They are a sovereign state, that has the authority to tax all bussiness within it´s borders. Later this came to one of the firsts big cases on the Supreme Court, given the fact the it´d set an example for the other states on the possibility of taxing or going agaisnt federal desicions. Eventually the Supreme court would prohibit Maryland from taxing the National bank cause <em>"The power to tax, is the power to destroy".</em>
After ten centuries of wars, defeats, and victories, the Byzantine Empire came to an end when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in May 1453. The city's fall sent shock waves throughout Christendom. It is widely quoted as the event that marked the end of the European Middle Ages.
Building through the Sierra Nevada Mountains was very difficult and dangerous. Temperatures were freezing during the winter and in one year alone there were 44 storms.There was the great danger of an avalanche for the men working through 18 feet of snow and camping on the tunnels beneath it. Creating tunnels through the mountains required blasting with nitroglycerin. Advancing at one foot of mountain at a time, a total of 11 tunnels was created.
