It is the most dazzling pearl on the Sea of Marmara, as well as the most dazzling pearl in the entire Mediterranean and the Christian world.
In the dark ages after the fall of Rome, this city represented civilization, luxury and supreme glory, as well as the continuation of Roman civilization. Countless people were full of infinite yearning for this place.
While many countries established by the barbarians on the ruins of the Western Empire were still struggling in darkness, as the orthodox successor of Rome, the Eastern Empire became increasingly prosperous, and this city was named after Constantine the Great.
The city is also more magnificent.
But it also experienced a dark era, an era when it was surrounded by Arabs.
In that era when the entire Mediterranean was sluggish, the territory of the Eastern Empire shrank, the population decreased, and it lost its former glory. The Balkans were filled with Slavs, the Greeks could only maintain control of coastal cities, and Asia Minor was facing constant challenges.
Threat from the Arab army.
Even many areas of Constantinople were in ruins, and the once prosperous culture had turned gloomy. The Roman Empire and everything it represented seemed to be over soon, and was only remembered and understood by historians.
Get ancient civilization.
But with the end of the Arab siege, the threat to Constantinople was relieved, the empire ushered in a new life, and Constantinople also ushered in a new life.
In the era of the Macedonians and their descendants, it restored its former prosperity, its status as the center of the world was unquestionable, and the city was able to further develop.
But as the bloodline of the Macedonians was cut off, and emperors came and went on the throne one after another, the imperial system became more and more exhausted. Although it looked huge and was still the world empire, something was wrong inside it.
Finally, the back and forth struggles led to a bloody civil war, and it was at this time that the Turks launched their westward advance. Almost all of Asia Minor was lost in ten years of chaos, while the Greek emperors were still fighting with each other.
The ship is sinking, but no one is repairing the holes in the bottom of the ship. Instead, they continue to focus on seizing control of the ship. For this, they can do anything, and colluding with outsiders is already the most basic operation.
Although the imperial territory in the Balkans is still there, everyone is ready to make a move. The Slavs are becoming more and more unstable. They are united as leaders and are preparing to settle accounts with the empire.
The most important thing is that new conquerors are also eager to try. Across the sea in southern Italy, the legendary Norman conqueror Robert Guiscard has been preparing for three years, and his 30,000-strong army is eager to try...
The powerful Eastern Empire has turned into a huge chessboard. The collapse of traditional powers has brought about changes in all parties. This land will become a war.
Under such circumstances, Constantinople experienced an abnormal prosperity. Local nobles and wealthy merchants filled the streets and alleys of the capital. They spent large sums of money and continued to live a decadent and luxurious life.
As for the dark corners that no one cares about, there are ordinary refugees who are struggling to survive, relying on odd jobs and some charity from the rich. Although life is quite difficult, they can still survive, and there is no place that can provide as much safety as here.
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For these Greeks, only Constantinople is safe. This is the eternal city of the entire empire. Only here can they feel at ease. Whenever they see the huge walls of Constantinople, they
It will give rise to the idea that "this city will never be conquered".
The Charioteers of Constantinople are still reveling in the velodrome. They are an extreme manifestation of the citizens of Constantinople's indifference to the outside world.
No matter how great the changes in the outside world are, Constantinople will still stand proudly. It is the new eternal city. No matter what happens, the prosperity of Constantinople will remain unchanged. Even if the empire collapses, Constantinople will remain the same.
Tantinople must also exist.
This is the experience accumulated over the past hundreds of years. To a certain extent, he is correct. After all, what has happened in the past ten years is just another reincarnation.
Now, under Constantinople, an ugly imperial melee was staged again. An army of challengers surrounded the Queen of Cities. A drama that had been staged countless times was repeated.
However, the mood of the citizens in the city did not fluctuate much. Constantinople has experienced several coups and sieges over the years, and the hearts of the citizens have become numb.
The biggest impact is just that the supply of materials has been affected to some extent, but in the end it is still not big.
After these years of melee, both the government and the people of this city are consciously saving food, so the short siege will not affect the normal operation of the city.
But if the time is long, the form will be different, but this is especially true for the encircling party. For the coup party, the longer the time, the more disadvantageous it is.
"How on earth are we going to take this city?"
Young Alexios Komnenos looked at the tall city wall, his words full of distress.
This young challenger to the throne has black hair, eyes of the same color, and a classic Greek face. His medium stature makes him look a bit inconspicuous, but he still exudes a strong majesty that makes up for his height.
He and his brother Isaac escaped capture by Emperor Nicephorus, managed to join their supporters outside Constantinople, and then conquered Thrace with the support of the Doukas family.
A large army was gathered and surrounded Constantinople.
Merisenno, who was rebelling in Asia Minor, also surrendered to Alexios and brought him an army. As well as the acquiescence of Suleiman, the leader of the Turks in Asia Minor, it can be said that his power has already
Having completely surrounded Constantinople, there was only one problem, and that was the walls of Constantinople.
Logically speaking, the situation is extremely favorable to him. The throne of Constantinople can be said to be right in front of him. However, the problem is that there are still many challenges to the throne from the city wall of Constantinople. Countless challengers to the throne have fallen.
Before the city wall, he now seriously lacked siege equipment.
His rebellion was too hasty and was purely a rebellion forced by Nikephorus's actions. Although it was successful in sweeping many areas, there was no siege equipment without siege equipment.
The area near Constantinople has also been turned into ruins after rounds of war. The buildings that can be easily dismantled to assemble siege equipment are gone. If you want to repair the necessary things for siege, you can only make them from logging.
But that would take too long, and the last thing he has now is time.
And the most important thing is, based on Russell's experience in attacking Constantinople, even if they repaired all the siege equipment, it would be difficult for them to conquer the walls of Constantinople. That city has never been conquered.
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In this regard, Alexios's solution was to bribe the city wall defenders. The Praetorian Guards and Varangian Guards directly under Emperor Nicephorus were obviously unable to be bribed, but he found a group of Germans who were very
Willing to open the city gates for Alexios for a suitable reward.
Originally, if everything went well, Alexios would march straight in, capture the city, and become the monarch of Constantinople. However, on the day it was agreed to open the door and enter the city, things changed.
The Germans were attacked by the Varangian Guards. Those northern barbarians wiped out the guarding German mercenaries with great violence. A small number of German mercenaries escaped from the city and told Alexios all this.
Alexios understood that it was impossible to enter the city today, and he had to think of another way.
Next, he could only continue to siege the city. On the one hand, he was building siege equipment, and on the other hand, he continued to test the garrison generals. However, it was a pity that since the incident with the German mercenaries, Emperor Nicephorus had no intention of attacking him.
The army conducted a purge, purging disloyal and suspected disloyal persons and replacing them with his cronies.
This is why Alexios is so distressed, because if he remains trapped under the walls of Constantinople, his army will disintegrate sooner or later in the bath of time.
Just like those rebels in the history of the empire, he didn't want to end up like that, but he really couldn't find any other way.