2007-10-23 16:34:36 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks.
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way
2007-10-23 17:26:49 · answer #1 · answered by God Told me so, To My Face 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Constantinople was founded in 312 A.D when The Roman Emperor Constantine the Great made it his new Capital. He declared the obscure Greek town of Byzantium as his capital, and renamed it "Nova Roma", New Rome. However, the people who interacted with the city refered to it by its nickname: Constantinopolis; the City of Constantine. Constantinople is the English translation of the name Constantinopolis. (which is its Latin and Greek name)
In 476 A.D, the Western Roman Empire collapsed, and over the centuries the memory of Ancient Rome grew fainter and fainter. The concept of The city being "Rome" faded into memory, instead the nickname stuck: Constantinopolis.
While they considered themselves the continuation of the Roman Empire, what we now call the Byzantine Empire lasted until 1453 A.D. By then, The Ottoman Empire had conquered all of the Byzantine Empire's Egyptian, middle eastern, and Asian territories (the Byzantines were notoriously theocratic and repressive, Islam's comparable tolerance allowed it spread like wildfire). Only the city itself remained. But the Ottomans had developed cannons, which allowed them to penetrate Constantinople's mighty defenses and surge into the city. The last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI, was last seen leading a charge into the breech. The Byzantine Empire died on Tuesday, May 29th, 1453 A.D.
After the defeat of the Byzantines, Ottoman Sultan Mehmud II proclaimed himself the Roman Emperor and kept the name Constantinople intact. The Turks called it Kostantiniyye even as late as the 20th century. Other names included Stamboul and Islambol. When the Turkish Republic was created in 1923, Istanbul was formally adopted as its official name, and the rest of the names faded into obsolescence. From a historical perspective, It is utterly absurd to suggest that the Ottoman Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire, as Mehmud II thought, so we say that Constantinople became Istanbul immediately after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, But there is still grey. The Greeks STILL to this day refer to the city as Constantinople, as the Byzantine Empire was a cultural highpoint for the Greeks.
2007-10-23 18:02:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
The doomed Emperor Constantinople was conned by the cunning Constantuina, a crafty cuhnt who convinced the
centigenerian that her love was constant, and after sharing
a cuisine of canteloupe, he found they couldn't !
2007-10-23 16:51:47 · answer #3 · answered by Monsieur Recital Vinyliste 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Was taken over by the Ottoman turks in the 14th Century I think... could be the 1400's... I'm not too sure about the date.
Once they took it over they renamed it Istanbul. It's still around today - a pretty large city. I think it might actually be the capital of Turkey, but I'm not sure about that.
2007-10-23 16:47:32 · answer #4 · answered by Mr Anon 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It became Istanbul, Turkey
Constantinople was the name of Istanbul a long time ago.
2007-10-23 16:46:36 · answer #5 · answered by george p 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It turned into Istanbul.
2007-10-23 16:46:57 · answer #6 · answered by iansand 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋