Istanbul Topkapı-era Capital City

Timeline

1. 1453–1520Constantinople/Istanbul · IstanbulIn 1453 Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire. He immediately transformed the city into the Ottoman capital: Topkapı Palace was begun in 1459, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque, and large numbers of Muslims, Christians, and Jews were resettled to repopulate it. The city quickly recovered under the Ottoman administrative framework, becoming a trade and power hub linking Europe, Asia, and Africa.
2. 1520–1566Istanbul · IstanbulUnder Suleiman I ("the Lawgiver" or "the Magnificent," r. 1520–1566) Istanbul reached its Ottoman-era peak: architect Mimar Sinan oversaw more than 300 building projects including the Süleymaniye Mosque (completed 1558), the city's population exceeded 700,000, the Grand Bazaar and spice market became the world's busiest commercial centers, and the Kanun legal code established the framework of urban governance.
3. 1661–1676Topkapı Palace, Istanbul · IstanbulFazıl Ahmed Köprülü became grand vizier in 1661, carrying out administrative and fiscal reforms that restored order to Istanbul's bureaucracy. In 1672 the empire launched a campaign in Podolia and won, briefly reviving its prestige. In the 1670s, as the empire's nerve center, Topkapı Palace's Imperial Council (Divan), harem, and treasury operated in good order, and the city's commerce and crafts continued to flourish; Evliya Çelebi's travelogue Seyahatnâme recorded the city's appearance in detail.
4. 1683–1699Istanbul · IstanbulIn 1683 Ottoman forces suffered a crushing defeat before Vienna; the ensuing "Great Turkish War" led the empire to cede vast territories. The Treaty of Karlowitz (1699) was the first large-scale territorial concession by the Ottomans to European Christian powers, ending the empire's strategic advantage. Istanbul's political focus began shifting from outward expansion to defense and internal reform.
5. 1923Istanbul · IstanbulThe Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 and the capital moved to Ankara; Topkapı Palace became a museum in 1924. Istanbul's historic areas were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1985, encompassing major complexes such as Hagia Sophia, the Süleymaniye Mosque, and Topkapı Palace—the most important material remains of the overlapping civilizations of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Today Istanbul is Turkey's largest city, with a population of over 15 million.