He founded the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The boundaries of the city he named after himself Constantinople, the emperor himself determined. According to legend, with a long spear he drew on the ground the location of the future city walls, which were supposed to close in a ring, including seven hills along the shores of the Golden Horn and the Sea of ​​​​Marmara. The size of Constantinople, as established by the emperor, was five times the territory occupied by the Greek city of Byzantium, which had stood on this site since ancient times, and surpassed even Rome itself.

The place chosen for the capital turned out to be very successful in military and commercial terms. Constantinople was on the border of Europe and Asia. He reigned supreme over the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Its importance especially increased after the destruction of Rome by the Goths and Vandals.

While the Western Roman Empire gradually declined, the eastern provinces, now given a new capital, flourished. The vitality of the Eastern Roman Empire, finally separated from the Western in 395, was due to many reasons. First of all, here, in contrast to the West, slavery did not acquire great importance in ancient times. The work of free artisans in the cities successfully competed with the slave labor, the cities themselves, even in the Middle Ages, continued to be economic and cultural centers. In the villages, the communal peasantry played an important role. However, with the disintegration of the slave system and the development of feudal relations, the free column began to be attached to the land, and the power of large landowners increased even more.

Constantinople was built as an ecclesiastical center with a strong imperial power and a flexible administrative apparatus. The Christian religion that replaced paganism helped to strengthen the power of the emperor. He is the viceroy of God on earth. Hence the limitlessness of his powers.

The Eastern Roman Empire, which much later became known as the Byzantine Empire, occupied vast territories. It included the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, the islands of the Aegean Sea, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, the islands of Crete and Cyprus, part of Mesopotamia and Armenia, certain regions of Arabia, part of the land in the Crimea. The ethnic composition of the population was very diverse.

He wanted to see the new capital worthy of his empire, and therefore, not only in size, but also in brilliance, it had to outshine Rome. Immediately the emperor began the construction of stone city walls, palaces, temples, houses of the nobility, which he forcibly relocated here. The wide streets of the city intersecting at right angles, and especially the central one - Mesa, were decorated with numerous antique sculptures. They were brought from all parts of the ancient world. By tradition, in the center of Constantinople, a place was set aside for the forum. He received an oval shape, and both ends of it completed the triumphal arches. The middle of the oval was marked by a porphyry antique column with a statue of Apollo, which was later replaced by a sculpture depicting

Among the many cities of medieval Europe, the capital occupied a special place. Even at a time of relative decline, at the beginning of the 7th century, population of Constantinople numbered 375 thousand - much more than in any other city in the Christian world. Later, this number only increased. Ros and the city itself. Even centuries later, the cities of the Latin West, compared with the Byzantine capital, seemed like pathetic villages. The Latin crusaders were amazed at her beauty and size, as well as her wealth. In Russia, Constantinople was called Tsargrad, which can be interpreted both as the Royal City and as the Tsar-City.

In 330, the Roman emperor Constantine I moved the capital to the city of Byzantium and gave it his name. In just a few decades, Constantinople turned from an ordinary provincial center into the largest city of the empire. He was ahead of all the cities of the West, including Rome and the capitals of the Middle East - Antioch and Alexandria. People from all over the Roman world flocked to Constantinople, attracted by its unprecedented wealth and fame. In this city, standing on a cape between the Marmara and Black Seas, on the very border of Europe and Asia, trade routes crossed from different parts of the world. Almost throughout the Middle Ages, Constantinople remained the most important center of world trade. Goods and people from Western Europe and India and Russia, Arab countries and Scandinavia met here. Already in the XI century. foreigners - merchants, mercenaries - inhabited entire city blocks.

Emperor Justinian I did a lot to improve the capital. Under this ruler, the Eastern Empire expanded significantly. The greatest creations of Byzantine architecture created then were updated over the centuries. The architects of Justinian erected the Great Imperial Palace towering above the sea, which served for many generations of emperors. A grand monument of the union between the empire and the Church rose above the city the dome of Hagia Sophia, the most glorious temple of the Orthodox world. It was the divine service in Sofia, according to legend, that shocked in the 10th century. Russian ambassadors sent by Prince Vladimir to "test" the Roman faith. “And we could not understand,” they told the prince, “we are in heaven or on earth ...”

The wealth and luxury of the capital of the empire has always attracted conquerors. In 626, the combined forces of the Avars and Persians tried to take the city, in 717 - the Arabs, in 860 - the Rus. But for many centuries the Second Rome did not see the enemy within its walls. Several belts of fortifications protected him well. Even during the numerous civil wars that shook the empire, the city itself only opened the gates to the winners. Only in 1204 did yesterday's allies, the crusaders, succeed in capturing the capital. With this began the decline of Constantinople, culminating in the fall of the city in 1453, already under the onslaught of the Turks. Ironically, the last emperor had the same name as the founder of the capital - Constantine.

Under the name Istanbul, the city became the capital of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. It remained so until the fall of the power of the sultans in 1924. The Ottomans decided not to destroy the city. They settled in the imperial palaces, and the Hagia Sophia was rebuilt into the greatest mosque of the state, retaining its former name - Hagia Sophia (which means "holy").

A Brief History of Constantinople

Constantinople is a unique city in many respects. This is the only city in the world, located at once in Europe and Asia, and one of the few modern cities, whose age is approaching three millennia. Finally, this is a city that has changed four civilizations and the same number of names in its history.

First settlement and provincial period

Around 680 B.C. Greek settlers appeared on the Bosphorus. On the Asian coast of the strait, they founded the colony of Chalcedon (now it is a district of Istanbul, which is called "Kadikoy"). Three decades later, the town of Byzantium grew up opposite it. According to legend, it was founded by a certain Byzant from Megara, who was given vague advice by the Delphic oracle "to settle opposite the blind." According to Byzant, the inhabitants of Chalcedon were these blind people, since they chose the distant Asian hills for settlement, and not the cozy triangle of European land located opposite.

Located at the crossroads of trade routes, Byzantium was a tasty prey for the conquerors. For several centuries, the city has changed many owners - Persians, Athenians, Spartans, Macedonians. In 74 B.C. Rome laid its iron hand on Byzantium. For the city on the Bosphorus, a long period of peace and prosperity began. But in 193, during the next battle for the imperial throne, the inhabitants of Byzantium made a fatal mistake. They swore allegiance to one applicant, and the strongest turned out to be another - Septimius Severus. Moreover, Byzantium also persisted in its non-recognition of the new emperor. For three years the army of Septimius Severus stood under the walls of Byzantium, until hunger forced the besieged to surrender. The enraged emperor ordered the city to be razed to the ground. However, the inhabitants soon returned to their native ruins, as if foreseeing that a bright future lay ahead for their city.

Imperial capital

Let us say a few words about the man who gave Constantinople its name.

Constantine the Great dedicates Constantinople to the Theotokos. Mosaic

Emperor Constantine was already called “The Great” during his lifetime, although he did not differ in high morality. This, however, is not surprising, because his whole life was spent in a fierce struggle for power. He participated in several civil wars, during which he executed his son from his first marriage, Crispus, and his second wife, Fausta. But some of his state deeds are really worthy of the title "Great". It is no coincidence that the descendants did not spare marble, erecting gigantic monuments to it. A fragment of one such statue is kept in the Museum of Rome. The height of her head is two and a half meters.

In 324, Constantine decided to move the seat of government from Rome to the East. At first, he tried on Serdika (now Sofia) and other cities, but in the end he chose Byzantium. The borders of his new capital Constantine personally drew on the ground with a spear. Until now, in Istanbul, you can walk along the remains of the ancient fortress wall erected along this line.

In just six years, a huge city grew up on the site of the provincial Byzantium. It was decorated with magnificent palaces and temples, aqueducts and wide streets with rich houses of the nobility. The new capital of the empire for a long time bore the proud name of "New Rome". And only a century later, Byzantium-New Rome was renamed Constantinople, "the city of Constantine."

Capital symbols

Constantinople is a city of secret meanings. Local guides will definitely show you the two main attractions of the ancient capital of Byzantium - Hagia Sophia and the Golden Gate. But not everyone will explain their secret meaning. Meanwhile, these buildings appeared in Constantinople by no means by chance.

The Cathedral of St. Sophia and the Golden Gate vividly embodied medieval ideas about the wandering City, especially popular in the Orthodox East. It was believed that after ancient Jerusalem lost its providential role in the salvation of mankind, the sacred capital of the world moved to Constantinople. Now it was no longer the “old” Jerusalem, but the first Christian capital that personified the City of God, which was destined to stand until the end of time, and after the Last Judgment become the abode of the righteous.

Reconstruction of the original view of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

In the first half of the 6th century, under Emperor Justinian I, the urban structure of Constantinople was brought into line with this idea. In the center of the Byzantine capital, the grandiose Cathedral of Sophia the Wisdom of God was built, surpassing its Old Testament prototype - the Jerusalem temple of the Lord. At the same time, the front Golden Gates decorated the city wall. It was assumed that at the end of time, Christ would enter the God-chosen city through them in order to complete the history of mankind, just as he once entered the Golden Gate of “old” Jerusalem to show people the way of salvation.

Golden Gate in Constantinople. Reconstruction.

It was the symbolism of the City of God that saved Constantinople from total ruin in 1453. Turkish Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror ordered not to touch Christian shrines. However, he tried to destroy their former meaning. Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque, and the Golden Gate was walled up and rebuilt (as in Jerusalem). Later, a belief arose among the Christian inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire that the Russians would free the Christians from the yoke of the infidels and enter Constantinople through the Golden Gate. The very ones to which Prince Oleg once nailed his scarlet shield. Well, let's wait and see.

It's time to flourish

The Byzantine Empire, and with it Constantinople, reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, who was in power from 527 to 565.

Bird's eye view of Constantinople in the Byzantine era (reconstruction)

Justinian is one of the brightest, and at the same time controversial figures on the Byzantine throne. A smart, powerful and energetic ruler, a tireless worker, the initiator of many reforms, he devoted his whole life to the implementation of his cherished idea of ​​reviving the former might of the Roman Empire. Under him, the population of Constantinople reached half a million people, the city was decorated with masterpieces of church and secular architecture. But under the mask of generosity, simplicity and external accessibility, a merciless, two-faced and deeply insidious nature was hidden. Justinian drowned popular uprisings in blood, brutally persecuted heretics, cracked down on the recalcitrant senatorial aristocracy. Justinian's faithful assistant was his wife Empress Theodora. In her youth, she was a circus actress and courtesan, but, thanks to her rare beauty and extraordinary charm, she became an empress.

Justinian and Theodora. Mosaic

According to church tradition, Justinian was half Slavic by birth. Before his accession to the throne, he allegedly bore the name of the Administration, and his mother was called the Fugitive. His homeland was the village of Verdyane near the Bulgarian Sofia.

Ironically, it was during the reign of the Administration-Justinian that Constantinople was invaded by the Slavs for the first time. In 558, their detachments appeared in the immediate vicinity of the Byzantine capital. In the city at that time there was only a foot guard under the command of the famous commander Belisarius. To hide the small number of his garrison, Belisarius ordered to drag felled trees behind the battle lines. Thick dust arose, which the wind carried towards the besiegers. The trick worked. Believing that a large army was moving towards them, the Slavs retreated without a fight. However, later Constantinople had to see the Slavic squads under its walls more than once.

Home of sports fans

The Byzantine capital often suffered from pogroms of sports fans, as it happens with modern European cities.

In the everyday life of the Constantinopolitans, an unusually large role belonged to bright mass spectacles, especially horse races. The passionate commitment of the townspeople to this entertainment gave rise to the formation of sports organizations. There were four of them: Levki (white), Rusii (red), Prasin (green) and Veneti (blue). They differed in the color of the clothes of the drivers of the equestrian quadrigas participating in the competitions at the hippodrome. Conscious of their strength, the fans of Constantinople demanded various concessions from the government, and from time to time staged real revolutions in the city.

Hippodrome. Constantinople. Around 1350

The most formidable uprising, known as "Nika!" (that is, "Conquer!"), broke out on January 11, 532. Spontaneously united adherents of circus parties attacked the residences of city authorities and destroyed them. The rebels burned the tax lists, seized the prison and released the prisoners. At the hippodrome, with general rejoicing, the new emperor Hypatius was solemnly crowned.

The palace began to panic. The legitimate emperor Justinian I, in desperation, intended to flee the capital. However, his wife Empress Theodora, having appeared at a meeting of the imperial council, declared that she preferred death to the loss of power. "The royal purple is a fine shroud," she said. Justinian, ashamed of his cowardice, launched an offensive against the rebels. His commanders, Belisarius and Mund, having taken the lead of a large detachment of barbarian mercenaries, suddenly attacked the rebels in the circus and killed everyone. After the massacre, 35 thousand corpses were removed from the arena. Hypatius was publicly executed.

In a word, now you see that our fans, compared to their distant predecessors, are just meek lambs.

Capital menageries

Every self-respecting capital seeks to acquire its own zoo. Constantinople was no exception here. The city had a luxurious menagerie - a source of pride and care for the Byzantine emperors. About the animals that lived in the East, European monarchs knew only by hearsay. For example, giraffes in Europe have long been considered a cross between a camel and a leopard. It was believed that the giraffe inherited the general appearance from one, and the color from the other.

However, the fairy tale paled in comparison with real miracles. So, in the Great Imperial Palace in Constantinople there was a chamber of Magnavra. There was a whole mechanical menagerie here. The ambassadors of the European sovereigns, who attended the imperial reception, were amazed by what they saw. For example, here is what Liutprand, the ambassador of the Italian king Berengar, told in 949:
“In front of the throne of the emperor stood a copper but gilded tree, the branches of which were filled with various kinds of birds, made of bronze and also gilded. The birds each uttered their own special melody, and the emperor's seat was arranged so skillfully that at first it seemed low, almost at ground level, then somewhat higher, and finally hanging in the air. The colossal throne was surrounded, in the form of guards, copper or wooden, but, in any case, gilded lions, which furiously beat their tails on the ground, opened their mouths, moved their tongues and uttered a loud roar. At my appearance, the lions roared, and the birds sang their own tune. After I, according to custom, bowed before the emperor for the third time, I raised my head and saw the emperor in completely different clothes almost at the ceiling of the hall, while I had just seen him on a throne at a small height from the ground. I could not understand how this happened: it must have been lifted up by a machine.

By the way, all these miracles were observed in 957 by Princess Olga, the first Russian visitor to Magnavra.

Golden Horn

The Golden Horn Bay of Constantinople in ancient times was of paramount importance in the defense of the city from attacks from the sea. If the enemy managed to break into the bay, the city was doomed.

Old Russian princes tried several times to attack Constantinople from the sea. But only once did the Russian army manage to penetrate the coveted bay.

In 911, the prophetic Oleg led a large Russian fleet on a campaign against Constantinople. In order to prevent the Russians from landing on the shore, the Greeks blocked the entrance to the Golden Horn with a heavy chain. But Oleg outwitted the Greeks. Russian boats were placed on round wooden rolls and dragged into the bay. Then the Byzantine emperor decided that it was better to have such a person as a friend than an enemy. Oleg was offered peace and the status of an ally of the empire.

Miniature of the Ralziwill Chronicle

In the Straits of Constantinople, our ancestors also first experienced what we now call the superiority of advanced technology.

The Byzantine fleet at that time was far from the capital, fighting with Arab pirates in the Mediterranean. At hand, the Byzantine emperor Roman I had only a dozen and a half ships, decommissioned ashore due to dilapidation. Nevertheless, Roman decided to give battle. Siphons with "Greek fire" were installed on half-rotten vessels. It was a combustible mixture based on natural oil.

Russian boats boldly attacked the Greek squadron, the mere sight of which made them laugh. But suddenly, through the high sides of the Greek ships, fiery jets poured onto the heads of the Rus. The sea around the Russian ships seemed to suddenly flare up. Many rooks blazed at once. The Russian army instantly panicked. Everyone thought only about how to get out of this inferno as soon as possible.

The Greeks won a complete victory. Byzantine historians report that Igor managed to escape with hardly a dozen rooks.

church schism

The Ecumenical Councils, which saved the Christian Church from destructive schisms, met more than once in Constantinople. But one day there was an event of a completely different kind.

On July 15, 1054, before the start of the divine service, Cardinal Humbert entered the Hagia Sophia, accompanied by two papal legates. Going straight to the altar, he addressed the people with accusations against the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius. At the end of the speech, Cardinal Humbert put a bull on the throne about his excommunication and left the temple. On the threshold, he symbolically shook off the dust from his feet and said: “God sees and judges!” For a minute there was complete silence in the church. Then there was a general uproar. The deacon ran after the cardinal, begging him to take the bull back. But he took away the document extended to him, and the bull fell on the pavement. She was taken to the patriarch, who ordered the publication of the papal message, and then excommunicated the papal legates themselves. The indignant crowd almost tore apart the envoys of Rome.

Generally speaking, Humbert came to Constantinople for a completely different matter. While both Rome and Byzantium were greatly annoyed by the Normans who settled in Sicily. Humbert was instructed to negotiate with the Byzantine emperor on joint action against them. But from the very beginning of the negotiations, the issue of confessional differences between the Roman and Constantinopolitan churches came to the fore. The emperor, who was extremely interested in the military and political assistance of the West, could not calm down the raging priests. The matter, as we have seen, ended badly - after mutual excommunication, the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope no longer wanted to know each other.

Later, this event was called the "great schism", or "separation of the Churches" into the western - Catholic and eastern - Orthodox. Of course, its roots lay much deeper than the 11th century, and the disastrous consequences did not immediately affect.

Russian pilgrims

The capital of the Orthodox world - Tsargrad (Constantinople) - was well known to Russian people. Merchants from Kyiv and other cities of Russia came here, pilgrims going to Athos and the Holy Land stopped here. One of the districts of Constantinople - Galata - was even called the "Russian city" - so many Russian travelers lived here. One of them, a Novgorodian Dobrynya Yadreikovich, left a most interesting historical evidence of the Byzantine capital. Thanks to his "Tale of Constantinople" we know how the thousand-year-old city found itself in the crusading pogrom of 1204.

Dobrynya visited Tsargrad in the spring of 1200. He examined in detail the monasteries and temples of Constantinople with their icons, relics and relics. According to scientists, in the "Tale of Constantinople" 104 shrines of the capital of Byzantium are described, and so thoroughly and accurately, as none of the travelers of a later time described them.

The story of the miraculous phenomenon in St. Sophia Cathedral on May 21, which, as Dobrynya assures, he personally witnessed, is very curious. This is what happened that day: on Sunday, before the Liturgy, in front of the eyes of those praying, a golden altar cross with three burning lamps miraculously rose into the air by itself, and then smoothly lowered into place. The Greeks accepted this sign with jubilation, as a sign of God's mercy. But, ironically, four years later, Constantinople fell under the blows of the crusaders. This misfortune forced the Greeks to change their view of the interpretation of the miraculous sign: now they began to think that the return of the shrines to the place foreshadowed the revival of Byzantium after the fall of the crusader state. Later, there was a legend that on the eve of the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, and also on May 21, a miracle happened again, but this time the cross with lamps forever soared into the sky, and this already marked the final fall of the Byzantine Empire.

First surrender

On Easter 1204, Constantinople was resounded only by wailing and weeping. For the first time in nine centuries, enemies - participants in the IV Crusade - were operating in the capital of Byzantium.

The call for the capture of Constantinople sounded at the end of the 12th century from the lips of Pope Innocent III. Interest in the Holy Land in the West at that time had already begun to cool. But the crusade against Orthodox schismatics was fresh. Few of the Western European sovereigns resisted the temptation to plunder the richest city in the world. Venetian ships delivered a horde of crusading thugs right under the walls of Constantinople for a good bribe.

Storming the walls of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204. Painting by Jacopo Tintoretto, 16th century

The city was taken by storm on Monday April 13 and was subjected to an all-out robbery. The Byzantine chronicler Nikita Choniates indignantly wrote that even "Muslims are more kind and compassionate compared to these people who wear the sign of Christ on their shoulders." An innumerable number of relics and precious church utensils were taken to the West. According to historians, to this day, up to 90% of the most significant relics in the cathedrals of Italy, France and Germany are shrines taken from Constantinople. The greatest of them is the so-called Shroud of Turin: the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, on which His face was imprinted. Now it is kept in the cathedral of Italian Turin.

In place of Byzantium, the knights created the Latin Empire and a number of other state formations.

Division of Byzantium after the fall of Constantinople

In 1213, the papal legate closed all the churches and monasteries of Constantinople, and imprisoned the monks and priests. The Catholic clergy hatched plans for a real genocide of the Orthodox population of Byzantium. The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral, Claude Fleury, wrote that the Greeks "need to be exterminated and populate the country with Catholics."

Fortunately, these plans were not destined to come true. In 1261, Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos retook Constantinople almost without a fight, putting an end to Latin rule on Byzantine soil.

New Troy

At the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries, Constantinople experienced the longest siege in its history, comparable only to the siege of Troy.

By that time, miserable scraps remained from the Byzantine Empire - Constantinople itself and the southern regions of Greece. The rest was captured by the Turkish sultan Bayezid I. But independent Constantinople stuck out like a bone in his throat, and in 1394 the Turks took the city under siege.

Emperor Manuel II turned to the strongest sovereigns of Europe for help. Some of them responded to the desperate call from Constantinople. True, only money was sent from Moscow - the Moscow princes had enough of their worries with the Golden Horde. But the Hungarian king Sigismund boldly went on a campaign against the Turks, but on September 25, 1396 he was utterly defeated in the battle of Nikopol. The French were somewhat more successful. In 1399, the commander Geoffroy Bukiko with a thousand two hundred soldiers broke into Constantinople, reinforcing its garrison.

However, the real savior of Constantinople was, oddly enough, Tamerlane. Of course, the great lame man least of all thought about how to please the Byzantine emperor. He had his own scores with Bayazid. In 1402, Tamerlane defeated Bayezid, captured him and put him in an iron cage.

Bayazid's son Sulim lifted the eight-year siege of Constantinople. At the negotiations that began after that, the Byzantine emperor managed to squeeze out of the situation even more than it could give at first glance. He demanded the return of a number of Byzantine possessions, and the Turks meekly agreed to this. Moreover, Sulim swore a vassal oath to the emperor. This was the last historical success of the Byzantine Empire - but what a success! By proxy, Manuel II regained significant territories, and provided the Byzantine Empire with another half century of existence.

The fall

In the middle of the 15th century, Constantinople was still considered the capital of the Byzantine Empire, and its last emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, ironically bore the name of the founder of the thousand-year-old city. But those were only the pitiful ruins of a once great empire. Yes, and Constantinople itself has long lost its metropolitan splendor. Its fortifications were dilapidated, the population huddled in dilapidated houses, and only individual buildings - palaces, churches, hippodrome - reminded of its former grandeur.

Byzantine Empire in 1450

Such a city, or rather a historical ghost, on April 7, 1453, was besieged by the 150,000-strong army of the Turkish Sultan Mehmet II. 400 Turkish ships entered the Bosphorus Strait.

For the 29th time in its history, Constantinople was under siege. But never before has the danger been so great. The Turkish armada Constantine Palaiologos could oppose only 5,000 soldiers of the garrison and about 3,000 Venetians and Genoese who responded to the call for help.

Panorama "The Fall of Constantinople". Opened in Istanbul in 2009

The panorama depicts approximately 10 thousand participants in the battle. The total area of ​​the canvas is 2,350 sq. meters with a panorama diameter of 38 meters and a height of 20 meters. Its location is also symbolic: not far from the Cannon Gate. It was next to them that a breach was made in the wall, which decided the outcome of the assault.

However, the first attacks from the land side did not bring success to the Turks. The attempt of the Turkish fleet to break through the chain that blocked the entrance to the Golden Horn Bay also ended in failure. Then Mehmet II repeated the maneuver that once delivered to Prince Oleg the glory of the conqueror of Constantinople. By order of the Sultan, the Ottomans built a 12-kilometer portage and dragged 70 ships along it to the Golden Horn. The triumphant Mehmet invited the besieged to surrender. But they replied that they would fight to the death.

On May 27, Turkish guns opened heavy fire on the city walls, punching huge gaps in them. Two days later, the last, general assault began. After a fierce battle in the gaps, the Turks broke into the city. Constantine Palaiologos fell in battle, fighting like a simple warrior.

Official video of the panorama "The Fall of Constantinople"

Despite the destruction caused, the Turkish conquest breathed new life into the dying city. Constantinople turned into Istanbul - the capital of a new empire, the brilliant Ottoman Porte.

Loss of capital status

For 470 years, Istanbul was the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the spiritual center of the Islamic world, since the Turkish sultan was also the caliph - the spiritual ruler of Muslims. But in the 20s of the last century, the great city lost its capital status - probably forever.

The reason for this was the First World War, in which the dying Ottoman Empire had the stupidity to take the side of Germany. In 1918, the Turks suffered a crushing defeat from the Entente. In fact, the country lost its independence. The Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 left Turkey with only a fifth of its former territory. The Dardanelles and the Bosphorus were declared open straits and were subject to occupation along with Istanbul. The British entered the Turkish capital, while the Greek army captured the western part of Asia Minor.

However, there were forces in Turkey that did not want to accept national humiliation. The national liberation movement was led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha. In 1920, he proclaimed in Ankara the creation of a free Turkey and declared invalid the agreements signed by the Sultan. In late August-early September 1921, a major battle took place between the Kemalists and the Greeks on the Sakarya River (a hundred kilometers west of Ankara). Kemal won a landslide victory, for which he received the rank of marshal and the title of "Gazi" ("Winner"). The Entente troops were withdrawn from Istanbul, Turkey received international recognition within its current borders.

Kemal's government carried out the most important reforms of the state system. Secular power was separated from religious power, the sultanate and the caliphate were liquidated. The last Sultan Mehmed VI fled abroad. On October 29, 1923, Turkey was officially declared a secular republic. The capital of the new state was moved from Istanbul to Ankara.

The loss of capital status did not remove Istanbul from the list of great cities in the world. Today it is the largest metropolis in Europe with a population of 13.8 million people and a booming economy.

If you take it into your head to find Constantinople on a modern geographical map, you will fail. The thing is that since 1930 the city of such a city does not exist. By decision of the new government of the Turkish Republic, founded in 1923, the city of Constantinople (the former capital of the Ottoman Empire) was renamed. Its modern name is Istanbul.

Why was Constantinople called Constantinople? The amazing history of the city has more than one millennium. During this period, it has undergone many changes, having been the capital of three empires at once: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. It is not surprising that he had to change names more than once. The very first name assigned to him in history is Byzantium. The modern name of Constantinople is Istanbul.

Tsargrad was perceived by Russian people as the center of Orthodoxy. Soon after the adoption of Christianity in Russian culture, a systematic sacralization (endowment with a sacred meaning) of the image of Constantinople takes place.

It is the image of Constantinople in Russian folk tales that inspired the idea of ​​a strange overseas country with its magic and all kinds of miracles.

The marriage of Vladimir to a Byzantine princess led to the establishment of cultural and spiritual ties with Constantinople. Tsargrad played an extremely positive role in the development of Russian society, since business and cultural contacts led to a leap in the development of icon painting, architecture, literature, art and social science.

By order of Vladimir, magnificent cathedrals were built in Kyiv, Polotsk and Novgorod, which are exact copies of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople.

At the main entrance to Vladimir and Kyiv, a golden gate was installed, created by analogy with the golden gates that opened during the solemn ceremonies of the meeting of the Byzantine emperors.

Etymological note

The etymology of the word "king" is interesting. It happened on behalf of the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar. The word "Caesar" became an obligatory part of the title of all the rulers of the empire: both in the early and later periods of its existence. The use of the prefix "Caesar" symbolized the succession of power that had passed to the new emperor from the legendary Julius Caesar.

In Roman culture, the concepts of "king" and "Caesar" are not identical: in the early stages of the existence of the Roman state, the king was called the word "rex", performed the duties of the high priest, justice of the peace and leader of the army. He was not endowed with unlimited power and most often represented the interests of the community that chose him as their leader.

End of the Byzantine Empire

On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror took Constantinople after a 53-day siege. The last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI, having stood for a prayer service in St. Sophia Cathedral, valiantly fought in the ranks of the defenders of the city and died in battle.

The capture of Constantinople meant the end of the existence of the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople became the capital of the Ottoman state and at first was called Constantine, and then was renamed Istanbul.

In Europe and Russia, the city is called Istanbul, which is a distorted form of the Turkish name.

Constantinople is a unique city in many respects. This is the only city in the world, located at once in Europe and Asia, and one of the few modern cities, whose age is approaching three millennia. Finally, this is a city that has changed four civilizations and the same number of names in its history.

First settlement and provincial period

Around 680 B.C. Greek settlers appeared on the Bosphorus. On the Asian coast of the strait, they founded the colony of Chalcedon (now it is a district of Istanbul, which is called "Kadikoy"). Three decades later, the town of Byzantium grew up opposite it. According to legend, it was founded by a certain Byzant from Megara, who was given vague advice by the Delphic oracle "to settle opposite the blind." According to Byzant, the inhabitants of Chalcedon were these blind people, since they chose the distant Asian hills for settlement, and not the cozy triangle of European land located opposite.

Located at the crossroads of trade routes, Byzantium was a tasty prey for the conquerors. For several centuries, the city has changed many owners - Persians, Athenians, Spartans, Macedonians. In 74 B.C. Rome laid its iron hand on Byzantium. For the city on the Bosphorus, a long period of peace and prosperity began. But in 193, during the next battle for the imperial throne, the inhabitants of Byzantium made a fatal mistake. They swore allegiance to one applicant, and the strongest turned out to be another - Septimius Severus. Moreover, Byzantium also persisted in its non-recognition of the new emperor. For three years the army of Septimius Severus stood under the walls of Byzantium, until hunger forced the besieged to surrender. The enraged emperor ordered the city to be razed to the ground. However, the inhabitants soon returned to their native ruins, as if foreseeing that a bright future lay ahead for their city.

Imperial capital

Let us say a few words about the man who gave Constantinople its name.

Constantine the Great dedicates Constantinople to the Theotokos. Mosaic

Emperor Constantine was already called “The Great” during his lifetime, although he did not differ in high morality. This, however, is not surprising, because his whole life was spent in a fierce struggle for power. He participated in several civil wars, during which he executed his son from his first marriage, Crispus, and his second wife, Fausta. But some of his state deeds are really worthy of the title "Great". It is no coincidence that the descendants did not spare marble, erecting gigantic monuments to it. A fragment of one such statue is kept in the Museum of Rome. The height of her head is two and a half meters.

In 324, Constantine decided to move the seat of government from Rome to the East. At first, he tried on Serdika (now Sofia) and other cities, but in the end he chose Byzantium. The borders of his new capital Constantine personally drew on the ground with a spear. Until now, in Istanbul, you can walk along the remains of the ancient fortress wall erected along this line.

In just six years, a huge city grew up on the site of the provincial Byzantium. It was decorated with magnificent palaces and temples, aqueducts and wide streets with rich houses of the nobility. The new capital of the empire for a long time bore the proud name of "New Rome". And only a century later, Byzantium-New Rome was renamed Constantinople, "the city of Constantine."

Capital symbols

Constantinople is a city of secret meanings. Local guides will definitely show you the two main attractions of the ancient capital of Byzantium - Hagia Sophia and the Golden Gate. But not everyone will explain their secret meaning. Meanwhile, these buildings appeared in Constantinople by no means by chance.

The Cathedral of St. Sophia and the Golden Gate vividly embodied medieval ideas about the wandering City, especially popular in the Orthodox East. It was believed that after ancient Jerusalem lost its providential role in the salvation of mankind, the sacred capital of the world moved to Constantinople. Now it was no longer the “old” Jerusalem, but the first Christian capital that personified the City of God, which was destined to stand until the end of time, and after the Last Judgment become the abode of the righteous.

Reconstruction of the original view of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople

In the first half of the 6th century, under Emperor Justinian I, the urban structure of Constantinople was brought into line with this idea. In the center of the Byzantine capital, the grandiose Cathedral of Sophia the Wisdom of God was built, surpassing its Old Testament prototype - the Jerusalem temple of the Lord. At the same time, the front Golden Gates decorated the city wall. It was assumed that at the end of time, Christ would enter the God-chosen city through them in order to complete the history of mankind, just as he once entered the Golden Gate of “old” Jerusalem to show people the way of salvation.

Hippodrome. Constantinople. Around 1350