Constantinople

Constantinople

Κωνσταντινούπολις or Κωνσταντινούπολη (Greek) Constantinopolis (Latin)
Map of Constantinople
Shown within Turkey
Alternate name	Byzantion, Miklagard/Miklagarth, Tsargrad, Basileuousa (Queen of Cities), Megalopolis (the Great City)
Location	Istanbul, Istanbul Province, Turkey
Region	Thrace
Coordinates	41°00′49″N 28°57′18″E / 41.01361°N 28.95500°E / 41.01361; 28.95500Coordinates: 41°00′49″N 28°57′18″E / 41.01361°N 28.95500°E / 41.01361; 28.95500
Type	Imperial city
Area	6 km2 (2.3 sq mi) enclosed within Constantinian Walls 14 km2 (5.4 sq mi) enclosed within Theodosian Walls
History
Builder	Constantine the Great
Founded	AD 330
Periods	Late Antiquity to Late Middle Ages
Cultures	Roman, Byzantine

Κωνσταντινούπολις or Κωνσταντινούπολη (Greek)

6 km² (2.3 sq mi) enclosed within Constantinian Walls

Capital of the Byzantine Empire 330-1204 AD; 1261-1453 AD

Constantinople (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis or Κωνσταντινούπολη Konstantinoúpoli; Latin: Constantinopolis; Ottoman Turkish: قسطنطینية, Ḳosṭanṭīnīye‎) was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire (330–1204 and 1261–1453), and also of the brief Latin (1204–1261), and the later Ottoman (1453–1923) empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, and dedicated on 11 May 330 AD.

From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe and it was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times as the home of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and as the guardian of Christendom's holiest relics such as the Crown of Thorns and the True Cross. After the final loss of its provinces in the early 15th century, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire was reduced to just Constantinople and its environs, along with Morea in Greece, and the city eventually fell to the Ottomans after a month-long siege in 1453.