The Distance From
The Mouth Of The River To That Of The Harbour, Or The Length Of This Arm Of
The Bosphorus Is Seven Miles; The Entrance, About 500 Yards Broad, Was
Defended, When Necessary, By A Strong Chain Drawn Across It.
The city of
Byzantium was situated on a promontory, nearly of a triangular form; on the
point of the promontory stood the citadel.
The walls of the city itself
were very strong, but not so lofty towards the sea as towards the land,
being on the former side defended by the waves, and in some places by the
rocks on which they were built, and which projected into the sea.
Thus favoured by nature, and strengthened by art, and situated in a
territory abounding in grain and fruits, Byzantium was crowded with
merchants, and supported and enriched by an active and flourishing
commerce: its harbour, which was sheltered on every side from tempests,
besides being easy of access and capacious, attracted to it ships from all
the states of Greece, while its situation at the head of the strait
enabled, and seemed to authorize it to stop and subject to heavy duties,
the foreign merchants who traded to the Euxine, or to reduce the nations
who depended on the countries bordering on this sea for their supplies of
corn to great difficulties, and in some cases, even to famine. On these
accounts the Athenians and Lacedaemonians were generally rivals for its
alliance and friendship. Besides the necessary article of grain and
abundance of rich and valuable fruit, the Byzantines derived great wealth
from their fisheries: these were carried on with great spirit, enterprize,
and success. A surprising quantity of fish was caught in the harbour
itself, in autumn, when they left the Euxine for the Archipelago; and in
the spring, on their return to Pontus. A great many people were employed
both in this fishery, and in the curing of the fish: great sums were
derived from this source, as well as from the sale of salt provisions; for
the quality of which, Byzantium was in greater renown than even
Panticapeum. The only disadvantage under which the Byzantines laboured, to
counterbalance the excellence of their harbour, the fertility of their
soil, the productiveness of their fisheries, and the extent of their
commerce, arose from the frequent excursions of the Thracians, who
inhabited the neighbouring villages.
There were many other Grecian colonies on the Bosphorus and the adjacent
seas. Panticapeum, built by the Milesians, according to Strabo, the capital
of the European Bosphorus, with which, as has been already mentioned, the
Athenians carried on a considerable trade. Theodosia, also mentioned
before, was likewise formed and colonized by the Milesians: its port could
contain 100 ships. Tanais, on the Cimmerian Bosphorus; Olbia and
Borysthenes, both situated near the mouth of the river from which the
latter took its name; Panagorea and Hermonassa on the Bosphorus, and
several others. Besides these colonies in this part of the world, the
Greeks founded others, for the express purposes of commerce; as Syracuse,
in Sicily; Marseilles, in Gaul, the mother of several colonies established
on the neighbouring coasts, and, as we shall afterwards notice, a place of
very considerable wealth, consequence, and strength, derived entirely from
commerce, as well as the seat of the arts and sciences; Cyrene, an opulent
city in Africa, and Naucratis, situated on one of the mouths of the Nile.
They likewise formed settlements in Rhodes and Crete, in the islands of the
Egean Sea, on the opposite coasts of Asia, &c.; most of which were of
importance to the mother country, from the facilities they offered to the
extension of its commerce.
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