in Greek. The most important are: a life of his grandfather, Basil I.; Hepì tõv Deμátwv, a description of the provinces of the empire; De Administrando Imperio, a work without a Greek title, written to instruct his son in the political state of the empire, and containing much information in relation to the geography, ethnology, and politics of the time; Bißiov τακτικόν and Βιβλίου στρατηγικόν, two treatises on the art of war; and "Ekɛois Tñs Baoiλelov Tağεws, which gives a detailed account of the ceremonies at the court of Constantinople. He wrote several smaller treatises on religious and other matters, and caused many works to be compiled by the most able scholars of the time. CONSTANTINE XIII., Palæologus, the last emperor of the East, born in 1394, killed at the taking of Constantinople, May 29, 1453. He was the son of Manuel and brother of John Palæologus, emperors of Constantinople. He succeeded his brother as emperor in 1448, his succession being however disputed by his younger brother Demetrius, who claimed that, having been born in the purple, he was the legitimate heir. The sultan Amurath II. had made large conquests in the Byzantine empire, and now held his court in Adrianople; and by his assent the crown was given to Constantine, who was then in Greece. But Mohammed II., the son of Amurath, resolved to complete the conquest of the Byzantine empire by the capture of Constantinople. Constantine's appeals for aid to the princes of Christendom met with little response. The siege was formally opened April 6, 1453. The defence was obstinate, and for weeks it appeared that the siege would be unsuccessful. Mohammed offered favorable terms, which were refused by Constantine, who declared that he would find a throne or a grave under the walls of Constantinople. The decisive assault was fixed for the 29th of May, the sultan promising double pay to his soldiers, and that the man who first mounted the walls should be rewarded by the government of the richest province of his empire. While the action hung in even scales, an arrow or bullet pierced the armor of Giovanni Giustiniani, the commander of the Genoese auxiliaries, who had borne the bravest part in the defence. In spite of the remonstrances of Constantine, the Genoese troops fled through a breach which the Turks had effected, and were followed by the other auxiliaries. The walls were then stormed, and Constantine, who fought to the last, was killed by an unknown hand. His body, recognized by the golden eagles embroidered on the shoes, was discovered under a heap of slain; the head was cut off and brought to Mohammed, who however gave the body an honorable burial. It is said, though Gibbon doubts the truth of the story, that the head was sent around Persia and Arabia as a trophy. CONSTANTINE NIKOLAYEVITCH, grand duke of Russia, second son and fourth child of the emperor Nicholas, born in St. Petersburg, Sept. 21, 1827. He was made grand admiral when a mere child, and carefully educated for the navy. He visited Constantinople in 1845, and two years later made a voyage from Archangel to the Mediterranean, visiting several European cities during his absence. In September, 1848, he married Alexandra, daughter of the duke of Saxe-Altenburg. In the following year he accompanied Paskevitch in the Hungarian campaign. During the Crimean war he commanded the fleet of the Baltic in conjunction with Lütke. Being acknowledged leader of the old Russian party in opposition to the progressive views of his elder brother Alexander, his father required him to take an oath of fidelity to the heir apparent. Alexander, on his accession in 1855, placed him at the head of the ministry of the marine. He was charged with the execution of the decree which emancipated the serfs, and was made lieutenant general in Poland during the political agitations which resulted in the insurrection of 1863. In January, 1865, he became president of the council of the empire. CONSTANTINE PAVLOVITCH, grand duke of Russia, son of the emperor Paul I., younger brother of Alexander I., and elder brother of Nicholas, born in St. Petersburg, May 8, 1779, died at Vitebsk, June 27, 1831. His grandmother, Catharine II., is said to have destined him to reign over a new empire of the East, in accordance with a popular prophecy that a Constantine should rule again at Constantinople, and attempted to educate him with that view; but he was a wilful and capricious youth, and cared for nothing but military exercises. At the age of 17 he married the princess Juliana of Saxe-Coburg, but after some years of unhappiness she left him and returned to Germany. He accompanied Suvaroff to Switzerland in 1799, and subsequently had a command at Austerlitz, and fought in several battles in the struggle with France, displaying bravery, but little skill as a commander. The duchy of Warsaw having been given to Russia by the congress of Vienna, and transformed by Alexander into a constitutional kingdom of Poland in 1815, he was made commander-in-chief of the Polish forces, with powers which made him the virtual ruler, though Zajonczek was the nominal viceroy. He gave the army a thorough discipline, but his capricious severity alienated from him the most distinguished of its officers. In 1820 he conceived a violent passion for a Polish lady, the countess Johanna Grudzinska, and through the intercession of the emperor obtained a divorce from the princess of Saxe-Coburg, with permission to marry again. In return he formally renounced for himself and his descendants the right of succession to the crown. The document containing this renunciation was kept secret until the death of Alexander in 1825, when, though actually proclaimed emperor by a revolutionary party at St. Petersburg, Constantine insisted upon maintaining his renun W. entrance of the Bosporus, upon a triangular peninsula belonging to the European (Thracian) shore, and formed by the Golden Horn (the harbor of Constantinople), an inlet of the sea, and the sea of Marmora, in lat. 41° N., and lon. 29° E. Its population, including all its suburbs, was in 1848, according to the official tables of the board of health of that year, estimated at 778,000; the present population is by some estimated at 1,000,000, and by others, who are probably nearer the truth, at not more than 400,000 or 500,000. Of the inhabitants more than one half are Mussul ciation, and assisted at the coronation of Nicholas, who was 17 years his junior. He continued in command at Warsaw, where his violent measures constantly fomented the antiRussian feelings of the Poles. Four months after the breaking out of the French revolution of 1830 he was driven from Warsaw by an insurrection, and took a command in the Russian army under Diebitsch which was sent to reduce the country to subjection, but disgusted the Russians by the lack of zeal he evinced. Being recalled by the emperor, he retired to Bialystok, but was soon driven away by the Poles under Chlapowski, his brother-in-mans, and the remainder are Greeks, Armelaw, and not long after died of cholera. His wife, who had been made princess of Lowicz, survived him but a few months. CONSTANTINOPLE (Gr. Kwvotavrivoúrodis, the city of Constantine; Turkish, Istambul or Stambul), the capital of Turkey, situated at the S. nians, Jews, Persians, and other orientals, and many Levantines or native Christians of European descent. The location of Constantinople is equally favorable in a commercial and in a political point of view. Its harbor, which is capable of containing 1,200 ships, is thronged by vessels of all nations, and its commanding position at the junction of the Mediterranean and Black seas would, in the opinion of many, render it, if in the possession of a strong and energetic power, the key of the political supremacy in Europe and Asia. The picturesque aspect of the city is celebrated; but the favorable impression made by the beautiful hilly shores, beset with villas and gardens, vanishes at the first glimpse of the interior of the city. The streets, before the great fires of 1865, '66, and '70, were nearly all narrow, crooked, and exceedingly dirty, the houses dilapidated, and the atmosphere filled with offensive odors. The old city proper is about 12 m. in circumference, and is enclosed on the land side by a triple wall and moat, which, although unimportant as defensive works according to the require ments of modern military science, might in an emergency offer considerable resistance to an enemy. The wall has 27 gates. The old streets, the irregularity of which defies all attempts of the stranger to find his way, have generally no names, nor are the houses numbered; they are badly paved, not lighted at night, and in addition to their general cheerlessness they are the resort of thousands of ownerless dogs. The houses here are for the most part built of wood, and hence destructive conflagrations are of frequent occurrence. During one night in 1852, seven fires destroyed an aggregate of 3,500 houses. A still more destructive conflagration took place in September, 1865, which is said to have swept away 8,000 houses, 20 mosques, and a large number of baths, khans, and public buildings. Another The severe fire occurred in May, 1866; and still others in June, 1870, and early in 1873. The city is divided into separate districts inhabited by Turks, Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. The Turkish districts are the most extensive. bewildering labyrinth of streets, lanes, and alleys is almost unrelieved by public squares, of which only the following are worthy of mention: At Meidan (horse square), a portion of the old hippodrome; Serai Meidan (palace square); Serasker Meidan, a portion of the old Forum Tauri; Tavuk Bazaar (poultry market); Jindi Meidan; Et Meidan, where the public executions take place; and Vefa Meidan. A feature peculiar to Constantinople is the bazaars or market halls, large fire-proof buildings lighted from above, in which hundreds of tradesmen and shopkeepers retail their wares, and some of which enclose several covered streets. Open markets for the sale of Bazaar. horses and cattle, fish, &c., are kept daily in several streets or squares; also a market for old clothes, not inappropriately called the Bit Bazaar, or lice market. The Avret Bazaar (women's market) was formerly set apart for the sale of female slaves. Of castles there remains only one, the castle of the seven towers (Yedi Kule), originally built as a citadel, but afterward used as a state prison for princes, and the ambassadors of nations at war with Turkey. The sultan's residence of state is the Serai Humayun (seraglio), a small walled city of itself, nearly 2 m. in circumference, and including mosques, dwelling houses, baths, gardens, governmental offices, the mint, arsenal, and treasury building. Formerly it was inhabited by at least 6,000 persons, and entirely inaccessible to strangers. The mystery which surrounded it gave rise to the most fabulous accounts of the St. Sophia. of the city, is about & m. in circumference, and encloses the office of the secretary of war, two barracks, the military academy, &c. The number of prayer houses or mosques in Constan tinople is very large. There are about 500 larger | are small and unimposing. The number of ones (jamihs), 100 of them in the old city pro- Mohammedan and Greek convents is considper, and the number of lesser ones (mesjids) is erable. No one of the numerous religious given at 5,000; but this is probably an exag- orders of the Mohammedans is without one or geration. Unrivalled in gorgeousness is the great Agia Sofia, formerly the church of St. Sophia, originally founded by Constantine in 325, rebuilt by Justinian in 532-'8, transformed into a mosque by Mohammed II. in 1453, and renovated by the architect Fossati in 1847. The edifice is built of light bricks, but throughout lined with colored marble; its ground plan has the form of a cross, 350 ft. long and 236 wide; the diameter of the dome measures 107 ft.; the height from the ground to the cupola is 180 ft. The ceiling and the arches between the columns are inlaid with beautiful mosaic work and gilt; the gallery, 50 ft. broad, is sustained by 67 columns, some of which are of green jasper, and are said to have been taken from the celebrated temple of Diana at Ephesus; nine massive bronze portals are covered with the most artistic alto-rilievo work. Other remarkable mosques are Kutchuk (Little) Agia Sofia, built by Justinian; Kilisse Jamih (mosque of the churches), the burial place of several Byzantine emperors; Exi Marmara Jamih (mosque of the six marble columns), said to have been a temple of Jupiter; the mosque of Mohammed II., with which are connected eight medresses (colleges), a hospital, an eating house for the poor, &c.; the mosque of Sultan Ahmed, the only one that has six minarets; the Sulimaniye, built by Solyman the Magnificent in 1550; the Shah Sadeh Jamih (mosque of the princes), and the mosque Nuri Osmani, in the vestibule of which stands a sarcophagus of porphyry, said to have enclosed the mortal remains of Constantine the Ruins of the Aqueduct of Valens. Great. Constantinople is the seat of the patriarchs of the Greek and Armenian churches. The Greeks have 21 churches in the old city; the prayer houses of the other denominations Ancient Cistern. more convents. Among the charitable institutions is a large number of imarets or soup houses, in which tens of thousands of persons are fed. There are 200 hospitals, in some of which Christians are provided for, over 2,000 public baths, and 40 khans (large enclosures, including warehouses and hotels). Two aqueducts 9 or 10 m. long, built by the emperors Hadrian and Constantine, furnish the city with water. The cisterna basilica, constructed under Justinian, the roof of which rests upon 336 marble columns, is still used as a reservoir.-The number of primary schools in Constantinople, in which only reading and the prayers are taught, is over 1,000; the former secondary schools have been abolished, and replaced by adult schools for instruction in Arabic, rhetoric, mathematics, and history. Most of the mosques have their medresses. There are also several special preparatory schools for civil service, as the college of "the sultan's mother," inaugurated in 1850, and others. Popular education is still at a very low point, despite the reforms that have been introduced by recent sultans. The mili tary academies are as yet the only educational establishments in which a systematic course of studies, according to the modern standard of science, is pursued. Besides these, there are a medical and a veterinary college, and a naval academy. There is a number of public libraries, mostly connected with mosques, and some of them supposed to contain valuable old manuscripts.-Among the suburbs of Constantinople only five are frequently mentioned, viz.: Pera, Galata, Tophana, Kasim Pasha, and Scutari, all but the last named on or near the European shores opposite Stambul, between the Golden Horn and the Bosporus. | baned orientals of all descriptions, and veiled women still throng the streets as of old; the bazaars are still picturesque and bustling. The number of foreigners is however increasing, especially the English and Germans. Since the great fire of Pera the neighboring villages have gained in population, especially Therapia and Buyukdere.-Constantinople is the seat of important banking and commercial establishments, and is the great centre of Levantine commerce. In 1870 the number of arrivals was 24,055 sailing vessels, with a tonnage of 5,042,009, and 1,322 steamers, tonnage 1,322,926; the total arrivals in 1871 were 25,686 vessels, tonnage 5,483,818. The local industry, however, is unimportant. The principal articles of manufacture are leather ware, carpets, embroideries in gold, silver, and wool, arms, perfumes, and smoking apparatus of all kinds. In 1873 there were published in Constantinople 19 newspapers issued daily; of these 5 were in Turkish, 5 in Armenian, 4 in French, 3 in Greek, and 2 in English. Besides these there were 34 periodicals in different languages issued tri-weekly, weekly, and at longer intervals. We have already described the origin and the history of this city down to A. D. 330, when Byzantium became Constantinople. (See BYZANTIUM.) Afterward it was the capital of the Roman, or from 395 the Byzantine empire, and of the ephemeral Latin empire (1204–161). In A. D. 413 an earthquake destroyed it, when it was rebuilt by Theodosius II. Its size and population under the Byzantine emperors may be judged from the fact that once, in the 8th century, 300,000 of its inhabitants fell victims to a pestilence. In the middle ages Constantinople stood a large number of sieges or assaults by Saracens, Bulgarians, Russians, Turks, and others. (See Byzantine EmpIRE.) On May 29, 1453, it was stormed by the Turks, the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XIII., losing his life in the defence, and since that time it has remained in their possession undisturbed. Pera was until the fire of 1870 the principal seat of the Christian higher classes and of the foreign ministers, and contained churches for the principal Christian denominations, several theatres and concert rooms, four hospitals (English, French, Italian, and German), three post offices (Austrian, French, and Greek), French, German, Greek, and Armenian schools, and a new French college. Gas was introduced in 1858, and telegraphic communication with London completed in the same year. Galata, built by the Genoese, is still enclosed by the old Genoese wall and moat, about 8,000 ft. in circumference. In the centre of the town stands an old round tower, originally intended as a work of defence, but now only used as a watch tower. It is 140 ft. in height, and from its top the finest view of Constantinople and its vicinity can be obtained. Galata is the principal commercial suburb of Constantinople. It is incessantly thronged by a busy crowd of merchants, clerks, carriers, seamen, &c. A merchants' exchange, the customs office, and an Austrian and an English marine hospital are among the prominent buildings. Tophana derives its importance from the large government founderies, the cannon made at which are equal to the best of European manufacture. The red and gilt Turkish clay pipes are also manufactured there on an extensive scale. Kasim Pasha contains the great arsenal and navy yard. Scutari is situated on the opposite Asiatic coast, on the site of the ancient Chrysopolis. An immense number of kaiks (small boats) keep up the communication between it and Constantinople. A large business in silk and cotton goods, leather, &c., is carried on there. It contains a great number of khans and warehouses, also a Turkish post office, an imperial palace, and the barracks of the imperial guards. Constantinople had greatly improved after the conflagrations of 1865 and 1866, when the greater part of Pera was again destroyed by fire, June 5, 1870. A new quarter has since sprung up near the tower of Galata, and the CONSTANTINOPLE, Councils of. I. The second arsenal, which is rapidly filling up with fine general council of the church, convened in buildings, bids fair to eclipse the former ad- 381 by the emperor Theodosius, at the instance vantages of Pera. In place of the old wooden of Pope St. Damasus, who approved its acts bridge between Stambul and Pera, there is in a council held in Rome in 382. There were now a new iron floating bridge; while the present 150 bishops, all belonging to the eastirksome communication between Pera and ern churches; the chief object of the convocaGalata, through crooked and steep streets, tion being to settle the difficulties consequent which made driving impossible and even ri- upon the long domination of the Arians. The ding difficult, has been superseded by a pneu- council confirmed the election of St. Gregory matic tunnelled railway; and the great in- Nazianzen, who before the accession of Theoconvenience to commerce from the absence dosius had been called to govern the church of good landing places is to be remedied by of Constantinople; and at the same time it the establishment of quays on both sides of deposed the intruder Maximus Cynicus. The the harbor. Horse cars run in different parts acts of this council, besides the reaffirmation of the city and the suburbs. The railway to of the faith of Nice and the condemnation of Adrianople was opened in March, 1873, and the Macedonian and other heresies, were chiefly other railways are in course of construction. directed toward regulating the government The oriental characteristics of the city are, and discipline of the eastern churches, and however, not essentially altered by these in- prescribing proper forms for the readmission novations. Camels, hamals (porters), ara- of heretics. II. The fifth general council, conbas (clumsy Turkish carriages), dervishes, tur-vened in 553 by the emperor Justinian, for the | |