led with insults and execrations. The Senate and the people of the
capital saw with horror the destroyer of their national faith, and they
looked upon Constantine as accursed by the gods. The execution of his
wife and son soon after increased the ill feeling against the emperor,
and Constantine probably resolved to abandon a city upon which he had
bestowed so many favors, and which had repaid him with such ingratitude.
He was conscious, too, that Rome, seated in the heart of Italy, was no
longer a convenient capital for his empire, and he therefore resolved to
build a new city on the site of ancient Byzantium. The Bosphorus, a
narrow strait, connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora; and here,
on a triangular piece of ground, inclosing on one side an excellent
harbor, Constantine laid the foundations of his capital. It was situated
in the forty-first degree of latitude, possessed a temperate climate,
and a fertile territory around it; while, being placed on the confines
of both Europe and Asia, it commanded the two divisions of the empire.

[Illustration: Map of Propontis, Hellespont, Bosphorus.]

Constantinople was adorned with all the architectural elegance of the
age, but the arts of sculpture and of decoration had so declined that
Constantine was forced to rob the cities of Greece of their finest works
in order to supply the deficiencies of his own artists: Athens and Asia
were despoiled to adorn his semi-barbarous capital. The city was
provided with a forum, in which was placed a column of porphyry upon a
white marble base, in all one hundred and twenty feet high, upon which
stood a bronze figure of Apollo. A hippodrome, or circus of great size,
and the baths and pleasure-grounds, recalled the memory of those of
Rome. Schools and theatres, aqueducts, fourteen churches, fourteen
palaces, and a great number of magnificent private houses, added to the
splendor of the new city. Constantine designed, it is said, to have
called his capital the SECOND OR NEW ROME, but his own name has always
been preferred.

[Illustration: Map of Constantinople.]

Having thus provided a capital, Constantine next began to form a new
constitution for his empire; he established, therefore, a complete
despotism, all the power being lodged in the emperor, and all honors and
titles being conferred by him alone. The name of Consul was still
preserved, these officers being yearly appointed by the emperor; but we
now notice the titles of _C