A brief history of Istanbul

It was founded in 658 BC at the eastern end of the Balkan Peninsula and on the west coast of the southern entrance of the Bosporus. It is located on the headland between the Golden Horn and the Sea of ??Marmara. It is called Byzantium.

Istanbul was founded in 660 BC, when it was called Byzantium. In 324 AD, Emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire moved the capital here from Rome and renamed it Constantinople.

In 1453 it became the capital of the Ottoman Empire and was customarily called Istanbul. It was not until Kemal established the Turkish Republic that he moved the capital to Ankara.

Extended information:

The first people to settle in the current location of Istanbul are believed to be people of the Chalcolithic Age, who settled on the mounds in the Anatolian direction of Istanbul. The implements date back to 5500-3500 BC.

The ruins of a Phoenician port settlement were discovered in nearby Cadikere (or Chalcedon). As early as 667 BC, King Megara led by Byzantine to colonize the Byzantine city area in the European direction of the Strait. The Cape Moda of Chalcedon was the first place chosen by the Greek city-state Megara to colonize in 685 BC. .

Before the establishment of the Byzantine city, there was an ancient port town "Legos", which was founded by the Thracian tribes from the 13th to the 11th century BC. Adjacent is "Simescera", which is the old Prine. A town that Nizen described in his historical works.

There are currently only a few city walls and buildings from the Legosian period in Istanbul, near Sarayburnu (Turkish: Sarayburnu), where the famous Topkapi Palace is now located. In the days of the Byzantine city, its acropolis was located where Topkapi Palace is now.

Byzantium supported Niger in the war between Niger and Severus, which caused Byzantium to be besieged by the Roman Empire in 196 and suffered extremely serious damage.

The Roman Emperor Severus, who later became emperor, rebuilt Byzantium, which soon regained its prosperity and was temporarily renamed Augusta Antonina after his son.

In 324 AD, Emperor Constantine made Byzantium the ideal location for the new capital of the empire based on instructions from a prophet in a dream.

On September 18, 324, Emperor Constantine finally defeated the last remaining Roman emperor who ruled against him at the Battle of Cholipolis on the Bosporus. Cinius, ended the era of fighting between the four emperors.

The political system of the four emperors, which existed in name only, was finally ended, and Nicomedia (now Izmit, 100 kilometers east of Istanbul) near Byzantine City was also a higher-level Roman state at that time. capital city.

Six years later, in 330, Byzantium (then renamed New Rome, later also known as Constantinopolis, meaning the city of Constantine) was officially declared the new capital of the Roman Empire. capital.

After Theodosius I died in 395, his two sons divided the Roman Empire, with Constantinople becoming the capital of the eastern Byzantine Empire. As the capital of the dynasty and located at the center of Europe and Asia, Constantinople's unique location made it a commercial, cultural and diplomatic center for various countries.

In 1204, the Fourth Crusade was launched to capture Jerusalem, but the Crusaders instead captured Constantinople, and the city was sacked and desecrated. The city subsequently became the capital of the Latin Empire, which the Crusaders hoped to replace the Orthodox Byzantine Empire.

The Byzantine Empire split into several countries. Among them, the Nicaea Empire, led by Michael VIII, recaptured Constantinople in 1261.

The Byzantine Empire was the inheritance of Greek culture and became the center of Orthodox Christianity. Many magnificent churches were renovated, including Hagia Sophia, once the largest church in the world.

The first seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, is still in the Cathedral of St. George in the Fanar District of Istanbul.

After centuries of decline, Constantinople was surrounded by more emerging and powerful empires, most notably the Ottoman Turks.

On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mehmed II, the "Conqueror", entered Constantinople after a 53-day siege, and the city soon became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.

In the last decades of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople declined due to isolation from the outside world and increasingly serious economic bankruptcy. Its population plummeted to between 30 and 40,000, and large areas of the city were deserted. People live in it.

Therefore, Sultan Muhammad's first priority was to restore the city's economy, establishing a large covered market and inviting the fled Orthodox residents to return to the city. The prisoners were also released and settled in the city.

At the same time, the administrative chiefs of Rumelia and Anatolia were ordered to transport four thousand families to live in the city, including Muslims, Christians or Jews, forming a unique multi-ethnic society.

The Sultan also built many architectural treasures in various aspects, including Topkapi Palace and Sultan Ahmed Mosque. The religious site also gave space for the construction of a large royal mosque, adjacent to schools, hospitals and public baths.

The reign of Suleiman I was a major achievement in art and architecture.

The famous architect Celan designed many of Constantinople's mosques and other large buildings, and the arts of ceramics and calligraphy also flourished.

The city began to modernize in the 1890s, with the construction of bridges, a complete water supply system, the installation of electric lights, and the introduction of streetcars and telephones.

In 1923, the Turkish Republic was established, and the capital was moved from Constantinople to Ankara. In the early years of the Roman Republic, Constantinople was considered to be the new capital of the Roman Republic.

In order to make the place name more consistent with Turkish habits, the Turkish government officially named the city "Istanbul" in 1930. The architecture of Istanbul underwent great changes in the 1950s, with many new roads and factories being built throughout the city.

Historic buildings are sometimes demolished to create wide, modern boulevards, streets and public squares. The city once had a large and prosperous Greek community, and many of the remaining original Greek residents left and returned to Greece after the 1955 Istanbul massacre.

In the 1970s, Istanbul's population began to rise rapidly, and people from Anatolia flocked to Istanbul to find jobs. Many new factories were built on the outskirts of the city.

The population growth during this period has led to the rapid growth of residential clusters. Many remote villages were incorporated into the city.

Today, as the largest city in the country, Istanbul is the financial, cultural and economic center of modern Turkey.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Istanbul