The Conquest of 1453 & the Ottoman Empire
On May 29, 1453, the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II (the Conqueror) captured Constantinople — a date that changed world history. The Byzantine Empire ended, and Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed transformed the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, built the Topkapı Palace, and made the city the multicultural center of an empire that stretched from Vienna to Baghdad.
The Golden Age under Suleiman (1520–1566)
Under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (Kanuni Sultan Süleyman), the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith. The architect Mimar Sinan — often referred to as the Michelangelo of the East — constructed over 300 buildings, including the Süleymaniye Mosque, the masterpiece of Ottoman architecture. Istanbul, with over 700,000 inhabitants, was the largest city in Europe.
- Multicultural city: Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived side by side under the Millet system. Istanbul had Greek, Armenian, Jewish, and Levantine quarters — each with its own churches, synagogues, and schools.
- Hürrem Sultan (Roxelana): The Ukrainian slave who rose to become the most powerful woman in the Ottoman Empire, became Suleiman's only wife, and significantly influenced the empire's politics. Her story is one of the most fascinating chapters in world history.
Decline & Republic
In the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire became the "Sick Man of the Bosporus": attempts at reform (Tanzimat) could not halt the decline. After World War I and the Turkish War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Turkish Republic in 1923 — with Ankara as the new capital. Istanbul lost its status as the seat of government but remained the cultural and economic heart of Turkey.