Birds-eye view of Constantinople, at its height under Byzantine rule. Of course, the Byzantine Empir

Birds-eye view of Constantinople, at its height under Byzantine rule. Of course, the Byzantine Empire was just the Eastern Roman Empire, and citizens referred to themselves as ‘Romans’. Despite the fact that most spoke Greek. Constantinople went through many ups and downs, and by 1453 when the city was captured by the Ottomans, it was nowhere near its height. When the Ottomans took over, it experienced a resurgence (Being a part of a large, powerful empire once again certainly helped). In Ottoman Turkish the city was referred to as Konstantiniyye. Istanbul was the informal name, and had been used by Turks even before 1453. In 1923, following the Turkish War of Independence it became the official name.The history of Istanbul is long, and interesting, but, in a very abridged summary, it was founded by Greek colonists in 657 BC and named Byzantium (which is where the name ‘Byzantine Empire’ comes from). In 324 AD it was made capital of the new Eastern Roman Empire, and renamed Constantinople in 330. Even after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the East remained. Until 1453 when it was conquered by the Ottomans, and made the capital of their empire. In 1923 it was officially renamed Istanbul, and stripped of its status as the capital (The new Turkish Republic’s capital became Ankara).Istanbul/Constantinople has been the source of much shit-slinging and nationalism among Turks and Greeks, and I will leave it at that.The creator of the map is a guy named Antoine Helbert, his site has a collection of maps and drawings of Constantinople, which I urge everyone to look at, as they are amazing. -- source link

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