Constantinople

Constantinople was the historic city on the Bosporus that served as the Byzantine and Ottoman imperial capital before becoming modern Istanbul.

Byzantium: An ancient Greek city on the Bosporus, later rebuilt as Constantinople. The settlement Constantine chose as the foundation for his new capital.
Theodosian Walls: A massive system of land fortifications built around Constantinople in the fifth century. Their layered defenses protected the city from repeated land attacks.
Sack of Constantinople (1204): The capture and plundering of Constantinople by Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade. The sack shattered Byzantine rule in the city and stripped it of wealth.
Byzantine Empire: The medieval continuation of the Roman Empire, governed from Constantinople for most of its history. The city served as its political center and shaped its identity.
Rome: The Italian city that was the capital of the ancient Roman Empire and remains Italy’s capital. Constantinople claimed Roman imperial succession while Rome remained its symbolic counterpart.
Constantine the Great: Roman emperor from 306 to 337 who founded Constantinople as an imperial capital. He inaugurated the city in 330 and gave it his name.
Golden Horn: A natural harbor and inlet on the European side of the Bosporus. Its sheltered waters supported shipping and strengthened the city’s defenses.
Latin Empire: A Crusader state established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade’s conquest in 1204. It replaced Byzantine government in the city for nearly six decades.
Ottoman Empire: A multiethnic empire founded by Ottoman Turks that lasted from the late thirteenth century to 1922. After 1453, Constantinople became its capital and principal imperial city.
Nicaea: An ancient city in northwestern Anatolia, now İznik, that hosted Byzantine government in exile. It served as the Byzantine political center after Constantinople fell in 1204.

Linked from 64 pages