What was the former name of the city of Constantinople? What is the name of Constantinople now? Constantinople is what a country.

A legendary city that has changed many names, peoples and empires... The eternal rival of Rome, the cradle of Orthodox Christianity and the capital of an empire that lasted for centuries... You will not find this city on modern maps, nevertheless it lives and develops. The place where Constantinople was located is not so far from us. We will talk about the history of this city and its glorious legends in this article.

Emergence

People began to develop the lands located between two seas - the Black and Mediterranean - in the 7th century BC. As the Greek texts say, the colony of Miletus settled on the northern shore of the Bosphorus Strait. The Asian shore of the strait was inhabited by the Megarians. Two cities stood opposite each other - in the European part stood Milesian Byzantium, on the southern bank - Megarian Kalchedon. This position of the settlement made it possible to control the Bosphorus Strait. Lively trade between the countries of the Black and Aegean Seas, regular flows of cargo, merchant ships and military expeditions provided both these cities, which soon became one.

Thus, the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, later called the bay, became the point where the city of Constantinople is located.

Attempts to capture Byzantium

Rich and influential Byzantium attracted the attention of many generals and conquerors. For about 30 years during the conquests of Darius, Byzantium was under the rule of the Persian Empire. A field of relatively quiet life for hundreds of years, the troops of the king of Macedonia, Philip, approached its gates. Several months of siege ended in vain. Enterprising and wealthy townspeople preferred to pay tribute to numerous conquerors rather than engage in bloody and numerous battles. Another king of Macedonia, Alexander the Great, managed to conquer Byzantium.

After the empire of Alexander the Great was fragmented, the city came under the influence of Rome.

Christianity in Byzantium

Roman and Greek historical and cultural traditions were not the only sources of the culture of the future Constantinople. Having arisen in the eastern territories of the Roman Empire, the new religion, like a fire, engulfed all the provinces of Ancient Rome. Christian communities accepted into their ranks people of different faiths, with different levels of education and income. But already in apostolic times, in the second century AD, numerous Christian schools and the first monuments of Christian literature appeared. Multilingual Christianity is gradually emerging from the catacombs and is making itself known to the world more and more loudly.

Christian emperors

After the division of the huge state formation, the eastern part of the Roman Empire began to position itself as a Christian state. took power in the ancient city, calling it Constantinople in his honor. The persecution of Christians was stopped, temples and places of worship of Christ began to be revered on an equal basis with pagan sanctuaries. Constantine himself was baptized on his deathbed in 337. Subsequent emperors invariably strengthened and defended the Christian faith. And Justinian in the 6th century. AD left Christianity as the only state religion, banning ancient rituals on the territory of the Byzantine Empire.

Temples of Constantinople

State support for the new faith had a positive impact on the life and government structure of the ancient city. The land where Constantinople was located was filled with numerous temples and symbols of the Christian faith. Temples arose in the cities of the empire, worship services were held, attracting more and more adherents to their ranks. One of the first famous cathedrals to emerge at this time was the Temple of Sophia in Constantinople.

Church of St. Sophia

Its founder was Constantine the Great. This name was widespread in Eastern Europe. Sophia was the name of a Christian saint who lived in the 2nd century AD. Sometimes Jesus Christ was called this for his wisdom and learning. Following the example of Constantinople, the first Christian councils with that name spread throughout the eastern lands of the empire. The son of Constantine and heir to the Byzantine throne, Emperor Constantius, rebuilt the temple, making it even more beautiful and spacious. A hundred years later, during the unjust persecution of the first Christian theologian and philosopher John the Theologian, the churches of Constantinople were destroyed by rebels, and the Cathedral of St. Sophia burned to the ground.

The revival of the temple became possible only under the reign of Emperor Justinian.

The new Christian ruler wanted to rebuild the cathedral. In his opinion, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople should be revered, and the temple dedicated to her should surpass in its beauty and grandeur any other building of this kind in the whole world. To build such a masterpiece, the emperor invited famous architects and builders of that time - Amphimius from the city of Thrall and Isidore from Miletus. One hundred assistants worked under the architects, and 10 thousand people were involved in direct construction. Isidore and Amphimius had at their disposal the most advanced building materials - granite, marble, precious metals. Construction lasted five years, and the result exceeded our wildest expectations.

According to the stories of contemporaries who flocked to the place where Constantinople was located, the temple reigned over the ancient city, like a ship over the waves. Christians from all over the empire came to see the amazing miracle.

Weakening of Constantinople

In the 7th century, a new aggressive force arose on the Arabian Peninsula - Under its pressure, Byzantium lost its eastern provinces, and the European regions were gradually conquered by the Phrygians, Slavs, and Bulgarians. The territory where Constantinople was located was repeatedly attacked and subject to tribute. The Byzantine Empire lost its position in Eastern Europe and gradually fell into decline.

in 1204, crusader troops, consisting of a Venetian flotilla and French infantry, took Constantinople under a months-long siege. After prolonged resistance, the city fell and was plundered by the invaders. The fires destroyed many works of art and architectural monuments. In the place where the populous and rich Constantinople stood, there is the impoverished and plundered capital of the Roman Empire. In 1261, the Byzantines were able to recapture Constantinople from the Latins, but they were unable to return the city to its former greatness.

Ottoman Empire

By the 15th century, the Ottoman Empire was actively expanding its borders in European territories, instilling Islam, annexing more and more lands to its possessions by sword and bribery. In 1402, the Turkish Sultan Bayezid already tried to take Constantinople, but was defeated by Emir Timur. The defeat at Anker weakened the forces of the empire and extended the quiet period of Constantinople's existence for another half a century.

In 1452, Sultan Mehmed 2, after careful preparation, began to capture. Previously, he took care of capturing smaller cities, surrounded Constantinople with his allies and began a siege. On the night of May 28, 1453 the city was taken. Numerous Christian churches were turned into Muslim mosques, the faces of saints and symbols of Christianity disappeared from the walls of cathedrals, and a crescent moon flew over St. Sophia.

It ceased to exist, and Constantinople became part of the Ottoman Empire.

The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent gave Constantinople a new "Golden Age". Under him, the Suleymaniye Mosque was built, which became a symbol for Muslims, the same as St. Sophia remained for every Christian. After the death of Suleiman, the Turkish Empire throughout its existence continued to decorate the ancient city with masterpieces of architecture and architecture.

Metamorphoses of the city name

After capturing the city, the Turks did not officially rename it. For the Greeks it retained its name. On the contrary, from the lips of Turkish and Arab residents, “Istanbul”, “Stanbul”, “Istanbul” began to sound more and more often - this is how Constantinople began to be called more and more often. Now there are two versions of the origin of these names. The first hypothesis states that this name is a poor copy of a Greek phrase, translated meaning “I’m going to the city, I’m going to the city.” Another theory is based on the name Islambul, which means “city of Islam”. Both versions have the right to exist. Be that as it may, the name Constantinople is still used, but the name Istanbul also comes into use and is firmly rooted. In this form, the city appeared on the maps of many states, including Russia, but for the Greeks it was still named in honor of Emperor Constantine.

Modern Istanbul

The territory where Constantinople is located now belongs to Turkey. True, the city has already lost the title of capital: by decision of the Turkish authorities, the capital was moved to Ankara in 1923. And although Constantinople is now called Istanbul, for many tourists and guests ancient Byzantium still remains a great city with numerous monuments of architecture and art, rich, southern hospitable, and always unforgettable.

Story

Constantine the Great (306-337)

Subsequently, the city grew and developed so rapidly that half a century later, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius, new city walls were erected. The new walls of the city, which have survived to this day, already enclosed seven hills - the same number as in Rome.

Divided Empire (395-527)

After the brutal suppression of the rebellion, Justinian rebuilt the capital, attracting the best architects of his time. New buildings, temples and palaces are being built, the central streets of the new city are decorated with colonnades. A special place is occupied by the construction of Hagia Sophia, which became the largest temple in the Christian world and remained so for more than a thousand years - until the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The “Golden Age” was not cloudless: in 544, the Justinian Plague claimed the lives of 40% of the city’s population.

The city grows quickly and becomes first the business center of the then world, and soon the largest city in the world. They even started calling him simply City [ ] . At its height, the city's area was 30 thousand hectares and its population hundreds of thousands, about ten times the typical size of Europe's largest cities.

The first mentions of a Turkish place name Istanbul ( - Istanbul, local pronunciation ɯsˈtambul- İstanbul) appear in Arabic and then Turkic sources of the 10th century and come from (Greek. εἰς τὴν Πόλιν ), “is tin polin” - “to the city” or “to the city” - is an indirect Greek name for Constantinople.

Sieges and decline

As a result of disagreements between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Christian Church was divided in the city, and Constantinople became an Orthodox center.

Since the empire was no longer nearly as large as it had been in the time of Justinian or Heraclius, there were no other cities comparable to Constantinople. At this time, Constantinople played a fundamental role in all areas of Byzantine life. Since 1071, when the invasion of the Seljuk Turks began, the empire, and with it the City, again plunged into darkness.

During the reign of the Komnenos dynasty (-), Constantinople experienced its last heyday - although not the same as under Justinian and the Macedonian dynasty. The city center moves west towards the city walls, into the current districts of Fatih and Zeyrek. New churches and a new imperial palace (Blachernae Palace) are being built.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Genoese and Venetians took over commercial hegemony and settled in Galata.

A fall

Constantinople became the capital of a new strong state - the Ottoman Empire.

Constantinople

The word "Tsargrad" is now an archaic term in Russian. However, it is still used in the Bulgarian language, especially in a historical context. The main transport artery in the capital of Bulgaria, Sofia, is named after Tsarigradsko highway(“Tsarigrad road”); the road begins as the Tsar Liberator Boulevard and continues to the main highway leading southeast to Istanbul. Name Constantinople also preserved in such word groups as Tsarigrad bunch(“Royal grapes”, meaning “gooseberries”), dish Tsarigrad kuftenza(“small Tsarigrad kufta”) or statements like “You can even get to Tsarigrad by asking.” In the Slovenian language this name is still used and is often preferred to the official one. People also understand and sometimes use the name Carigrad in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Cards

Architecture

The urban space of Constantinople (“Queen of Cities”) was conceived as a reflection of the Heavenly Jerusalem on Earth. This sacred space is studied by hierotopy - a science at the intersection of history, theology, art history and other disciplines. The outlines of the urban planning program of New Rome can still be seen in the city, for example, marble columns (and their fragments) with decoration reminiscent of the "peacock's eye" in the former Forum of Theodosius (now Bayezid Square); on the side of Mesa (lat. Via Triumphalis, now Divanyolu); in the courtyard of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (from the Taurus Forum); in an underground cistern of the 6th century. "Yeri Erebatan barn" as vault supports. The greyish marble was quarried and processed in the quarries of the island of Marmara in Propontis. The snow-marble columns of the cistern come from the remains of the temple of “Hera of Acre” and are not similar to any classical order: their design imitates the feather of the bird Hera and strongly taper towards the top.

The three main forums of the city: Constantine, Augustion And Feodosia(a replica of the Forum of Trojan in Rome) in ancient times were marked with the symbols of Hera, the heavenly queen of antiquity. In the first forum there was a huge bronze statue of Hera, possibly the work of the famous sculptor Lysippos (before 1204); in the forum of Theodosia the “star gate” was built - a triumphal arch of three spans and 16 pillars, decorated with the “eyes of Argus”.

In the Constantinople monastery of Chora (Kakhiriye-Jami), mosaic works of the Theotokos cycle, completed in 1316-1321, have been preserved.

Coins

Painting and mosaic

Notes

1. Georgacas, Demetrius John. The Names of Constantinople // Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association (English) Russian: journal. - The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1947. - Vol. 78. - P. 347-367. - DOI:10.2307/283503.
2. // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
3. The most ancient states of Eastern Europe. - M.: Nauka, 2003. - P. 136.
4. Levchenko M. V. History of Byzantium. - M.-L.: OGIZ, 1940. - P. 9.
5. Dil Sh. History of the Byzantine Empire. - M.: Gosinoizdat, 1948. - P. 19.
6. Kurbatov G. L. History of Byzantium. - M.: Higher School, 1984. - P. 7.
7. Serov V.V. On the problem of forming the capital status of Constantinople // Byzantine temporary book. - M.: Nauka, 2006. - T. 65 (90). - P. 37-59.
8. , With. 53.
9. , With. 477.
10. Sophrony Vrachanski. Life and suffering for sins Sophrony. Sofia 1987. Pp. 55 (Explanatory footnote to the autobiography of Sophrony Vrachansky)
11. Gerov was found. 1895-1904. Riverman in Bulgarian language. (record on tsar in the Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language by Naiden Gerova)
12. Simeonova, Margarita. Riverman on ezika na Vasil Levski. Sofia, IC "BAN", 2004 (recorded at tsar V Dictionary of the language of Margarita Simeonova Vasil Levsky)
13. Seznam tujih imen v slovenskem jeziku. Geodetska uprava Republike Slovenije. Ljubljana 2001. p. 18.
14. , With. thirty.
15. , With. 32.
16. , With. 32-33.

F.I.Tyutchev

and remain ours forever."

F.M.Dostoevsky

Russian Constantinople.

Registration number 0153065 issued for the work:

"Moscow and the city of Petrov, and the city of Constantine.

These are the cherished borders of the Russian Kingdom."

F.I.Tyutchev

"Constantinople must be ours,

conquered by us, Russians, from the Turks,

and remain ours forever."

F.M.Dostoevsky

Russian Constantinople.

The history of relations between Rus' and Constantinople began in ancient times. Everyone knows how Oleg, the Russian prince and ruler of Rus', nailed his shield to the gates of Constantinople in 907. Thus, Rus' declared itself loudly and was heard not only in the Mediterranean, but also in Europe and throughout the Middle East. But even before that, on June 15, 860, 360 Russian ships entered the Bosphorus Strait, part of the army went ashore and moved around Constantinople. On June 18, the boats were already under the walls of the Byzantine capital. At the same time, a foot army approached the city. After a week-long siege, the Russians occupied the city suburbs. The Byzantines had to negotiate, as a result of which a peace treaty was concluded, the rights of Rus' in the Black Sea were restored and a large ransom was received.

As we can see, the legend that Peter Romanov, nicknamed the First, laid the foundation for the Russian fleet, does not stand up to criticism.

The English historian Fred T. Jane, in his book “The Imperial Russian Navy. Its Past, Present and Future,” published in London in 1904, wrote about this time: “The Russian fleet can claim a more ancient origin than the British fleet. A hundred years before Alfred the Great built the first English ships, the Russians were already fighting desperate sea battles, and a thousand years ago the Russians were considered the best sailors of their time.”

But let's return to our story with Constantinople.

Subsequently, Rus' not only was baptized at the instigation of Constantinople in 988, but also later, after the marriage of Grand Duke Ivan III with the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Sophia Paleologus, inherited the double-headed eagle from Byzantium. In 1497, it first appears as the state emblem on the double-sided wax state seal of Russia: on its obverse side is the coat of arms of the Moscow principality - a horseman slaying a dragon (in 1730 it officially received the name of St. George), and on the reverse side - a double-headed eagle. Thus, Moscow becomes the heir to the great empire that perished but did not surrender under the blows of the Ottoman Turks and the third Rome.

The entire subsequent history of Russia takes place under the sign of the struggle with Istanbul, into which Constantinople was renamed after the fall of Byzantium. Access to the Black Sea, which in ancient times was called nothing less than the Russian Sea, determined the entire policy and military strategy of Russia for several centuries. And what Peter I failed to achieve, Catherine more than succeeded in doing. Empress Catherine II defined a new goal of the state's foreign policy - to raise the Russian flag over Constantinople and the Black Sea straits! The brilliant victories of A.V. Suvorov, F.F. Ushakov and other commanders reminded the world of the historical name of the Black Sea. The successes of Russian sailors in the Mediterranean were so great that Emperor Paul I in January 1800 gave an order to the commander of the Russian squadron, Admiral F.F. Ushakov to return to Russia. In October 1800, Russian ships arrived in Sevastopol.

At the end of the 18th century, the Russian Empire achieved the possibility of free passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles for its trade and warships. This right lasted until 1841, when the international London Convention closed the straits to military vessels, and the Russian fleet was locked in the Black Sea. Not least because of this, as a result of the Crimean campaign, Russia lost its naval forces in the region for fourteen years. But in 1870, the Russian navy returned to the Black Sea.

In 1877, Russia declares war on Turkey. The goal is Constantinople. The brilliant crossing of the Danube, the heroism of Shipka and Plevna, the courageous raid through the Balkans - and the Russian army on a day's march from Constantine's Castle, which is already visible in the palm of your hand... But again, pressure from England and other European countries forces Russia to sign a peace treaty, and without hoisting the white-blue-red banner over the cherished Constantinople.

And here is the final touch of this story, which shows all the treachery of Western civilization in relation to Russia, which is actually the purpose of writing this article.

In May 1916, Georges Picot, a specially commissioned French diplomat who served as his country's consul in Beirut, and Sir Mark Sykes, a senior British diplomat, were authorized by their governments to negotiate an agreement relating to the division of the Ottoman Empire between the Allied forces. Two camps, the Entente (France, Great Britain and Russia) and the Alliance of Central Powers (Germany, Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire), fought each other.

Russia, the third player in the Entente, was aware of the secret negotiations between Britain and France, and it agreed to the agreed terms. Through an exchange of notes between the three key Allied countries, the treaty became a formalized, although still secret, document in May 1916.

The successes of the Russian army on the Caucasian front at the beginning of 1916 stimulated the revival of negotiations between Great Britain and France on the issue of dividing the territory of Turkey. On March 6, 1916, the results of the agreement reached between them were reported to the Russian government. The latter was dissatisfied with the fact that, according to the project, large territories were transferred to Great Britain and France.

Having received Russia's consent to plans for the division of Turkey on March 16, the allies confirmed her rights to Constantinople and the straits, provided for by the Anglo-French-Russian agreement of 1915 and also promised her the regions of the West. Armenia (Erzurum, Trebizond, Van, Bitlis) and part of Kurdistan.

Thus, Russia was once again fooled by English diplomacy, the principle of which is to promise anything, knowing in advance that nothing promised will be fulfilled, was successfully used by England for many centuries. After all, it was England that helped Japan in the Russo-Japanese War, because it was from there that the revolution of 1917 was exported to Russia from the West according to their “Chaos Management” plan. They were well aware that all these agreements were not worth the paper on which they were written. But Constantinople never became Russian.

But let us remember once again the words of the Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky:

“So, in the name of what, in the name of what moral right, could Russia seek Constantinople? Based on what higher goals, could it be demanded from Europe? But precisely - as the leader of Orthodoxy, as its patroness and protector - a role assigned to her since Ivan III... This reason, this right to ancient Constantinople, would be understandable and not offensive even to the most jealous Slavs of their independence, or even to the Greeks themselves. And in this way, the real essence of those political relations that must inevitably arise in Russia towards all other Orthodox nations - whether Slavs or Greeks, it doesn’t matter: she is their patroness and even, perhaps, their leader...

This will be... a real new erection of the cross of Christ and the final word of Orthodoxy, at the head of which Russia has long been standing.”

The story continues. Let's not make the mistakes of the past.

People have birthdays, and cities also have birthdays. There are cities where we know exactly the day the first building or fortress wall was laid. And there are those cities about which we do not know, and we use only the first chronicle mention. This is the case with most cities: they first heard a mention somewhere, and consider this the only appearance in the historical annals.

But we know for sure that on May 11, 330 from the Nativity of Christ, Constantinople, the city of Constantine, was founded. Tsar Constantine, who became the first Christian emperor, himself was baptized only before his death. However, with the Edict of Milan he stopped the persecution of Christians. Subsequently, he headed the first Ecumenical Council.

Constantine founded a new city in honor of his name. As it is written, having named their names on the lands. Alexander built Alexandria around the world, and Constantine created Constantinople.

What can we say about Konstantin, if we have all sorts of Kalinins, Zhdanovs, Stalingrads - there were an unlimited number of these cities. People were in a hurry to give their name to the subway, factories, ships, and so on. Constantine acted more humbly - he named only one city, the capital of the empire.

The Russians called this city Constantinople - the City of the Tsar, the Tsar's City, the Great City. Compared to Constantinople, all other cities were villages. Today's name Istanbul is a Turkified Greek expression “istinpolin”, translated “from the city”. That is, where are you coming from - from the city. This is how Istanbul appeared.

This is the City of Cities, the mother of all cities in the world. Not only Russian cities, as we call Kyiv. In Russia, in Rus', they have always treated this wonderful city with reverence and reverence - the city of monasteries, book wisdom, the city of the Tsar and Basileus. Therefore, exactly a thousand years after the founding of Constantinople, the Russians founded the stone Church of the Savior on Bor on Borovitsky Hill, within the Moscow Kremlin. It was, however, destroyed by the Bolsheviks. But it was such a symbolic act - stretching a historical thread from Constantinople to the new Constantinople. From the Second Rome to the Third Rome. Although the Turks had not yet entered Constantinople, Mehmet the conqueror had not yet broken through the walls of Constantinople, neither external nor internal, they had not yet sung the adhan in Hagia Sophia - but the Russians already felt their continuity and connection. A thousand years later, they laid the foundations of Constantinople, the Church of the Savior on Bor, inside the Kremlin walls.

Our ancestors had this sense of connection and continuity with Byzantium, which was gradually leaving the historical arena.

So, I congratulate all Tsargrad residents - everyone working on our channel, as well as all people who have a strong ideological vertical, a connection with heavenly Jerusalem, on the day of remembrance of the founding of the city of Constantine, on the birthday of the city, which, in contrast to the old Rome, became the foundation of the Byzantine Empire , for a long thousand-plus years. Which gave birth to Christian worship. And in general, whose influence on world history is difficult to overestimate. Every May 11, on the day of the city, in the bowels of present-day Istanbul, like fire under the ashes, the memory of Hagia Sophia and Saint Constantinople burns...

Constantinople is a unique city in many respects. This is the only city in the world located simultaneously in Europe and Asia and one of the few modern megacities whose age is approaching three millennia. Finally, this is a city that has undergone four civilizations and as many names in its history.

First settlement and provincial period

Around 680 BC Greek settlers appeared on the Bosphorus. On the Asian shore of the strait they founded the colony of Chalcedon (now this is a district of Istanbul called “Kadikoy”). Three decades later, the town of Byzantium grew up opposite it. According to legend, it was founded by a certain Byzantus from Megara, to whom the Delphic oracle gave vague advice to “settle opposite the blind.” According to Byzant, the inhabitants of Chalcedon were these blind people, since they chose the distant Asian hills for settlement, and not the cozy triangle of European land located opposite.

Located at the crossroads of trade routes, Byzantium was a tasty prey for conquerors. Over the course of several centuries, the city changed many owners - Persians, Athenians, Spartans, Macedonians. In 74 BC. Rome laid its iron fist on Byzantium. A long period of peace and prosperity began for the city on the Bosphorus. But in 193, during the next battle for the imperial throne, the inhabitants of Byzantium made a fatal mistake. They swore allegiance to one candidate, and the strongest was another - Septimius Severus. Moreover, Byzantium also persisted in its non-recognition of the new emperor. For three years, the army of Septimius Severus stood under the walls of Byzantium, until hunger forced the besieged to surrender. The enraged emperor ordered the city to be razed to the ground. However, the residents soon returned to their native ruins, as if sensing that their city had a brilliant future ahead of them.

Capital of the Empire

Let's say a few words about the man who gave Constantinople his name.

Constantine the Great dedicates Constantinople to the Mother of God. Mosaic

Emperor Constantine was already called “The Great” during his lifetime, although he was not distinguished by high morality. This, however, is not surprising, because his whole life was spent in a fierce struggle for power. He participated in several civil wars, during which he executed his son from his first marriage, Crispus, and his second wife, Fausta. But some of his statesmanship are truly worthy of the title “Great”. It is no coincidence that descendants did not spare marble, erecting gigantic monuments to it. A fragment of one such statue is kept in the Museum of Rome. The height of her head is two and a half meters.

In 324, Constantine decided to move the seat of government from Rome to the East. At first, he tried on Serdika (now Sofia) and other cities, but in the end he chose Byzantium. Constantine personally drew the boundaries of his new capital on the ground with a spear. To this day, in Istanbul you can walk along the remains of the ancient fortress wall built along this line.

In just six years, a huge city grew on the site of provincial Byzantium. It was decorated with magnificent palaces and temples, aqueducts and wide streets with rich houses of the nobility. The new capital of the empire for a long time bore the proud name of “New Rome”. And only a century later, Byzantium-New Rome was renamed Constantinople, “the city of Constantine.”

Capital symbols

Constantinople is a city of secret meanings. Local guides will definitely show you the two main attractions of the ancient capital of Byzantium - Hagia Sophia and the Golden Gate. But not everyone will explain their secret meaning. Meanwhile, these buildings did not appear in Constantinople by chance.

Hagia Sophia and the Golden Gate clearly embodied medieval ideas about the wandering City, especially popular in the Orthodox East. It was believed that after ancient Jerusalem lost its providential role in the salvation of mankind, the sacred capital of the world moved to Constantinople. Now it was no longer the “old” Jerusalem, but the first Christian capital that personified the City of God, which was destined to stand until the end of time, and after the Last Judgment to become the abode of the righteous.

Reconstruction of the original view of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

In the first half of the 6th century, under Emperor Justinian I, the urban structure of Constantinople was brought into line with this idea. In the center of the Byzantine capital, the grandiose Cathedral of Sophia of the Wisdom of God was built, surpassing its Old Testament prototype - the Jerusalem Temple of the Lord. At the same time, the city wall was decorated with the ceremonial Golden Gate. It was assumed that at the end of time Christ would enter through them into God’s chosen city in order to complete the history of mankind, just as he once entered the Golden Gate of “old” Jerusalem to show people the path of salvation.

Golden Gate in Constantinople. Reconstruction.

It was the symbolism of the City of God that saved Constantinople from total ruin in 1453. The Turkish Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror ordered not to touch Christian shrines. However, he tried to destroy their previous meaning. Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque, and the Golden Gate was walled up and rebuilt (as in Jerusalem). Later, a belief arose among the Christian inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire that the Russians would liberate Christians from the yoke of infidels and enter Constantinople through the Golden Gate. The same ones to which Prince Oleg once nailed his scarlet shield. Well, wait and see.

It's time to blossom

The Byzantine Empire, and with it Constantinople, reached its greatest prosperity during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, who was in power from 527 to 565.

Bird's eye view of Constantinople in the Byzantine era (reconstruction)

Justinian is one of the most striking, and at the same time controversial figures on the Byzantine throne. An intelligent, powerful and energetic ruler, a tireless worker, the initiator of many reforms, he devoted his whole life to the implementation of his cherished idea of ​​reviving the former power of the Roman Empire. Under him, the population of Constantinople reached half a million people, the city was decorated with masterpieces of church and secular architecture. But under the mask of generosity, simplicity and outward accessibility hid a merciless, two-faced and deeply insidious nature. Justinian drowned popular uprisings in blood, brutally persecuted heretics, and dealt with the rebellious senatorial aristocracy. Justinian's faithful assistant was his wife, Empress Theodora. In her youth she was a circus actress and courtesan, but, thanks to her rare beauty and extraordinary charm, she became an empress.

Justinian and Theodora. Mosaic

According to church tradition, Justinian was half Slavic by origin. Before his accession to the throne, he allegedly bore the name Upravda, and his mother was called Beglyanitsa. His homeland was the village of Verdyan, near Bulgarian Sofia.

Ironically, it was during the reign of Justinian that Constantinople was first attacked by the Slavs. In 558, their troops appeared in the immediate vicinity of the Byzantine capital. At that time, the city had only foot guards under the command of the famous commander Belisarius. To hide the small number of his garrison, Belisarius ordered felled trees to be dragged behind the battle lines. Thick dust arose, which the wind carried towards the besiegers. The trick was a success. Believing that a large army was moving towards them, the Slavs retreated without a fight. However, later Constantinople had to see Slavic squads under its walls more than once.

Home of sports fans

The Byzantine capital often suffered from pogroms of sports fans, as happens with modern European cities.

In the daily life of the people of Constantinople, an unusually large role belonged to colorful public spectacles, especially horse racing. The passionate commitment of the townspeople to this entertainment gave rise to the formation of sports organizations. There were four of them in total: Levki (white), Rusii (red), Prasina (green) and Veneti (blue). They differed in the color of the clothes of the drivers of the horse-drawn quadrigas who participated in competitions at the hippodrome. Conscious of their strength, Constantinople fans demanded various concessions from the government, and from time to time they organized real revolutions in the city.

Hippodrome. Constantinople. Around 1350

The most formidable uprising, known as Nika! (i.e. “Conquer!”), broke out on January 11, 532. Spontaneously united followers of the circus parties attacked the residences of the city authorities and destroyed them. The rebels burned the tax rolls, captured the prison and released the prisoners. At the hippodrome, amid general rejoicing, the new Emperor Hypatius was solemnly crowned.

Panic began in the palace. The legitimate emperor Justinian I, in despair, intended to flee the capital. However, his wife Empress Theodora, appearing at a meeting of the imperial council, declared that she preferred death to loss of power. “The royal purple is a beautiful shroud,” she said. Justinian, ashamed of his cowardice, launched an attack on the rebels. His generals, Belisarius and Mund, standing at the head of a large detachment of barbarian mercenaries, suddenly attacked the rebels in the circus and killed everyone. After the massacre, 35 thousand corpses were removed from the arena. Hypatius was publicly executed.

In short, now you see that our fans, compared to their distant predecessors, are just meek lambs.

Capital menageries

Every self-respecting capital strives to acquire its own zoo. Constantinople was no exception here. The city had a luxurious menagerie - a source of pride and concern for the Byzantine emperors. European monarchs knew only by hearsay about the animals that lived in the East. For example, giraffes in Europe have long been considered a cross between a camel and a leopard. It was believed that the giraffe inherited its general appearance from one, and its coloring from the other.

However, the fairy tale paled in comparison with real miracles. Thus, in the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople there was a chamber of Magnaurus. There was a whole mechanical menagerie here. The ambassadors of European sovereigns who attended the imperial reception were amazed by what they saw. Here, for example, is what Liutprand, the ambassador of the Italian king Berengar, said in 949:
“In front of the emperor’s throne stood a copper but gilded tree, the branches of which were filled with various kinds of birds, made of bronze and also gilded. The birds each uttered their own special melody, and the emperor’s seat was arranged so skillfully that at first it seemed low, almost at ground level, then somewhat higher and, finally, hanging in the air. The colossal throne was surrounded in the form of guards, copper or wooden, but, in any case, gilded lions, which madly beat their tails on the ground, opened their mouths, moved their tongues and emitted a loud roar. At my appearance, the lions roared, and the birds each sang their own melody. After I, according to custom, bowed before the emperor for the third time, I raised my head and saw the emperor in completely different clothes almost at the ceiling of the hall, while I had just seen him on a throne at a small height from the ground. I couldn’t understand how this happened: he must have been lifted up by a machine.”

By the way, all these miracles were observed in 957 by Princess Olga, the first Russian visitor to Magnavra.

Golden Horn

In ancient times, the Golden Horn Bay of Constantinople was of paramount importance in the defense of the city from attacks from the sea. If the enemy managed to break into the bay, the city was doomed.

Old Russian princes tried several times to attack Constantinople from the sea. But only once did the Russian army manage to penetrate the coveted bay.

In 911, the prophetic Oleg led a large Russian fleet on a campaign against Constantinople. To prevent the Russians from landing on the shore, the Greeks blocked the entrance to the Golden Horn with a heavy chain. But Oleg outwitted the Greeks. The Russian boats were placed on round wooden rollers and dragged into the bay. Then the Byzantine emperor decided that it was better to have such a person as a friend than an enemy. Oleg was offered peace and the status of an ally of the empire.

Miniature of the Ralziwill Chronicle

The Straits of Constantinople were also where our ancestors were first introduced to what we now call the superiority of advanced technology.

The Byzantine fleet at this time was far from the capital, fighting with Arab pirates in the Mediterranean. The Byzantine Emperor Roman I had at hand only a dozen and a half ships, written off due to disrepair. Nevertheless, Roman decided to give battle. Siphons with “Greek fire” were installed on the half-rotten vessels. It was a flammable mixture based on natural oil.

Russian boats boldly attacked the Greek squadron, the very sight of which made them laugh. But suddenly, through the high sides of the Greek ships, fiery jets poured onto the heads of the Rus. The sea around the Russian ships seemed to suddenly burst into flames. Many rooks burst into flames at once. The Russian army was instantly seized by panic. Everyone was thinking only about how to get out of this hell as quickly as possible.

The Greeks won a complete victory. Byzantine historians report that Igor managed to escape with barely a dozen rooks.

Church schism

Ecumenical councils met more than once in Constantinople, saving the Christian Church from destructive schisms. But one day an event of a completely different kind occurred there.

On July 15, 1054, before the start of the service, Cardinal Humbert entered the Hagia Sophia, accompanied by two papal legates. Walking straight into the altar, he addressed the people with accusations against the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius. At the end of his speech, Cardinal Humbert placed the bull of excommunication on the throne and left the temple. On the threshold, he symbolically shook off the dust from his feet and said: “God sees and judges!” For a minute there was complete silence in the church. Then there was a general uproar. The deacon ran after the cardinal, begging him to take the bull back. But he took away the document handed to him, and the bulla fell onto the pavement. It was taken to the patriarch, who ordered the papal message to be published, and then excommunicated the papal legates themselves. The indignant crowd almost tore apart the envoys of Rome.

Generally speaking, Humbert came to Constantinople for a completely different matter. At the same time, Rome and Byzantium were greatly annoyed by the Normans who had settled in Sicily. Humbert was instructed to negotiate with the Byzantine emperor on joint action against them. But from the very beginning of the negotiations, the issue of confessional differences between the Roman and Constantinople churches came to the fore. The Emperor, who was extremely interested in the military-political assistance of the West, was unable to calm down the raging priests. The matter, as we have seen, ended badly - after mutual excommunication, the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope no longer wanted to know each other.

Later, this event was called the “great schism”, or “division of the Churches” into Western - Catholic and Eastern - Orthodox. Of course, its roots lay much deeper than the 11th century, and the disastrous consequences did not appear immediately.

Russian pilgrims

The capital of the Orthodox world - Constantinople (Constantinople) - was well known to the Russian people. Merchants from Kyiv and other cities of Rus' came here, pilgrims going to Mount Athos and the Holy Land stopped here. One of the districts of Constantinople - Galata - was even called the “Russian city” - so many Russian travelers lived here. One of them, Novgorodian Dobrynya Yadreikovich, left the most interesting historical evidence about the Byzantine capital. Thanks to his “Tale of Constantinople” we know how the crusader pogrom of 1204 found the thousand-year-old city.

Dobrynya visited Constantinople in the spring of 1200. He examined in detail the monasteries and churches of Constantinople with their icons, relics and relics. According to scientists, the “Tale of Constantinople” describes 104 shrines of the capital of Byzantium, and so thoroughly and accurately as none of the travelers of later times described them.

A very interesting story is about the miraculous phenomenon in the St. Sophia Cathedral on May 21, which, as Dobrynya assures, he personally witnessed. This is what happened that day: on Sunday before the liturgy, in front of the worshipers, a golden altar cross with three burning lamps miraculously rose into the air by itself, and then smoothly fell into place. The Greeks received this sign with jubilation, as a sign of God's mercy. But ironically, four years later, Constantinople fell to the Crusaders. This misfortune forced the Greeks to change their view on the interpretation of the miraculous sign: they now began to think that the return of the shrines to their place foreshadowed the revival of Byzantium after the fall of the Crusader state. Later, a legend arose that on the eve of the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, and also on May 21, the miracle was repeated, but this time the cross and lamps soared into the sky forever, and this already marked the final fall of the Byzantine Empire.

First surrender

At Easter 1204, Constantinople was filled only with groans and lamentations. For the first time in nine centuries, enemies - participants in the Fourth Crusade - were at work in the capital of Byzantium.

The call for the capture of Constantinople sounded at the end of the 12th century from the lips of Pope Innocent III. Interest in the Holy Land in the West at that time had already begun to cool. But the crusade against Orthodox schismatics was fresh. Few of the Western European sovereigns resisted the temptation to plunder the richest city in the world. Venetian ships, for a good bribe, delivered a horde of crusader thugs directly to the walls of Constantinople.

Crusaders storm the walls of Constantinople in 1204. Painting by Jacopo Tintoretto, 16th century

The city was stormed on Monday, April 13, and was subjected to total plunder. The Byzantine chronicler Niketas Choniates wrote indignantly that even “Muslims are kinder and more compassionate compared to these people who wear the sign of Christ on their shoulders.” Countless amounts of relics and precious church utensils were exported to the West. According to historians, to this day, up to 90% of the most significant relics in the cathedrals of Italy, France and Germany are shrines taken from Constantinople. The greatest of them is the so-called Shroud of Turin: the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, on which His face was imprinted. Now it is kept in the cathedral of Turin, Italy.

In place of Byzantium, the knights created the Latin Empire and a number of other state entities.

Division of Byzantium after the fall of Constantinople

In 1213, the papal legate closed all the churches and monasteries of Constantinople, and imprisoned the monks and priests. The Catholic clergy hatched plans for a real genocide of the Orthodox population of Byzantium. The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral, Claude Fleury, wrote that the Greeks “must be exterminated and the country populated with Catholics.”

These plans, fortunately, were not destined to come true. In 1261, Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos retook Constantinople almost without a fight, ending Latin rule on Byzantine soil.

New Troy

At the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries, Constantinople experienced the longest siege in its history, comparable only to the siege of Troy.

By that time, pitiful scraps remained of the Byzantine Empire - Constantinople itself and the southern regions of Greece. The rest was captured by the Turkish Sultan Bayazid I. But independent Constantinople stuck out like a bone in his throat, and in 1394 the Turks took the city under siege.

Emperor Manuel II turned to the strongest sovereigns of Europe for help. Some of them responded to the desperate call from Constantinople. However, only money was sent from Moscow - the Moscow princes had enough of their own worries with the Golden Horde. But the Hungarian king Sigismund boldly went on a campaign against the Turks, but on September 25, 1396 he was completely defeated in the battle of Nikopol. The French were somewhat more successful. In 1399, the commander Geoffroy Boukiko with one thousand two hundred soldiers broke into Constantinople, strengthening its garrison.

However, oddly enough, Tamerlane became the real savior of Constantinople. Of course, the great lame man least of all thought about pleasing the Byzantine emperor. He had his own scores to settle with Bayezid. In 1402, Tamerlane defeated Bayezid, captured him and put him in an iron cage.

Bayezid's son Sulim lifted the eight-year siege from Constantinople. At the negotiations that began after that, the Byzantine emperor managed to squeeze out of the situation even more than it could give at first glance. He demanded the return of a number of Byzantine possessions, and the Turks resignedly agreed to this. Moreover, Sulim took a vassal oath to the emperor. This was the last historical success of the Byzantine Empire - but what a success! Through the hands of others, Manuel II regained significant territories and ensured the Byzantine Empire another half-century of existence.

A fall

In the mid-15th century, Constantinople was still considered the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and its last emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, ironically bore the name of the founder of the thousand-year-old city. But these were only the pitiful ruins of a once great empire. And Constantinople itself has long lost its metropolitan splendor. Its fortifications were dilapidated, the population huddled in dilapidated houses, and only individual buildings - palaces, churches, a hippodrome - reminded of its former greatness.

Byzantine Empire in 1450

Such a city, or rather a historical ghost, was besieged on April 7, 1453 by the 150,000-strong army of the Turkish Sultan Mehmet II. 400 Turkish ships entered the Bosphorus Strait.

For the 29th time in its history, Constantinople was under siege. But never before has the danger been so great. Constantine Paleologus could oppose the Turkish armada with only 5,000 garrison soldiers and about 3,000 Venetians and Genoese who responded to the call for help.

Panorama "The Fall of Constantinople". Opened in Istanbul in 2009

The panorama depicts approximately 10 thousand participants in the battle. The total area of ​​the canvas is 2,350 square meters. meters with a panorama diameter of 38 meters and a 20-meter height. Its location is also symbolic: not far from the Cannon Gate. It was next to them that a hole was made in the wall, which decided the outcome of the assault.

However, the first attacks from land did not bring success to the Turks. The attempt of the Turkish fleet to break through the chain blocking the entrance to the Golden Horn Bay also ended in failure. Then Mehmet II repeated the maneuver that had once brought Prince Oleg the glory of the conqueror of Constantinople. By order of the Sultan, the Ottomans built a 12-kilometer portage and dragged 70 ships along it to the Golden Horn. The triumphant Mehmet invited the besieged to surrender. But they replied that they would fight to the death.

On May 27, Turkish guns opened hurricane fire on the city walls, punching huge gaps in them. Two days later the final, general assault began. After a fierce battle in the breaches, the Turks burst into the city. Constantine Palaiologos fell in battle, fighting like a simple warrior.

Official video of the panorama “The Fall of Constantinople”

Despite the destruction caused, the Turkish conquest breathed new life into the dying city. Constantinople turned into Istanbul - the capital of a new empire, the brilliant Ottoman Porte.

Loss of capital status

For 470 years, Istanbul was the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the spiritual center of the Islamic world, since the Turkish Sultan was also the caliph - the spiritual ruler of Muslims. But in the 20s of the last century, the great city lost its capital status - presumably forever.

The reason for this was the First World War, in which the dying Ottoman Empire was stupid to take the side of Germany. In 1918, the Turks suffered a crushing defeat from the Entente. In fact, the country lost its independence. The Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 left Turkey with only a fifth of its former territory. The Dardanelles and Bosporus were declared open straits and were subject to occupation along with Istanbul. The British entered the Turkish capital, while the Greek army captured the western part of Asia Minor.

However, there were forces in Turkey that did not want to come to terms with national humiliation. The national liberation movement was led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha. In 1920, he proclaimed the creation of a free Turkey in Ankara and declared the treaties signed by the Sultan invalid. At the end of August and beginning of September 1921, a major battle took place between the Kemalists and the Greeks on the Sakarya River (one hundred kilometers west of Ankara). Kemal won a convincing victory, for which he received the rank of marshal and the title "Gazi" ("Winner"). Entente troops were withdrawn from Istanbul, Türkiye received international recognition within its current borders.

Kemal's government carried out the most important reforms of the state system. Secular power was separated from religious power, the sultanate and caliphate were eliminated. The last Sultan, Mehmed VI, fled abroad. On October 29, 1923, Türkiye was officially declared a secular republic. The capital of the new state was moved from Istanbul to Ankara.

The loss of capital status did not remove Istanbul from the list of great cities in the world. Today it is the largest metropolis in Europe with a population of 13.8 million people and a booming economy.

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