WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The center of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople. The city was located on the Bosporus Strait between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

Detailed explanation-2: -The impenetrable defenses enclosed magnificent palaces, domes, and towers, the result of prosperity Constantinople achieved as the gateway between two continents (Europe and Asia) and two seas (the Mediterranean and the Black Sea).

Detailed explanation-3: -Bosporus. In 657 B.C., the ruler Byzas from the ancient Greek city of Megara founded a settlement on the western side of the Strait of Bosporus, which linked the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Golden Horn is an estuary off the main strait that historically acted as a moat to protect Constantinople from attack, as well as providing sheltered anchorage for the imperial navies of various empires until the 19th century, after which it became a historic neighbourhood at the heart of Istanbul.

Detailed explanation-5: -Although he had been tempted to build his capital on the site of ancient Troy, Constantine decided it was best to locate his new city at the site of old Byzantium, claiming it to be a New Rome (Nova Roma). The city had several advantages. It was closer to the geographic center of the Empire.

Detailed explanation-6: -Constantinople was a peninsula, which is land surrounded by water on three sides. Constantine chose this location because it was right between the Black Sea and the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this, most trade between Asia, Europe, and North Africa had to pass through the Byzantine Empire.