Chapter 191: Sights And Sounds Of Constantinople
“This is not a city, but a nation.”
Caesar lives on Ayyarasa Road, and has also been to Damascus and Acre. People say that Apole Castle is nine times as big as Ayyarasa Road—in fact, it is somewhat exaggerated, and they include all the wilderness, woodlands, and rivers around the castle—although according to Saracen customs, these are indeed part of the castle, just like the Caliph’s palace also has vast natural landscapes.
And how big is Constantinople?
Even counting the surrounding small towns and hills, Ayyarasa Road is only one fiftieth of it…
“Although, according to these people, this place should be called New Rome.” Raymond sat on his horse, turning sideways to speak to his son David. Although this knowledge should have been taught by the priest in history class, what could be more intuitive than on-site teaching?
“Constantine I once hesitated between Jerusalem, Troy, and other places, but ultimately decided to build his new capital here. He regarded this place as the new City of Rome, but unfortunately, in the end, the people still named the city after him—hence the origin of Constantinople.
Although, this name is not bad either. Constantine originally means ‘firm’ or ‘steadfast’. It is certainly good for a person, and even more fitting for a city. Moreover, the predecessor of Constantinople, Byzantium, was also named as such because it was built by a king named Byzantium, which is also a tradition.”
“Is that the Theodosian Walls, father?” David asked, raising his head full of awe.
“It sure is.” Raymond replied with a somewhat sarcastic tone.
There were some things he couldn’t tell his son— in fact, Godfrey, Bohemond, and Raymond were not the first Crusaders. Before them, the first to arrive in Constantinople was a group of poor farmers.
Pope Urban II initially only wanted to gather a force of several hundred knights led by lords to defend Byzantium, but who could have known that Europe was in such a terrible state at that time.
From the 9th Century to the 11th century, Vikings continuously harassed the coasts, plundering residents. In 1094, a massive flood destroyed southern Francia, followed by locusts and plague. The next year, drought brought widespread famine—people must have thought the end of the world was coming.
And just then, the Pope’s envoys arrived. These priests have always been representatives of eloquent speech, and with the Pope’s hint, they spared no effort or saliva. In their sermons, the East was so rich and abundant, as if rivers flowed with milk, forests dripped honey, and countless beasts and fruits awaited people to pick at will.
While the lords and knights were still hesitating, the farmers immediately believed the priests’ words—after all, they had always been like this before. The priests told them to endure the rule of monarchs and lords, pay heavy taxes, and perform corvée labor for castles and churches, and they obeyed. Now they were just asked to leave their homes and seek a living elsewhere—how could they object?
Afterwards, two lunar eclipses occurred in northern Francia, and a meteor shower in the south. These seemed like bad omens. Some said that those willing to go on the Crusades had the cross stigmata appear on their bodies, while those unwilling to leave home would suffer limb edema and die in pain. This disease was seen as punishment inflicted by Saint Antony.
Therefore, before the knights took action, the first to follow a priest here were fifteen thousand poor farmers, dressed in rags, with only wooden farm tools as weapons—and at first, the officials of Constantinople did not refuse them, but allowed them to enter Constantinople.
Then something happened that no one had anticipated.
Raymond called Constantinople a nation, which is not an overstatement. It is an entire peninsula, shaped very similarly to the Anatolian Peninsula, just upside down and mirrored left to right.
It is located on the western shore of the Bosphorus Strait, situated on a series of small hills. A part like a raised thumb extends into the strait, its rounded base near the Sea of Marmara. To the north is the Golden Horn, to the east guarding the entrance to the Hellespont, and to the west overlooking the Thracian Plain from above. The entire city is like a natural fortress, easy to defend and hard to attack.
It is also the intersection of the important Roman Empire military road, the Via Egnatia, and the military highway of Asia Minor, a necessary passage to Asia, and the only route from the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea.
The winding bay deep into the land from the strait is an excellent natural harbor, where merchant ships from all over the world have gathered since ancient times, bringing endless wealth to the local residents, thus named the “Golden Horn”—in Ancient Greece legends, the golden fleece is a symbol of wealth.
And in the city of Constantinople, these poor people were dazzled and unable to restrain themselves—yes, there are poor people in Constantinople too, but even the poorest can afford bread and light wine, have decent clothes to wear, and houses to live in. They can even hang holy images on their doors, with the holy images gleaming in gold and vibrant colors.
Moreover, there are hundreds of churches and chapels here, streets with fountains and pools, the water clean and clear. On holidays, the Emperor or other noble persons distribute food and invite them to the Hippodrome to watch gladiatorial games.
All this made these skeleton-like Franks lose their heads at once, and they actually began to rob the Constantinople residents around them…
While they were fighting until their heads bled over a pair of shoes, the officials, recovering from their shock, hurriedly called the guards to disperse and drive them away.】
Actually, it wasn’t just these poor people. When they arrived in Constantinople, didn’t they also have evil thoughts? Compared to the poor, they could see more: domes, colonnades, gilded bronze statues and monuments, books like flocks of birds or schools of fish, exquisite paintings, mosaics, luxurious furniture, and walls decorated with precious marble veneers…
But with the previous poor people’s Crusaders, the Byzantine Emperor no longer had the courage to allow a large army inside, and as for attacking this city—Raymond was not that arrogant yet.
Constantinople is surrounded by sea on three sides, with only one side facing the vast Thracian Plain, so successive Byzantine Emperors have devoted all their efforts to the walls facing the plain—that is, the famous Theodosian Walls.
This wall was continuously built for seven hundred years, and up to now, it has become a wonder.
