The City Of
Byzantium Was Situated On A Promontory, Nearly Of A Triangular Form; On The
Point Of The Promontory Stood The Citadel.
The walls of the city itself
were very strong, but not so lofty towards the sea as towards the land,
being on the former side defended by the waves, and in some places by the
rocks on which they were built, and which projected into the sea.
Thus favoured by nature, and strengthened by art, and situated in a
territory abounding in grain and fruits, Byzantium was crowded with
merchants, and supported and enriched by an active and flourishing
commerce: its harbour, which was sheltered on every side from tempests,
besides being easy of access and capacious, attracted to it ships from all
the states of Greece, while its situation at the head of the strait
enabled, and seemed to authorize it to stop and subject to heavy duties,
the foreign merchants who traded to the Euxine, or to reduce the nations
who depended on the countries bordering on this sea for their supplies of
corn to great difficulties, and in some cases, even to famine. On these
accounts the Athenians and Lacedaemonians were generally rivals for its
alliance and friendship. Besides the necessary article of grain and
abundance of rich and valuable fruit, the Byzantines derived great wealth
from their fisheries: these were carried on with great spirit, enterprize,
and success. A surprising quantity of fish was caught in the harbour
itself, in autumn, when they left the Euxine for the Archipelago; and in
the spring, on their return to Pontus.
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