Silk Road Trade & Travel Encyclopedia
丝绸之路网站（丝路网站）
丝绸之路百科全书—游客、学生和教师的参考资源
İPEK YOLU ve YOLLARI ANSİKLOPEDİSİ
Silk Road Trade & Travel Encyclopedia
丝绸之路网站（丝路网站）
丝绸之路百科全书—游客、学生和教师的参考资源
İPEK YOLU
ve YOLLARI
ANSİKLOPEDİSİ
Interesting Facts & Trivia
45 - QUESTION: To where does "Eastern Rome" and "new Rome" refer?
Answer: Constantinople, Byzantine Empire.
Rome had been an important destination for Chinese silk until about c. 200 CE, but for a much longer time, beginning in the fourth century, the “Rome” to which all roads led in the Mediterranean world was “Eastern Rome” or Constantinople. Even in its long centuries of decline down to its conquest by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the wealth of the city was legendary, and its location ensured it a role in the trade with the East. The turning point in the city’s history occurred in 330 CE when Emperor Constantine I moved his capital east 850 miles. The city was called Byzantium, but Constantine changed the name to "New Rome," and later the name changed again to Constantinople (now Istanbul).