kingdom of nations

Chapter 192 What I Saw and Heard in Constantinople (2)

Meanwhile, Baldwin and Cesar were also intently gazing at the towering, colossal city wall. Without seeing it with their own eyes, few would believe that it was a structure built by human craftsmen.

To Cesar, this wall was practically a staircase for Titans to walk on.

On the outermost edge of the city wall was an incredibly wide moat. How wide? Simply put, if the Byzantines had wanted to channel seawater into it, it would have been a real river. And on its inner side (near the city wall), stood a low stone wall.

Behind the stone wall was a narrow clearing, and beyond that, the outer city wall stood. The outer wall was wide enough for three two-wheeled carriages to travel side-by-side. Its outer layer was made of carefully cut limestone blocks, while the core was a mortar of lime and brick fragments. Furthermore, according to Raymond, the outer wall had ninety-six square, octagonal, or hexagonal towers, each about fifty to sixty feet high, spaced one hundred and fifty feet apart—the area completely covered by the arrows of the archers atop the towers.

The outer city platform behind the outer city wall is about thirty feet high, which means it is shorter than the outer city wall but much higher than the ground outside the outer city wall. This means that even if someone breaches the outer city wall, their siege equipment cannot be pushed down to the inner city wall.

The inner city wall was similar in width to the outer city wall, and also had ninety-six towers, but they were all semi-circular and much larger in area than the outer city wall. Each tower had crenellations for the defenders to shoot at or throw stones at.

The tower has two levels, with entrances on both the upper and lower levels. A wooden staircase connects the two levels. The upper level is for the garrison to defend the city, while the lower level is used as a warehouse. The passageway on the lower level allows the people inside the city to provide the garrison with food, water, and defensive supplies such as bows, arrows, and stones.

This section of the wall is like a straight line, completely cutting Constantinople and the Thracian plain it overlooks.

Otherwise, Raymond wouldn't have spoken of the past with a hint of regret. In a city like this, without permission or invitation, an army simply cannot set foot inside.

In comparison, the sea walls of Constantinople, the three walls facing the sea, were much weaker. However, the sea was their best natural barrier, and it was only possible for the enemy to breach those walls if they had a more powerful navy.

Seeing this, even Baldwin calmed down considerably.

During the attack on Folstadt, the Byzantine Empire promised to send a powerful fleet up the Nile to aid them. However, in reality, during the attack on Laudae, while the Byzantines did send a few ships, the assistance they provided was negligible. In retrospect, it's no wonder Manuel I was so stingy; it was obvious that Constantinople needed these ships far more than the battle of Folstadt.

However, this also shows that the Byzantine Empire's fleet was no longer as large and powerful as it once was.

"We will enter Constantinople through the Golden Gate," said one of the ministers who came to greet them.

He was a man in his thirties, in the prime of his life, wearing a deep purple cloak with two gold shoulder straps hanging down from his chest, and his clothes adorned with shimmering pearls. One look at him and one could tell that he had a close relationship with the Byzantine royal family.

But when others address him, they use the noblest title, Alexius—a title that is quite intriguing.

The Byzantine Empire was replete with titles and appellations. Sometimes these were newly created, sometimes inherited from the Roman Empire or ancient Greece, and their meanings constantly evolved. However, in the Komnen dynasty, the "noblest" titles were generally bestowed upon close relatives of Manuel I.

Baldwin was a very perceptive man; he immediately noticed that Alexius, upon hearing the title, showed not pride or joy, but rather a look of shame. Moreover, it constantly reminded Baldwin of one person: none other than Manuel I, the Byzantine Emperor.

Seeing the male nobleman's displeased expression, a eunuch hurried over—he was the etiquette officer of the group—and whispered something to the man named Alexius. The latter took several deep breaths before turning around to face them with a normal expression.

However, the previous pauses and delays have already attracted the attention of some people.

They whispered amongst themselves, but they should not forget that the Christians here—from the king to the knights—were almost all people who had received God's grace, and their hearing was far superior to that of ordinary people. Before long, Baldwin and Cesar exchanged a slightly surprised look.

It turns out that Alexius was not Manuel I's nephew or any other male relative; he was Manuel I's firstborn son and the most legitimate heir.

But just as Amalric I, King of Arrassa, had to divorce his wife—that is, declare their marriage invalid—in order to marry the Byzantine princess in order to form a marriage alliance with Manuel I of the Byzantine Empire, Manuel I already had a wife, and she already had a son and two daughters with him when he decided to further consolidate his claim to Antioch through marriage.

This makes perfect sense, after all, Manuel I is almost sixty years old this year, and his son with the sister of Grand Duke Bohemond III of Antioch is only six years old.

An emperor could never allow his first forty years to be completely celibate. Even if he had no interest in women, his ministers, parents, and religious leaders would still urge him to get married and have children as soon as possible.

Unlike Amalric I, Manuel I showed no mercy to his previous marriage and his eldest son. Perhaps to ensure that his son from his second marriage would have an unquestionable lineage, after he declared his marriage to his first wife invalid, his son and two daughters were all declared illegitimate.

This status was truly awkward in Constantinople. Although his eldest son would not be castrated or murdered like Manuel I's nephews, this was while his father was still on the throne. If his brother had not yet established his own power base by then, his fate would not have been much better.

Such a heavy burden rested on his heart. Even with his somber expression, it was no surprise that the young nobleman, as he led the Christian king and his knights through the Golden Gate, introduced them to the magnificent city walls and the eight gates that all Constantinople was so proud of. When they arrived at the gates and looked up, even Cesare couldn't help but exclaim in awe. The walls on both sides of the Golden Gate were entirely constructed of the hardest and densest granite, with numerous reliefs and decorations adorning the tops. The gate itself was perhaps made of oak or olive wood—Cesare couldn't be sure, for it was plated with a thick layer of gold.

The Golden Gate was truly magnificent. Some knights couldn't help but gape in disbelief. They could hardly believe that anyone in the world would do something so extravagant—even though they had made pilgrimages to Rome or traded in Damascus, they had never seen anything like it.

A slight smile appeared on Alexius's face.

The knights' astonishment and exclamations subsided slightly once they entered the city. Even though Constantinople was magnificent and grand, it was undeniable that, like other cities, the area near the city walls was also home to the city's most lowly people. Their houses, while not exactly low, were rather messy and dilapidated.

After all, everyone knows that if the enemy comes to attack, these houses may be demolished by the defenders and used as projectiles and obstacles for the city. So why would they carefully maintain and repair them?
But as you venture deeper into the city, a place different from Alaska, Damascus, or Apole appears. Yet, to an ancient Roman, it would seem quite familiar—the apartments lining both sides of the street.

The three- or four-story apartment buildings are constructed of cement and bricks on the ground floor and the first floor above, but the upper two or three floors are all made of wood. They are not neat and are crowded. Even though almost everyone inside has come out to greet them, it is still clear that their situation is not very satisfactory.

Although they had done their best to wear the finest clothes, and wore necklaces inlaid with gold coins around their necks, and in front of their houses, as the poor Crusader peasants had described, hung brightly colored icons.

Upon seeing Baldwin and his group, they erupted in a lively but uneven cheer, calling them "the noblest," "the most honorable," and some even proclaiming Caesar or "the sovereign." Aside from Basilius, the Greek word for emperor, no one uttered any other title or honorific.

César glanced at the expressions of the Byzantines around him. Their faces were filled with helplessness, but not much anger. It seemed they had anticipated the chaos. Their servants and attendants had already opened their bags and were tossing handfuls of small-denomination copper coins into the crowd, and the cheers immediately subsided. Everyone was hurriedly bending down to pick up the coins; that was their purpose.

But soon, a group emerged that saved the Byzantine Empire, or rather, the image of the Constantinoples.

They were dressed elaborately and neatly, some even in silk, with fair complexions and tall statures. They were clearly a group of people who lived a life of luxury. They were Roman citizens in the traditional sense, known as the honest and humble.

Of course, this is just a title; in reality, it refers to those who are wealthy and enjoy privileges.

The honest have more rights than the humble.

They were either city officials, generals, or visiting nobles. They were not yet on par with the emperor and his entourage, but they were already above most of the common people. The humble ones were some wealthy merchants, captains, guild leaders, and so on. Among them were priests carrying icons and incense burners, and some courtesans dressed in expensive silk came forward to scatter flower petals at the feet of the knights' horses. Some even presented gifts.

At this moment, it was immediately clear how much status and power the visitors possessed. If they were allowed to follow beside or behind the procession after presenting their gifts, they were favored by the nobles. Those who could only retreat into the crowd after presenting their gifts were those who had not yet received the favor.

"This is the Zeuxipas Baths. Constantinople has many baths; you can try them out while you're still here."

Alexius said casually, and the baths turned out to be a building made of pure white marble. At first, Baldwin thought it was a church.

Of course, Constantinople also had many churches and chapels, but the number of baths far exceeded these sacred buildings. Moreover, along the way they saw many facilities existing solely for pleasure: public libraries, arenas larger than the Colosseum in old Rome, theaters, colonnades (for shops), fountains and pools, aqueducts, gardens, and so on…

What the serious-minded priests criticized most was that Constantinople still retained the Colosseum and the Arena. The Arena was so vast that it occupied one-fifth of Constantinople, and it was adjacent to the Grand Palace of Manuel I.

“The Emperor is preparing a grand celebration in the arena,” Alexius said, turning to Baldwin. “You will certainly enjoy it.”

This celebration will feature not only wild beasts and gladiators, but also naval competitions unlike anything you've ever seen before—the arena will be filled with seawater, and two teams of gladiators will pilot ships and fight each other like in a real war.

He kept his eyes fixed on Baldwin's, trying to see a glimmer of excitement and interest in the young man, but he was quickly disappointed.

Baldwin's eyes held more politeness than any desire for bloodshed and death.

He lowered his head and gave a hoarse laugh. “Well, perhaps you are a devout and good man—then you should visit our library, which has nearly 150,000 books and preserves almost a thousand years of civilization.”

Baldwin immediately turned to Cesar, remembering how Cesar had been humiliated for copying medical books that might cure his ailment: "Are we allowed to look at and copy whatever we want? Any book at all?"

Alexius was taken aback. He had only mentioned it casually—everyone knew that Frankish knights hated reading, but he hadn't expected the other party to show such great interest. Then he looked at Cesar. It seemed that the young subject's popularity with the king was not just a rumor.

(End of this chapter)