Constantinople :: essays research papers fc

This essay will attempt to analyse and explain all the causes and factors that bakshis to the choice of Constantinople as eastern capital of the pudding stone. From the very outset the reasons for such(prenominal) a catalytic move, which provided the impetus for the creation of a new-sprung(prenominal) era, will be examined as lucidly as possible. To conclude, having appraised the above, much rickety will be thrown on the choice of Constantinople, amongst other locations, as the eastern capital of the imperium in terms of geographical position, unearthly and economical factors.Numerous were the reasons that gradually led to the movement of the empire to the East. Initially, capital of Italy was very far from the regions of the shores of the Bosphorus and the river Euphrates and thus unable to confront effectively the empires most significant enemies (the Goths and the Persians) that had made their appearance from the 3rd century. Additionally, Rome, a centre of paganism, with its memories of municipal traditions and republican sentiment, with its aristocratic, educated and fiercely traditionalist senators , had begun to fray the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (337-362). He, himself, was a vigorous supporter of Christianity and peculiarly after the prolonged period of his successful confrontation with Licinius (314-323), he was win over that the future belonged to the Christians and for that reason, he decided to turn decisively towards the East, which was the main denotation and origin of the new religion. Furthermore, from the 3rd century onwards, most of the emperors originated from provinces and did not get by significant bonds with Rome. What Constantine visualised instead of sacrifices to pagan deities and four emperors with irregular courts and capitals, was an empire with one emperor and one established capital, along with a clear innovative church devoted to the glory of the one true matinee idol . He therefore regarded the foundation of a new city as the most important symbol of his deeper aim, the renewal of the empire.In 324, the old Grecian trading city of Byzantium (modern Istanbul) was chosen by Constantine the Great as the eventual(prenominal) spot for the new city that would form the headquarters of the empire in the East and was renamed after his own name, Constantinople (Constantinou-polis). It is a fact that among the fundamental criteria for choosing this peculiar(prenominal) location were its strategical geographical position between Europe and Asia, its strategic value for the command of the seas and of the main routes over-land from East to West and from North to South, as well as the right connection between the centre and the fringe of the Empire.