Constantinople
Constantinople, founded by Constantine the Great in 324 CE, was established as the capital of the Roman Empire to leverage the resources of Asia Minor and respond effectively to external threats. Built on a strategically significant peninsula bordered by the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara, it replaced the earlier city of Byzantium. The city expanded significantly under Constantine and later emperors, eventually encompassing seven hills, echoing the layout of Rome. Notable structures include the Old Church (Haghia Eirene) and Haghia Sophia, both significant architectural achievements of the Byzantine Empire. The city was a cultural and political hub until it was conquered in 1453 by a Muslim army, leading to its renaming as Istanbul and its designation as the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Throughout its history, Constantinople was fortified by formidable walls, which contributed to its resilience against multiple attacks. Today, it is recognized for its rich historical legacy and diverse cultural influences.
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Constantinople
Related civilizations: Imperial Rome, Byzantine Empire.
Date: April 2, 330-May 29, 1453 c.e.
Locale: Southern end of the Bosphorus, in western Turkey, with the main city on the European side of the Strait and suburbs on the Asian side
Constantinople
When Constantine the Great became sole ruler of the Roman Empire in 324 c.e., he recognized the importance of the resources of Asia Minor to the survival of the empire. To take advantage of these resources and to respond more quickly to the Germanic tribes threatening the Balkans, Constantine founded a new capital city named Constantinople (kahn-stan-tih-NOH-pul), or “the city of Constantine.” This city took advantage of an easily defended peninsula bordered on the north by an estuary and natural harbor known as the Golden Horn and on the south by the Sea of Marmara. The site had previously been occupied by the city of Byzantium, founded as a Greek colony in the seventh century b.c.e.
Constantine enlarged the city to take in four hills instead of the single one that had been part of Byzantium. Within a century, the city limits would be expanded again, and the city within the walls during the reign of Theodosius II (r. 408-450 c.e.) included seven hills, just as had the old capital of Rome. On the First Hill, the one farthest from the city walls, Constantine built his palace and the church known as the “Old Church” (now Haghia Eirene, rebuilt in the reign of Justinian I). His son Constantius II (r. 337-361 c.e.) built the original “Great Church” (Haghia Sophia). Constantine rebuilt the Hippodrome to be the size of the Circus Maximus in Rome and arranged the city’s major monuments along a wide avenue (“Mese,” or “Center Street”). This avenue ran from the Hippodrome, to the Forum of Constantine, past the later forum of Theodosius, where it split, the northern branch passing the Church of the Holy Apostles, where Constantine and his successors were buried, and the southern branch connecting to the Golden Gate in the Theodosian Walls, where the emperor ceremonially entered the city.
After Constantine and Theodosius II, the emperor whose reign had the greatest impact on the shape of the city was Justinian I (r. 527-565 c.e.). In 532 c.e., a series of riots destroyed large parts of the city and Justinian rebuilt the Church of the Holy Apostles as well as Haghia Eirene and its neighbor, commissioning the city’s most famous Byzantine monument, the church of Haghia Sophia.
The seventh century c.e. saw attacks on the Byzantine Empire that reached the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople but were repulsed with the help of the miraculous appearance of the Virgin, according to the Greek defenders of the city. Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, protected by the strong Theodosian land walls and sea walls along the two shores, until the walls were breached by a Muslim army in 1453, when the name of the city was changed to Istanbul and it became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Bibliography
Freely, John. Istanbul: The Imperial City. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.
Mathews, Thomas F. Byzantium: From Antiquity to the Renaissance. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1998.