|
only metropolis in the world which is
situated on two continents. In its long history, Istanbul served
as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the East
Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin
Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). The city
was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The
historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World
Heritage List in 1985. History of istanbul
In 2008, during the construction works of the Yenikapı subway
station and the Marmaray tunnel at the historic peninsula on the
European side, a previously unknown Neolithic settlement dating
from circa 6500 BC has been discovered. The first human
settlement on the Anatolian side, the Fikirtepe mound, is from
the Copper Age period, with artifacts dating from 5500–3500 BC.
In nearby Kadıköy (Chalcedon) a port settlement dating back to
the Phoenicians has been discovered. Cape Moda in Chalcedon was
the first location which the Greek settlers from Megara chose to
colonize in 685 BC, prior to colonizing Byzantion on the
European side of the Bosphorus under the command of King Byzas
in 667 BC. Byzantion was established on the site of an ancient
port settlement named Lygos, founded by Thracian tribes between
the 13th and 11th centuries BC, along with the neighbouring
Semistra, of which Plinius had mentioned in his historical
accounts. Only a few walls and substructures belonging to Lygos
have survived to date, near the Seraglio Point (Turkish:
Sarayburnu), where the famous Topkapı Palace now stands. During
the period of Byzantion, the Acropolis used to stand where the
Topkapı Palace stands today.
After siding with Pescennius Niger against the victorious Roman
emperor Septimius Severus, the city was besieged by the Romans
and suffered extensive damage in 196 AD. Byzantium was rebuilt
by Severus and quickly regained its previous prosperity, being
temporarily renamed as Augusta Antonina by the emperor, in honor
of his son. The location of Byzantium
attracted Constantine I in 324 after a prophetic dream was said
to have identified the location of the city; but the true reason
behind this prophecy was probably Constantine's final victory
over Licinius at the Battle of Chrysopolis (Üsküdar) on the
Bosphorus, on 18 September, 324, which ended the civil war
between the Roman Co-Emperors, and brought an end to the final
vestiges of the Tetrarchy system, during which Nicomedia (present-day
İzmit, 100 km (62 mi) east of Istanbul) was the most senior
Roman capital city. Byzantium (now renamed as Nova Roma which
eventually became Constantinopolis, i.e. "The City of
Constantine") was officially proclaimed the new capital of the
Roman Empire six years later, in 330. Following the death of
Theodosius I in 395 and the permanent partition of the Roman
Empire between his two sons, Constantinople became the capital
of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. As well as being the
centre of an imperial dynasty, the unique position of
Constantinople at the centre of two continents made the city a
magnet for international commerce, culture and diplomacy. The
Byzantine Empire was distinctly Greek in culture and became the
centre of Greek Orthodox Christianity, while its capital was
adorned with many magnificent churches, including the Hagia
Sophia, once the world's largest cathedral. The seat of the
Patriarch of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the Eastern
Orthodox Church, still remains in the Fener (Greek: Phanar)
district of Istanbul.
In 1204, the Fourth Crusade was launched to capture Jerusalem,
but had instead turned on Constantinople, which was sacked and
desecrated. The city subsequently became the centre of the
Catholic Latin Empire, created by the crusaders to replace the
Orthodox Byzantine Empire, which was divided into a number of
splinter states, of which the Empire of Nicaea was to recapture
Constantinople in 1261 under the command of Michael VIII
Palaeologus. |
