4 October, Istanbul
Haci Mimi Apartment 53TL

Named Constantinople from 330AD until 1930, modern Istanbul has a population of 14 million. Colonised by the Greeks in 685BC, the city fell to the Romans in 196AD and was officially proclaimed the new capital of the Roman Empire in 330 by Constantine the Great. Constantine converted to Christianity and at the end of his reign declared his three sons joint heirs of the Roman Empire. Family rivalry led eventually to the permanent partition of the empire with Constantinople becoming the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. In the fifth century, while the western empire declined, the eastern flourished. Classified later as the Byzantine Empire, the eastern empire was distinctly Greek in culture and became the centre of Greek Orthodox Christianity following an earlier religious split with Rome. Wikipedia: “The most famous Byzantine emperor was Justinian (527-565). During his reign he extended the Byzantine Empire to its largest boundaries spreading from Palestine to the tip of Spain.” In 1204, the Fourth Crusade planned to capture both the Byzantine Empire and the Holy City of Jerusalem; it succeeded in the former, but failed in the latter. The new Latin Empire at Constantinople lasted until 1261, when the Byzantines recaptured the city. “After this, Constantinople never regained its former glory. Rather than a thriving metropolis, Constantinople transformed into a collection of villages.” (For more of the city’s history see October 5 daily snippet.)

Lazy day at home.