Constantinople

Timeline

1. 324–330Site of ancient Byzantium · TurkeyConstantine the Great chose the ancient city of Byzantium, commanding the Bosphorus, to expand into the new imperial capital; the inauguration was held in 330, the city was granted the status of 'New Rome,' and it became the empire's administrative center.
2. 527–565Constantinople · TurkeyDuring Justinian I's reign, walls and aqueducts were built on a grand scale and Hagia Sophia was rebuilt; the city's population and trade flourished, making it the grandest Christian imperial capital of the Mediterranean world.
3. 400–1200Theodosian Walls · TurkeyThe triple walls and moat built under Theodosius II made Constantinople one of the hardest cities to take in the Middle Ages, repeatedly repelling Avar, Arab, Bulgarian, and Rus' assaults.
4. 1204–1261Constantinople · TurkeyThe Fourth Crusade captured and sacked the imperial capital, establishing the Latin Empire; in 1261 the Nicaean general Michael VIII Palaiologos recovered the capital, and Byzantium entered the late Palaiologan period.
5. 1453Walls of Constantinople and the Golden Horn · TurkeyOttoman sultan Mehmed II breached the walls with heavy artillery and a combined land and sea siege; the last emperor Constantine XI died in battle, the Byzantine Empire fell, and Constantinople became the Ottoman capital, renamed Istanbul.