The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-04-29
CITY CENTER OF MANY WARS.

CITY CENTER OF MANY WARS.
Constantinople Fought For Since Col
onization in 667 3. C.
Since its first colonization, 2,575
years ago, if ancient dates may be
trusted, the city at the southern end
of the channel between theBlack Sea
and the Sea of Marmora nrst known
as Byzantium, and for the last 1,50U
years called Constantinople, has been
a center of conflict between the East
and the West-betwen Asiatic anu
European ideas. The present con-
fiict is nothing different in this re-
pect from the most ancient--it is the
antagonism between Asiatic Moham.
mechanism and European free thought
and free action, as represented in the
Young Turk, element, that has eau
ed the downfall of Abdul Hamid.
Byzantim was settled, it is record
ed, by Greek traders, in the year 667
B. c. Two natural causes made II
early prominent as a trading point
it was an economic center for the
grain trade of the regions bordering
on the Black Sea, and the Golden
Horn gave rich rewards to fishermen
besides Offering a large and safe
harbor for vessels.
Center of Many Wars.
ByZantium was the subject of strug-
giles between the early Greek states;
it was captured and recaptured many
times, and finally became a tribu-
tary to imperial Rome. The remains
of the ancient city have never been
adequately explored; tire are miles Of
tunnels, ancient streets and fragments
of buildings buried under the modern
Constantinople, which is virtually a
city upon the grave of a city.
In the year $50, A. D., the Emperor
Constantine determined to make a
new capitol for the Roman empire
He selected for this purpose Byzan'
tium, which henceforth was to be
known as Constantinople-the city on
Constantine. The modern Constants
nople consists Of three parts-Istam-
boul or stamboul, the main city, on
blunt point of land at the south
ern end of the Bosphorus, and OPP
posita STEAMBOAT two lesser towns,
Galata, to the north across the Col.
den Horn, and Scutari,, to the west
across the Borphorus. The Bospnorus
is here about a mile wide; the Col
den Horn, an inlet or narbor some
eight miles long, is from one-third
to one-half mile wide. Galata is the
modern port of commerce and IS con
nected with STEAMBOAT by two pontoon
bridges. Back of it lies ERA, an
other ancient settlement, and the
modern non-Turk residence quarter
Rebuilt by Constantine.
Constantine virtually rebuilt Con
| stantinople, and at the final disrup
ton of the Roman empire into two
| great remnants of the former ma
jestic whole, it became the capital oil
| the eastern, or Greek, empire. The
great religious schism between the
two branches of Christianity that II
modern days from the Roman Cathol
ic and Greek churches, perpetuatet
and increased the political differences
From 395 A. D., to 145o A. D., the
eastern empire, with it's seat at Con
stantinople, kept alive Roman civil
cation and maintained on its temples
| the Christian cross.
Learning centered at Constantine
pie led to the assailing of the eastern
city by the crusaders, who captured
it in 1904. For fifty-seven years the
crusaders held sway; then, in 1854
they abandoned the city and it fel
back to its old position as the center
i of the eastern church until the fol
| lowers of Mohammed came in the
memorable siege That ended in plant
ing on the dome of st. Sophia thu
crescent in place of the cross in 145S
i The Turk won and the Turk kept
When all is said that can be sale
against Mohammedanism it must b.
fighters in the days when swords rarh
er than gunpowder determined thu
issue of battles. BY his religion thu
i Turk is clearly, temperate, tota
abstainer from alcohol and faIalist
Il When his time has come to die, ant
i not before, he will die, according Z
Il the Koran. Since the invention ant
i use of gunpowder he has not beef
I. so successful as a soldier; he lack
!, the discipline and the long rang
courage that so with modern wal
, fare. But in the early days he wa
a conqueror wherever he went.
81 Made Great by Mahammed.
| Starting from point nearly in tn
i geographical center OF Asia, tn
Il Turks became subject to the Sara
q Gems, those wild Arabs who invade
r Spain and nave left many scattere
I fragments of their genius in tn
u science and the art OF modern Fl
y rope. The Arabs developed rel
Il gious organizer OF the first rank
} the history Of the world, Mohamme'
IIn the sixty-one years Of his life thi
b ended IN ss2 fhis wonderful man lal
the foundations a great enpir