It was built on the Greek City of Byzantium on the shores of the Bosporus in the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine built the city because of defensive reasons; it had an excellent strategic location and he called it his "New Rome." On two of its sides it was surrounded by water and on the third side there was land but a wall was built to protect it called the Wall of Theodosius. Constantinople became the center of the Eastern Roman Empire and was the world's greatest commercial center. Trade was huge and Europe desired many products of the east such as silk from China, spices from southeast Asia and India, jewelry and ivory from India, wheat and furs from southern Russia, and flax and honey from the Balkans. Many of these goods were shipped to the Mediterranean Sea area and of course Constantinople to be traded. Despite the...