History of Istanbul in the context of "Pliny the Elder"

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⭐ Core Definition: History of Istanbul

Neolithic artifacts, uncovered by archeologists at the beginning of the 21st century, indicate that Istanbul's historic peninsula was settled as far back as the 6th millennium BCE. That early settlement, important in the spread of the Neolithic Revolution from the Near East to Europe, lasted for almost a millennium before being inundated by rising water levels. The first human settlement on the Asian side, the Fikirtepe mound, is from the Copper Age period, with artifacts dating from 5500 to 3500 BCE. In the European side, near the point of the peninsula (Sarayburnu) there was a settlement during the early 1st millennium BCE. Modern authors have linked it to the possible Thracian toponym Lygos, mentioned by Pliny the Elder as an earlier name for the site of Byzantium.

There is evidence suggesting there were settlements around the region dating as far back as 6700 BC, and it is hard to define if there was any settlement on exact spot at city proper established, but earliest records about city proper begins around 660 BC when Greek settlers from the Attic town of Megara colonized the area and established Byzantium on the European side of the Bosphorus. It fell to the Roman Republic in 196 BC, and was known as Byzantium in Latin until 330, when the city, soon renamed as Constantinople, became the new capital of the Roman Empire. During the reign of Justinian I, the city rose to be the largest in the western world, with a population peaking at close to half a million people. Constantinople functioned as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which effectively ended with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Constantinople then became the capital of the Ottoman Turks.

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History of Istanbul in the context of Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th century to the early 20th century. It also controlled parts of southeastern Central Europe between the early 16th and early 18th centuries.

The empire emerged from a beylik, or principality, founded in northwestern Anatolia in c. 1299 by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I. His successors conquered much of Anatolia and expanded into the Balkans by the mid-14th century, transforming their petty kingdom into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II. With its capital at Constantinople and control over a significant portion of the Mediterranean Basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions between the Middle East and Europe for six centuries. Ruling over so many peoples, the empire granted varying levels of autonomy to its many confessional communities, or millets, to manage their own affairs per Islamic law. During the reigns of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire became a global power.

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History of Istanbul in the context of Ottoman empire

The Ottoman Empire, also known as the Turkish Empire, controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th century to the early 20th century. It also controlled parts of southeastern Central Europe between the early 16th and early 18th centuries.

The empire emerged from a beylik, or principality, founded in northwestern Anatolia in c. 1299 by the Turkoman tribal leader Osman I. His successors conquered much of Anatolia and had expanded into the Balkans by the mid-14th century, transforming their petty kingdom into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans under Mehmed II brought to and end the Byzantine Empire with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Controlling a large part of the Mediterranean Basin, and with its capital at Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions between the Middle East and Europe for six centuries. The empire ruled over a vast population and granted varying levels of autonomy to its many confessional communities, or millets, to manage their own affairs per Islamic law. The Ottoman Empire became a global power in the 16th century during the reign of Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Ottoman Empire ← Ottoman empire ← Turkish Empire ← Ottoman rule ← Ottoman Turkey
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Istanbul → Constantinople → Neolithic → Neolithic Revolution → Europe → Copper Age → Sarayburnu → 1st millennium BC → Thracian language → Pliny the Elder → Greek colonisation → Megara → Byzantium → Bosporus → Roman Republic → Roman Empire → Justinian I → Historical urban community sizes → Byzantine Empire → Fall of Constantinople → Ottoman Turks →