Constantinople
Map of Constantinople
Constantinople
(Greek:
Κωνσταντινούπολις, Konstantinoúpolis, or ἡ
Πόλις hē Pólis, Latin: CONSTANTINOPOLIS, in
formal Ottoman Turkish: ????????? Kon-
stantiniyye) was the imperial capital (Gr:
Βασιλεύουσα, Basileúousa) of the Roman
Empire (330–395), the Byzantine/Eastern Ro-
man Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the
Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman
Empire (1453–1922). Strategically
located
between the Golden Horn and the Sea of
Marmara at the point where Europe meets
Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the
capital of a Christian empire, successor to
ancient Greece and Rome. Throughout the
Middle Ages Constantinople was Europe’s
largest[1] and wealthiest city.
Depending on the background of
its
rulers, it often had several different names at
any given time; among the most common
were Byzantium (Gr.:Βυζάντιον, Byzántion),
New Rome (Gr.: Νέα Ῥώμη Néa Rhōmē, Lat-
in: Nova Roma), Constantinople, and Stam-
boul. It was also called Tsargrad ("City of the
Emperors") by the Slavs, while to the Vikings
it was known as Miklagård, "the Great City",
similar to the common Greek appellation "the
City" (ἡ Πόλις, hē Pólis).
It was officially renamed to its modern
Turkish name Istanbul in 1930[2][3] with the
Turkish Postal Service Law, as part of
Atatürk’s national reforms.[4][5] This name in
turn derives from the Greek phrase eis tēn
polin ("to the City [Constantinople]").
History
The 1453 Siege of Constantinople, painted
1499
Byzantium
Constantinople was founded by the Roman
emperor Constantine I on the site of an
already existing city, Byzantium, settled in
the early days of Greek colonial expansion,
probably around 671-662 BC. The site lay
astride the land route from Europe to Asia
and the seaway from the Black Sea to the
Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn
an excellent and spacious harbour. It is cur-
rently located in Turkey. This is the location
where Ottoman officers arrested 250 Armeni-
an intellectuals during the 1915 Armenian
Genocide/Massacres.
Constantine the Great