Constantinople is located in Northern Turkey, and was a city that was founded by Constantine, after he took over Byzantium and renamed it after himself. Constantine expanded the Roman Empire and took over other territories, such as Byzantium, due to the rise of Christianity in the Empire as well as the flourishing economy due to global trade along the Silk Road. For several reasons, this city played a great role in the cultural, and economic exchange between the East and the West.
One of the largest reasons that Constantinople was such a successful location for trading, was because of its geographical features. It is almost entirely surrounded by water, which was very important for sea trade. Constantinople’s location provides military access to the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Danube River, Dnieper River. This location provided easy access for trade along the Silk Road, while separating Europe from Asia. Constantinople soon became the new center of Imperial power, and was the perfect location for the new capital. The location of Constantinople was also strategic because it was easier to protect from attack, due to the surrounding bodies of water.
Constantinople’s geographical location is how it was able to acquire so much wealth. The Silk Road trade route traveled through Constantinople, and merchants and traders bought and sold many goods and luxury items. Goods from Africa, India and China were brought into brought into Constantinople and then shipped further west. The ports allowed for Constantinople to engage in sea trade, which in turn brought in wealth, and goods. Goods such as spices, fur, leather goods, honey, wax, and ivory were all brought into the city to be traded by merchants from many different countries. Constantinople was also one of the first territories in Europe to create Silk. Silk was then used as an important commodity, used to sell and create profit.
Another interesting point about Constantinople, is that it played a large role along the Silk Road not only for its geographical location and large export of silk, it was also an empire that thrived off of spreading Christianity. Constantine took over Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople with the vision that it would become a new Christian capitol.
Christianity united imperial authority, and in Constantinople allowed for a close relationship between merchants and aristocrats, as well as monopolized industries. Christianity in the Byzantine Empire lead to shape Silk Road travel and trade, for it linked merchants and travelers and united them. The unity of Christianity then lead to political unity, which lead to Constantinople being politically and economically stable, and thriving in trade along the Silk Road.
Many other emperors after Constantine were able to continue the empires success and rule the empire as though Constantine would have wished. Another influential emperor of the city, was Justinian. Justinian modeled himself after Constantine, and promoted Christianity. Justinian had large ambitions of political unity amongst the empire, and felt the only way to do so was by uniting the empire with Christianity, which he successfully did. Under his rule different schooling was put in place, and there was a triumph of Christian learning and texts. Monastic Education was a new form of teaching, that taught grammar from the psalms, or the text of the old testament. The empire vastly changed under Justinian, for he lead the Empire to becoming even more united and prosperous than ever before, while displaying himself as a strong and powerful ruler.
Constantinople is a place that’s importance is still relevant while analyzing global history today. It is a place that is not only studied for its economy, or its land, or its culture, but for virtually all the aspects of the city that made it the as successful and powerful as it was. As James Bryce puts it, “For fifteen hundred years she (Constantinople) has been a seat of empire, and for an even longer period the emporium of a commerce, to which the events of our own time seem destined to give a growing magnitude). The Silk Road and all of its routes would not have functioned the way that it did without the Constantinople being one of the largest routes.
Goods and luxury items, such as silk, were not the only things that Constantinople exchanged along the Silk Road. Christianity was the capitals most prominent religion, and one that the people within Constantinople valued highly. The people of Constantinople greatly admired their emperors, as they did their God. Christianity was a potent force not only within Constantinople, but among the Silk Road. Travelers, merchants, and traders that were in and out of the capital felt a sense of connection and linkage, due to the practices and rituals of Christianity. While studying the Silk Road, Constantinople is only one tiny dot along the entirety of it. However, it is a place that transcends boarders and boundaries, and made it possible for the exchange of not only goods, but cultures, practices, and religion. Constantinople is a place that aided to shape the interactions, exchange, and communication along the Silk Road. Constantinople is a key piece in studying and understanding the networks and exchanges involved in the Silk Road, for without its geographical features, manufactured goods, and religious culture and practices, the Silk Road would not have functioned and flourished as it did.
History of the Silk Road 