When did Constantinople become Turkish? When did Constantinople become Istanbul? What is Tsargrad

On May 29, 1453, Constantinople fell and the Byzantine Empire was conquered by the Turks. The dream that one day Turkish Istanbul will once again become the Greek Constantinople remains as relevant for many Greeks as it was five centuries ago. On the anniversary of the capture of Constantinople, we are talking with a specialist in Greek folklore, Ph.D. Ksenia Klimova about the legends associated with the life of the City.

- Xenia, the current name of Constantinople - Istanbul was really born on the day the city fell?

Of course, it’s difficult to talk about the day, but, in general, it really arose during the siege of Constantinople. Let us remember that Constantinople - the capital of Byzantium - stood out sharply for its inhabitants among the other cities of the empire, therefore it was often called simply I Poly (Η Πόλις), that is, the City, in written monuments - with a capital letter.

- Did the city have a special place in the minds of the Byzantines?

Yes. Descriptions of Constantinople are found in official chronicles, for example, there is a famous treatise “On Buildings” by the Greek historian Procopius of Caesarea, which tells in great detail about various buildings from the time of Emperor Justinian the Great, including Hagia Sophia. But as a folklorist, my greatest interest is in folk tales and legends.

The main building in Constantinople has always been the Church of Hagia Sophia, which has become the “hero” of many legends. The earliest ones arose already during the construction of the temple. It is believed that the plan for the temple was not invented by architects, but was conveyed by angels to Emperor Justinian the Great in a dream. And when disputes arose regarding the construction, the angels again appeared to him in a dream and told him what to do.

All over Greece they say that for a very long time they could not come up with a plan for the temple. The chief architect offered the emperor different options, but the emperor did not like any of them. And one fine day a miracle happened.

After the liturgy, the emperor was the first to go for the prosphora, but a piece of the prosphora fell to the floor and was picked up and carried away by a bee. But it was impossible to allow the prosphora to remain with the bees. And the emperor ordered everyone to open their hives and see if she was inside. The chief architect also opened his hive and saw that the bees inside it had built a beautiful temple out of wax. And they made it so skillfully that the outside was decorated with reliefs, and inside everything was arranged as in a real church. The doors of the temple were open, and through them it was possible to see that on the wax throne lay a prosphora carried away by a bee. The architect was surprised, invited the emperor, and the Byzantine ruler liked the wax temple so much that he ordered Hagia Sophia to be built according to this wax model.

- Was the fall of Constantinople also reflected in legends?

Yes. Moreover, everything is connected with the same Hagia Sophia. For example, at a height of approximately 4 meters from the floor in the temple, a handprint is visible. There are two versions about its origin - Turkish and Greek.

According to Greek legend, during this last liturgy, the Mother of God appeared above the worshippers, spread her veil over the Christians and touched one of the walls with her hand.

The Turks believe that this is the handprint of Sultan Mehmed II, who took Constantinople. During the siege of the City, liturgy was served in the Sophia Church. The Turks burst inside and cut off all the worshipers. So the Sultan rode inside already over the corpses, that is, at a certain height from the ground. His horse was frightened by so many dead bodies, reared up - and Mehmed, in order not to fall, leaned his hand on the wall. The hand was covered in blood and a print remained.

- But they say that the Turks did not kill everyone...

Yes, there is a legend. That the priest, who was then serving the liturgy, did not have time to complete it and entered the wall of the temple together with the Chalice. If you put your ear to it, at any time of the day you will hear a noise reminiscent of a whisper - this is the priest who continues to read prayers and will read them until Constantinople returns back to the Greeks. Then he will come out of the wall and complete his liturgy.

Right now in the fall of this year they are going to celebrate a liturgy in the Church of Hagia Sophia, and some say that the priest will come out of the wall.

Many legends are also written about the throne of Hagia Sophia. They say that he could not fall into the hands of the Turks, so when the Turks approached the city, the Greeks carried him out to take him by ship to mainland Greece. On the way the ship sank. And although there were always storms where he sank, now the sea in this place is always calm. And they say that when Constantinople returns to the Greeks, the throne will be taken from the bottom of the sea and taken to Hagia Sophia.

- Nobody tried to get him?

Don't know. But it seems to me that in reality the throne was not removed. These stories have no historical basis. And then, how could a priest serve the liturgy without a throne?

As for any unfinished actions. They talk about undercooked fish. Someone - in some versions an emperor, in others - a monk or an elder - on the day of the fall of Constantinople, fried fish in a frying pan. When they came to him and said that the city had fallen, the man did not believe it and replied: “It would be more likely for a fish to come to life and jump out of the frying pan than for the City to fall.” And the fish came to life, jumped out of the frying pan and swam into the sea. Since then, three fish have been swimming in the sea, fried on one side. And when Constantinople returns to the Greeks, they will jump back into the frying pan, they will finish cooking them - and everything will fall into place.

- What do the legends say about the fate of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine IX?

They also say that the emperor’s body was allegedly identified by socks on which gold crosses were embroidered. At the same time, it is known that those close to the emperor did not see either his body or his head. Therefore, the question arises as to whether he was really brought to the Sultan’s court, or whether he was buried somewhere.

Previously, tourists in one of the abandoned corners of Constantinople, on Vefa Square, were shown a place that was supposedly the tomb of the last Byzantine emperor. A lamp burned above her, and pilgrims brought and lit candles next to her. Nowadays this place is hardly visited.

According to another legend, Emperor Constantine was buried in the former temple of St. Theodora, the current Gul-Jami Mosque. Translated, “Gul-jami” means “mosque of roses.” In May 1453, on the eve of the fall of Constantinople, there was the feast of St. Theodora, and Emperor Constantine ordered the temple consecrated in her honor to be decorated with roses and, together with the patriarch, prayed there all evening. According to legend, when the Turks invaded the city, the temple remained decorated with many roses. The beauty of the temple impressed Sultan Mehmed II so much that he named it Gul-jami.

- What is this famous legend about the marble king?

This is the most famous legend about the fate of the last Byzantine emperor. According to this version, when a Turkish soldier raised his hand with a sword to cut off Constantine IX's head, angels suddenly appeared and carried the emperor away to an unknown direction. But Christians know that they took it to the Golden Gate, the main entrance to Constantinople, and hid it in an underground cave. There the emperor fell asleep and turned into marble. The marble king will sleep until the time comes and Constantinople is freed from Turkish rule. Then he will wake up, and the angels will give him his sword, and the emperor will rise and defeat the Turks and drive the enemy army to the Red Apple Tree.

- Why to the Red Apple Tree?

It is very difficult to say what the Red Apple Tree is. This is some kind of mythological place name. According to one version, in Turkish there was a word that can be translated as “red apple tree”; it meant a big city. It can be assumed that the red apple tree - or the red apple attributed to it - is a metaphor that means either the distant city from which the Turks came, or in general the origins of the universe. In any case, a very far place from Constantinople.

- How did the Turks treat all these legends?

They took the legend of the marble king literally and began to look for the cave, but could not find it. Then, because according to legend, the emperor will enter the city in triumph through the Golden Gate. They walled up the gate, and at first they left a small door in it. And then they stoned her too. The Seven Tower Fortress was built around the gate, in which the city prison was located. It was the most fortified building in Istanbul. And subsequently they began to store the city treasury there. So there was no way to get through the Golden Gate. Moreover, they planted vegetable gardens around them so that there wasn’t even a road there. In this way they decided to protect themselves from the marble king!

- Is it true what they say that Turkish sultans are descendants of Byzantine emperors?

There is a well-known legend that after the conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed II married the widow of Constantine IX, and she was 6 months pregnant. The Sultan went on a campaign, and the Empress gave birth to a son, baptized him and named him Panagis. When the Sultan returned and asked what the boy's name was. The Empress replied that he could call him Khan. Although the mother raised her son in the Greek faith and gave him a Greek education, he hated the Greeks and began to read the Koran more than the Gospel, and later, when he grew up, he began to go only to the mosque and directed all his anger against Christians. However, according to this legend, the Turkish sultans are descendants of Byzantine rulers by blood.

- In many legends there is the idea that one day Constantinople will return to the Greeks...

Yes, and even in laments for the conquered Constantinople, which can be recorded in any corner of Greece, there is always the thought that one day the City will become Greek again.

And this phrase - that one day the city will become ours again - is often used by nationalist parties as a slogan during election campaigns. So many legends are alive to this day.

In general, there is a special layer of legends about the return of Constantinople. For example, they say that one day a shining cross appeared above Hagia Sophia, which the Turks could not recognize. This was a sign that one day Sophia would be Greek again.

Even before the fall, at the time of the decline of Byzantium, legends appeared that the fair-haired people who would come from the north would help the Greeks restore their former greatness and freedom. Will descend through the Balkans and drive away their enemies. Before this, there will be a war in which six Balkan nations will be involved.

Particularly popular is the prediction allegedly made by Leo the Wise, inscribed on the lid of the tomb of Constantine the Great: “...many Western nations will gather, wage war on Ismail by sea and land and defeat him. His descendants will reign for a short time. The race of fair-haired people, together with the previous owners, will defeat Ismail and take possession of Semikholmny.”

Another famous prediction is that of Methodius of Patara, which directly mentions the “Grand Duke of Moscow.”

These predictions were known to the Russian tsars, and every time a war between Russia and Turkey began, these legends came to life in memory. Moreover, the wife of Ivan III, Sophia Palaeologus, was the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine IX, which contributed to the desire of the Russian tsars to recapture the Byzantine heritage.

Now in Greece there is a journalist Demosthenis Lyakopoulos, who is very fond of all sorts of mythical revelations and constantly talks about how Russia is rising and soon the Russians will come and liberate Constantinople. So it's all very much alive.

This is a memorable date for any Greek. As a rule, films and programs about Constantinople are shown on this day. Its history and conquest tell about all sorts of legends associated with the City...

By the way, May 29, 1453 was Tuesday. Therefore, the combination of the 29th and Tuesday is considered an unfavorable day for starting business. Not like Friday the 13th. But something like that.

- Are there any indications for the year or day of the liberation of Constantinople?

It’s hard to say, it’s different in different legends. But, in general, that's what it says. That this should happen 500-600 years after his fall.

- By any chance, in Greece they don’t serve prayers for the liberation of the City?

Don't know. I haven't seen anything like it yet.

Olga Bogdanova

The history of Constantinople covers an interesting period from 330, when the capital of the Roman Empire - the city of Byzantium - was called Constantinople, or New Rome. The history of Constantinople ends in 1453, when the city was subjugated by the Ottoman Turks, led by Mehmed the conqueror.

Major milestones in the history of Constantinople (briefly):

• 330 - The Roman city of Byzantium was named Constantinople. It became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium (which was formed after the division of the Roman Empire).
• 527-565 - a large-scale popular uprising of “Nika” against Emperor Justinian, who forcibly converted the people of Constantinople to the Christian faith. As a result of 35 thousand killed, the revolts were suppressed.
• VI century - the beginning of the heyday of Constantinople and the entire Byzantine Empire. Until the 13th century, the city remained the largest center of culture, science and trade in Europe.
• 717 - an unsuccessful attempt by the Arabs to besiege Constantinople.
• 9th century - Russians led by Askold and Dir attacked Constantinople, but the siege failed and the ancient Russian princes of Kyiv retreated.
• Beginning of the 10th century - Prince Oleg of Kiev tried to take Constantinople. The parties agreed on peace: Constantinople paid off with favorable conditions for Kyiv merchants.
• Mid-10th century - Prince Igor of Kiev tried to conquer the city, but failed.
• 957 - Igor’s wife Olga came from Kyiv to Constantinople and was baptized.
• 1097 - Crusader troops gathered in Constantinople to participate in the First Crusade against the Muslim Turks, which ended in the victory of the Europeans.
• 1204 – the city was captured by King Boniface I of Thessalonica. After the fall of its capital, the Byzantine Empire disintegrated into small kingdoms.
• 1453 - Turk Mehmed II the Conqueror took Constantinople and killed the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine. The city was named Istanbul and made the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

Detailed history of Constantinople

From foundation to blossom

In 330 AD. The ancient Roman city of Byzantium, under the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, was called New Rome (Greek. Νέα Ῥώμη , lat. Nova Roma), or Constantinople (ancient Greek. Κωνσταντινούπολις , lat. Constantinopolis) .

In fact, the city on the site of Byzantium was rebuilt thanks to large-scale intensive construction.

The efforts of Emperor Constantine the Great for the development and prosperity of New Rome were not in vain - in just the first half century, the new capital of the Roman Empire turned into the largest and richest city in Europe and the Middle East with its palaces, multiple temples, theaters and baths, a circus, a hippodrome, library and schools. And although there were several serious earthquakes, during which the walls of the city were largely destroyed, Constantinople was strengthened, the walls were expanded and rebuilt, and the city's sea routes again became one of the most important sources of its prosperity.

During the reign of Justinian I (527-565 AD), the production of pottery, textiles, construction and forges, jewelry and agriculture, the production of weapons and coinage were very developed in Constantinople. Ships from the Black Sea and Mediterranean fleets, as well as the fleets of Spain and Egypt, passed through Constantinople; Persian and Indian caravans also delivered their goods to Europe through Constantinople. Trade flourished and the city became financially rich.

The city was well fortified with fortress walls 16 km long. They are called the walls of Constantine and Theodosius - in honor of the emperors under whom they were built. The line of the wall of Theodosius for many centuries determined the boundaries within which Constantinople lived and developed:

Many peoples involved in trade lived here. Chemistry, mathematics, philosophy, medicine and theological sciences also developed.

Byzantium was at that time a powerful state, which included the southern part of Spain, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Carthage (the territory of modern Tunisia), Mesopotamia (modern Iran, Iraq and northeastern Syria), Cilicia (today it is part of Turkey in the north -eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea), part of Armenia, Dalmatia (the territory of modern Croatia and Montenegro), the Bosporan Kingdom (modern Crimea and the territories northwest of the Crimea up to the Kuban) and Anatolia (Asia Minor, the middle part of modern Turkey).

Conversion to Christianity and popular uprisings

In the 6th century AD. Under Justinian I, a series of rebellions took place in Constantinople, which went down in history as the “Revolt of Nika.” The ruler, under the threat of deprivation of the rights and freedoms of his subjects and even under the threat of the death penalty, converted the people to the Christian faith. Ordinary people, led by a number of senators, did not agree with the emperor’s policies and the taxation system, and began to create riots in the city, setting fire to Christian temples and churches, as well as buildings in which tax receipts and documents were kept, and part of the imperial palace burned down. . The uprising was brutally suppressed. There were about 35 thousand people killed.

Justinian I successfully rebuilt the burned Hagia Sophia, the Church of the Holy Apostles and the Church of Saint Irene, and also built several new churches.

Thanks to Emperor Theodosius, Constantinople became the capital of Christianity, which became the state religion in Byzantium.

Beginning of raids and weakening

Byzantium at the end of the 7th century. lost a significant part of its territories, such as Egypt and Palestine, Cilicia and Syria, Upper Mesopotamia and Carthage to the Arabs. In 717, the Arabs continued their raids and tried to besiege Constantinople. Their attempts at capture ended in retreat after several unsuccessful months.

In the 9th century, the Russians, led by princes Askold and Dir, tried to attack Constantinople, but they could not besiege the city, and retreated, only slightly plundering the surrounding area. At the beginning of the 10th century, the Kiev prince Oleg tried to take Constantinople, but the Byzantines agreed on peace with him, providing the merchants of Rus' with favorable conditions for trade.

In the middle of the 10th century, an unsuccessful campaign against the capital of Byzantium was carried out by the Kiev prince Igor Rurikovich, where he was defeated by “liquid fire” (or “Greek fire”) used by his enemies. “Liquid fire” was a flammable mixture, the composition of which is not known for certain, but it is assumed that it was a mixture of crude oil, oil and sulfur, which was thrown using special devices; it was always successfully used by the Byzantines in naval battles.

In 957 AD. After the death of her husband, Princess Olga arrived in Constantinople and was baptized there.

In the 1st half. In the 11th century, the church split into Western (Roman Catholic) and Eastern (Greek Catholic). The latter later became known as the Orthodox Church.

By the middle of the 11th century, the Byzantine capital still had the importance of a world trade center, but experienced strong competition from the Thessalonian fairs.

First fall of Constantinople

In 1097, crusaders gathered in Constantinople to take part in the First Crusade against the Seljuks in Anatolia and the Muslims in Jerusalem. The Byzantines helped the “guests” who came to them - the crusaders - to cross to the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, and they went towards Jerusalem.

Despite this, in the future the Constantinople people developed tense relations with all the crusader states. And a hundred years later, in 1203, the Fourth Crusade of the crusader knights began against Constantinople itself! And it became fatal for him.

So, the Fourth Crusade was organized by Venice, for which the Byzantines were the main trading rivals in the East. Anti-Byzantine sentiments among the knights were fueled by the untold wealth of Constantinople, the policy of Pope Innocent (who sought to subjugate the Byzantine Church) and the German feudal lords. So the original plan for the crusade against Egypt was changed - the army went to the capital of a rich empire.

IN April 1204 Constantinople fell for the first time in its history - it was captured by the Crusader prince Boniface I, king of Thessalonica (modern territory of Greece). The crusaders plundered the city, and did not even disdain to rob the imperial tombs.

A month later, a fire in the city center in the Golden Horn region destroyed entire shopping districts with all their goods and houses, and many residents lost their jobs and livelihoods. The city fell into decay for many decades.

After the fall of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire split into several kingdoms - the Latin Empire (it was created by the crusaders and Constantinople entered it), the Kingdom of Thessaloniki (Boniface), the Nicaean Empire (which considered itself the true heir of Byzantium and opposed the foreign presence in Constantinople), the Kingdom of Epirus and etc.

By the mid-13th century, Constantinople and the Latin Empire had fallen into complete economic decline.

Return of Constantinople to Byzantium

After the fall of Constantinople, the Nicaean Empire ( on the map below) began to strengthen and became the most viable Greek kingdom at that time. Its emperors considered themselves the true kings of the destroyed Byzantium, and, unlike it, identified themselves purely as Greeks, and not amophoric Roman-Greeks. It was here that the self-awareness of the Hellenes and Greeks was formed.

In 1260, the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Paleogos tried to recapture Constantinople from the Latins, but the Greeks were forced to retreat. The following year, he finally conquered the city where the Venetians ruled. The Greeks entered it at night through a drainage and opened the gates to the main army. The local emperor fled, and on August 15 1261 Michael entered Constantinople in triumph. Thus, the Byzantine Empire was restored under the rule of the Greeks from the Palaiologan dynasty. However, this was only a shadow of the past great empire.

At the same time, the Nicene Empire, of course, lost its importance and became a simple provincial region of Byzantium, and later the territory of the Ottoman rulers.

Michael made a lot of efforts to restore Constantinople, but the infrastructure was in ruins, vacant lots grew in place of former neighborhoods, the population was starving and suffered from epidemics.

The economic situation improved by the middle of the 14th century.

The final fall. Conquest by the Turks

At the end of the 13th century (1296 - 1297) the city began to decline more and more against the backdrop of the heyday of the Genoese Galata. The Venetian fleet often plundered the suburbs of Constantinople, despite the fact that Michael allowed the Genoese to use the strait and enter the Black Sea. The Greeks could not resist Venice without their strong fleet.

But a more powerful enemy was approaching from the east - the growing Ottoman Empire. In 1326, the Turks conquered the large Byzantine city of Bursa, 92 km from Constantinople, and made it their capital. Thus, the enemy was hanging right at the borders.

In 1362, the Turkish Sultan Murad the First moved his capital even closer - to Adrianople (now Turkish Edirne), surrounding Constantinople with Ottoman lands on all sides.

And although Constantinople remained the capital of the Byzantine Empire, it essentially no longer existed. The Byzantine emperors recognized themselves as vassals of the sultans and owned only Constantinople and small lands near it.

Finally, in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror took the city, sacked it, killed the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine, and sold the surviving inhabitants into slavery. The remnants of the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks, and Mehmed the conqueror proclaimed Constantinople the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

The Turks turned the most significant church temples into mosques, and the city itself was named Istanbul, although the city was not officially renamed at that time. In the 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Golden Age for Constantinople, but this is a separate interesting story - the history of Istanbul.

What is Tsargrad

Constantinople is nothing more than the ancient Slavic name of Byzantine Constantinople and Ottoman Istanbul. In Rus', this word was written in Old Church Slavonic as Tsargrad.

In general, Constantinople is an ancient Slavic tracing paper from the Greek Βασιλὶς Πόλις (Vassilis Polis). That is, literally translated from Greek. this is “Caesar's City”.

Today the word Tsargrad is an archaic term in the Russian language. But it is interesting that it is still used in Bulgarian, particularly in a historical context. For example, the main transport artery in Sofia is called Tsarigradsko highway. The Bulgarians call gooseberries Tsarigrad bunch.

In the modern Slovenian language, Tsargrad is used very actively. Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs understand and use the name Carigrad.

But it should be noted that in fact Constantinople was never called Constantinople in Byzantium itself or the Ottoman Empire, of which it was the capital.

Constantinople, Istanbul Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Constantinople noun, number of synonyms: 6 Byzantium (3) mountains ... Synonym dictionary

- (Byzantium; in medieval Russian texts Constantinople), the capital of the Roman Empire (from 330), then the Byzantine Empire. See Istanbul... Modern encyclopedia

- (Constantinople) capital of the Byzantine Empire. Founded by Constantine I in 324 330 on the site of the city of Byzantium. In 1204 it became the capital of the Latin Empire. Recaptured by the Byzantines in 1261. In 1453 taken by the Turks, renamed Istanbul... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

See Byzantium. (Source: “A Brief Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities.” M. Korsh. St. Petersburg, published by A. S. Suvorin, 1894.) ... Encyclopedia of Mythology

Istanbul Geographical names of the world: Toponymic dictionary. M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001... Geographical encyclopedia

Constantinople- (Constantinople), a city in Turkey (modern Istanbul), originally Byzantine, founded in 657 BC. like Greek the colony. In the beginning. 4th century AD Constantine I the Great chose it as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, preferring the one located nearby... ... The World History

Constantinople- (ancient Byzantium, Slavic Constantinople, Turkish Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire, on the Thracian Bosphorus, 1,125 thousand inhabitants; has Ukrainian, military. harbor and arsenal. Located in an amphitheater on the berth. bays of the Golden Horn. Natural conditions and... ... Military encyclopedia

Constantinople- (Byzantium; in medieval Russian texts Constantinople), the capital of the Roman Empire (from 330), then the Byzantine Empire. See Istanbul. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Constantinople) 1. Muslim conquests The city was besieged in 668 by Arabs led by Abu Sufyan, the military commander of Caliph Mu'awiya. The Muslim fleet passed through the Hellespont unhindered, but the attack on the city faced fierce... ... Encyclopedia of Battles of World History

I (Greek Κωνσταντινουπολις, ancient Βυζαντιον, Latin Byzantium, ancient Russian folk. Tsaregrad, Serb. Tsarigrad, Czech. Cařihrad, Polish. Carogród, Turkish. Stanbol [pron. Stam boulevard or Istanbul], Arabic Constantiniye, Italian. common people and... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Ephron

Books

• Constantinople. Album of species. Constantinople, 1880s. Edition "Deutsche Buch- und Steindruckerei Papier- und Kunsthandlung F. Loeffler". Album with 29 color lithographs. Typographic binding. Safety…
• Constantinople, D. Essad. Reprinted edition using print-on-demand technology from the original of 1919. Reproduced in the original author’s spelling of the 1919 edition (publishing house M. and S. Sabashnikov Publishing).…

Every educated person knows two things about the history of Istanbul:

• Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire here and gave the city his name, calling it Constantinople. (IV century AD)
• After more than a thousand years, the Ottoman armies captured it and turned it into the capital of the Islamic world. At the same time, the name was changed, and it turned into Istanbul. (XVI century AD)

I learned about the second of these renamings in childhood from a song I heard in a cartoon (only 2 minutes, I highly recommend it, it lifts my spirits):

"Istanbul was Constantinople, now it"s Istanbul, not Constantinople, why did Constantinople get the works?.."

But, as it turns out, I was wrong. Neither Constantine nor the conquering Sultan renamed the city as I thought. They renamed it completely differently.

Here is a brief history of the many names of long-suffering Istanbul:

In 667 BC the city was founded under the nameByzantium (Greek Βυζάντιον) - there are suggestions that it was named so in honor of the Greek king Byzantine.

In 74 AD, the city of Byzantium became part of the Roman Empire. His name has not changed.

In 193, Emperor Septimius Severus decides to rename the city in honor of his son Anthony. For 19 years Byzantium becameAugusta Antonina , then the name was changed back.

In 330, Constantine proclaimed Byzantium the capital of the empire, and issued a decree renaming the city New Rome (and not what you thought). True, no one liked this name, and residents continued to call the city Byzantium. At this point, the city was already almost 1,000 years old.

During his reign, Constantine intensively rebuilt the city, increased its size several times, and generally changed its appearance beyond recognition. For this, people began to call Byzantium the city of Constantine (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις).

Only during the reign of Theodosius II, about a hundred years later, the city was first calledConstantinople in official documents - no one liked the name “New Rome” so much. As a result, this name was assigned to the Byzantine capital for centuries.

In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople after a long siege. This marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, and gave rise to the Ottoman Empire. The new owners began to call the city in a new way:Constantine . However, when translated, this means absolutely the same as in Greek - “city of Constantine.” At the same time, foreigners called it Constantinople and continued to do so.

To my surprise, it turned out that the city was called Constantinople throughout the history of the Ottoman Empire. Only after the emergence of the Turkish Republic in the 1920s, it was considered necessary to rename it. The Ataturk government urged all foreigners to call the city by a new name:Istanbul . (In Russian the city began to be called Istanbul.)

Where did this name come from? Another surprise: this is not a Turkish word at all, as I thought. For centuries, local residents referred to the central part of the city in Greek as "εις την Πόλιν" (in the Middle Ages it was pronounced "istembolis"). What simply means “City”, or, in the modern sense, “downtown”. That's exactly what New Yorkers call Manhattan "city" today.

Lygos, Byzantium, Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - whatever this ancient city was called! And with each name his appearance, his character changed dramatically. The new owners of the city developed it in their own way.

Pagan temples became Byzantine churches, and those, in turn, turned into mosques. What is modern Istanbul - an Islamic feast on the bones of lost civilizations or an organic interpenetration of different cultures? We will try to find out this in this article.

We will tell the amazingly exciting story of this city, which was destined to become the capital of three superpowers - the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. But has anything survived from the ancient polis?

Should a traveler come to Istanbul in search of Constantinople, the same Constantinople from which the baptists of Kievan Rus came? Let's live all the milestones in the history of this Turkish metropolis, which will reveal all its secrets to us.

Foundation of Byzantium

As you know, the ancient Greeks were a very restless people. They plied the waters of the Mediterranean, Ionian, Adriatic, Marmara and Black Seas on ships and developed the coasts, founding new settlements there. So in the 8th century BC, Chalcedon, Perinthos, Selymbria and Astak arose on the territory of modern Istanbul (formerly Constantinople).

Regarding the founding in 667 BC. e. the city of Byzantium, which later gave the name to the whole empire, there is an interesting legend. According to it, King Visas, the son of the sea god Poseidon and the daughter of Zeus Keroessa, went to the Delphic oracle to ask him where to found his city-state. The soothsayer asked Apollo, and he gave the following answer: “Build a city opposite the blind.”

Visas interpreted these words as follows. It was necessary to establish a policy directly opposite Chalcedon, which arose thirteen years earlier on the Asian shore of the Sea of ​​​​Marmara. The strong current did not allow the construction of a port there. The tsar considered such shortsightedness of the founders to be a sign of political blindness.

Ancient Byzantium

Located on the European shore of the Sea of ​​Marmara, the policy, initially called Lygos, was able to acquire a convenient port. This spurred the development of trade and crafts. Named Byzantium after the death of the king in honor of its founder, the city controlled the passage of ships through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea.

Thus, he kept his finger on the pulse of all trade relations between Greece and its distant colonies. But the extremely successful location of the policy also had a negative side. It made Byzantium an “apple of discord.”

The city was constantly captured by: the Persians (King Darius in 515 BC), the tyrant of Chalcedon Ariston, the Spartans (403 BC). Nevertheless, sieges, wars and changes of government had little effect on the economic prosperity of the polis. Already in the 5th century BC, the city grew so much that it occupied the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, including the territory of Chalcedon.

In 227 BC. e. Galatians, immigrants from Europe, settled there. In the 4th century BC. e. Byzantium (the future Constantinople and Istanbul) gains autonomy, and the concluded alliance with Rome allows the polis to strengthen its power. But the city-state was not able to maintain its independence for long, about 70 years (from 146 to 74 BC).

Roman period

Joining the empire only benefited the economy of Byzantium (as it began to be called in Latin). For almost 200 years, it grew peacefully on both banks of the Bosphorus. But at the end of the 2nd century AD, civil war in the Roman Empire put an end to its prosperity.

Byzantium supported the party of Gaius Pescennius Niger, the current ruler. Because of this, the city was besieged and three years later taken by the troops of the new emperor, Lucius the Last ordered to destroy all the fortifications of the ancient polis to the ground, and at the same time canceled all its trading privileges.

A traveler arriving in Istanbul (Constantinople) will only be able to see the ancient hippodrome that remains from that time. It is located on Sultanahmet Square, right between the city's two main shrines - the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. Another monument of that period is the Valens Aqueduct, which began to be built during the reign of Hadrian (2nd century AD).

Having lost its fortifications, Byzantium began to be subject to raids by barbarians. Without trading privileges and a port, its economic growth ceased. Residents began to leave the city. Byzantium shrank to its original size. That is, he occupied a high cape between the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Golden Horn Bay.

But Byzantium was not destined to vegetate for long as a backwater on the outskirts of the empire. Emperor Constantine the Great noted the extremely favorable location of the town on a cape, controlling the passage from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea.

He ordered the strengthening of Byzantium, the construction of new roads, and the construction of beautiful administrative buildings. At first, the emperor did not even think about leaving his capital - Rome. But tragic events in his personal life (Constantine executed his son Crispus and his wife Fausta) forced him to leave the Eternal City and go east. It was this circumstance that forced him to pay closer attention to Byzantium.

In 324, the emperor ordered the construction of the city to begin on a metropolitan scale. Six years later, on May 11, 330, the official ceremony of consecration of New Rome took place. Almost immediately the second name was assigned to the city - Constantinople.

Istanbul was transformed during the reign of this emperor. Thanks to the Edict of Milan, the pagan temples of the city were left untouched, but Christian shrines began to be built, in particular the Church of the Holy Apostles.

Constantinople during the reign of subsequent emperors

Rome suffered more and more from barbarian raids. There was unrest on the borders of the empire. Therefore, the successors of Constantine the Great preferred to consider New Rome their residence. During the reign of the young Emperor Theodosius II, prefect Flavius ​​Anthemius ordered the strengthening of the capital.

In 412-414, new walls of Constantinople were erected. Fragments of these fortifications (in the western part) are still preserved in Istanbul. The walls stretched for five and a half kilometers, encircling the territory of New Rome of 12 square meters. km. Along the perimeter of the fortifications, 96 towers rose 18 meters. And the walls themselves still amaze with their inaccessibility.

Constantine the Great also ordered the construction of a family tomb near the Church of the Holy Apostles (he was buried in it). This emperor restored the Hippodrome, erected baths and cisterns to accumulate water for the needs of the city. At the time of the reign of Theodosius II, Constantinople included seven hills - the same number as in Rome.

Capital of the Eastern Empire

Since 395, internal contradictions in the once powerful superpower led to a split. Theodosius the First divided his possessions between his sons Honorius and Arkady. The Western Roman Empire de facto ceased to exist in 476.

But its eastern part was little affected by barbarian raids. It continued to exist under the name of the Roman Empire. In this way, continuity with Rome was emphasized. The inhabitants of this empire were called Romans. But later, along with the official name, the word Byzantium began to be used more and more often.

Constantinople (Istanbul) gave its ancient name to the entire empire. All subsequent rulers left behind a significant mark on the architecture of the city, erecting new public buildings, palaces, and churches. But the “golden age” of Byzantine Constantinople is considered to be the period from 527 to 565.

City of Justinian

In the fifth year of this emperor's reign, a riot broke out - the largest in the history of the city. This uprising, called Nika, was brutally suppressed. 35 thousand people were executed.

The rulers know that, along with repression, they need to somehow reassure their subjects, either by staging a victorious blitzkrieg or by starting mass construction. Justinian chose the second path. The city is turning into a big construction site.

The Emperor called the best architects of the country to New Rome. It was then that in just five years (from 532 to 537) the St. Sophia Cathedral was built in Constantinople (or Istanbul). The Vlaherna quarter was demolished, and new fortifications appeared in its place.

Justinian did not forget himself either, ordering the construction of an imperial palace in Constantinople. The construction of the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus also dates back to the period of his reign.

After the death of Justinian, Byzantium began to experience difficult times. The years of the reign of Phocas and Heraclius weakened it internally, and sieges by the Avars, Persians, Arabs, Bulgarians and Eastern Slavs undermined its military power. Religious strife did not benefit the capital either.

The struggle between iconoclasts and worshipers of holy faces often ended in the looting of churches. But with all this, the population of New Rome exceeded one hundred thousand people, which was larger than any major European city of those times.

Period of the Macedonian dynasty and Komnenos

From 856 to 1185 Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) is experiencing unprecedented prosperity. The first university - the Higher School - appeared in the city, arts and crafts flourished. True, this “golden age” was also marred by various problems.

From the 11th century, Byzantium began to lose its possessions in Asia Minor due to the invasion of the Seljuk Turks. Nevertheless, the capital of the empire flourished. A traveler interested in the history of the Middle Ages should pay attention to the surviving frescoes in Hagia Sophia, which depict representatives of the Komnenos dynasty, and also visit the Blachernae Palace.

It should be said that during that period the city center shifted to the west, closer to the defensive walls. Western European cultural influence began to be felt more in the city - mainly thanks to the Venetian and Genoese merchants who settled in

While walking around Istanbul in search of Constantinople, you should visit the Monastery of Christ Pantocrator, as well as the churches of the Virgin Kyriotissa, Theodore, Theodosia, the Ever-Virgin Pammakristi, and Jesus Pantepoptos. All these temples were erected under Komnenos.

Latin period and Turkish conquest

In 1204, the Pope declared the Fourth Crusade. The European army took the city by storm and completely burned it. Constantinople became the capital of the so-called Latin Empire.

The occupation regime of the Baldwins of Flanders did not last long. The Greeks regained power, and a new Palaiologan dynasty settled in Constantinople. It was ruled primarily by the Genoese and Venetians, forming an almost autonomous Galata quarter.

Under them, the city turned into a large shopping center. But they neglected the military defense of the capital. The Ottoman Turks did not fail to take advantage of this circumstance. In 1452, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror built the Rumelihisar fortress on the European shore of the Bosphorus (north of the modern Bebek region).

And it doesn’t matter in what year Constantinople became Istanbul. The fate of the city was sealed with the construction of this fortress. Constantinople could no longer resist the Ottomans and was taken on May 29. The body of the last Greek emperor was buried with honors, and his head was put on public display at the Hippodrome.

Capital of the Ottoman Empire

It is difficult to say exactly when Constantinople became Istanbul, since the new owners retained its old name for the city. True, they changed it in the Turkish way. Constantiniye became the capital because the Turks wanted to position themselves as the “Third Rome”.

At the same time, another name began to be heard more and more often in everyday life - “Is Tanbul”, which in the local dialect simply means “in the city”. Of course, Sultan Mehmed ordered to turn all the churches in the city into mosques. But Constantinople only flourished under the rule of the Ottomans. After all, their empire was powerful, and the wealth of the conquered peoples “settled” in the capital.

Konstantiniye acquired new mosques. The most beautiful of them, built by the architect Sinan Suleymaniye-Jami, rises in the old part of the city, in the Vefa area.

On the site of the Roman Forum of Theodosius, the Eski-Saray palace was built, and on the acropolis of Byzantium - Topkapi, which served as the residence for 25 rulers of the Ottoman Empire, who lived there for four centuries. In the 17th century, Ahmed the First ordered the construction of the Blue Mosque opposite Hagia Sophia, another beautiful shrine of the city.

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

For Constantinople, the “golden age” occurred during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. This sultan pursued both an aggressive and wise internal state policy. But his successors are gradually beginning to lose ground.

The empire is expanding geographically, but weak infrastructure does not allow communication between the provinces, which come under the authority of local governors. Selim the Third, Mehmet the Second and Abdul-Mecid are trying to introduce reforms that turn out to be clearly insufficient and do not meet the needs of the time.

However, Türkiye still wins the Crimean War. At the time when Constantinople was renamed Istanbul (but only unofficially), many buildings were built in the city in a European style. And the sultans themselves ordered the construction of a new palace - Domlabahce.

This building, reminiscent of an Italian Renaissance palazzo, can be seen on the European side of the city, on the border of the Kabatas and Besiktas districts. In 1868, the Galatosarai Lyceum was opened, two years later - the university. Then the city acquired a tram line.

And in 1875, a metro called the “Tunnel” even appeared in Istanbul. After 14 years, the capital became connected to other cities by rail. The legendary Orient Express arrived here from Paris.

Republic of Türkiye

But the rule of the sultanate did not meet the needs of the era. In 1908, a revolution took place in the country. But the “Young Turks” dragged the state into the First World War on the side of Germany, as a result of which Constantinople was captured by the troops of France and Great Britain.

As a result of the new revolution, Mustafa Kemal comes to power, whom the Turks to this day consider the “father of the nation.” He moves the country's capital to the city of Angora, which he renames Ankara. It's time to talk about the year in which Constantinople became Istanbul. This happened on March 28, 1930.

It was then that the “Post Law” came into force, which prohibited the use of the name Constantinople in letters (and in official documents). But, we repeat, the name Istanbul existed during the Ottoman Empire.