The Straits from Troy to Constantinople: The Ancient History of the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmara and Bosporos

In ancient times, the series of waterways now known as the Turkish Straits, comprising the Dardanelles (or Hellespont), Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus, formed both a divide and a bridge between Europe and Asia. Its western and eastern entrances were guarded, at different times, by two of the most fabled cities of all time: respectively Troy (in Asia) and Byzantion (or Byzantium, on the European coast). The narrow crossing points at the Hellespont and Bosporus were strategically important ...