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 JUSTINIAN! COMMANDEE-IN-CHIEF 221 everything that regarded the war. He at once took charge of the work already begun of strengthening the defences. He distributed small guns upon the walls where they could throw their stone balls to greatest advantage. He classified the defenders and appointed to each his station. In the last days of March Trevisano with his crew, aided also by Alexis (or Aloysius) Diedo, whose three galleys had come from Tana on the Azof, reopened a foss from the Golden Horn in front of the landward walls as far as the ground remained level, and at the same time repaired the walls in the neighbourhood. 1 A few days later the Italians were assigned to the most important positions on the land- ward walls. Barbaro, with the enthusiasm of a Crusader, gives a list of Venetian nobles who took part in the defences, and this ' for a perpetual memorial ' of his brave country- men. Justiniani appears at first to have chosen to defend the walls at Caligaria. On April 2 the chain or boom which defended the closing the entrance to the Golden Horn was either closed for the first harbour - time or strengthened. 2 It extended from the Tower of Eugenius near Seraglio Point to the Tower of Galata, 3 within the Galata Walls, and near the present Moumhana, and was supported on logs. Ten large ships, of which five were Genoese, three from Crete, one from Ancona, and an imperial ship, were stationed at the boom, bows towards it, and with long triremes near them for support. The guardianship of the boom was entrusted to the Genoese. 4 1 La Brocquiere says this foss, on his visit, was two hundred paces long. 2 Barbaro says that the emperor employed an Italian to place the boom in position. 3 The present Tower of Galata was called the Tower of Christ. See Pas- pates, Meletai, p. 180. 4 Barb. p. 25. Tetaldi states that there were nine galleys and thirty other ships (p. 25). The fact that the Turks soon found that it was impossible to take possession of the chain or to drive away the defending fleet tends to show that the Greek fleet was respectable in number of ships. On the other hand, when it became of extreme importance to send ships outside the chain to aid ships from Genoa coming to the relief of the city, the fact that none were sent out is evidence to show that no ships could be spared from the defence of the chain or that no sufficient number of galleys, triremes, or other vessels inde-