Istanbul is the only city in the world to have played capital to consecutive Christian and Islamic empires, and retains features of both... |
Istanbul is the only city in the world to have played capital to consecutive Christian and Islamic empires, and retains features of both, often in congested proximity. Byzantium, as the city was formerly known, was an important trading centre, but only gained real power in the fourth century AD, when Constantine chose it as the new capital of the Roman Empire. Later, as Constantinople, the city became increasingly dissociated from Rome, adopting the Greek language and Christianity and becoming, effectively, the capital of an independent empire. In 1203 the city was sacked by the Crusaders, and when the Byzantines, led by Michael VIII Palaeologus, regained control in 1261, many of the major buildings had fallen into disrepair, with the empire itself greatly diminished in size.
As the Byzantines declined, the Ottoman Empire prospered, and in 1453 the city was captured by Mehmet the Conqueror, who shortly after began rebuilding works. In the following century, the victory was reinforced by the great military achievements of Selim the Grim and by the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent, whose conquests helped fund the greatest of all Ottoman architects, Mimar Sinan. By the nineteenth century, however, the glory days of Ottoman domination were firmly over. Defeat in World War I was followed by the War of Independence, after which Ataturk created a new capital in Ankara - although Istanbul retained its importance as a centre of trade and commerce. In recent years, the population of the city has reached twelve million, a fifth of the country's total, and is still on the rise, adding further to the cacophony and congestion. | 
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