The Byzantine Empire and Constantinople

Modern Istanbul is built on the last piece of land in Mediterranean Europe before you reach Asia. The city which occupied this vital crossing was the Greek city of Byzantium. Thanks to a unique inlet of sea water, the city had the virtually unique position of being surrounded on three sides by water. This meant that only one land wall was needed to keep an invader out. Constantine's shrewd eye could see the basis for a city that no goth or Persian would be able to sack. When Constantine died, his successors reluctantly returned to a political division of the empire. Rather than four, more often two emperors would now rule one in the west and one in the east - with