Constantinople

Constantinople (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις, Kōnstantinoúpolis, or ἡ Πόλις hē Pólis, Latin: Constantinopolis, in formal Ottoman Turkish: قسطنطينيه Kostantiniyye) was the imperial capital (Gr: Βασιλεύουσα, Basileúousa) of the Roman Empire (330–395), the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christian empire, successor to ancient Greece and Rome. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest[1] and wealthiest city.

Depending on the background of its rulers, it often had several different names at any given time; among the most common were Byzantium (Gr.:Βυζάντιον, Byzántion), New Rome (Gr.: Νέα Ῥώμη Néa Rhōmē, Latin: Nova Roma), Constantinople, and Stambol/Stamboul. It was also called Tsargrad (Цѣсарьградъ; "City of the Emperors") by the Slavs, while to the Vikings it was known as Miklagarð, "the Great City", similar to the common Greek appellation "the City" (ἡ Πόλις, hē Pólis).

It was officially renamed to its modern Turkish name Istanbul in 1930[2][3] with the Turkish Postal Service Law, as part of Atatürk's national reforms.[4][5] This name in turn derives from the Greek and Slavic colloquial name Stambol; see Names of Istanbul for fuller discussion.

Importance
Culture
Constantinople was the largest and richest urban center in the Eastern Mediterranean during the late Roman Empire, mostly as a result of its strategic position commanding the trade routes between the Aegean and the Black Sea. It would remain the capital of the eastern, Greek speaking empire for over a thousand years. In its heyday, roughly corresponding to the Middle Ages, it was the richest and largest European city, exerting a powerful cultural pull and dominating economic life in the Mediterranean. Visitors and merchants were especially struck by the beautiful monasteries and churches of the city, particularly Hagia Sophia, or the Church of Holy Wisdom: a Russian 14th-century traveler, Stephen of Novgorod, wrote, "As for St Sophia, the human mind can neither tell it nor make description of it."

It was especially important for preserving in its libraries manuscripts of Greek and Latin authors throughout a period when instability and disorder caused their mass destruction in western Europe and north Africa: on the city's fall thousands of these were brought by refugees to Italy, and played a key part in stimulating the Renaissance, and the transition to the modern world. The cumulative influence of the city on the west, over the many centuries of its existence, is incalculable. In terms of technology, art and culture, as well as sheer size, Constantinople was without parallel anywhere in Europe for a thousand years.

International Status
The city provided a defence for the eastern provinces of the old Roman Empire against the barbarian invasions of the 5th century. The 18 metre tall walls built by Theodosius II were essentially impregnable to the barbarians coming from south of the Danube river, who found easier targets to the west rather than the richer provinces to the east in Asia. From the 5th century the city was also protected by the Anastasian Wall, a 60 kilometre chain of walls across the Thracian peninsula. Many scholars argue that these sophisticated fortifications allowed the east to develop relatively unmolested while Ancient Rome and the west collapsed. With the emergence of Christianity and the rise of Islam, Constantinople became the gates of Christian Europe standing at the fore of Islamic expansion. As the Byzantine Empire was situated in-between the Islamic world and the Christian west, so did Constantinople act as Europe’s first line-of-defence against Arab advances in the 7th and 8th centuries. The city, and the empire, would ultimately fall to the Ottomans by 1453, but its enduring legacy had provided Europe centuries of resurgence following the collapse of Rome.

Architecture
The Byzantine Empire used Roman and Greek architectural models and styles to create its own unique type of architecture. The influence of Byzantine architecture and art can be seen in the copies taken from it throughout Europe. Particular examples include St Mark's Basilica in Venice, the basilicas of Ravenna, and many churches throughout the Slavic East. Also, alone in Europe until the 13th century Italian florin, the Empire continued to produce sound gold coinage, the solidus of Diocletian becoming the bezant prized throughout the Middle Ages. Its city walls were much imitated (for example, see Caernarfon Castle) and its urban infrastructure was moreover a marvel throughout the Middle Ages, keeping alive the art, skill and technical expertise of the Roman Empire.

Religion

Constantine's foundation gave prestige to the Bishop of Constantinople, who eventually came to be known as the Ecumenical Patriarch, vying for honour with the Pope,[40] a situation which contributed to the Great Schism that divided Western Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy from 504 onwards.

Popularity

1.Page depicting Constantinople in the Nuremberg Chronicle published in 1493, forty years after the city's fall to the Turks
2.Constantinople appears as a city of wondrous majesty, beauty, remoteness, and nostalgia in William Butler Yeats' 1926 poem "Sailing to Byzantium".
Robert Graves, author of I, Claudius, also wrote Count Belisarius, a historical novel about Belisarius. Graves set much of the novel in the Constantinople of Justinian I.
3.Constantinople provides the setting of much of the action in Umberto Eco's 2000 novel Baudolino.
4.Constantinople's change of name was the theme for a song made famous by The Four Lads and later covered by They Might Be Giants and many others entitled "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)".
5."Constantinople" was also the title of the opening track of The Residents' EP Duck Stab!, released in 1978.
6.Constantinople under Justinian is the scene of the book "A Flame in Byzantium" (ISBN 0312930267) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, released in 1987.
7."Constantinople" is the title of a song by The Decemberists.
8.Stephen Lawhead's novel Byzantium (1996) is set in 9th century Constantinople.
9.Filmmaker Peter Jackson said he wanted images of Minas Tirith in his The Lord of the Rings trilogy to look like "Constantinople in the morning".[cite this quote]
10.Folk Metal band Turisas makes multiple references to Constantinople in their song "Miklagard Overture", referring to it as "Konstantinopolis", "Tsargrad", and "Miklagard".
11.Constantinople makes an appearance in the MMORPG game Silkroad as a major capital, along with a major Chinese capital.