raharris1973
Well-known member
What if Constantine made his eastern capital on the Asian side of the straits rather than the European, in one of the historic cities of the region like Chalcedon, Nicomedia, or Nicaea, or a new city?
Just like in historic Constantinople, there are some decently fortifiable peninsulas, and the region is still near Black Sea grain shipping routes.
However, would capital being on the Asian side be a critical and possibly fatal vulnerability in some of the Empire's wars, for instance allowing the Sassanid Persians, or Arabs, or Seljuk Turks an opportunity to seize and hold the city and put the Eastern Roman Empire out of business permanently, earlier than OTL?
Just like in historic Constantinople, there are some decently fortifiable peninsulas, and the region is still near Black Sea grain shipping routes.
However, would capital being on the Asian side be a critical and possibly fatal vulnerability in some of the Empire's wars, for instance allowing the Sassanid Persians, or Arabs, or Seljuk Turks an opportunity to seize and hold the city and put the Eastern Roman Empire out of business permanently, earlier than OTL?