Const an tine, Nikolaevitch

the second son of the Emperor Nicholas of Ru ia, and brother of the Emperor Alexander II., grand-duke and great admiral of Ru ia, B. 1827. In the war of 1854-56, he had the defences of the Baltic intrusted to his care, in conjunction with Admiral Lütke; but the policy of the Emperor hardly allowed the prince any display of courage or ability. He was made Viceroy of Poland in 1862. Constant i no'ple, (so called from its restorer, Const an tine the Great; Turk. STAMBOUL, Or Istamboul , and the anc. Byzantium ,) a famous city of S.E. Europe, cap. of the Turkish empire, and the first city of the Mohammedan world, a distinction which it has held since 1453, when it ceased to be the cap. of the Eastern empire. The situation of C., whether considered in a commercial or political point of view, is the finest imaginable. It occupies a triangular promontory near the E. extremity of the prov. of Roumelia (anc. Thrace ), at the junction of the Sea of Marmora with the Thracian Bos phorus , or channel of Constantinople, being separated by its suburbs of Galata, Pera, and Ca im-Pasha, by the noble harbor called the Golden Horn; Lat. 41° 0′ 12′′ N., Lon. 28° 59' 2" E. C. standing, as it does, on the narrow straits uniting the Mediterranean and Euxine seas, at once commands, and is the entrepôt for, the commerce between them. The harbor is excellent, having sufficient depth of water to float the largest ships, and can accommodate more than 1,000 sail. The distance acro from Seraglio Point (where there is a light-house), to the opposite suburb of Scutari, on the Asiatic coast, is rather more than an Eng. mile. Near the latter place Armenian, and a Catholic-Armenian patriarch. Elementary schools are common, and in every quarter there are Turkish free-schools for the poor, the cost of which is defrayed out of the revenue of the mosques. There are 16 public libraries, the greater number of which are attached to the royal mosques, and C. is distinguished from every other European capital by having no names to its streets, no lamps, and no post-office. C. was originally founded by Byzas, 656 B. C., from whom it derived its olden name of Byzantium ; and having been destroyed by Severus, was rebuilt, A. D. 328, by the emperor Const an tine, who made it the cap. of the Roman empire. On the subjugation of the Eastern empire by the Osmanlis , or Turks, C. continued to be the cap. of the Eastern or Ottoman Empire. Its wealth and magnificence were celebrated during the Middle Ages. It has sustained numerous sieges, but has only been twice taken: first, in 1204, by the Crusaders, who re tained po e ion till 1261; and, lastly, by the Turks, under Mohammed II., in 1453, when the last remnant of the Roman empire was finally suppre ed. Pop. including suburbs, nearly 900,000 in 1897. Const an'tius I., surnamed Chlorus (the "Pale"), Roman emperor, was the son of Eutropius and Claudia, niece of Claudius II. He distinguished himself as a soldier under the emperors Aurelian and Probus. In 292 he was made Cæsar and governor of the Gauls, Spain, and Britain. He reconquered Britain, long in revolt under Caurausius and Allectus; won a great victory over the Alemanni in 300; became August us in 305, and died at York in the following year. By Helena, his first wife, C. was father of Const an tine the Great. C. ruled his provinces with great justice and prudence, and won the esteem of all cla es of his subjects. CONSTANT I US, Flavius Julius , Roman emperor, son of Con- stantine the Great, was made Cæsar in 323, and elected emperor in 337. The soldiers, to secure the throne to the three sons of Const an tine, ma acred the uncles and cousins of those princes, with the exception of Julian, "the Apostate," and his brother Gallus. After this the sons of Const an tine divided the empire, Constant i us taking the east for his share. Magnentius, governor of Rhætia, murdered Constans, who had reigned over Italy 13 years; on which Constant i us marched against the murderer, whom he defeated, and his elder brother being also dead, he became sole emperor. He died on his march against Julian, who had a umed the purple. Con's tantly, adv . In a constant manner; invariably; without change. there is also a well-situated light-house. Foreigners re- side in Galata, Pera, and the suburbs on the E. side of the harbor, and it is there, consequently, that the chief commerce of the place is carried on. The quays are good, and ships lie close alongside. The city of C. proper is shaped somewhat in the form of a harp, with a length E. to W. of abt. 32 m.. and a varying breadth of from 1 to 4 m. Its circuit is believed to be abt. 13 m. Like Rome, C. stands upon 7 hills, rising progre ively from the water one above the other, and each crowned by some noble and conspicuous edifice. This amphi- theatre of peopled hills, with its innumerable cupolas and minarets, interspersed with tall, dark cypre es, and its almost unrivalled port, presents a coup - d'œil of inone general splendor. (R.) comparable magnificence as seen from the exterior. The -To unite in one general lustre or radiance. (R.) city once entered, however, the illusion vanishes. The -To adorn or gem with stars or constellations. streets are narrow, mean, and dirty, and only redeemed from absolute ugline by the numerous palaces, mosques, bazaars, khaus, fountains, ., that constitute its sole internal attractions. C. contains, at present, 14 royal and 332 other mosques, 40 Moslem colleges, 183 hospitals, 36 Christian churches, several synagogues, 130 public baths, nearly 200 "khans" or inns, besides innu- merable caravans eras, bazaars, coffee-houses, and public fountains. Besides these, C. is tolerably rich in fine Greek monumental remains, and other antiquities. C. was originally surrounded by walls flanked by towers, which now only partially exist in a perfect state; and po e ed, besides, 43 gates, of which but 7 now remain. The houses for the most part are built of wood, and the streets being inconceivably narrow, disastrous fires have been, consequently, of frequent occurrence. The Serag- lio (or chief residence of the Sultan) consists of a vast agglomeration of apartments, mosques, kiosks, gardens, groves, ., walled in for a circuit of 3 m. The princi- pal entrance to this imperial quarter is by the gate called Bab - a - hoomajún , or “Sublime Porte," guarded by 50 men, and having a niche on either side in front, in which the heads of state offenders are publicly exposed. The Seraglio contains some very magnificent buildings, and is estimated to contain about 10,000 inmates. The mosques of C. are, generally speaking, very magnificent structures, more especially those of St. Sophia (see fig. 458), Solyman the Magnificent, and Sultan Achmet I. The suburb of Galata is, as it were, Christen dom in Turkey; taverns are tolerated, and the Turks them- selves resort thither to take a social gla . Topkanah contains an arsenal, artillery-barracks, magazines, and a cannon-foundry. Pera is beautifully situated, but ir- regularly built and ill paved. It is abt. 2 m. in length; its population is almost wholly Frank, and it contains the residences of most of the European amba adors, that of the U. States minister, besides 1 Greek and 4 Cath- olic churches, a monastery of dervishes, and a Moham- med an college. In 1831 it suffered severely from a fire, which destroyed 10,000 houses, among which were the palaces of nearly all the amba adors, and property estimated at $8,000,000. The other adjoining suburb, Ca im-Pasha, contains the great naval arsenal, dock- yards, barracks, the palace of the Capudan-Pasha, . The manufactures of C. are few; the principal are those of silk and cotton fabrics, arms, morocco leather, sad- dlery, shoes, meerschaum pipes, . The foreign trade, however, is very considerable, more particularly in im- ports of corn, iron, timber, tallow, furs, textile fabrics, iron-ware and cutlery, furniture, drugs, ., and coffee. The exports are le important, comprising, chiefly, silk, carpets, hides, wool, goats'-hair, potash, wax, galls, bul- lion, and diamonds. The trade is almost entirely in the hands of English, French, American, Armenian, Greek, and Jew merchants. C. is the residence of a Greek, an IMG:content-0349.png:[graphic] Fig . 670. THE CONSTELLATION OF LEO. in number; they are all of equal extent, being 30° each, but they have no reference whatever to the stars. When the heavens were first divided into constellations is unknown, and, though of great convenience, their boundaries are far from being the best that could be devised. Through caprice and personal pride on the part of astronomers, they have undergone many changes which authentic history records. Ptolemy divided the heavens into 48 constellations-21 northern, 12 zodiacal and 15 southern. At one time, owing to additions by different astronomers, they were increased to 110. The num Constituent A embly. (French Hist .) See