LOCATION

History of ISTANBUL

The  first  historically  significant  settlement  here  was  founded  by a Megarian colonist  named  Byzas  from  Greece.  Before  coming  here,  he  consulted   the oracle  in Delphi  to  find a new settlement. The answer was 'opposite the blind'. When  Byzas  and  his  small  colony came to the Bosphorus in 657 BC, they saw a  small  colony  living  on  the  Asian  shore  at Chalcedon. They saw the superb natural  harbour  of  the  Golden  Horn  on  the  European  shore  and   thought 'those people in Chalcedon  must be blind'.  They called their new settlement 'Byzantium'.

Over the next thousand years, Byzantium became a trade and commerce center. In 324 AD,  Constantine I defeated Licinius and became sole ruler of the Roman Empire.  He  also  began  to  build  a  new  capital  at  Byzantium,   later  named Constantinople  (Constantine's polis or city).  Byzantium  submitted  willingly  to Roman Empire.

In  330  AD,  Christianity  was  declared the official religion of the Roman Empire and  Constantinople  was  dedicated  as  capital  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  and splendidly rebuilt by Constantine I.

Constantinople  itself  was  not  only  the new capital of the Empire but also the symbol of the Christendom.  After  the  death  of  Constantine in 337, two of his sons,  Constantius  II  and  Constans  took  over  the  leadership  of  the  empire. Constans,  ruler  of  the  western  provinces,  was,  like   his   father,   a  Christian. In  341,  he  decreed that  all  pre-Christian Graeco Roman worship and sacrifice should   cease;   warning   those   who   still   persisted   in   practicing   ancient Graeco-Roman polytheism with the threat of the death penalty.

Istanbul   is  famous  as  one  of  the  most  often  besieged  cities  in  the world. Before  it  was  conquered  by  the  Turks  in  1453,  its  assailants  included   the Persian  Darius  (513 BC),  the  Athenian  Alcibiades  (408 BC),  the  Macedonian Philip II (339 BC), the Arabs (673-78, 717-18 AD),  the  Bulgarians  (813, 913 AD) and the armies of the Fourth Crusade, which twice succeeded in taking the  city (1203, 1204 AD). After Constantinople was taken by the Turks, the  city  became the capital of the Ottoman Empire until 1923, when the newly  founded  Turkish Republic declared Ankara (then Angora) the capital.

From 1918 until 1923 Great Britain, France and Italy occupied the city.

Under the Ottomans, the city went through several name changes, among them Konstantiniyye,  Polis,  Stimpol,  Estanbul,  Istambol  and Istanbul. The name was officially changed to Istanbul in 1930.

When   the   Republic   of  Turkey   was   founded  in  1923,  the capital  was moved from  Istanbul  to  Ankara. In  the  early  years  of  the  republic,  Istanbul  was  overlooked  in  favour   of   the new  capital  Ankara  but,  during  the  1950s and 1960s, Istanbul underwent  great structural change.

In  the  1950s  the  government of Adnan Menderes sought to develop the country as a whole and new roads and factories were constructed  throughout  the country. Wide  modern  roads  were  built  in  Istanbul  but some, unfortunately, were at the expense of historical buildings within the city.

During  the  1970s  the  population of Istanbul began to rapidly increase as people from  Anatolia  migrated  to the city to find employment in the many new factories that  were  constructed  on  the  outskirts  of the city. This sudden sharp increase in the population  caused  a rapid rise in housing development (some of poor quality resulting in great death and injury during the frequent earthquakes that hit the city) and many previously outlying villages became engulfed into the greater metropolis of Istanbul. Many Turks who have lived in Istanbul for over  30  or  more  years  can still recollect how areas such as large parts of  Maltepe,  Kartal,  Pendik,  and others were  green  fields  when  they were young. Other areas such as Tuzla were nothing more than sleepy villages.