Constantinople
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{{two other uses|the city before the [[Fall of Constantinople]] (1453)|a more detailed approach after 1453|History of Istanbul}}
[[Image:Byzantine Constantinople.png|thumb|300px|Map of Constantinople. [http://www.unc.edu/awmc/downloads/connorConstLblMed.jpg Detailed map].]]
'''Constantinople''' ({{lang-el|Κωνσταντινούπολις}}, '''Konstantinoúpolis''', or {{lang|gr|ἡ Πόλις}} ''hē Polis'', [[Latin]]: {{lang|la|<small>CONSTANTINOPOLIS</small>}}, in formal Ottoman Turkish: Konstantiniyye)<!--NOTE: DO NOT ADD NON-GREEK NAMES HERE, SEE [[Names of Istanbul]] FOR THE FULL LIST--> was the capital of the [[Roman Empire]] (330–395), the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine/East Roman Empire]] (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the [[Latin Empire]] (1204–1261), and the [[Ottoman Empire]] (1453–1922). Strategically located between the [[Golden Horn]] and the [[Sea of Marmara]] at the point where [[Europe]] meets [[Asia]], Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christian empire, see [[Christendom]], successor to ancient [[ancient Greece|Greece]] and [[Ancient Rome|Rome]]. Throughout the [[Middle Ages]] Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city, known as the ''Queen of Cities'' (''Vasileuousa Polis'').
Depending on the background of its rulers, it often had several different names at any given time; among the most common were [[Byzantium]] ({{lang-el|Byzantion}}), [[New Rome]] ({{lang-el|Νέα Ῥώμη}}, {{lang-la|Nova Roma}}), although this was an ecclesiastical rather than an official name, Constantinople and Stamboul (see [[Names of Istanbul|etymology]]).
It was officially renamed to its modern Turkish name [[Istanbul]] in [[1930]]<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1023189.stm BBC - Timeline: Turkey]</ref><ref> Room, Adrian, (1993), ''Place Name changes 1900-1991'', Metuchen, N.J., & London:The Scarecrow Press, Inc., ISBN 0-8108-2600-3 p. 46, 86 </ref> with the Turkish Postal Service Law, as part of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk's]] national reforms.<ref>[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9368294/Istanbul Britannica, Istanbul]</ref><ref>[http://lexicorient.com/e.o/istanbul.htm Lexicorient, Istanbul]</ref>
==History==
[[Image:Siege of Constantinople.jpg|thumb|The 1453 [[Siege of Constantinople]] (painted 1499).]]
===Byzantium===
{{main|Byzantium}}
Constantinople was founded on the site of an already existing city, [[Byzantium]], by the [[Roman emperor]] [[Constantine I]]. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black or Euxine Sea to the Mediterranean, and being possessed of an excellent and spacious harbour in the [[Golden Horn]]. A city was first founded there in the early days of Greek colonial expansion, probably around 671-662 BC.
===Constantine I (306–337)===
[[Image:Byzantinischer Mosaizist um 1000 002.jpg|thumb|Emperor [[Constantine I]] presents a representation of the city of Constantinople as tribute to an enthroned Mary and baby Jesus in this church mosaic. [[Hagia Sophia|St Sophia]], c. 1000).]]
Constantine restored the unity of the empire and was overseeing the progress of major governmental reforms and sponsoring the consolidation of the Christian church, and became well aware Rome lay too far from the eastern imperial frontiers, and hence from the armies and the Imperial courts (emperors had long before abandoned administering the empire from Rome), and it offered an undesirable playground for disaffected politicians. Yet it was the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it will have seemed unthinkable to suggest the capital be moved.
Nevertheless, Constantine identified the site of Byzantium as the correct place: a city where an emperor could sit, readily defended, with easy access to the [[Danube]] or the [[Euphrates]] frontiers, his court supplied from the rich gardens and sophisticated workshops of Roman Asia, his treasuries filled by the wealthiest provinces of the empire.
[[Image:Constantinopolis coin.jpg|thumb|left|Coin struck by Constantine I to commemorate the founding of Constantinople.]]
Constantinople was built over a period of six years (324-330). Constantine consecrated his new city on 11 May 330. Although Constantinople was essentially a Greek-speaking city, government was conducted exclusively in Latin. The city became known as ''Constantinopolis'', "Constantine's City".<ref>According to the ''Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum'', vol. 164 (Stuttgart 2005), column 442, there is no evidence for the tradition that Constantine officially dubbed the city "New Rome" (''Nova Roma'' or ''Nea Rhome''). Commemorative coins that were issued during the 330s already refer to the city as ''Constantinopolis'' (see e.g. Michael Grant, ''The climax of Rome'' (London 1968), p. 133). It is possible that the emperor called the city "Second Rome" (''Deutera Rhome'') by official decree, as reported by the 5th-century church historian [[Socrates of Constantinople]].</ref>
Like Rome, the expanded city was divided into 14 regions, and ornamenting it with public works worthy of a great imperial metropolis. Yet initially Constantine's new Rome did not have all the dignities of old Rome. It possessed a [[proconsul]], rather than an [[urban prefect]]. It had no [[praetors]], [[tribunes]] or [[quaestors]]. Although it did have senators, they held the title ''clarus'', not ''clarissimus'', like those of Rome. It also lacked the panoply of other administrative offices regulating the food supply, police, statues, temples, sewers, aqueducts or other public works. The new programme of building was carried out in great haste: columns, marbles, doors and tiles were taken wholesale from the temples of the empire and moved to the new city. Similarly, many of the greatest works of Greek and Roman art were soon to be seen in its squares and streets. The emperor stimulated private building by promising householders gifts of land from the imperial estates in [[Diocese of Asia|Asiana]] and [[Diocese of Pontus|Pontica]], and on [[18 May]] [[332]] he announced that, as in Rome, free distributions of food would be made to citizens. At the time the amount is said to have been 80,000 rations a day, doled out from 117 distribution points around the city<ref>Socrates ii 13, cited by J B Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, p 74</ref>.
[[Image:Costantinopoli_nel_medioevo.jpg|thumb|Artistic impression of [[Medieval]] Constantinople]]
Constantine laid out a new square at the centre of old Byzantium, naming it the [[Augustaion|Augustaeum]]. The new senate-house (or Curia) was housed in a basilica on the east side. On the south side of the great square was erected the [[Great Palace of Constantinople|Great Palace]] of the emperor with its imposing entrance, the Chalke, and its ceremonial suite known as the Palace of Daphne. Nearby was the vast [[Hippodrome of Constantinople|Hippodrome]] for chariot-races, seating over 80,000 spectators, and the famed [[Baths of Zeuxippus]]. At the western entrance to the Augustaeum was the [[Milion]], a vaulted monument from which distances were measured across the Eastern Empire.
From the Augustaeum led a great street, the Mese (Greek: Μέση (Οδός) lit. "Middle Street"), lined with colonnades. As it descended the First Hill of the city and climbed the Second Hill, it passed on the left the [[Praetorium]] or law-court. Then it passed through the oval [[Forum of Constantine]] where there was a second senate-house and a [[Column of Constantine|high column]] with a statue of Constantine himself in the guise of [[Helios]], crowned with a halo of seven rays and looking towards the rising sun. From there the Mese passed on and through the Forum of Taurus and then the Forum of Bous, and finally up the Seventh Hill (or Xerolophus) and through to the Golden Gate in the [[Walls of Constantinople#The Walls of Byzantium and Constantine|Constantinian Wall]]. After the construction of the [[Theodosian Walls]] in the early 5th century, it would be extended to the new Golden Gate, reaching a total length of seven [[Roman mile]]s<ref>J B Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, pp 75 ''et seqq''</ref>.
=== Divided empire, 395–527 ===
[[Image:Theodosius colum, Istanbul.jpg|thumb|Theodosius I was the last Roman emperor who ruled over an undivided empire (detail from the Obelisk at the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]]]]
The first known Prefect of the City of Constantinople was [[Honoratus]], who took office on [[11 December]] 359 and held it until 361. The emperor [[Valens]] built the Palace of [[Hebdomon]] on the shore of the [[Sea of Marmara|Propontis]] near the Golden Gate, probably for use when reviewing troops. All the emperors up to [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] and [[Basiliscus]] were crowned and acclaimed at the Hebdomon. [[Theodosius I]] founded the [[Studion|Church of John the Baptist]] to house the skull of the saint (today preserved at the [[Topkapı Palace]]), put up a memorial pillar to himself in the Forum of Taurus, and turned the ruined temple of [[Aphrodite]] into a coach house for the [[Praetorian Prefect]]; [[Arcadius]] built a new forum named after himself on the Mese, near the walls of Constantine.
Gradually the importance of Constantinople increased. After the shock of the [[Battle of Adrianople]] in 378, in which the emperor [[Valens]] with the flower of the Roman armies was destroyed by the [[Goths]] within a few days' march, the city looked to its defences, and [[Theodosius II]] built in 413–414 the 18 metre (60 ft) tall [[Walls of Constantinople|triple-wall fortifications]] which were never to be breached until the coming of gunpowder. Theodosius also founded a [[University of Constantinople|University]] near the Forum of Taurus, on [[27 February]] [[425]].
[[Uldin]], a prince of the [[Huns]], appeared on the Danube about this time and advanced into Thrace, but he was deserted by many of his followers, who joined with the Romans in driving their king back north of the river. Subsequently new walls were built to defend the city, and the fleet on the Danube improved. Money spoke louder, however, and in 424 Theodosius agreed to pay an annual subsidy to the new Hunnish king [[Rugila]]. The latter was shortly succeeded by [[Attila the Hun|Attila]], who negotiated a doubling of the subsidy. In 441 he took the opportunity to attack while the Roman armies were engaged against both the Persian and the Vandals, and after a successful battle in Thrace not far from the city, secured a further trebling of the subsidy. He invaded again in 447; the Roman response was an assassination attempt, which failed. On 25 August 450 Marcian succeeded Theodosius, and determined to take a firm line with the Huns, stopping the subsidy payments; about the same time [[Attila the Hun|Attila]] received a message from [[Honoria]], a sister of the western Emperor [[Valentinian III]], which he was able to take advantage of as a pretext, and departed from Illyricum to move with all his armies against the West<ref>J B Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, reprinted Dover 1958, pp 271-291</ref>.
Meanwhile the [[barbarian]]s overran the Western Empire, its emperors retreated to [[Ravenna]], and it diminished to nothing. Thereafter, Constantinople became in truth the largest city of the Empire and of the world. Emperors were no longer peripatetic between various court capitals and palaces. They remained in their palace in the Great City, and sent generals to command their armies. The wealth of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia flowed into Constantinople.
=== Justinian, 527–565 ===
[[Image:Map of Constantinople (1422) by Florentine cartographer Cristoforo Buondelmonte.jpg|thumb|Map of Constantinople (1422) by Florentine cartographer Cristoforo Buondelmonti <ref>''Description des îles de l'archipel'', [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]], Paris</ref> is the oldest surviving map of the city, and the only one which antedates the Turkish conquest of the city in 1453]]
The emperor [[Justinian I]] (527–565) was known for his successes in war, for his legal reforms and for his public works. It was from Constantinople that his expedition for the reconquest of the former Diocese of Africa set sail on or about [[21 June]] [[533]]. Before their departure the ship of the commander [[Belisarius]] anchored in front of the Imperial palace, and the Patriarch offered prayers for the success of the enterprise. After the victory, in 534, the [[Solomon's Temple|Temple treasure of Jerusalem]], looted by the Romans in 70 AD and taken to [[Carthage]] by the [[Vandals]] after their sack of Rome in 455, was brought to Constantinople and deposited for a time, perhaps in the church of St Polyeuctus, before being returned to Jerusalem in either the Church of the Resurrection or the New Church.<ref>Margaret Barker, Times Literary Supplement 4 May 2007 p 26</ref>
[[Image:Hagia Sophia Cathedral.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hagia Sophia|St Sophia]], built by emperor [[Justinian I]] in the 6th century AD, still stands today. The [[minaret]]s are a later, Islamic addition.]]
Chariot-racing had been important in Rome for centuries. In Constantinople, the hippodrome became over time increasingly a place of political significance. It was where (as a shadow of the popular elections of old Rome) the people by acclamation showed their approval of a new emperor; and also where they openly criticized the government, or clamoured for the removal of unpopular ministers. In the time of Justinian, public order in Constantinople became a critical political issue.
The entire late Roman and early Byzantine period was one where Christianity was resolving fundamental questions of identity, and the dispute between the [[Christian orthodoxy|orthodox]] and the [[monophysites]] became the cause of serious disorder, expressed through allegiance to the horse-racing parties of the Blues and the Greens. The partisans of the Blues and the Greens were said <ref> Procopius' '' Secret History'': see P Neville-Ure, Justinian and his Age, 1951.</ref>to affect untrimmed facial hair, head hair shaved at the front and grown long at the back, and wide-sleeved tunics tight at the wrist; and to form gangs to engage in night-time muggings and street violence. At last these disorders took the form of a major rebellion of 532, known as the [[Nika riots|"Nika" riots]] (from the battle-cry of "Victory!" of those involved).
Fires started by the Nika rioters consumed the basilica of St Sophia, the city's principal church. Justinian commissioned [[Anthemius of Tralles]] and [[Isidore of Miletus]] to replace it with a new and incomparable [[Hagia Sophia|St Sophia]], located at the north side of the Augusteum. This was the great cathedral of the Orthodox Church, whose dome was said to be held aloft by God alone, and which was directly connected to the palace so that the imperial family could attend services without passing through the streets.<ref>St Sophia was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of the city, and is now a museum</ref> The dedication took place on [[26 December]] 537 in the presence of the emperor, who exclaimed, "O [[Solomon's Temple|Solomon]], I have outdone thee!"<ref>Source for quote: ''Scriptores originum Constantinopolitanarum'', ed T Preger I 105 (see [[A. A. Vasiliev]], ''History of the Byzantine Empire'', 1952, vol I p 188).</ref> Hagia Sophia was served by 600 people including 80 priests, and cost 20,000 pounds of gold to build.<ref name="cost">T. Madden, ''Crusades: The Illustrated History'', 114</ref>
Justinian also had Anthemius and Isidore demolish and replace the original [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], built by Constantine, with a new church under the same dedication. This was designed in the form of an equally-armed cross with five domes, and ornamented with beautiful mosaics. This church was to remain the burial place of the emperors from Constantine himself until the eleventh century. When the city fell to the Turks in 1453, the church was demolished to make room for the tomb of [[Mehmet II|Mehmet II the Conqueror]]. Justinian was also concerned with other aspects of the city's built environment, legislating against the abuse of laws prohibiting building within {{convert|100|ft|m}} of the sea front, in order to protect the view<ref> Justinian, ''Novellae'' 63 and 165</ref>.
During Justinian I's reign, the city's population reached about 500,000 people. However, the social fabric of Constantinople was also damaged by the onset of [[bubonic plague]] between 541–542 AD.
[[Image:Walls of Constantinople.JPG|thumb|left|Restored section of the fortifications that protected Constantinople during the medieval period.]]
=== Survival, 565–717 ===
In the early 7th century the [[Eurasian Avars|Avars]] and later the [[Bulgars]] overwhelmed much of the [[Balkans]], threatening Constantinople from the west. Simultaneously the [[Persia]]n [[Sassanid]]s overwhelmed the Prefecture of the East and penetrated deep into Anatolia. [[Heraclius]], son to the [[exarch]] of [[Africa]], set sail for the city and assumed the purple. He found the military situation so dire that he is said at first to have contemplated withdrawing the imperial capital to [[Carthage]], but relented after the people of Constantinople begged him to stay. While the Great City withstood a [[Siege of Constantinople (626)|siege]] by 80,000 Avars and the Persian fleet, Heraclius launched a spectacular campaign into the heart of the Persian empire. The Persians were defeated outside [[Nineveh]], and their capital at [[Ctesiphon]] was surrounded by the Byzantines. Persian resistance collapsed, and all the lost territories were recovered in 627. Heraclius replaced [[Latin]] with [[Greek language|Greek]] as the language of government, law and military command.
However, the newly [[Islam|Muslim]] [[Arab]]s overran the southern provinces. Constantinople was besieged twice by the Arabs, [[Siege of Constantinople (674)|once]] in a long blockade between 674 and 678, and [[Second Arab siege of Constantinople|once again]] in 717. The second Arab siege was laid by both land and sea. The Arab ground forces, led by [[Maslama]], were met with the city's impregnable walls, the stout resistance of the defenders, freezing winter temperatures, chronic outbreaks of disease, starvation, and [[Bulgaria|Bulgar]] attacks on their camp. Meanwhile, their fleet was ravaged by the newly devised [[Greek Fire]] of the Byzantine navy, and its remnants utterly destroyed in a storm on the return home. The crushing victory of the Byzantines was a severe blow to Caliph [[Umar II]], and the expansion of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] was severely stunted during his reign.
=== Recovery, 717–1025 ===
[[Image:Byzantinischer Mosaizist des 9. Jahrhunderts 001.jpg|thumb|Emperor Leo VI (886–912) adoring Jesus Christ. Mosaic above the Imperial Gate in the Hagia Sophia.]]
[[Image:Ög 81, Högby (side B).JPG|right|175px|thumb|The [[Greece Runestones#Ög 81|Högby Runestone]] is one of the c. 30 [[Greece Runestones]] in Sweden that commemorate members of the Varangian Guard.]]
In the 730s [[Leo III]] carried out extensive repairs of the Theodosian walls, which had been damaged by frequent and violent attacks; this work was financed by a special tax on all the subjects of the Empire<ref>Vasiliev p 251</ref>.
Theodora, widow of the emperor [[Theophilus]] (d. 842) acted as regent during the minority of her son [[Michael III]], who was said to have been introduced to dissolute habits by her brother Bardas. When Michael assumed power in 856 he became known for excessive drunkenness, appeared in the hippodrome as a charioteer and burlesqued the religious processions of the clergy. He removed Theodora from the Great Palace to the Carian Palace and later to the [[Sancaktar Hayrettin Mosque|monastery of Gastria]], but after the death of Bardas she was released to live in the palace of St Mamas; she also had a rural residence at the Anthemian Palace, where Michael was assassinated in 867<ref>>George Finlay, History of the Byzantine Empire, Dent, London, 1906, pp 156-161</ref>.
In 865 an attack was made on the city by a new principality set up a few years earlier at [[Novgorod]] by [[Rurik]], a [[Varangian]] chief: two hundred small Russian vessels passed through the Bosporus and plundered the monasteries and other properties on the suburban [[Prince's Islands]]. Oryphas, the admiral of the Byzantine fleet, alerted the emperor Michael, who promptly put the invaders to flight; but the suddenness and savagery of the onslaught made a deep impression on the citizens<ref>Finlay, ''op. cit.'' pp 174-5</ref>.
In 980 the emperor [[Basil II]] received an unusual gift from Prince [[Vladimir I|Vladimir]] of Kiev: 6,000 [[Varangian]] warriors which Basil formed into a new bodyguard known as the [[Varangian Guard]]. They were known for their ferocity, honour and loyalty. It is said that in 1038 they were dispersed in winter quarters in the Thracesian theme when one of their number attempted to violate a countrywoman, but in the struggle she seized his sword and killed him; instead of taking revenge, however, his comrades applauded her conduct, compensated her with all his possessions, and exposed his body without burial as if he had committed suicide<ref>Finlay, ''op. cit.'' p 379</ref>. However, following the death of an emperor, they became known also for plunder in the imperial palaces<ref>Enoksen, Lars Magnar. (1998). ''Runor : historia, tydning, tolkning''. Historiska Media, Falun. ISBN 91-88930-32-7 p. 135</ref>. Later in the 11th Century the Varangian Guard became dominated by Anglo-Saxons who preferred this way of life to subjection to the new Norman kings of England<ref>J M Hussey, The Byzantine World, Hutchinson, London, 1967, p 92</ref>.
The ''Book of the Eparch'', which dates to the 10th century, gives a detailed picture of the city's commercial life and its organization at that time. The corporations in which the tradesmen of Constantinople were organised were supervised by the Eparch, who regulated such matters as production, prices, import and export. Each guild had its own monopoly, and tradesmen might not belong to more than one. It is an impressive testament to the strength of tradition how little these arrangements had changed since the office, then known by the Latin version of its title, had been set up in 330 to mirror the urban prefecture of Rome<ref>Vasiliev, ''op. cit.'' pp 343-4.</ref>.
=== The Iconoclast controversy, 730–787, 814–842 ===
In the eighth and ninth centuries the [[iconoclast]] movement caused serious political unrest throughout the Empire. The emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] issued a decree in 726 against images, and ordered the destruction of a statue of Christ over one of the doors of the Chalke, an act which was fiercely resisted by the citizens<ref>The officer given the task was killed by the crowd, and in the end the image was removed rather than destroyed: it was to be restored by [[Irene (empress)|Irene]] and removed again by [[Leo V]]: Finlay ''op. cit.'' p 111</ref>. [[Constantine V]] convoked a church council in 754 which condemned the worship of images, after which many treasures were broken, burned, or painted over with depictions of trees, birds or animals: one source refers to the [[Church of St. Mary of Blachernae (Istanbul)|church of the Holy Virgin]] at [[Blachernae]] as having been transformed into a "fruit store and aviary"<ref> Vasiliev, ''op.cit.'' p 261</ref>. Following the death of his son [[Leo IV the Khazar|Leo IV]] in 780, the empress [[Irene (empress)|Irene]] restored the veneration of images through the agency of the [[Second Council of Nicaea]] in 787.
The iconoclast controversy returned in the early 9th century, only to be resolved once more in 843 during the regency of Empress [[Theodora (9th century)|Theodora]], who restored the icons. These controversies contributed to the deterioration of relations between the [[Catholicism|Western]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] Churches.
=== Prelude to the Comnenian period, 1025–1081 ===
In the late 11th century catastrophe struck with the unexpected and calamitous defeat of the imperial armies at the [[Battle of Manzikert]] in Armenia in 1071. The Emperor [[Romanos IV|Romanus]] Diogenes was captured. The peace terms demanded by [[Alp Arslan]], sultan of the Seljuk Turks, were not excessive, and Romanus agreed them. On his release, however, Romanus found that enemies had placed their own candidate on the throne in his absence; he surrendered to them and suffered death by torture, and the new ruler, [[Michael VII]] Ducas, refused to honour the treaty. In response, the Turks began to move into Anatolia in 1073. The collapse of the old defensive system meant that they met no opposition, and the empire's resources were distracted and squandered in a series of civil wars. Thousands of [[Turkmen people|Turkoman]] tribesmen crossed the unguarded frontier and moved into Anatolia. By 1080, a huge area had been lost to the empire, and the Turks were within striking distance of Constantinople.
=== The Comneni, 1081–1185 ===
[[Image:Byzantium@1180.jpg|thumb|The Byzantine Empire under [[Manuel I Komnenos|Manuel I]], c. 1180.]]
[[Image:Byzantinischer Mosaizist um 1118 001.jpg|thumb|Twelfth century [[mosaic]] from the upper gallery of the [[Hagia Sophia]], Constantinople. Emperor [[John II Komnenos|John II]] (1118–1143) is shown on the left, with the [[Mary, Mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] and infant [[Jesus]] in the centre, and John's consort [[Piroska of Hungary|Empress Irene]] on the right.]]
Under the Comnenian dynasty (1081–1185), Byzantium staged a remarkable military, financial and territorial recovery. In what is sometimes called the [[Comnenian Restoration]], with the establishment of a [[Komnenian army|new military system]], the Empire recovered nearly half of the lost Anatolian lands.
In response to a call for aid from [[Alexios I Komnenos|Alexius I Comnenus]], the [[First Crusade]] assembled at Constantinople in 1096, but declining to put itself under Byzantine command set out for [[Jerusalem]] on its own account (there is an excellent source for these events: the writer and historian [[Anna Komnene|Anna Comnena]] in her work [[The Alexiad]]).
[[John II Komnenos|John II]] built the monastery of the Pantocrator (Almighty) with a hospital for the poor of 50 beds<ref>Vasiliev p 472</ref>.
With the restoration of firm central government, the empire became fabulously wealthy. The population was rising (estimates for Constantinople in the twelfth century vary from approximately 100,000 to 500,000), and towns and cities across the realm flourished. Meanwhile, the volume of money in circulation dramatically increased. This was reflected in Constantinople by the construction of the Blachernae palace, the creation of brilliant new works of art, and general prosperity at this time: an increase in trade, made possible by the growth of the Italian city-states, may have helped the growth of the economy. Certainly, the [[Venice|Venetians]] and others were active traders in Constantinople, making a living out of shipping goods between the Crusader Kingdoms of [[Outremer]] and the West while also trading extensively with Byzantium and [[Egypt]]. The Venetians had factories on the north side of the Golden Horn, and large numbers of westerners were present in the city throughout the twelfth century. Towards the end of Manuel I's reign, the number of foreigners in the city reached about 60,000-80,000 people out of a total population of about 400,000 people.<ref name="popu">J. Phillips, ''The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople'', 144</ref> In 1171, Constantinople also contained a small community of 2,500 Jews.<ref name="Jews">J. Phillips, ''The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople'', 155</ref>
In artistic terms, the 12th century was a very productive period. There was a revival in the [[mosaic]] art, for example: mosaics became more realistic and vivid, with an increased emphasis on depicting three-dimensional forms. There was an increased demand for art, with more people having access to the necessary wealth to commission and pay for such work. According to N.H. Baynes (''Byzantium, An Introduction to East Roman Civilization''):
: "With its love of luxury and passion for colour, the art of this age delighted in the production of masterpieces that spread the fame of Byzantium throughout the whole of the Christian world. Beautiful silks from the work-shops of Constantinople also portrayed in dazzling colour animals - lions, elephants, eagles, and griffins - confronting each other, or represented Emperors gorgeously arrayed on horseback or engaged in the chase."
: "From the tenth to the twelfth century Byzantium was the main source of inspiration for the West. By their style, arrangement, and iconography the mosaics of St. Mark's at Venice and of the cathedral at [[Torcello]] clearly reveal their Byzantine origin. Similarly those of the [[Cappella Palatina|Palatine Chapel]], the [[Martorana]] at [[Palermo]], and the [[cathedral of Cefalù]], together with the vast decoration of the cathedral at Monreale, demonstrate the influence of Byzantium on the [[italo-Normans|Norman]] Court of [[Sicily]] in the twelfth century. Hispano-[[Moorish]] art was unquestionably derived from the Byzantine. [[Romanesque art]] owes much to the East, from which it borrowed not only its decorative forms but the plan of some of its buildings, as is proved, for instance, by the domed churches of south-western France. Princes of [[Kiev]], [[doge of Venice|Venetian doges]], abbots of [[Monte Cassino]], merchants of [[Amalfi]], and the kings of Sicily all looked to Byzantium for artists or works of art. Such was the influence of Byzantine art in the twelfth century, that Russia, Venice, southern Italy and Sicily all virtually became provincial centres dedicated to its production."
=== The Angelids and the Latin Empire, 1185–1259 ===
[[Image:Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 012.jpg|thumb|''The Entry of the [[Crusade]]rs into Constantinople'', by [[Eugène Delacroix]], 1840.]]
In the course of a plot between [[Philip of Swabia]], [[Boniface of Montserrat]] and the [[Enrico Dandolo|Doge of Venice]], the Fourth Crusade was, despite papal excommunication, diverted in 1203 against Constantinople, ostensibly promoting the claims of Alexius son of the deposed emperor Isaac. The reigning emperor [[Alexius III]] had made no preparation. The Crusaders occupied [[Galata]], broke the chain protecting the [[Golden Horn]] and entered the harbour, where on 27 July they breached the sea walls: Alexius III fled. But the new [[Alexius IV]] found the Treasury inadequate, and was unable to make good the rewards he had promised to his western allies. Tension between the citizens and the Latin soldiers increased. In January 1204 the protovestiarius Alexius Murzuphlus provoked a riot, probably to intimidate Alexius IV, but whose only result was the destruction of the great statue of Athena, the work of [[Phidias]], which stood in the principal forum facing west.
In February the people rose again: Alexius IV was imprisoned and executed, and Murzuphlus took the purple as Alexius V. He made some attempt to repair the walls and organise the citizenry, but there had been no opportunity to bring in troops from the provinces and the guards were demoralised by the revolution. An attack by the Crusaders on 6 April failed, but a second from the Golden Horn on 12 April succeeded, and the invaders poured in. Alexius V fled. The Senate met in St Sophia and offered the crown to Theodore Lascaris, who had married into the Angelid family. But it was too late. He come out with the Patriarch to the [[Milion|Golden Milestone]] before the Great Palace and addressed the Varangian Guard. Then the two of them slipped away with many of the nobility and embarked for Asia. By the next day the Doge and the leading Franks were installed in the Great Palace, and the city was given over to pillage for three days.
The great historian of the Crusades, Sir Steven Runciman, wrote that the sack of Constantinople is “unparalleled in history”.
<blockquote>“For nine centuries,” he goes on, “the great city had been the capital of Christian civilisation. It was filled with works of art that had survived from ancient Greece and with the masterpieces of its own exquisite craftsmen. The Venetians wherever they could seized treasures and carried them off. But the Frenchmen and Flemings were filled with a lust for destruction: they rushed in a howling mob down the streets and through the houses, snatching up everything that glittered and destroying whatever they could not carry, pausing only to murder or to rape, or to break open the wine-cellars. Neither monasteries nor churches nor libraries were spared. In St Sophia itself drunken soldiers could be seen tearing down the silken hangings and pulling the silver iconostasis to pieces, while sacred books and icons were trampled under foot. While they drank from the altar-vessels a prostitute sang a ribald French song on the Patriarch’s throne. Nuns were ravished in their convents. Palaces and hovels alike were wrecked. Wounded women and children lay dying in the streets. For three days the ghastly scenes continued until the huge and beautiful city was a shambles. Even after order was restored, citizens were tortured to make them reveal treasures they had hidden." <ref>Steven Runciman, ''History of the Crusades'', Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1965, vol 3, pp 111-128</ref></blockquote>
For the next half-century, Constantinople was the seat of the [[Latin Empire]]. The Byzantine nobility were scattered. Many went to [[İznik|Nicaea]], where Theodore Lascaris set up an imperial court, or to [[Despotate of Epirus|Epirus]], where Theodore Angelus did the same; others fled to [[Empire of Trebizond|Trebizond]], where one of the Comneni had already with Georgian support established an independent seat of empire<ref>Hussey, ‘’op. cit.’’, p 70</ref>.
Constantinople was taken from its final Latin ruler, [[Baldwin II of Constantinople|Baldwin II]], by [[Nicaean Empire|Byzantine]] forces under [[Michael VIII Palaeologus]] in 1261.
=== The Palaeologi, 1259–1453 ===
Although Constantinople was retaken by [[Michael VIII]], the empire had lost many of its key economic resources, and struggled to survive. The palace of [[Blachernae]] in the north-west of the city became the main imperial residence, with the old Great Palace on the shores of the [[Bosporus]] going into decline. When Michael VIII captured the city, its population was 35,000 people, but by the end of his reign, he succeeded in increasing the population to about 70,000 people.<ref name="popu2">T. Madden, ''Crusades: The Illustrated History'', 113</ref> The Emperor achieved this by summoning former residents back who had fled the city when the Crusaders captured it during the [[Fourth Crusade]] and by relocating Greeks from the recently reconquered [[Peloponnese]] to the capital.<ref name="repopu">J. Norwich, ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall'', 217</ref> In 1453, Constantinople contained approximately 50,000 people when the Ottoman Turks [[Fall of Constantinople|captured the city]].<ref name="popu3">D. Nicolle, ''Constantinople 1453: The end of Byzantium'', 32</ref>
== Importance ==
[[Image:Istanbull - palasset - 13.jpg|thumb|''Eagle and Snake'', 6th century mosaic flooring ­Constantinople, [[Great Palace of Constantinople|Grand Imperial Palace]]]]
=== Culture ===
Constantinople was the largest and richest urban center in the Eastern [[Mediterranean]] during the late [[Roman Empire]], mostly as a result of its strategic position commanding the trade routes between the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] and the [[Black Sea]]. It would remain the capital of the eastern, Greek speaking empire for over a thousand years. In its heyday, roughly corresponding to the [[Middle Ages]], it was the richest and largest European city, exerting a powerful cultural pull and dominating economic life in the Mediterranean. Visitors and merchants were especially struck by the beautiful monasteries and churches of the city, particularly [[Hagia Sophia]], or the Church of Holy Wisdom: a Russian 14th-century traveller, Stephen of Novgorod, wrote, "As for St Sophia, the human mind can neither tell it nor make description of it."
It was especially important for preserving in its libraries manuscripts of Greek and Latin authors throughout a period when instability and disorder caused their mass destruction in western Europe and north Africa: on the city's fall thousands of these were brought by refugees to Italy, and played a key part in stimulating the Renaissance, and the transition to the modern world. The cumulative influence of the city on the west, over the many centuries of its existence, is incalculable. In terms of technology, art and culture, as well as sheer size, Constantinople was without parallel anywhere in Europe for a thousand years.
=== Politics ===
[[Image:15th century map of Turkey region.jpg|thumb|Photo of a 15th century map showing Constantinople in the upper left corner.]]
The city provided a defence for the eastern provinces of the old Roman Empire against the barbarian invasions of the 5th century. The 18 metre (60 ft) tall walls built by [[Theodosius II]] (413-414) were essentially invincible to the barbarians who, coming from the [[Danube|Lower Danube]], found easier targets to the west than the richer provinces to the east in Asia. From the 5th century the city was also protected by the [[Anastasian Wall|Long Walls]], a 60 kilometre (37 mi) chain of walls across the [[Thrace|Thracian]] [[peninsula]]. Many scholars argue that these sophisticated fortifications allowed the east to develop relatively unmolested, while [[Rome]] and the west collapsed. With the emergence of Christianity and the rise of Islam, Constantinople became the veritable gates to Christian Europe that stood at the fore of Islamic expansion. As the Byzantine Empire was situated in-between the Islamic world and the Christian west, so did Constantinople act as Europe’s first line-of-defense against Arab advances in the 7th and 8th centuries. The city, and the empire, would ultimately fall to the Ottomans by 1453, but its enduring legacy had provided Europe centuries of resurgence following the collapse of Rome.
=== Architecture ===
[[Image:Constantinople imperial district.png|thumb|Constantinople's monumental center.]]
The influence of Byzantine architecture and art can be seen in the copies taken from it throughout Europe. Particular examples include [[St. Mark's]] in Venice, the basilicas of [[Ravenna]], and many churches throughout the Slavic East. Also, alone in Europe until the 13th century Italian [[Italian coin florin|florin]], the Empire continued to produce sound gold coinage, the [[Solidus (coin)|solidus]] of [[Diocletian]] becoming the [[bezant]] prized throughout the Middle Ages. Its [[Theodosian Walls|city walls]] were much imitated (for example, see [[Caernarfon Castle]]) and its urban infrastructure was moreover a marvel throughout the Middle Ages, keeping alive the art, skill and technical expertise of the Roman Empire.
=== Religious ===
Constantine's foundation gave prestige to the Bishop of Constantinople, who eventually came to be known as the [[Patriarch of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarch]], vying for honour with the [[Bishop of Rome|Pope]]<ref>The Fourth Canon of the [[First Council of Constantinople]]: http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-14/Npnf2-14-61.htm#P3914_689786</ref>, a situation which contributed to the [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]] that divided [[Roman Catholic Church|Western Catholicism]] from [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] from 1054 onwards.
=== Popular ===
[[Image:Schedel konstantinopel.jpg|thumb|Page depicting [[Constantinople]] in the [[Nuremberg Chronicle]] published in 1493, forty years after the city's fall to the Turks]]
* Constantinople appears as a city of wondrous majesty, beauty, remoteness and nostalgia in [[William Butler Yeats]]' 1926 poem "[[Sailing to Byzantium]]".
* [[Robert Graves]], author of ''[[I, Claudius]]'', also wrote ''[[Count Belisarius]]'', a historical novel about Belisarius, much of which is set in Constantinople under Justinian I.
* Constantinople is the setting of much of the action in [[Umberto Eco]]'s novel ''[[Baudolino]]''.
* C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-O-P-L-E was a popular 1928 song by Harry Carlton, about a schoolboy's spelling trouble.
* Constantinople's change of name was the theme for a song made famous by [[The Four Lads]] and later covered by [[They Might Be Giants]] and many others entitled "[[Istanbul (Not Constantinople)]]". "Constantinople" was also the title of the opening track of [[The Residents]]' [[Extended play|EP]] ''[[Duck Stab/Buster & Glen|Duck Stab!]]'', released in 1978.
* Constantinople under Justinian is the scene of "A Flame in Byzantium" by [[Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]] released in 1987.
* "Constantinople" is the title of a song by The Decemberists.
* [[Stephen Lawhead]]'s novel ''Byzantium'' (1996) is set in 9th century Constantinople.
* Filmmaker [[Peter Jackson]] said he wanted images of [[Minas Tirith]] in his [[The Lord of the Rings]] trilogy to look like "Constantinople in the morning."
* "Constantinople 1453 (On the Eve of the Fall)" is a song by American heavy metal band [http://www.phoenixreign.com/ Phoenix Reign].
* Folk/Symphonic Metal band [[Turisas]] have a song on their latest album ''[[The Varangian Way]]'' called "Miklagard Overture".
* The fictional city of Sarantium, the main setting of [[Guy Gavriel Kay]]'s ''[[The Sarantine Mosaic|Sarantine Mosaic]]'' series, is inspired by Constantinople in the time of Justinian.
* Rebellion, a german Power Metal band has an album called "Miklagard - The History of the Vikings - Volume II".
== Notable people ==
{{for|list of notable people from Constantinople|List of people from Constantinople}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last= Bury |first= J. B. |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian |year= 1958 |publisher= [[Dover Publications]] |location= |isbn= }}
* {{cite book |last= Crowley |first= Roger |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Constantinople: Their Last Great Siege, 1453 |year= 2005 |publisher= Faber and Faber |location= |isbn= 978-0-571-22185-1 }}
* {{cite book |last= Freely |first= John |authorlink= |coauthors= Ahmet S. Cakmak |title= The Byzantine Monuments of Istanbul |year= 2004 |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |location= |isbn= 978-0-521-77257-0 }}
* {{cite book |last= Gibbon |first= Edward |authorlink= Edward Gibbon |coauthors= |title= The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire |year= 2005 |publisher= Phoenix Press |location= |isbn= 978-0-7538-1881-7 }}
* {{cite book |last= Harris |first= Jonathan |title= Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium |year= 2007 |publisher= Hambledon Continuum |location= |isbn= 978-1-84725-179-4 }}
* {{cite book |last= Harris |first= Jonathan |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Byzantium and the Crusades |year= 2003 |publisher= Hambledon and London |location= |isbn= 978-1-85285-501-7 }}
* {{cite book |last= Freely |first= John |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Istanbul: The Imperial City |year= 1998 |publisher= Penguin |location= |isbn= 978-0-14-024461-8 }}
* {{cite book |last= Mansel |first= Philip |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924 |year= 1998 |publisher= St. Martin's Griffin |location= |isbn= 978-0-312-18708-8 }}
* {{cite book |last= Phillips |first= Jonathan |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople |year= 2005 |publisher= Pimlico |location= |isbn= 978-1-84413-080-1 }}
* {{cite book |last= Runciman |first= Steven |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= The Fall of Constantinople, 1453 |year= 1990 |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |location= |isbn= 978-1-84413-080-1 }}
* {{cite book |last= Treadgold |first= Warren |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= A History of the Byzantine State and Society |year= 1997 |publisher= [[Stanford University Press]] |location= |isbn= 978-0-8047-2630-6 }}
== Notes ==
{{reflist}}
== See also ==
{| border="0"
|-
| valign="top"|
'''Secular buildings and monuments''':
* [[Great Palace of Constantinople]]
** [[Bucoleon|Bucoleon Palace]]
* [[Hippodrome of Constantinople]]
** [[Horses of Saint Mark]]
** [[Serpent Column]]
* [[Palace of the Porphyrogenitus]]
* [[Walls of Constantinople]]
* [[Column of Constantine]]
* [[Column of Marcian]]
* [[Augustaion]]
** [[Column of Justinian]]
* [[Baths of Zeuxippus]]
* [[Basilica Cistern]]
* [[Valens Aqueduct]]
* [[Milion]]
| valign="top"|
'''Churches and monasteries''':
* [[Hagia Sophia]]
* [[Hagia Irene]]
* [[Little Hagia Sophia|Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus]]
* [[Church of the Holy Apostles]]
* [[Chora Church]]
* [[Pammakaristos Church]]
* [[Zeyrek Mosque|Church of Christ Pantokrator]]
* [[Stoudios|Stoudios Monastery]]
* [[Fenari Isa Mosque|Church of St John the Baptist of Lips]]
* [[Bodrum Mosque|Myrelaion Church]]
* [[Eski Imaret Mosque|Church of Christ Pantepoptes]]
* [[Kalenderhane Mosque|Church of Theotokos Kyriotissa]]
* [[Hirami Ahmet Pasha Mosque|Church of St John en Trullo]]
* [[Vefa Kilise Mosque|Church of St Theodore]]
* [[Gül Mosque|Church of Christ the Benefactor]]
* [[Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque|Church of St Andrew en te Krisei]]
* [[Atik Mustafa Pasha Mosque|Church of St Thecla]]
| valign="top"|
'''Other related topics''':
* [[Istanbul]]
* [[Byzantium]]
* [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]]
* [[University of Constantinople]]
* [[Nika riots]]
* [[Sieges of Constantinople]]
* [[Fall of Constantinople|The Fall of Constantinople]]
* [[Golden Horn]]
* [[Third Rome]]
* [[Byzantine calendar]]
|}
==External links==
{{commons2|Constantinople}}
* [http://www.pallasweb.com/pantokrator/ Monuments of Byzantium] - Pantokrator Monastery of Constantinople
* [http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/greek-resources-constantinople.asp Constantinoupolis on the web] Select internet resources on the history and culture of Constantinople
* [http://www.sephardicstudies.org/istanbul.html Info on the name change] from the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture
* [http://www2.arch.uiuc.edu/research/rgouster Welcome to Constantinople], documenting the monuments of Byzantine Constantinople, compiled by Robert Ousterhout, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
* [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/BURLAT/3*.html#1 Constantinople], from ''History of the Later Roman Empire'', by [[J.B. Bury]]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04301a.htm History of Constantinople] from the "New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia."
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