New Britain herald., 1919-08-18
Long a World Problem

ship.
 Long World Problem
 1rs this connection i. is interesting to note that inestiznably valuable mosaics, representing saints and scenes of the early Christian era which had peen covered up with masonry by she Turks, were brought to Eight again in 1s47 ey Fossah, an Italian archi- feet, whom the Sultan Abdul NTejid had employed to repair the sacred edi- fee. And at Fsasati's earnest entreaty fne Sultan ferEore from ordering the destrueTic-1 of the mogaics, and allowed roysass so cover them with nattings. It is as # FSosse,ti had done this with a pregnonitioa or the dawn of day when the mosque would be restored to those TO whons the nosaics would have aa deeply religious meaning.
 From May Il, A. D. 33o, when the seat Of empire was transferred thither from Rome by Constantine the Great. until May 2, 1453. when it was cap fured by Iohammed II and became the capital of the Ottoman empire, the history of Constantinople was the his- tory of the world. And until very close to our own times it remained almost always, more or less painfully in the eye of the world, and has never ceased to be one of the most disquiet- ing problems of the statesmen of every N nation.
 Originally the city's name was By zantium. It was founded in the sew snth century before Christ, about the same time as Rome, with which it was afterward to hold such close relations From the start it was the bone of contention among many nations, nor only the states of Greece contending for it's possessions, but also the Goths. the Scythians. the Macedonians, the
 
 people were always easy-going and lux urioug and, although good fighters when put to it, they were natural born pacifsts. The wonderful advan- fages which the situation of their city offered for commerce as well as mill tary and naval strategy was the mag net which attracted to it every ambi- aious nation with a propensity for fighting. And though the city passed from hand to hand, no martial spirit was ever able to drive from the hearts of the people the love of peace and ease.
 vespasian, emperor of Rome, who died in A. D. 79, was reproached by Apollonius of Tyana, a pagan philoso- pber for stripping the people of By gsntium of some of their time-honored rightg. "They have forgotten to be free" replied the emperor in axtsnua Ton os his harshness.
 An Imprcgnahle Fortress
 wha. made Byzant,or. the coveted x.,-tye fer 70 mar: nations was that i: was placed at a point where s3urcps md Asia are separated only by tht ssaasor7,g. Hellespont aud Golden Horn rfrsng oe navigahIe water nowhere ~p,~e than five rifles vide and in mos ,laces less than half a mile Thu! Bs.zantiilra commands a waterway be tween the Rlac. Sea and the Med1 ter-sncan, bringing the city ints soucfl with regions extending east ana west from the Adriatic to the Persian xsu!s. and north and south from sn Danube to the waters washing tn shores of Africa and Asia.
 When it became the seat or tn Roman empire its name, in deferenc to the Emperor, was changed | .Constantinople. New Rome" And. [ tho present day, the ci,tes patriarch c the Greek Church signs al. oEflcia documents, "ArcnbignOp of Constant nople. New Rome"
 During the period of the imperia xale. constantinop,s, In addition t