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History of Istanbul Timeline
(660 BC - Present)Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Strategically located between Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait, the city has been a major center of trade, culture, religion, and politics for over 2,500 years, evolving into modern Turkey's largest city and economic hub. More Less
Ancient and Byzantine Era
Neolithic settlement on the historic peninsula
6000 BCE
Neolithic artifacts uncovered by archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century indicate that Istanbul's historic peninsula was settled as far back as the 6th millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest inhabited areas in the region.
Image source: History of Istanbul
Fikirtepe mound settlement on the Asian side
5500 BCE - 3500 BCE
On the Anatolian side, the earliest known settlement is the Fikirtepe mound from the Copper Age period, with artifacts dating from 5500 to 3500 BCE.
Image source: Kadıköy
Greek colonists establish Byzantium
660 BC
Around 660 BC, Greek settlers from the Attic town of Megara colonized the area and established Byzantium on the European side of the Bosphorus, founding the city that would become Istanbul.
Image source: Byzantium
Constantinople as capital of the Byzantine Empire
330 CE - 1453
Constantinople functioned as the capital of the Byzantine Empire for more than a thousand years, an era which effectively ended with the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Image source: Constantinople
Decline of the Western Roman Empire
401 - 476
Throughout the fifth century, the Western Roman Empire lost most of its power through a decline in political, economic, and social situations, the last western emperor being deposed by Germanic mercenaries in AD 476; the eastern half, however, was flourishing.
Image source: Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Growing rift between Byzantine and Roman churches
601 - 800
Alliance with Europe slowly began to break away from the Byzantine Empire between the seventh and eighth centuries, when the Byzantine and Roman churches disagreed on various subjects.
Image source: East–West Schism
Relations with Kievan Rus'
801 - 1300
From around the 9th to 13th centuries, Constantinople developed complex relationships with Kievan Rus', an emerging state that later became the largest and most advanced state of that time in Europe.
Image source: Kievan Rus'
Sack of Constantinople by western armies
1204
In 1204, western armies captured Constantinople and ransacked the city for treasures. Near this point, Constantinople began to decline in power.
Image source: Sack of Constantinople
Latin Empire established at Constantinople
1204 - 1261
The new Latin Empire at Constantinople lasted until 1261, when the Byzantines under the command of Michael VIII Palaeologus recaptured the city and some outlying territory.
Image source: Latin Empire
Ottoman Era
Mehmed offers Constantine XI terms of surrender
1453
In accordance with Shariah (Muslim Holy Law), Mehmed gave the Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos three chances to surrender the city before the final assault.
Image source: Constantine XI Palaiologos
Key Facts
- Istanbul was founded as Byzantium around 660 BC by Greek colonists from Megara before being renamed Constantinople in 330 AD by Emperor Constantine the Great.
- The city served as the capital of four empires: the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.
- The fall of Constantinople in 1453 to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and is often considered a major turning point between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
- Hagia Sophia, completed in 537 AD under Emperor Justinian I, has served as a cathedral, a mosque, a museum, and again a mosque, symbolizing the city's layered religious history.
- Istanbul is the only major city in the world that straddles two continents, with the Bosphorus Strait dividing it between Europe and Asia, making it a vital crossroads of trade and culture for millennia.
Source
This History of Istanbul timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
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