Chap. XIV.

Of the Fifth Hill.

THE Bottom of the fifth Hill, on the Top of which stands the Tomb of Selymus the Emperor, as bounded partly by the Bay, and partly by an Eastern and Western Valley, is four thousand Paces in Compass. The Pitch of this Hill hangs so far over the Bay Northward, and the Pitch of the fourth Hill lies so low towards the same Point, that the fourth Hill seems to be a kind of Valley, situate between the third, and the fifth Hill. For the fifth Hill does not join at Top, and continue the Ridge of the Promontory as other Hills do, but being of an equal Heighth with it, shoots to a great Distance beyond it running as far Northward, as does the Foot of the fourth Hill. It has a Descent on three Sides of it; one to the North, the Steepness of which the Reader may learn from hence, that altho’ it is very near the Heighth of the fourth Hill, which is above a thousand Paces high, yet the highest Ascent of this Hill comes nearer upon the Line, than that of any other Hill, to the lowest Ascent from the Bottom; for you ascend thro’ a little Valley, no more than three hundred Paces high to the Top of it. This Valley is form’d by two small Hills adjoining to the Shore of the Bay, upon which, at about four hundred Paces distance, you discover some Stone Steps, belonging to a Foundation of a Caravansera, built by the Emperor Selymus. This Northern Side of the Hill has four small Hills jetting out of it, three small Valleys running between them, which rise from the Top of the Hill, and are situate at such a Distance from the Plain upon the Shore, that two of them touch the Wall which stands upon it; the other two are a hundred Paces from it. The Plain upon the Shore is in no Part of it narrower than it is at the Foot of this Hill; for to the Distance of a thousand Paces, it does not exceed a hundred Paces in Breadth, and in some Places not fifty. Two of these Hills are very steep, so that the Buildings you see upon them, as tho’ they were in danger of falling, are all underpropp’d, and the Inhabitants have been oblig’d to cut Windings in the Rocks to moderate the Descent. The other two are less Precipitate, the Valleys which enclose them not lying so deep. The Side of the Hill which shoots Eastward is one thousand four hundred Paces in Length, and two hundred in Breadth, and its Altitude two hundred Paces upon the Perpendicular. The Height of the Side of it, which falls Westward, shelves into a different Depth, according as the Valley sinks. Where it descends into a Level Plain, it advances its Top to the Height of five hundred Paces. In other Places it rises no higher than three hundred, with a very moderate Ascent. The Side of the Promontory which points Southward, situate behind the fifth Hill, ends in the Plain of the Valley, which divides the Promontory from the seventh Hill. In other Places it falls with a more confined, and sometimes with a more expanded Descent, upon a small thick Hill, which hangs over the fifth Valley; as also over that Valley which parts the Promontory from the seventh Hill. The back Part of the fifth Hill does also wind it self into a small Valley, which rises at the Brow of the Promontory, where not long since was remaining the Columna Virginea. From hence the Ridge of the Promontory somewhat bends over the Top of the Plain of the fifth Hill, which in some Places is six hundred, and in others seven hundred Paces broad. But beyond the Ridge of this Hill it widens to a great Distance, as far as the Plain of the fourth Hill, and shoots on with the Plain of the Promontory, and falls down to the Neck of the Isthmus, and so extending it self still on, is at least two thousand Paces in Length.

Chap. XV.

Of the Fifth Valley.

THE fifth Valley, which divides the fifth from the sixth Hill, winding from North to South, is as long as the Promontory is broad; that is, about twelve hundred Paces; the first eight hundred of which have no Ascent. The Valley, at the first Entrance into it, is at least four hundred Paces broad, but is afterwards straitned into half that Breadth; and yet to the Length of six hundred Paces, ’tis in no Place less than two hundred Paces broad. Farther, ’tis at least five hundred Paces wide. Above this, is the Top of the Valley, or the Ridge of the Promontory, opening upon a Level Breadth of two hundred Paces. From the Top of this Promontory, to the left Side of it, there falls a Valley with a gentle Descent, to the Distance of five hundred Paces, where it descends into another Valley, which divides the Promontory from the seventh Hill. The fifth Valley seems to cut through the Ridge of the Promontory. This may easily be discerned by the right and left Descent of the two Hills which lie nearest to it; for there is a very easy Ascent from the Height of this Valley, to the Top of either Hill.

Chap. XVI.

THE sixth Hill is just as long as the Promontory is broad, which is widen’d upon this Hill to the Breadth of two thousand four hundred Paces. The City Walls shoot over the Ridge, and the North Side of it down to the Sea Shore. You descend gradually from the Top of it within the Walls; without the Walls it lies upon a Level, and is join’d to the Continent by a Field in the Suburbs. The broadest part of it is not above eight hundred Paces, the narrowest but four hundred. It descends with a treble Declivity; one on the left Hand of the Promontory, with an easy Descent at South-east; another on the right falling to the Bay Northward, which extends itself to the Distance of fifteen hundred Paces. There are two lesser Hills, separated by a small Valley, which run between them. At the Foot of that lesser Hill which stands nearest to the City Wall, there is an Aqueduct. Between this Hill and the Bay, there formerly stood the Church of the Blachernæ, which has been recorded in the Writings of many Historians. The Foundation of this Church was remaining, when I first arrived at Constantinople. From the Foot of this Hill, which stands above the Church I have mention’d, there rises a Spring, whose Waters are convey’d thro’ arch’d subterraneous Passages into the City, where, appearing above Ground, they flow constantly into a Marble Cistern. That Side of the sixth Hill which lies Eastward, is as long as the Hill itself; but does not, in all parts of it, fall with the same Descent. For the Descent varies, according as the Valley adjoining lies higher or lower. Where the Valley lies upon the Level, the Pitch of the Hill rises to the Height of six hundred Paces; where it does not lie so low, ’tis not above five hundred Paces high; where it rises higher, not above four hundred. Nor does this Side of the Hill shoot only Eastward, but does also, on the right Side of it, project Northward, and on the left Side of it extend itself full South-west. The Plain on the Shore, which lies between the Foot of the Hill and the Bay, in the narrow part of it, is not above eight hundred Paces broad, I mean in that Place where the Church of the Blachernæ stood formerly, as did also a Triclinium; but farther on it winds round into the third Valley, and widens much more.

Chap. XVII.

Of the Valley which divides the Promontory from the seventh Hill.

THE Valley which divides the seventh from the six Hills of the Promontory, is an easy Descent. It extends itself in Length to the Distance of four thousand Paces, if you take in the Plain on the Sea Shore. If you exclude that, and take your Dimensions from the winding of the seventh Hill, ’tis not above three thousand three hundred Paces long. It lies so much upon a Level, that you cannot perceive by walking it, that it has the least Ascent; yet you may discover by the Discernment of the Eye that it sensibly lengthens and widens itself into a greater Breadth. It bounds the Sides of the third and the fifth Valley, and the lowest Eminences of the fifth and sixth Hills. It is full of Gardens and pleasant Meadows. Here the Soldiers sometimes act their Mock-Fights. There’s a Rivulet which runs through the Middle of it, which is often dry in Summer Time.

Chap. XVIII.

Of the seventh Hill.

THE seventh Hill is called the Xerolophos, on which stands the Pillar of Arcadius. This Hill is little less than twelve thousand Paces in Circumference, and contains more than a third Part of the City. The other two Parts are comprehended in the Compass of the Promontory, which is above twenty thousand Paces in Circumference. By Paces, I would here be thought to mean the ordinary Steps we take in Walking, which I cannot exactly reduce to a just Mensuration with the Roman Pace, by reason of the Turnings and Windings of the Ways, and the Differences of Paces, which are longer or shorter, according to the different Ascents and Descents of the Ground we walk. This Hill makes the third Angle of the City, from whence Constantinople is look’d upon to be of a triangular Figure. It lies shelving with a very moderate Descent, and has a double Declivity; one of which falls gently into the Valley, which divides the seventh Hill from the Promontory, and is of an equal Length with the Valley itself. The other Descent, which partly lies to the South-east, and partly to the South, falls into the Propontis, and is in some Places five hundred Paces steep, in others four hundred, three hundred, a hundred, nay even fifty, till it comes to the Point of the third Angle of the City, whence a large Plain shoots out towards the Sea, which, in different Places, is of a different Breadth. The Entrance of this Plain, at the Angle of the City just mention’d, is very narrow; it afterwards widens, which is occasioned by the Winding of one of its Sides, from whence it gently rises to the Foot of a small Hill, where ’tis four hundred Paces broad; onwards it is straiten’d into fifty, and afterwards is widen’d into a Breadth of a hundred Paces only. The End of this Plain, to the Distance of a thousand Paces, is more than four hundred Paces broad. On the Ridge of this Hill, there is a Plain of some Length and Breadth; the Hill itself is bounded by the Land Wall, and on the Top of it is a Cistern which is call’d Mocisia, which is wholly unroof’d, and stripp’d of its Pillars. This Cistern is nine hundred and seventy Paces in Circumference. The Walls of it, which are made of squared Free-stone, are still remaining; and the Ground where it stands, is now turn’d into a Garden.

Thus is it that I have laid before the Reader a Plan or Description of the Situation of the City of Constantinople, by which means the Situation of the Wards of that City will be more easily discovered. I hope I shall not be thought to have dwelt too long on this Subject, since a verbal Delineation of it is the most concise way of coming to the Knowledge of it. For although Constantinople, by reason of the Eminency of its Situation, affords a most agreeable Prospect at the remotest Distance, yet thus to particularize the several Parts of the City, leads the Reader into a more exact and more expeditious Insight into it, than any other Method of Information whatsoever.

Chap. XIX.

Of the Walls of the City.

THE Walls of Constantinople, in some Places, are built with squared Free-stone, in others with rough Stone, and in many Places with an Intermixture of Brick and Stone together. The Walls on the Land Side are double, secured with a large Ditch five and twenty Paces broad. One of the Walls is carry’d somewhat farther than the Length of the Ditch, and is very strongly fortified. These Walls stand at eighteen Foot Distance from each other. The inward Wall is very lofty, and more than twenty Foot in Thickness, upon which are built two hundred and fifty Towers with Steps, facing the Continent. The outward Wall is not above half as big, but has the same Number of Towers. As to the Nature of its Fortification, the Ground that takes up the Distance between the Ditch and the outward Wall, is higher than the adjoining Side of the Ditch, and the Ground between the two Walls is higher than that. The Countrey opening without the Walls is not incumber’d with Buildings, and is partly hilly, and partly upon the Level, but chiefly upon the latter, so that you have a delightful Prospect over the Fields before you, and a very extensive View all about you: And there is no Doubt to be made, but that Constantinople might be made a terrible strong Place. The Walls which run round the Sea, are not so high as the Land Walls; they are a plain Building, but very thick, and well guarded with Towers. On the Side of the Bay Ceras, they are about fifty Paces distant from the Shore. On the Side of the Bosporus and the Propontis, they are built upon the Shore, except where they are discontinu’d by some Port or Landing-place. Zonaras relates, that Theophilus the Emperor not only repaired, but raised these Walls higher, after they had been much impair’d by Time, and the Dashings of the Sea. This is also confirm’d to us down even to the present Age; for in many Places of them, I observ’d the Name of Theophilus the Emperor was cut in very large Characters. The Emperor Nicephorus was hated by his People for levying a Tax upon them, which was call’d Diceraton, for repairing these Walls. I learn from the Constitutions of Justinian, that in his Time the Walls were commonly call’d the old and the new Walls, where he decrees, That a larger Fee shall be paid the Bearers, and those who attend a Corpse beyond the new Walls of the City. What I would observe from hence is, that the old Walls which were built by Constantine, and that the new Walls which were built by Theodosius the Less, were both standing in the Reign of Justinian. The Walls of old Byzantium I have described in the Beginning of this Book; and as to the Condition they were in formerly, we may learn more fully from Herodian, who writes, that Byzantium was inclosed with a very large and a very strong Wall, made of square Stones of a great Size, so artfully cemented, that it was look’d upon as one compacted Piece of Work. This is also confirm’d by the Authority of Pausanias, who tells us, That he never saw the Walls of Babylon, or of Memnon, nor ever heard of any Person who had seen them: But the Walls of Byzantium and Rhodes, says he, are accounted exceeding strong; and yet the Walls which inclose Messene are stronger than these. ’Tis recorded by some Historians, that the Athenians kept their Treasury at Byzantium, because it was a well fortify’d Place. Whether those Walls which the Author of the Ancient Description of the Wards calls the double Walls are the same which we see at Constantinople at present, or whether they were built by Theodosius, I leave it to the Judgment of the Reader. Thus far I shall give my Opinion, viz. That they do not seem to me to be entirely the same Walls which that Author describes. For he places the Church of the Apostles in a Ward which is near to the Walls of the City, and places the fourteenth Ward without the Walls of the City, which at present, if not all of it, at least the best part of it, is within the Walls. I would add, that Theodosius the Less, who reign’d before Justinian, does not place the Blachernæ within the Walls of the City, and yet I have the Authority of Procopius, that these were apart of the Suburbs in the Time of Justinian, tho’ at present they are enclosed within the Walls, as were also the seven Towers, and the Church which was built by Stadius, (or rather Studius) who was afterwards Consul.

Chap. XX.

Of the Gates of Constantinople, and the seven Towers of Old Byzantium.

THE Walls on the Side of the Continent have six Gates; one within the Palace of Constantine, another, which is call’d the Adrianopolitan Gate, and a third on the Brow of the seventh Hill. Besides these, there is the Porta Aurea or Gilded Gate, the Gate of Selymbria or Rhegium, and the Gate of the seven Towers. On the Side of the Bay Ceras is the Gate of the Blachernæ, at present call’d Xyloporta, seated near the third Angle of the City. There are also the Gates call’d Cynigos, or Porta Palatina, Phanaria, Agia, Porta Jubalica, Farinaria, Lignaria, Seminaria, Piscaria, the Gate of the Neorium, and the Gate of Demetrius, which stands on the Ridge of the first Hill. On the Side of the Propontis there are about five; every one of which has Stairs, or a Landing-place, and a Haven for Ships, besides the Gates of the Imperial Palace. There is also the Porta Stercoraria, Leonina, Condescala, two of which stand at the Foot of the seventh Hill. Those which have been principally taken Notice of by Historians, are the Gates of Cynigos, Rhegium and Xylocerum, also the Gate of Eugenius, the Porta Aurea, that call’d Myriandros, the Porta Condescala, and Porta Carsiana. In old Byzantium there was the Thracian Gate. For we are told by Dion, that the seven Towers reach’d from the Thracian Gate to the Sea, which Cedrinus tells us was the Bay Ceras. If any one spoke any thing in the first of these Towers, it immediately flew to the second, and so through all the rest, so that you might hear the Voice distinctly repeated in every one of them. Pliny tells the very same Story of Cyzicus. In that City, says he, near the Thracian Gate there are seven Towers, which multiply the Voice by Repetition, or Reiteration, more than seven times. This, he adds, was look’d upon by the Grecians as somewhat miraculous, and was call’d the Echo. I never found any Mention made of the Thracian Gates in any Historian but in Pliny, though it is not altogether improbable, that there were such Gates there; for Apollonius, in the first Book of his Argonauticks, mentions the Thracian Haven in Cyzicus; and Plutarch is very express, that near this City there was a Street call’d the Thracian Street. This is also attested not only by some more modern Writers of Constantinople, but also by Dion and Xenophon; the latter of whom writes, That when Alcibiades appear’d before the Town, the Byzantians open’d the Thracian Gates to him of their own Accord.

Chap. XXI.

Of the long Walls.

THE Suburbs and Fields adjoining were inclosed with Walls of such an immoderate Length, that they extended themselves from the City to the Distance of a two Days Journey. They were built by Anastasius the Emperor to prevent the Incursions of the Scythians and Bulgarians, reach’d from the Black Sea to the Propontis, were forty thousand Paces remote from the City, and twenty Roman Foot in Breadth. These Walls were often taken and batter’d by the barbarous Nations, but repair’d by Justinian; and that the Soldiers garrisoned there might defend them to the best Advantage, he order’d the Passages of one Tower to another to be stopp’d up, no Entrance being allow’d, but the Door at the Bottom of the Steps, by which it was ascended; so that by this means it was sufficiently guarded, though the Enemies Forces were in the Heart of the City. Evagrius the sacred Historian tells us, that Anastasius built the long Wall, which was two hundred and eighty Furlongs distant from the City, that it reach’d from Sea to Sea, was four hundred Furlongs in Length, that it was a good Security to those who sail’d out of the Black Sea to the Propontis, and that it put a Stop to the Excursions of the barbarous Nations.

The End of the First Book.