The
sea-coasts of Thrace and Bithynia, which languish under the
weight of Turkish oppression, still exhibit a rich prospect
of vineyards, of gardens, and of plentiful harvests; and the
Propontis has ever been renowned for an inexhaustible store
of the most exquisite fish that are taken in their stated
seasons without skill and almost without labour. But when
the passages of the straits were thrown open for trade, they
alternately admitted the natural and artificial riches of
the north and south, of the Euxine and the Mediterranean.
Whatever rude commodities were collected in the forests of
Germany and Scythia, and as far as the sources of the Tanais
and Borysthenes; whatsoever was manufactured by the skill of
Europe or Asia, the corn of Egypt, the gems and spices of
the furthest India, were brought by the varying winds into
the port of Constantinople, which for many ages attracted
the commerce of the ancient world.
"The prospect of beauty, of safety, and of wealth united in
a single spot was sufficient to justify the choice of
Constantine.
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