Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/137

 Soldiers, the Officers, the Officers of his houshold, and the Magistrates: I shall now mention his deportment with the Merchants, Mariners, Me­chanicks, and all that kept Shop in Constantinople, and in a word his universal injustice to all people.

There are two Streights not far from Con­stantinople, one in the Helespont betwixt Sestos and Abydos, the other at the mouth of the Euxine Sea not far from the famous Church of our Lady. In the Streight upon the Helespont there was never any Custom-house, or Office, or Partisans, or Publicans, but a Person was established by the Emperor at Abydos who had the charge of Surveying all Goods and Armes that were transported, and to see that nothing of that nature should be carried from Constan­tinople but by the Emperours permission, nor any Vessel suffered to pass without a Ticket from the Magistrates appointed to that purpose: For no ship was allowed to go out, but by leave from the Commissary or Secretary to the Master of the Offices, and what Pretor exacted of the Masters of the Ships under the title of Duties, was so inconsiderable, no body regarded it. To the other Streight a Pretor was sent likewise, whose business was the same, that is to say, to take care that no body transportet to the barbarous Nations any Merchandize or Effects which were forbidden to be Exported out of the Empire; but with this Caution, That he should not exact any Duties either from the Merchant or master of the Ship. But from the time Justinian had the Rh