Constantinople

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(GreekKonstantinoupolis; city of Constantine)

Capital, formerly of the Byzantine, now of the Ottoman, Empire.

The modern city

Constantinople occupies one of the most beautiful and advantageous sites in the world, uniting as it doesEurope withAsia and putting in communication the Black Sea and all SouthernRussia with the greater part ofEurope andAsia, and even with distant America. It is surrounded by water on all sides except the west, which is protected by walls. Its sea front is about eight miles in length. The air is generally pure, and the climate very temperate. Constantinople forms a special district (sanitary cordon) divided into three principal sections, two inEurope and one inAsia. The twoEuropean sections are Stamboul (ancient Byzantium), whose suburbs border the Sea of Marmora; Galata and Pera, more or lessEuropeanized quarters, with many villages rising in rows along the green hills that look down on the Golden Horn and the Bosporus. TheAsiatic section is Scutari (Turk. Uskudar; Chrysopolis) and Kadi-Keui (Chalcedon), with their extensive suburbs on theAsiatic shore of the Bosporus, the pleasant coasts of the Gulf ofNicomedia, and the Isles of the Princes. The city is divided into ten quarters or circles, each with its own municipality. The population is estimated (1908) at 1,200,000 inhabitants, four-fifths of whom are inEurope. There are about 600,000Turks or otherMussulmans; the remainder include, in order of numerical importance, Greeks,Armenians,Jews, and foreigners of various nationalities.

The Bosporus separatesEurope fromAsia; it is about eighteen miles long and varies in width from about half a mile to a mile and a half. The Golden Horn separates Stamboul from Galata and Pera, extends inland for about four and one-half miles and ends abruptly at the Valley of the Sweet Waters beyond Eyoub. Two wooden bridges unite Galata with Stamboul, which latter section is mostly inhabited byTurks, and still preserves its ancient ramparts with their towers and gates.

The chief monuments of the city are: St. Sophia, the magnificent church built in the first half of the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian, now a mosque; about 2000 other mosques (e.g. the Suleimanieh, the Ahmedieh, the Bayazidieh,Mohammed's mosque, etc.); many ancient churches; beautiful fountains; imposing "turbés", ortombs of sultans and other great personages; the Seraskierat orwar office, with its enormous tower; the Tcharshi, or bazaar (more than 10,000 merchants); Yedi-Kouleh or the Seven Towers Castle, where ambassadors and other men of note were oftenimprisoned; the palace of the publicdebt; the large post office; the old seraglio of the sultans. The imperial museum has a remarkable collection of sarcophagi and another of cuneiform texts. In the Galata section theGenoese Tower (over 150 feet) attracts attention, as in Pera the residences of the ambassadors. Beyond, on theEuropean shore of the Bosporus are the large palaces of Dolma-Baghtché and Tcheragan, also the Yildiz Kiosk, the residence of the reigning sultan. On theAsiatic shore are the palace of Beylerbey, many beautiful mosques, and the greatMussulman cemetery atScutari, the Selimieh barracks (largest in the world), the magnificent newschool of medicine, quite close to which is the little port of Haïdar-Pasha, whence starts the railway line to Bagdad.

Early history of Byzantium

Constantinople was founded c. 658 by a Greek colony fromMegara; the site was then occupied by the Thracian village of Lygos. The chief of theMegarian expedition was Byzas, after whom the city was naturally called Byzantion (Lat. Byzantium). Despite its perfect situation, the colony did not prosper at first; it suffered much during the Medicwars, chiefly from the satraps of Darius and Xerxes. Later on, its control was disputed by Lacedæmonians and Athenians; for two years (341-339 ) it held out against Philip of Macedon. It succeeded in maintaining its independence even against victoriousRome, was granted the title andrights of an allied city, and its ambassadors were accorded atRome the same honours as those given to allied kings; it enjoyed, moreover, all transitduties on the Bosporus. Cicero defended it in the Roman Senate, and put an end to the exactions of Piso. Later on, the Roman emperors entrusted the government of the city to prætors, at once civil and military magistrates, who maintained, however, the earlier democratic forms of government. For a whileVespasian placed it under the Governor of Mæsia. The city continued prosperous to the reign ofSeptimius Severus, when it sided with his rival,Pescennius Niger. After a siege of three years (193-196) Severus razed to the ground its walls and public monuments, and made it subject to Perinthus or Heraclea in Thrace. But he soon forgave this resistance, restored its former privileges, built there the baths of Zeuxippus, and began the hippodrome. It was devastated again by the soldiers ofGallienus in 262, but was rebuilt almost at once. In the longwar between Constantine and Licinius (314-323) it embraced the fortunes of the latter, but, after his defeat atChrysopolis (Scutari), submitted to the victor.

The Christian city

It has quite lately been established that Byzantium received its new name of Constantinople as early as the end of 324 (Centénaire de la société nationale des antiquaires de France, Paris, 1904, p. 281 sqq.). Nevertheless, the solemn inauguration of the new city did not occur until 11 May, 330; only after this date did the Court and Government settle permanently in the new capital. It was soon filled with sumptuous edifices like those ofRome; like the latter it was situated on seven hills and divided into fourteen regions; in the matter of privileges also it was similar toRome. Among the new public buildings were a senate house, forums, a capitol, circuses, porticoes, manychurches (particularly that of the Holy Apostles destined to be the burial-place of the emperors). The most beautifulstatues of antiquity were gathered from various parts of the empire to adorn its public places. In general the other cities of the Roman world were stripped to embellish the "New Rome", destined henceforth to surpass them all in greatness and magnificence. Traces ofChristianity do not appear here before the end of the second or the beginning of the third century. In 212Tertullian commemorates thejoy of theChristians at the defeat ofPescennius Niger (To Scapula 3: "Cæcilius Capella in illo exitu Byzantino: Christiani gaudete"). About 190, an Antitrinitarianheretic, Theodotus the Currier, a native of Byzantium, was expelled from theRoman Church ("Phiosophoumena, VIII, xxxv;St. Epiphanius, "Adv. Hær., " liv). A probably reliable tradition makes theByzantine Church a suffragan ofHeraclea in Thrace at the beginning of the third century. In the fifth century we meet with a spurious document attributed to a certain Dorotheus,Bishop ofTyre at the end of the third century, according to which theChurch of Byzantium was founded by theApostle St. Andrew, its firstbishop being his disciple Stachys (cf.Romans 16:9). The intention of theforger is plain: in this way theChurch ofRome is made inferior to that of Constantinople, St. Andrew having been chosen an Apostle byJesus before his brother St. Peter, the founder of theRoman Church.

The first historically knownBishop of Byzantium is St. Metrophanes (306-314), though thesee had perhaps been occupied during the third century. It was at first subject to themetropolitan authority ofHeraclea, and remained so, at least canonically, until 381, when theSecond Ecumenical Council (can. iii) gave theBishop of Constantinople the first place after theBishop of Rome. (For the exact meaning of this canon see Hefele, Hist. des Counciles, tr., Leclercq, Paris, 1908, II, 24-27.) Fuller details are given in Fischer, "De patriarcharum Constantinopolitanorum" catalogis (Leipzig, 1894); Schermann, "Prophetenund Apostellegenden nebst Jüngerkatalogen des Dorotheus und verwandter Texte" (Leipzig, 1907); Vailhé, "Origines de l'Eglisede Constantinople" in "Echos d'Orient" (Paris, 1907), 287-295.

Constantine had chosen this city as the new capital of the Roman Empire, but owing to hiswars and the needs of the State, he rarely resided there. His successors were even more frequently absent. Constantius,Julian, Jovian, andValens are found more habitually on the Danube or the Euphrates than on the Bosporus; they reside more regularly in Antioch than in New Rome. It was only underTheodosius the Great (379-95) that Constantinople assumed definitive rank as capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. However, its ambitiousprelates did not wait so long to forecast the future greatness of the new city. In 339Eusebius, and in 360 Eudoxius, quitted the great Sees ofNicomedia and Antioch for what was yet, canonically, a simplebishopric. Both the city and its inhabitants suffered much during theArian controversies; theArianheretics held possession of theChurch for forty years. Honourable mention is due to two of itsbishops: St. Alexander, whose resistance andprayers werecrowned by the sudden death of Arius in Constantinople; and St. Paul the Confessor, amartyr for the Faith. We must add the eightymartyrsput to death simultaneously byEmperor Valens.St. Gregory of Nazianzus restored religious peace in this Church early in the reign of the aforesaidTheodosius. From the council of 381 may be said to date theecclesiastical fortunes of Constantinople. Itsbishop began thenceforth to claim and to exerciseecclesiastical jurisdiction over the six provinces of Thrace, hitherto subject toHeraclea, and soon over the twenty-two provinces ofAsia Minor andPontus, originally subject to Ephesus and Cæsarea. Theserights of supremacy, though usurped, were acknowledged by the twenty-eighth canon of theCouncil of Chalcedon (451), from which time thebishops of Constantinople ruled over about 420dioceses. In 431 began an almost continuous conflict with theRoman Church, that wascrowned with success in 733, when anIconoclast emperor withdrew from thejurisdiction ofRome allecclesiastical Illyricum, i.e. more than a hundreddioceses. About the end of the ninth century, when Photius broke with theRoman Church, his ownpatriarchate included 624dioceses (51metropolitan sees, 51 exempt archbishoprics, and 522 suffraganbishoprics). At that time theRoman Church certainly did not govern so great a number ofsees. At this period, moreover, by its missionaries and its political influence, Constantinople attracted toChristianity theSlav nations,Serbs, Russians,Moravians, and Bulgars, and obtained in these northern lands a strong support against the Roman andFrankish West.

Thisecclesiastical prosperity coincided with the political and municipal grandeur of the city. At the death ofTheodosius the Great (395), when the Roman Empire was divided into two parts, Constantinople remained the centre and capital of the Eastern Empire. The Western Empire was destined soon to fall before the onslaughts of the barbarians. While its provinces were held by uncouth German tribes, Constantinople alone remained to representChristian civilization and the greatness of the Roman name. Simultaneously the city was enlarged and embellished, particularly under Theodosius II, Justinian, Heraclius, and Basil the Macedonian. In 413 it reached its actual (1908) size on the right bank of the Golden Horn, under the city prefect,Anthemius. In 625 Heraclius added the famous quarter of Blachernæ with itsvenerated church of the Blessed Virgin, whose image was considered as the palladium of the city. The circumference of the walls was then (and still is) eleven or twelve miles. They were often rebuilt, especially under Tiberius III (c. 700), Anastasius II (714), Leo III (740), Nicephorus I (803), Theophilus (831), Michael VIII (1262), Andronicus II (1316), John VII (between 1431-1444). To protect the territory of Thrace from the invasions of the barbarians, Anastasius I, in the early part of the sixth century, built a great wall about fifty miles in length and about twenty feet in breadth from Silistria to the Lake of Derkoi. The ramparts of Constantinople had many gates: the principal one was the Golden Gate, the terminus of the Triumphal Way. On the Sea of Marmora numerous havens gave shelter to boats and barques; the present unique port of the Golden Horn had not yet been created. The strongly fortified Great Palace was a real town. Other splendid palaces adorned the city (Boucoleon, Chalké, Blachernæ); many graced theEuropean andAsiatic suburbs. Hundreds of churches andmonasteries, thousands ofclerics, ofmonks, andnuns, attested an intenselyreligious life. Thechurch of St. Sophia alone, the glory of Justinian's reign, owned 365 estates. How vast these domains were may be judged from a law of Heraclius (627) that established 625clerics as the numbernecessary for the service of St. Sophia. The little church of Blachernæ had 75 endowedclerics. The names of at least 463 churches are known, 64 of which were dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. As early as 536, 68 superiors of localmonasteries were present at a council in the city.

So many rich churches andmonasteries, imperial or private palaces, not to speak of the luxury of the court and the great imperial dignitaries, naturally excited thecovetousness of barbarian peoples. Constantinople had, therefore, to sustain numberless sieges; it was attacked in 378 by theGoths, by the Avars andPersians during the reign of Heraclius (610-41), by theArabs during the reign of Constantine Pogonatus (668-85), and again by theArabs under Moslemeh in 717; many times also byBulgarians, Patzinaks,Russians, and Khazars. But the city always defied its besiegers, thanks to the solidity of its walls, often to the valour of its soldiers, but chiefly to the gold that it distributed in profusion. More grievous, perhaps, were the domestic conflicts that broke out in almost every new reign: the quarrels between the Blue and Green factions that clamoured for imperial favour in the races of the hippodrome; the conflagrations and earthquakes that sometimes levelled the city with the ground, e.g. the conflagration that broke out during the Nika revolt (532), on which occasion Justinian nearly lost his throne, more than 80,000persons were killed, and fire destroyed the greater part of the city.

Heresy and schism

When Photius (d. 891) began theschism consummated byMichael Cærularius in 1054, theByzantine Church had, since the death ofEmperor Constantine in 337, been formally out of communion with theRoman Church during 248 years (55 years on account ofArianism, 11 on account of the condemnation ofSt. John Chrysostom, 35 on account of Zeno'sHenoticon, 41 on account ofMonothelism, 90 on account ofIconoclasm, 16 on account of the adulterous marriage of Constantine VI). On the whole, therefore, Constantinople had been out of communion with theApostolic See one out of every two years. During this period nineteenpatriarchs of Constantinople were openheretics, some of them quite famous, e.g.Eusebius of Nicomedia, Eudoxius, Macedonius, Nestorius, Acacius, Sergius, Pyrrhus. On the other hand must be mentioned severalorthodoxbishops, e.g.St. Gregory of Nazianzus,St. John Chrysostom,St. Flavian,St. Germanus,St. Tarasius, St. Methodius, and St. Ignatius, the opponent of Photius, whose virtues and literary fame compensate for thescandalousheterodoxy of their confrères. Nor can we omit illustriousmonks and hymnographers likeSt. Romanus (Melodus), the greatestliturgical poet of theByzantine Church,St. Maximus Confessor,St. Theodore, the nobleabbot of the famousmonastery ofStudium (Stoudion), and many others who sufferedmartyrdom during the reigns ofIconoclast emperors.

Many councils were held in Constantinople, sometimes againstheresies, sometimes in favour of them. Chief among these councils are: the ecumenical councils of 381, 553, 681, and 869; theTrullan Council (692), very important for the history of canonical legislation; the councils of 712 and 878 which ratified, respectively,Monothelism and the revolt of Photius againstRome. Theschism of Photius was not at once followed by its worst consequences. The learned but ambitious patriarch was yet living when union with theRoman Church was re-established by Emperor Leo the Wise in 886; heobliged Photius to quit the patriarchal throne. From that time to thepatriarchate ofMichael Cærularius (1043-1049), in spite of theFilioque question, relations with thepapacy were generally cordial. There were indeed, at the beginning of the tenth century, some difficulties caused by the emperor's fourth marriage, but in this conflict both the opposingpatriarchs attempted to obtain from theRoman Church justification of their conduct. It was only underMichael Cærularius that theschismatic condition was finally confirmed, almost without any apparent motive and only through the bad will of this patriarch. After long and sharp disputes between the two Churches, thepope'slegates, with theapprobation of the imperial court, deposited, 15 July, 1054, on the altar of St. Sophia theBull ofexcommunication against the patriarch. This act resulted in a popular revolution. Five days laterMichael Cærularius replied byexcommunicating thepope and the "azymite" Latins. The weak-minded and lewd emperor, Constantine Monomachus, dared not resist the all-powerful patriarch. It must be noted, however, that, unhappily, theidea ofschism had long been familiar to the minds and hearts of the Greeks. The first period of theschism was coeval, especially at Constantinople, with a remarkable literary revival, inaugurated as early as the tenth century by the Macedonian dynasty and carried to its perfection under the Comneni and the Palæologi. This revival, unfortunately, did not affect favourably the morality of the population, being chiefly an unconscious return to models of antiquity, indeed a kind of neo-paganism. We owe to it, however, beautiful works in literature, architecture, andpainting.

Imperial succession; Crusades; Latin Empire of Constantinople

After the division of the Roman Empire in 395, Constantinople beheld the passage of many great dynasties: that of Theodosius, prolonged by adoption until 602; that of Heraclius, from 610 to 711, with intrusion of several usurpers; that of Leo the Isaurian, from 717 to 802; the Amorium dynasty from 820 to 867; that of Basil the Macedonian from 867 to 1057; finally from 1081 to theFrankish conquest in 1204, that of the Comneni and the Angeli. Succession, of course, was not always regular; even in the legitimate dynastiesmurder and cruelty, it is well known, often marked the accession of an emperor. Sometimes the streets of the capital were on the same day decked with flowers and drenched with blood. Nevertheless, till the middle of the eleventh century, the empire held its own inAsia Minor against theArabs. The latter were now gradually supplanted by their coreligionists, theTurks, who, towards the end of that century, occupied most of theAsiatic peninsula and set up their capital at Nicæa, not far from Constantinople. Then began theCrusades, that great overflow of the West towards the East, started by thepious wish of allChristianEurope to deliver the Holy Sepulchre. Constantinople saw thecrusaders for the first time in 1096. The contact between the two civilizations was not cordial; the Greeks gave generally to thecrusaders an unkindly reception. They looked on them as enemies no less than theTurks, except that thecrusaders, marching in the name of Christ and backed by all the strength of the West, appeared much more dangerous than theMussulmanTurks. On the other hand theFranks were only too ready to treat the Greeks as mere unbelievers, and, but for the opposition of thepopes, would have begun theCrusades with the capture of Constantinople.

These sad quarrels and the fratricidal conflicts ofChristian nations lasted nearly a century, until in 1182 Emperor Andronicus Comnenus, a ferocious tyrant, ordered a general massacre of the Latins in his capital. In 1190 the Greek patriarch, Dositheus, solemnly promised indulgences to any Greek who wouldmurder a Latin. These facts, together with the selfish views of theVenetians and the domestic divisions of the Greeks, were enough to provoke a conflict. The Greek Emperor Alexius III had dethroned his brother and stripped his nephew of allrights (1195); the latter sought a shelter in the West (1201), and, together with his brother-in-law, Emperor Philip of Swabia, withVenice, and Boniface of Montferrat (chief of the projectedcrusade), he turned aside theFourth Crusade and directed theknights, first to the siege ofZara inDalmatia, and afterwards to Constantinople. In spite of the formal veto ofInnocent III, thecrusaders laid siege to the city, which soon surrendered (17 July, 1203). Emperor Alexius III took flight. His brother, Isaac Angelus, was taken fromprison andcrowned emperor, with his son Alexius IV. Thecrusaders had hoped that the new emperors would keep their promises and reunite the two Churches; confident of this they wrote toInnocent III (August, 1203) to justify their behaviour. But the imperial promise was not kept; indeed, it could not be executed. In November, 1205, Alexius IV broke off all relations with thecrusaders. Thereupon the hostility between the Greeks and the Latins was in almost daily evidence; brawls and conflagrations were continually taking place. Alexius IV and hisfather were dethroned andput to death (February, 1204) by a usurper who took the name of Alexius V Murtzuphlos. The latter made haste to put his capital in a state of defence, whereupon thecrusaders began a second siege. After several onslaughts the city was taken (12 and 13 April, 1204) amid scenes of great cruelty; the slaughter was followed by an unbridled plunder of the countless treasures heaped up during so many centuries by the Byzantine emperors. Theholy relics especially excited thecovetousness of the Latinclerics; Villehardouin asserts that there were but few cities in the West that received no sacred booty from this pillage. The official booty alone, according to the same historian, amounted to about eleven millions of dollars whose purchasing power was then of course much greater than at this day. The following 9 May, Baldwin, Count ofFlanders, became emperor; Boniface of Montferrat obtained Thessalonica andMacedonia; theknights, variousfeudal fees;Venice, the islands and those regions of the empire that assured her maritime supremacy. This new Latin Empire, organized according tofeudal law, never took deep root. It was unable to hold its own against the Greeks (who had immediately created two empires inAsia, at Nicæa and atTrebizond, a despotate in Epirus and other small States) nor against theBulgarians, Comans, and Serbs. After a much-disturbed existence it disappeared in 1261, and Constantinople became again the centre of Greek power with Michael Palæologus as emperor.

Latin patriarchate

Together with the Latin Empire a Latinpatriarchate had been established in 1204 at Constantinople, on which occasion the Greek patriarch took refuge at Nicæa. Notwithstanding the missions of Cardinal Benedict a Sancta Susanna (1205-1207) and Pelagius of Albano (1213), negotiations, and even persecutions, the Latins failed to induce all their Greek subjects to acknowledge the authority of thepope. In its best days the Latinpatriarchate never numbered more than twenty-two archbishoprics and fifty-nine suffraganbishoprics, situated inEurope, in the islands, and even inAsia Minor. However, the Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople outlived the Latin Empire, after the fall of which the Latinpatriarchs resided in Greece or inItaly. From 1302 theHoly See reserved to itself the appointment to this office and united with thepatriarchate first the Archbishopric ofCandia, later the Bishopric of Negropont; this was still the situation as late as 1463. A consistorialdecree of 1497 reserved this high title tocardinals; the rule, however, was subject to many exceptions. In modern times a contrary practice has prevailed; the Latin titularPatriarch of Constantinople ceases to bear this title only on entrance to theSacred College. Of course, after the fall of the Latin orFrankish Empire in 1261, the Latin patriarch could not deal directly with theCatholics of Constantinople; they were committed to the care of patriarchal vicars, simplepriests chosen usually among the superiors ofreligious orders resident in the city, Observantine orConventual Franciscans, andDominicans. This lasted until 1651, when the Latin patriarch was allowed by the sultan to have in Constantinople a patriarchal suffraganbishop, who was free to administer the diocese in the name of the patriarch. Finally, in 1772, theHoly See suppressed the office of patriarchal suffragan an appointed patriarchalvicars Apostolic, which system is yet in existence.

Restoration of Greek empire; efforts at reunion of the Churches

Having anticipated a little we may here take up the thread of our narrative. By the recovery of Constantinople in 1261, Michael Palæologus had drawn on himself the enmity of some Western princes, especially of Charles of Anjou, brother of St. Louis and heir to therights of the aforesaid Latin emperors of Constantinople. To forestall thecrusade with which he was threatened, the Greek emperor opened negotiations with thepope and accepted the union of the Churches. It was proclaimed at the Ecumenical Council of Lyons in 1274, and was confirmed at Constantinople by several particular councils held under the Greek patriarch,John Beccus, a sincereCatholic. It was not, however, accepted by the Greek people who remained always inimical to the West, and, on the emperor's death in 1282, it was rejected at a council held in the Blachernæ church. Thenceforth the rulers of Constantinople had to reckon with the ambitious claims of Charles of Valois, brother ofPhilip the Fair, and of other Latin pretenders to the imperial crown. The city itself was remit by thetheological disputes of Barlaamites and Palamists arising fromHesychasm, also by the domestic dissensions of the imperialfamily during the reigns of the two Andronici, John Palæologus, and John Cantacuzene. With the aid ofTurkish mercenaries John Cantacuzene (the hope of the Palamists) withstood the legitimate emperor and conquered the city.

TheByzantine Empire was now in face of its last and greatest peril. The smaller Greek Empire ofTrebizond controlled since 1204 a part of itsAsiatic provinces. TheFourth Crusade had caused almost all the islands and a great part of its possessions inEurope to fall into the hands of theVenetians,Genoese,Pisans, and local dynasts. It feared most, however, the new empire of the Osmanlis that was rapidly overflowing allAsia Minor. The Osmanlis were originally a smallTurkish tribe of Khorassan; in the thirteenth century they had settled near Dorylæum (Eski-Shehir), whence they gradually annexed all the sultanates and principalities of the SeljukTurks and others. As early as 1326 Brusa in Bithynia had become the centre of their power. AGenoese fleet soon conveyed their army intoEurope, where they tookGallipoli in 1397. Thenceforth, while thepopes were especially anxious to save the Greek East and Constantinople, theByzantines, excited by theirpriests andmonks, appeared daily more hostile to the West and exhausted their opportunities in uselesstheological disputes. The memorable defeat of the Serbs andBulgarians at Kossovo in 1389, and that of thecrusaders at Nicopolis in 1396, seemed to indicate the hopelessness of the Byzantine cause, when the Mongol invasion of Timur-Leng (Tamerlane) and the defeat of Sultan Bayazid atAngora in 1402 combined to assure another half-century of existence to the doomed empire.

Scarcely had Manuel II heard of theTurkish disaster when he pulled down the mosque in his capital and abandoned his negotiations atRome, where he had initiated proposals of peace, but only for political reasons. However, theTurkish power had not been destroyed on the plain ofAngora. From June to September, 1422, Sultan Murad II laid siege to Constantinople, which he nearly captured. Though finally repulsed, theTurks tightened daily their control over all approaches to the city, which only a newcrusade could have relieved. At theCouncil of Florence, therefore (1439), the Greeks again declared themselvesCatholics. This formal reunion, however, imposed by the emperor and again rejected by the Greek nation, could not in the beginning be proclaimed even at Constantinople, in spite of the election of a patriarch favourable toRome, and of Western promises to help the Greeks with men and money. Mark ofEphesus and after himGennadius Scholarius wereomnipotent withclergy and people, and infused into them freshhatred of the Latins. Nevertheless, the promisedcrusade took place under the direction of Cardinal Giuliano Cesarini.János Hunyady and Iskender-Beg (Scanderbeg) performedmiracles of valour, but in vain. Thecrusaders were completely defeated at Varna in 1444, and nothing was left to Constantinople but to perish honourably. The reunion withRome, as accepted atFlorence, was at last proclaimed officially in St. Sophia byCardinal Isidore,Metropolitan of Kiev (12 Dec., 1452). It was thus fated thatEmperor Constantine Dragases, the last heir of the great Constantine, was to die in theCatholicFaith.

Fall of Constantinople; capital of Ottoman Empire

When the tragic hour struck, the emperor had only about 7000 men, including all foreign succour. Since March, 1453, theTurks, to the number of 200,000, had invested the city; the preceding year they had built on the Bosporus the redoubtable fortress of Rumeli-Hissar. Their fleet also held the entrance to the Dardanelles, but was prevented from entering the Golden Horn by a strong iron chain that barred its mouth. But Mohammed II caused seventy of his ships to slide on greased planks behind Galata; in this way they entered the Golden Horn (22 April). He then cast across it a bridge of boats broad enough to allow the passage of five soldiers abreast, while his troops, constantly renewed, kept up without ceasing their attacks by land. Eventually the defenders were exhausted by the toils of a continuous and hopeless conflict, while their ranks grew steadily thinner through death or wounds. The population gave no help and was content to taunt the Latins, while waiting for themiracle of Heaven that was to save them. Finally, 29 May, 1453, about 4 o'clock in the morning, a furious assault of theTurks broke down the walls and gates of the city, and the besiegers burst in from every side.Emperor Constantine fell like a hero at the gate ofSt. Romanus. St. Sophia was immediately transformed into a mosque, and during three days the unhappy city was abandoned to unspeakable excesses of cruelty and debauchery. The next year, at the demand of the sultan himself,Gennadius Scholarius, Rome's haughty adversary, was appointedPatriarch of Constantinople, and soon theGreek Church was reestablished, almost in its former position.

Thus was granted the sacrilegiousprayer of so many Greeks, blinded by unreasoning hate, that henceforth, not thetiara, but the turban should rule in the city of Constantine. Even the name of the city was changed. TheTurks call it officially (in Arabic) Der-es-Saadet, Door of Happiness, or (chiefly oncoins) Konstantinieh. Their usual name for it is Stamboul, or rather Istamboul, a corruption of the Greek expressioneis ten polin (pronouncedstimboli), perhaps under the influence of a form, Islamboul, which could pass for "the city ofIslam". Most of the churches, like St. Sophia, were gradually converted into mosques. This was the fate of SS. Sergius and Bacchus — a beautiful monument built byJustinian, commonly called "the little St. Sophia"; of the church of themonastery of Khora, whose splendidmosaics and pictures, mostly of the fourteenth century, are among the principal curiosities of the city; of the churches of the celebrated Pantocrator andStudiummonasteries, etc. Other churches were demolished and replaced by various buildings; thus the church of the Holy Apostles gave way to the great mosque built by the conquering Sultan Mohammed II. The imperialtombs in this church were violated; some of their gigantic red porphyry sarcophagi were taken to thechurch of St. Irene. The latter is the only church taken from the Greeks that has not been changed into a mosque or demolished; it became, and is yet an arsenal, or rather a museum of ancient weapons.

The sultans in turn endowed their new capital with many beautiful monuments. Mohammed II built the castle of Yedi-Kouleh, the Tchinili-Kiosk (now a museum), the mosques of Cheik Bokhari, of the Janizaries, of Kassim-Pasha, of Eyoub, where every sultan at his accession isobliged to be girt with the sword of Othman, etc. Bayazid II built the Bayazidieh (1458). Soliman the Magnificent built the Suleimanieh, the most beautifulTurkish monument in Constantinople. His architect Sinan constructed fifty other mosques in the empire. Ahmed I built (1610) the Ahmedieh on the foundations of the imperial Great Palace, a pretty fountain near St. Sophia, etc. The buildings of the old seraglio at Seraglio Point are also ofTurkish origin; nothing is left of the Byzantine imperial palaces that once stood there. The Blachernæ palace has also disappeared; its church was accidentally burned in the seventeenth century. Not far distant are the important ruins of the palace of the Porphyrogenitus. When theTurks took Constantinople, the hippodrome was already in ruinous decay. There remain yet three precious monuments of ancient imperial splendour: theEgyptian obelisk brought thither byTheodosius the Great, the Serpentine Column brought from Delphi by Constantine, and the Byzantine monument known as the Walled-up Column. Near them has been constructed, on the plans and at the expense of the German Emperor, William II, a fountain in Byzantine style. TheTurks have also respected some otherrelics of antiquity, especially the columns of Constantine, Marcian,Theodosius, and Arcadius, the aqueduct ofValens, and many of the great subterraneous cisterns.

The Turkish city

This is not the place to narrate the later history of the city, so often the scene of sanguinary events, revolts of the Janizaries, palace-revolutions, etc. In 1826 Mahmud II suppressed the redoubtable prætorians, but the tragic domestic revolutions go on as before. In 1807 a British fleet threatened the city, which wascourageously defended by Sultan Selim III and the French ambassador, General Sebastiani. In 1854 Anglo-French armies encamped at Constantinople before and after the Crimean expedition againstRussia. In 1878 the Russians advanced to San Stefano, a little village in theEuropean suburbs, and dictated there the treaty of that name. In 1821 the Greek patriarch, Gregory V, with manybishops andlaymen, was hanged on the occasion of the outbreak of the Greek War for Independence. In 1895-1896 the capital, as well as the provinces, saw manyArmenians massacred by the Kurds, with the complicity, or rather by order of the Government. Even the dreadful physical catastrophes of former times have been renewed; great conflagrations in 1864 and 1870 destroyed entire quarters at Stamboul and Pera. In the latter place many thousands of lives were lost (most of the houses are built of timber). In 1894 an earthquake laid low a great part of the Bazaar and killed several thousandpersons. The city is now undergoing a slow process of cleansing; it is lit by gas, and there are some tramways in its streets, most of which are still very narrow and dirty, and are at all times obstructed by vagrant dogs. A cable railway joins Galata to Pera.

National and religious statistics

The population, we have already said, is (1908) at least 1,000,000, perhaps 1,200,000;Turkish statistics are very uncertain. TheTurks seem to form about three-fifths of this population. There are more than 2000 mosques, near which are generally found elementaryschools for boys and even for girls; often alsomedressehs orMussulmantheologicalschools. Thetekkés areMussulmanmonasteries for dervishes of various orders. Superior instruction is given at the Lyceum of Galata Seraglio. It has about 1200 pupils (mostlyMussulmans), and instruction is given in bothTurkish and French. Efforts are being made to transform this college into auniversity. There are also about 20 secondaryschools, auniversity of law, aschool of medicine, militaryschools, and other professional and specialschools. Thelibraries annexed to the great mosques contain precious Easternmanuscripts. There are manyTurkishhospitals, several of which are in charge ofCatholic Sisters of Charity, an asylum for thepoor, a Pasteur institute, and other charitable foundations. The PersianMussulmans, generally Shiites, have their own religious organization, with ahospital at Stamboul, conducted by Sisters of Charity. The Jewish population increases rapidly, and is of two kinds: theSpanishJews who came to Turkey in the sixteenth century when expelled fromSpain, and still speak a bad Spanish; others, who came and still come fromRussia,Rumania,Austria,Germany, etc. The latter often obtain good situations; not so the former, whose social status is low and unhappy. There is also among theJews of the city a diversity of rites,synagogues,schools, and works of beneficence. TheChristians seem to number over 300,000. If we except an insignificant body ofJacobites and theirbishop, the rest may be divided asMonophysites,Protestants, Orthodox Greeks, andCatholics. TheMonophysites areArmenians, who call themselves Gregorians, after their apostle,St. Gregory Illuminator. They number about 100,000, with a patriarch resident at Koum-Kapou (Stamboul), manychurches, 53 elementaryschools, 2 colleges, a large charitable establishment at Yédi-Kouleh, etc.

Protestantism is represented by English, American, German, and other foreign colonies, also by about one thousandArmenian converts. Its chief institutions, apart from several churches, are theBible house at Stamboul with its branches (homes for sailors and foreign girls), Robert College at Rumeli-Hissar on the Bosporus (a large Americanschool founded in 1863, with about 600 pupils), and a high school for girls atScutari. There are also some elementaryProtestantschools and a special mission for theJews, finally an English and a Germanhospital. The Schismatic Greeks who call themselves Orthodox, number about 150,000, some thousands of whom are Hellenes, i.e. subjects of the Kingdom of Greece. The Ecumenical patriarch, who resides in the Fanar (Greek quarter, along the Golden Horn), is thebishop of thediocese (there aremetropolites at Kadi-Keui and at Makri-Keui, the latter with the title of Derki). He is aided in the administration of his office by the Great Protosyncellus. There are 40parishes, 12 of which are first class, 11 second class, and 17 third class. The principal churches prefer instead of a simplepriest, atitularbishop orchorepiscopus: they are five in number. Recent statistics show 72schools, 64 of which give elementary and middle, and 8 superior teaching. Amon the higherschools are included the so-called Great National School in the Fanar (said to date from theMiddle Ages), the commercial andtheologicalschools at Halki, etc. Thetheologicalschool is aseminary for futurebishops of theGreek Church. These Greekschools have 398 teachers and 13,217 pupils; the elementaryschools have 10,665 pupils, and the superiorschools 2562. We may add that many Greek boys and girls, alsoArmenians, are taught in foreignschools, chiefly in those of the French religious congregations and at Robert College. The Greeks have a large charitable establishment at Balekli and anorphanage. Quite important also are their various associations (syollogi), the principal one being the important learned body known as the Literary Greek Society, with a richlibrary. Thelibraries of the Metochion, of the Holy Sepulchre, and thetheologicalschool at Halki are also remarkable for theirmanuscripts. For the general organization of the Greek Schismatics, seeGREEK CHURCH. TheRussians have at Constantinople 3monasteries, aschool, ahospital, and an archæological institute, with a richlibrary. The Serbs and Rumanians have also their national establishments. There are in the capital about 15,000Bulgarians. They are considered schismatics by theGreek Church, from which they have completely separated. Theirexarch, who hasjurisdiction over all nativeBulgarians and those ofEuropean Turkey, resides at Chichli (pronouncedshishli), where there are also aseminary, aschool, and ahospital forBulgarians. Hiscathedral is at Balata, Stamboul.

Catholic life and statistics

TheCatholics include those of the Roman orLatin Rite, and others of Eastern rites often called Uniats. Among the latter, theCatholicArmenians deserve most attention; they number about 5000. Their patriarch resides at Pera, and to their special organization belong: 6 elementary and 3 middleschools, also a large charitable establishment fororphans and for poor or sick people. They have four congregations conducted as follows: TheMechitarists ofVienna have 2 residences, 19monks; theMechitarists ofVenice, 1 residence, 8monks; the Antonines, 1 residence, 8monks; Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, 3 residences, about 100nuns. TheMelchites or Arabic-speaking Syrians ofByzantine Rite have a church with 3priests, one of whom acts as vicar of his patriarch for all affairs of the "nation" that come before the Sublime Porte. TheCatholicpatriarchs of the Chaldeans and the Syrians are similarly represented by vicars to whom are subject the few faithful of their rites present in the city. TheCatholic Greeks, few in number as yet, are subject to theApostolic delegate; they have twoparishes, at Koum-Kapou (Stamboul) and Kadi-Keui, conducted by theAssumptionists, and a mission at Pera, conducted by the Fathers of theHoly Trinity. The former have also missions for the Greeks at Cæsarea in Cappadocia and at Peramos in the Peninsula ofCyzicus; the latter at Malgara and Daoudili in Thrace. TheCatholicBulgarians have at Galata theirarchbishop and onepriest. TheCatholic Georgians are few and are subject to theApostolic delegate; most of them belong to the Latin or theArmenian Rite.

TheCatholics of theLatin Rite, as already stated, are ruled by an Apostolic vicar. Though a titulararchbishop he enjoys ordinaryjurisdiction and since 1868 isApostolic delegate for theCatholics ofEastern Rites. He resides at Pancaldi and has there his procathedral. His authority is not acknowledged by the Sublime Porte and he isobliged to use the French embassy in his relations with theTurkish Government. The limits of his vicariate are: inEurope the Vicariate of Sofia, theArchdioceses of Uscub and Durazzo, and the Apostolic Delegation ofAthens; inAsia, theDiocese of Tiraspol, the Apostolic Delegations of Mesopotamia and Aleppo, and the Archbishopric ofSmyrna. The LatinCatholics subject to him must number (1908) between 30,000 and 35,000, about 22,000 of whom are at Constantinople. Other principal centres are, inEurope:Salonica,Gallipoli, Cavalla, Monastir, Rodosto, Dede-Aghatch, and Adrianople, with about 6000souls; inAsia: Brusa, Ismid, Adampol, Zongoul-Dagh, Dardanelles, Eski-Shehir,Angora,Trebizond, Samsoun, and Erzeroum with about 3000souls. Most LatinCatholics are of foreign nationalities and come fromGreece,Italy,France,Austria, etc.

Almost all the religious works of the Apostolic vicariate are conducted byreligious orders or congregations. Thesecular clergy counts only about ten members; they possess the twoparishes of Pancaldi (pro-cathedral) and the Dardanelles. There are fourteenparishes (five principal) in Constantinople and its suburbs. Outside the capital, the vicariate comprises 7 otherparishes and 23 missionary stations. There are severalseminaries, but none for the vicariate itself: a Greek preparatoryseminary at Koum-Kapou (Stamboul), aBulgarian preparatoryseminary at Kara-Aghatch (Adrianople), aGreek-Bulgariantheologicalseminary at Kadi-Keui, conducted by theAssumptionists, with respectively 30, 35, and 10 pupils; the Eastern Seminary, preparatory andtheological, founded at Pera in 1889 byFrenchCapuchins for Latin and Eastern Rite pupils of every Eastern diocese, with 45 to 50 pupils; the preparatory Seraphic Seminary conducted since 1894 at San Stefano by AustrianCapuchins, 30 pupils; aBulgarian preparatory andtheologicalseminary at Zeitenlik (Salonica), conducted by theLazarists, 58 pupils. Eighty elementary or middleschools are conducted by the aforesaid religious congregations. There are 74 primary and boardingschools, for boys or girls, with 11,400 pupils (7030 girls and 4370 boys), 6 (properly so called) colleges for boys with 1410 pupils and a commercial institute. Moreover, 600 male andfemaleorphans are trained in 6orphanages. A professionalschool has just been founded. More than half of theseschools are situated in Constantinople or its suburbs. Many of the pupils are notCatholics, and many areMussulmans orJews. There is at Feri-Keui a large and beautiful cemetery.

Catholic orders and congregations

Orders of Men

Augustinians of the Assumption, 13 residences, 51priests (including 6 of Greek and 6 ofSlav Rite), and 28 students orlay brothers, 3seminaries, 6parishes, 7schools.FrenchCapuchins, 2 residences, 59monks (25 students and 10lay brothers). 1seminary, 1 scholasticate, and thechurch of St. Louis,parish of the French embassy. AustrianCapuchins, 1 residence, with 1parish, 1seminary and 1novitiate, 10monks.ItalianCapuchins, 3 residences, 8priests, and 4lay brothers.Conventuals, 6 residences, 5parishes, 21priests, and 10lay brothers.Franciscans, 4 residences, 2parishes, with 10priests and 6lay brothers.Dominicans, 3 residences, 1parish, 9priests, and 3lay brothers. GeorgianBenedictines of the Immaculate Conception, 3 residences, 2parishes 1school, with 13 religious (2priests of Georgian Rite).Jesuits, 6 residences, 42 religious, about 20priests, 9schools. AustrianLazarists, 1 residence, 1 college, 12 religious.FrenchLazarists, 7 residences, 71 religious (56 priests), 2 colleges, 1seminary, severalschools, 1parish.GreekFathers of theHoly Trinity of Pera, 3 residences, 6priests, 3schools. Polish Resurrectionists, 3 residences, about 30 religious (12priests, several of theSlav Rite), 1 college.Brothers of the Christian Schools, 150 brothers, 10 residences, 1 college, 1 commercial and 10 elementaryschools. Brothers of Ploermel, 10 brothers, aiding theAssumptionists in theirschools. Marist Brothers, 8 residences, 4schools, 46 brothers, aid other religious in 4 moreschools. ItalianSalesians of Dom Bosco, 1 technicalschool.

Orders of Women

Carmelites, 6nuns.Dominican Sisters ofMondovì, 2schools, 14nuns. Sisters of Charity, 17 establishments, 210nuns; they conduct among others threeTurkishhospitals, the Persian, French, Italian, and Austrianhospitals, 2 asylums, 7orphanages, 13schools.Franciscan Sisters of Calais, 1 residence, 10 sisters for care of sick people at home.Franciscan Sisters of Gemona (Italy), 4 residences, 30sisters, 5schools. Sisters of the Immaculate Conception ofIvrea (Italy), 3 residences, 35sisters, 1hospital, 2schools. Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Lourdes, 1 residence, 14sisters, for the adoration of the MostBlessed Sacrament and care of sick people. Oblates of the Assumption, 8 residences, 94sisters, 7schools, 1hospital, 1novitiate for native girls. Oblates of the Assumption ofNîmes, 15sisters, 3schools.Little Sisters of the Poor, 1 asylum, 16 sisters.Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, 2 residences, 30sisters, 2schools.Sisters of St. Joseph ofLyons, 3 residences, 39sisters, 3schools, 1hospital. Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, 120sisters, 2 residences, 2 boarding, and 2 elementaryschools. Georgian Servants of Our Lady, 2 residences, 2schools, 15 sisters.Bulgarian Eucharistine Sisters, 5 residences withschools, 30 sisters. Resurrectionist Sisters, 5sisters, 1school. Missionary Sisters of the Most Holy Heart of Mary, 8sisters, 1hospital. Most of these residences have dispensaries, with a physician, where remedies are supplied gratuitously to the poor. To the works of these congregations must be addedpious works conducted bylay persons:St. Vincent de Paul Conferences (6 at Constantinople); the Sympnia, an association which conducts aschool forCatholic Hellenes, with 90 pupils, various associations and brotherhoods, etc.

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