History: Three Empires, One City

The history begins in 660 BC, when Greek settlers from Megara founded the colony of Byzantion at the southern tip of the Golden Horn. The strategic location — at the strait between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, between Europe and Asia — made the city a coveted prize for every world power.

Constantinople — The New Rome

In 330 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great chose the city as the new capital of the Roman Empire and named it Constantinople. He converted temples into churches, built monumental forums and aqueducts, and brought art treasures from across the empire here. Constantinople became the largest and richest city in the world:

• 537: Emperor Justinian I completed the Hagia Sophia — the largest church in Christendom for almost 1,000 years. "Solomon, I have surpassed you," he is said to have declared at its inauguration.
• 5th–13th century: Constantinople was the center of the Christian world with a population of up to 500,000 — while Rome had shrunk to 50,000.
• 1204: The Crusaders of the 4th Crusade plundered Constantinople — not the Muslims, but their own fellow believers devastated the city. A betrayal never forgotten.

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.