the soil fertile; the harbour secure and
capacious; and the approach on the side of the continent was
of small extent and easy defence. The Bosphorus and the
Hellespont may be considered as the two gates of
Constantinople, and the prince who possesses those important
passages could always shut them against a naval enemy and
open them to the fleets of commerce. The preservation of the
eastern provinces may in some degree be ascribed to the
policy of Constantine, as the barbarians of the Euxine, who
in the preceding age had poured their armaments into the
heart of the Mediterranean, soon desisted from the exercise
of piracy, and despaired of forcing this insurmountable
barrier. When the gates of the Hellespont and Bosphorus were
shut, the capital still enjoyed within their spacious
inclosure every production which could supply the wants or
gratify the luxury of its numerous inhabitants.
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