Constantinople Map, 1922

Constantinople (Istanbul) Photo Gallery

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Constantinople (Roman: Constantinopolis; Greek: Konstantinoupolis) was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and claimed to be the capital of the restored Roman Empire. The ancient name of Constantinople was Byzantium (Greek: Byzantion), whence the Byzantine Empire's name was derived. The name was changed by Roman emperor Constantine I who moved the capital of the Roman empire here on May 11, 330 CE. Constantine wanted to name the city Nova Roma (New Rome), but this name never caught on.

Constantinople remained the last outpost of the old Roman empire for centuries after the Western Roman Empire fell. Crusaders called to help them captured and sacked the city in 1204, making it an outpost of their own Latin Empire until Michael VIII Palaeologus retook it in 1261. Constantinople, and thus also Rome, finally fell to the Ottoman Turks on May 29, 1453. They continued to use the name Constantinople as well as Istanbul and the name of the city was not officially changed until 1930. Istanbul is actually a rendering of the Greek "eis tin Poli" (to the City) and the Greeks themselves often simply called it "i Poli," the City.

The Hagia Sophia is not only Constantinople's most famous landmarks, it is arguably one of the most famous buildings in the entire world. It was the city's cathedral and the site of a church originally built by Constantus, son of emperor Constantine the Great. The original church was burned down in 532 and the present church was built between 532 and 537 under the supervision of Justinian I. The original dome fell after an earthquake and the current dome is evidently slightly different.

Over 900 years the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was the seat of the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople, but when the Ottomans captured the city they turned it into a mosque. Minarets were added and the rich frescos were covered over (because of Islamic prohibitions against depicting human figures). Thus it remained for over 500 years until the Turkish government decided to turn it into a museum and tourist attraction in 1935.

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