Constantinople. From the Legendary Byzantium to the Palaiologos Dynasty

In this book, A. Azimov writes about one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the world, founded by Emperor Constantine. It was called the "golden bridge between Europe and the West", through the capital of the East, Western Europe traded with the Black Sea region, Iran, India, and China. It was a cultural center with its own university, a city where crafts flourished. Here, the future Christian world gained strength. The capital of Byzantium attracted envious glances from European and Eastern conquerors; it was threatened by the Huns, Arabs, Slavs, Normans, Seljuk Turks, and suffered attacks and long sieges. But the most terrible trial was the Crusades, the last of which became fatal for the city.