Editing Constantinople (section)

== International status ==
[[File:Constantinople imperial district.png|right|thumb|Constantinople's monumental center]]
The city acted as a defence for the eastern provinces of the old Roman Empire against the barbarian invasions of the 5th century. The 18-meter-tall walls built by [[Theodosius II]] were, in essence, impregnable to the barbarians coming from south of the [[Danube river]], who found easier targets to the west rather than the richer provinces to the east in Asia. From the 5th century, the city was also protected by the [[Anastasian Wall]], a 60-kilometer chain of walls across the [[Thrace|Thracian]] [[peninsula]]. Many scholars{{Who|date=January 2010}} argue that these sophisticated fortifications allowed the east to develop relatively unmolested while [[Ancient Rome]] and [[Western Roman Empire|the west]] collapsed.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Constantinople |language=en-GB |work=Barbarism and Civilization |url=http://www.civilization.org.uk/decline-and-fall/constantine/constantinople |url-status=live |access-date=2018-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505130920/http://www.civilization.org.uk/decline-and-fall/constantine/constantinople |archive-date=2018-05-05}}</ref>

Constantinople's fame was such that [[Sino-Roman relations|it was described]] even in contemporary [[Twenty-Four Histories|Chinese histories]], the ''[[Old Book of Tang|Old]]'' and ''[[New Book of Tang]]'', which mentioned its massive walls and gates as well as a purported [[Water clock|clepsydra]] mounted with a golden statue of a man.<ref>Ball (2016), pp. 152–153; see also endnote No. 114.</ref><ref name="hirth 2000">Hirth (2000) [1885], [http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.asp East Asian History Sourcebook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009151247/http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.asp |date=2016-10-09 }}. Retrieved 24 September 2016.</ref><ref>Yule (1915), 46–48; see also footnote No. 1 on p. 49.</ref> The Chinese histories even related how the city [[Siege of Constantinople (674-678)|had been besieged]] in the 7th century by [[Mu'awiya I]] and how he exacted [[tribute]] in a peace settlement.<ref name="hirth 2000" /><ref>Yule (1915), 46–49; see footnote No. 1 on p. 49 for discussion about the Byzantine diplomat sent to [[Damascus]] who was named in Chinese sources.</ref>