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64-512: Yenikapı is notable for the ongoing excavations on its Byzantine port, first discovered in 2004. Yenikapı’s archeological investigations have become one of the largest in Europe , due to the size and number of the shipwrecks found since the initial discovery, and the large number of associated artefacts. The commercial harbor, called the Harbour of Theodosius, in use between the 5th and the 10th centuries,

128-824: A brief period in the 3rd century AD. The Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211) conferred the name in honor of his son Antoninus, the later Emperor Caracalla . Before the Roman emperor Constantine the Great made the city the new eastern capital of the Roman Empire on May 11, 330, he undertook a major construction project, essentially rebuilding the city on a monumental scale, partly modeled after Rome. Names of this period included ἡ Νέα, δευτέρα Ῥώμη "the New, second Rome", Alma Roma   Ἄλμα Ῥώμα , Βυζαντιάς Ῥώμη , ἑῴα Ῥώμη "Eastern Rome", Roma Constantinopolitana . The Third Canon of

192-628: A city in Libya mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium and another on the western coast of India referred to by the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ; in both cases the names were probably adaptations of names in local languages. Faustus of Byzantium was from a city of that name in Cilicia . The origins of Byzantium are shrouded in legend. Tradition says that Byzas of Megara (a city-state near Athens ) founded

256-542: A term for the east Roman state as a whole, Byzantium was introduced by the historian Hieronymus Wolf only in 1555, a century after the empire, whose inhabitants called it the Roman Empire ( Medieval Greek : Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων , romanized :  Basileia tōn Rhōmaiōn , lit.   'kingdom of the Romans';), had ceased to exist. The city was called Augusta Antonina ( Greek : Αυγούστα Αντωνινή ) for

320-474: A term for the east Roman state as a whole, Byzantium was introduced by the historian Hieronymus Wolf only in 1555, a century after the last remnants of the empire, whose inhabitants continued to refer to their polity as the Roman Empire ( Medieval Greek : Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων , romanized :  Basileía tōn Rhōmaíōn , lit.   'empire of the Romans'), had ceased to exist. Other places were historically known as Byzántion (Βυζάντιον) –

384-526: Is a living alternative name for the modern city, as well as being used when referring to the historic capital of the medieval Roman Empire or the Ottoman Empire. In Czech (a West Slavic language ) this Slavic name is used in the form Cařihrad (used in the 19th century, now only occasionally). It was also borrowed from the Slavic languages into Romanian in the form Țarigrad , though Constantinopol remained

448-576: Is a variant form of İstanbul. Like Istanbul itself, forms without the initial i- are attested from early on in the Middle Ages, first in Arabic sources of the 10th century and Armenian ones of the 12th. Some early sources also attest to an even shorter form Bulin , based on the Greek word Poli(n) alone without the preceding article. (This latter form lives on in modern Armenian.) The word-initial i- arose in

512-491: Is also a station on the İstanbul-Halkalı suburban railway line . During the archaeological excavation at the Yenikapı Marmaray construction site, it has been learned that Istanbul's history dates back further than was previously thought, some 8,500 years. 8,000-year-old skeletons were discovered, and with the continuous excavations, further graves have been unearthed. The graves reveal that Istanbul used to be home to

576-580: Is an Arabic calque of Constantinople . After the Ottoman conquest of 1453, it was used as the most formal official name in Ottoman Turkish, and remained in use throughout most of the time up to the fall of the Empire in 1922. However, during some periods Ottoman authorities favoured other names (see below). The modern Turkish name İstanbul ( pronounced [isˈtanbuɫ] ) ( Ottoman Turkish : استانبول )

640-669: Is attested (in a range of variants) since the 10th century, at first in Armenian and Arabic (without the initial İ- ) and then in Ottoman sources. It probably comes from the Greek phrase "στὴν Πόλι" [stimˈboli] , meaning "in the city", reinterpreted as a single word; a similar case is Stimboli , Crete . It is thus based on the common Greek usage of referring to Constantinople simply as The City (see above). The incorporation of parts of articles and other particles into Greek place names

704-467: Is no more in common use. The word Estambol has widened in meaning to include exclusively the entire European side of Istanbul. The Asian side is usually not considered as Estambol; however, the expression la civdad de Estambol would encompass the boundaries of the present-day city. There are few expression denoting the Asian side. Anatol , from Anatolia and Asya , meaning Asia are common words to denote

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768-418: Is referred to as Kostandina or Kostantina (an alteration of Kostantiniyye ) and more often as its short form Kushta ( קושטה ‎) or Kostán in most Judaeo-Spanish publications during the Ottoman period. Kosta was the name for the entire province of Istanbul, while the word Estambol was used for the area of the old city and Pera. Today the word Kosta is restricted only for historical purposes and

832-620: The Byzantine Empire . Byzantium was colonized by Greeks from Megara in the 7th century BC and remained primarily Greek-speaking until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in AD 1453. The etymology of Byzantium is unknown. It has been suggested that the name is of Thracian origin. It may be derived from the Thracian personal name Byzas which means "he-goat". Ancient Greek legend refers to

896-616: The Ottoman Empire to describe the entire urban area of the city until the advent of the Republic of Turkey —the core Walled City was always Istambul for the Ottomans. According to Eldem Edhem, who wrote an encyclopedia entry on Istanbul for Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire , "many" Turkish members of the public as well as Turkish historians often perceive the use of Constantinople for the Ottoman city, despite being historically accurate, as being " politically incorrect ". Besides Constantinople ,

960-506: The Western Armenian dialect prevalent in the city), also became the source of the later Turkish name, Istanbul (see below). Kostantiniyye ( Arabic : قسطنطنية , translit. Qusṭanṭinīyya , Persian : قسطنطنیه , translit. Qosṭanṭanīye, Ottoman Turkish : قسطنطينيه , translit. Ḳosṭanṭīnīye ) is the name by which the city came to be known in the Islamic world . It

1024-510: The 1st century BC and later show the head of Artemis with bow and quiver, and feature a crescent with what appears to be an eight-rayed star on the reverse. According to accounts which vary in some of the details, in 340 BC the Byzantines and their allies the Athenians were under siege by the troops of Philip of Macedon . On a particularly dark and wet night Philip attempted a surprise attack but

1088-425: The 20th century. Ottomans and foreign contemporaries, especially in diplomatic correspondence, referred to the Ottoman imperial government with particular honorifics. Among them are the following: The "Gate of Felicity", the "Sublime Gate", and the "Sublime Porte" were literally places within the Ottoman sultans' Topkapı Palace , and were used metonymically to refer to the authorities located there, and hence for

1152-568: The 9th century to gold Byzantine coinage , reflected in the French besant ( d'or ), Italian bisante , and English besant , byzant , or bezant . The English usage, derived from Old French besan (pl. besanz ), and relating to the coin, dates from the 12th century. Later, the name Byzantium became common in the West to refer to the Eastern Roman Empire , whose capital was Constantinople. As

1216-410: The 9th century to gold Byzantine coinage , reflected in the French besant ( d'or ), Italian bisante , and English besant , byzant , or bezant . The English usage, derived from Old French besan (pl. besanz ), and relating to the coin, dates from the 12th century. Later, the name Byzantium became common in the West to refer to the Eastern Roman Empire , whose capital was Constantinople. As

1280-542: The Arabic to the Latin script. Beginning in 1930, Turkey officially requested that other countries use Turkish names for Turkish cities, instead of other transliterations to Latin script that had been used in the Ottoman times. In English, the name is usually written "Istanbul". In modern Turkish, the name is written "İstanbul" ( dotted i/İ and dotless ı/I being two distinct letters in the Turkish alphabet ). Stamboul or Stambul

1344-491: The Asian side of Istanbul. Moreover, el otro lado (literally the other side ) is a quite simplistic and descriptory expression for the Asian side of Istanbul, especially for those living in the European side. Those living in the Asian side however do not use this expression to denote the European side, but simply call it Estambol . The inhabitants are called Estambulí or Estambullí . Most modern Western languages have adopted

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1408-524: The Byzantines referred to the city with a large range of honorary appellations, such as the "Queen of Cities" ( Βασιλὶς τῶν πόλεων ), also as an adjective, Βασιλεύουσα, the 'Reigning City'. In popular speech, the most common way of referring to it came to be simply the City (Greek: hē Polis /iˈpo.lis/ , ἡ Πόλις , Modern Greek : i Poli , η Πόλη /i ˈpoli/ ). This usage, still current today in colloquial Greek and Armenian (Պոլիս, pronounced "Polis" or "Bolis" in

1472-483: The Elder the first name of Byzantium was Lygos . This may have been the name of a Thracian settlement situated on the site of the later city, near the point of the peninsula ( Sarayburnu ). Byzantion ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιον , romanized :  Byzántion , Latin : Byzantium ) was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC. The name is believed to be of Thracian or Illyrian origin and thus to predate

1536-623: The Emperors", "Capital of the Romans" or similar. During the 10th to 12th century Constantinople was one of the largest two cities in the world, the other being Baghdad . The medieval Vikings , who had contacts with the Byzantine Empire through their expansion through eastern Europe ( Varangians ), used the Old Norse name Mikligarðr (from mikill 'big' and garðr 'wall' or 'stronghold') as seen in

1600-668: The First Council of Constantinople (381) refers to the city as New Rome. The term "New Rome" lent itself to East-West polemics, especially in the context of the Great Schism , when it was used by Greek writers to stress the rivalry with (the original) Rome. New Rome is also still part of the official title of the Patriarch of Constantinople . Kōnstantinoúpolis (Κωνσταντινούπολις), Constantinopolis in Latin and Constantinople in English,

1664-484: The Greek king Byzas , the leader of the Megarian colonists and founder of the city. The name Lygos for the city, which likely corresponds to an earlier Thracian settlement, is mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History . Byzántios, plural Byzántioi ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιος, Βυζάντιοι , Latin : Byzantius ; adjective the same) referred to Byzantion's inhabitants, also used as an ethnonym for

1728-491: The Greek settlement. It may be derived from a Thracian or Illyrian personal name, Byzas . Ancient Greek legend refers to a legendary king of that name as the leader of the Megarean colonists and eponymous founder of the city. Byzántios, plural. Byzántioi ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιος, Βυζάντιοι , Latin : Byzantius ) referred to Byzantion's inhabitants and Byzántios ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιος , Latin : Byzantius )

1792-824: The Icelandic sagas. East and South Slavic languages referred to the city as Tsarigrad or Carigrad, 'City of the Tsar (Emperor)', from the Slavonic words tsar (' Caesar ' or ' Emperor ') and grad ('city'). Cyrillic : Царьград, Цариград. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις (Basileos Polis), 'the city of the emperor [emperor]'. The term is still occasionally used in Bulgarian , whereas it has become archaic in Russian , and Macedonian . In Bosnian , Croatian , Montenegrin , Serbian and Slovene , Carigrad

1856-594: The Turkish name as an epenthetic vowel to break up the St- consonant cluster, prohibited in Turkish phonotactics . Stamboul was used in Western languages to refer to the central city, as Istanbul did in Turkish, until the time it was replaced by the official new usage of the Turkish form in the 1930s for the entire city. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Western European and American sources often used Constantinople to refer to

1920-824: The alternative form of Istambuł is also universally accepted and employed in many translations), Latvian , Lithuanian , Georgian and Albanian . The Albanian form is Stamboll ; the Spanish form is Estambul ; the Portuguese form is Istambul , with an m instead of an n ; the Hungarian form is Isztambul, with the digraph sz pronounced /s/ in the Hungarian language. Armenian uses Polis / Bolis (Eastern and Western Armenian pronunciation, respectively), shortened from Kostandnupolis / Gostantnubolis (ultimately borrowed from Greek), although Stambul ( Armenian : Ստամբուլ ) from Istanbul

1984-486: The central Ottoman imperial administration. Modern historians also refer to government by these terms, similar to the popular usage of Whitehall in Britain. The Sublime Gate is not inside Topkapı palace; the administration building whose gate is named Bâb-ı Âlî is between Agia Sofia and Beyazit mosque, a huge building. Many peoples neighboring the Byzantine Empire used names expressing concepts like "The Great City", "City of

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2048-549: The city in 411 BC, to bring the Athenians into submission. The Athenian military later retook the city in 408 BC, when the Spartans had withdrawn following their settlement. After siding with Pescennius Niger against the victorious Septimius Severus , the city was besieged by Roman forces and suffered extensive damage in AD 196. Byzantium was rebuilt by Septimius Severus, now emperor, and quickly regained its previous prosperity. It

2112-583: The city itself, but it seems likely to have been an effect of being credited with the intervention against Philip and the subsequent honors. This was a common process in ancient Greece, as in Athens where the city was named after Athena in honor of such an intervention in time of war. Cities in the Roman Empire often continued to issue their own coinage. "Of the many themes that were used on local coinage, celestial and astral symbols often appeared, mostly stars or crescent moons." The wide variety of these issues, and

2176-494: The city was called Constantinople (Greek Κωνσταντινούπολις, Konstantinoupolis , "city of Constantine"). This combination of imperialism and location would affect Constantinople's role as the nexus between the continents of Europe and Asia. It was a commercial, cultural, and diplomatic centre and for centuries formed the capital of the Byzantine Empire , which decorated the city with numerous monuments, some still standing today. With its strategic position, Constantinople controlled

2240-453: The city when he sailed northeast across the Aegean Sea . The date is usually given as 667 BC on the authority of Herodotus , who states the city was founded 17 years after Chalcedon . Eusebius , who wrote almost 800 years later, dates the founding of Chalcedon to 685/4 BC, but he also dates the founding of Byzantium to 656 BC (or a few years earlier depending on the edition). Herodotus' dating

2304-492: The city". To this day it remains the largest and most populous city in Turkey , although Ankara is now the national capital. By the late Hellenistic or early Roman period (1st century BC), the star and crescent motif was associated to some degree with Byzantium; even though it became more widely used as the royal emblem of Mithradates VI Eupator (who for a time incorporated the city into his empire ). Some Byzantine coins of

2368-661: The construction of which was delayed by the massive excavations necessary for the project. The new Yenikapı terminal provides interchanges between the Hafif Metro (M1) line and the M2 line — both of which constitute part of the Istanbul Metro network — and the new Marmaray railway link connecting the Anatolian and European sides of the city through a new tunnel under the Bosporus . Yenikapı

2432-485: The crescent and star, and the walls of her city were her provenance. This contradicts claims that only the symbol of the crescent was meant to symbolize Hecate, whereas the star was only added later in order to symbolize the Virgin Mary, as Constantine I is said to have rededicated the city to her in the year 330. It is unclear precisely how the symbol Hecate/Artemis, one of many goddesses would have been transferred to

2496-645: The earliest settlements during the Stone Age. The skeletons were found in four prehistoric graves. Other than skeletons, the digs have revealed 34 sunken ships dating back to the seventh and 11th centuries. The sunken ships have been conserved at the Istanbul University and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Bodrum . There were also remnants of some walls found during the excavations. They are now considered to be

2560-579: The far more widely preferred term. Besides Kustantiniyyah , Persian , Arabic and other languages of the Iranian Plateau and Indian subcontinent used names based on the title Cesar ('Emperor'), as in Persian and Urdu Kayser-i Zemin , or on the ethnic name Rum ('Romans'), as in Arabic Rūmiyyat al-kubra ('Great City of the Romans') or Persian Takht-e Rum ('Throne of the Romans'). The city

2624-577: The first city walls of Constantinople , erected when the city was founded as Byzantion. About 500 pieces taken from the relics unearthed during the Marmaray excavations were exhibited at the Istanbul Archeology Museum . In order to provide an adequate urban and architectural design for the archaeological site, an international design competition was organized in 2012, with the project by Peter Eisenman and Aytac Architects eventually selected as

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2688-520: The highest civil magistrate (İstanbul efendisi) of the city, and the Ottoman Turkish version of the Ottoman constitution of 1876 states that "The capital city of the Ottoman State is İstanbul". İstanbul and several other variant forms of the same name were also widely used in Ottoman literature and poetry. T. R. Ybarra of The New York Times wrote in 1929 that "'Istambul' (our usual form for

2752-413: The initial i- in these names, including Istanbul's, is largely secondary epenthesis to break up syllabic consonant clusters, prohibited by the phonotactic structure of Turkish , as seen in Turkish istasyon from French station or ızgara from the Greek schára . İstanbul originally was not used for the entire city, instead the name referred to the core of Istanbul—the walled city . İstanbul

2816-578: The major trade routes between Asia and Europe, as well as the passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea . On May 29, 1453, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks , and again became the capital of a powerful state, the Ottoman Empire . The Turks called the city "Istanbul" (although it was not officially renamed until 1930); the name derives from the Greek phrase "στην πόλη", which means "to

2880-490: The metropolis as a whole, but Stamboul to refer to the central parts located on the historic peninsula, i.e. Byzantine-era Constantinople inside the walls . The name Islambol ( اسلامبول lit.   ' full of Islam ' ) appeared after the Ottoman conquest of 1453 to express the city's new role as the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire. It was first attested shortly after the conquest, and its invention

2944-517: The name Istanbul for the modern city during the 20th century, following the current usage in the Turkish Republic. However, many languages also preserve other, traditional names. Greeks continue to call the city Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολη Konstantinupoli in Modern Greek) or simply "The City" (η Πόλη i Poli ). Languages that use forms based on Stamboul include Russian , Polish (though

3008-714: The people of the city and as a family name. In the Middle Ages , Byzántion was also a synecdoche for the eastern Roman Empire . (An ellipsis of Medieval Greek : Βυζάντιον κράτος , romanized :  Byzántion krátos ). Byzantinós ( Medieval Greek : Βυζαντινός , Latin : Byzantinus ) denoted an inhabitant of the empire. The Anglicization of Latin Byzantinus yielded "Byzantine", with 15th and 16th century forms including Byzantin , Bizantin(e) , Bezantin(e) , and Bysantin as well as Byzantian and Bizantian . The name Byzantius and Byzantinus were applied from

3072-423: The place of origin of formal documents, such as be-Makam-ı Darü's-Saltanat-ı Kostantiniyyetü'l-Mahrusâtü'l-Mahmiyye . In 19th century Turkish book-printing it was also used in the impressum of books, in contrast to the foreign use of Constantinople . At the same time, however, İstanbul too was part of the official language, for instance in the titles of the highest Ottoman military commander (İstanbul ağası) and

3136-506: The use of Istanbul in English instead of Constantinople. The U.S. State Department began using "Istanbul" in May 1930. Names other than استانبول ( İstanbul ) had become obsolete in the Turkish language after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. However, at that point Constantinople was still used when writing the city's name in Latin script. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from

3200-616: The varying explanations for the significance of the star and crescent on Roman coinage precludes their discussion here. It is, however, apparent that by the time of the Romans, coins featuring a star or crescent in some combination were not at all rare. Names of Constantinople The city of Istanbul has been known by a number of different names. The most notable names besides the modern Turkish name are Byzantium , Constantinople , and Stamboul. Different names are associated with different phases of its history, with different languages, and with different portions of it. According to Pliny

3264-581: The winning proposal. The project also envisages the realization of an archeo-park and a large archaeological museum. In 2020, archaeologists discovered animals remains and skeletons, including cats, dating back to the Byzantine period. 41°00′N 28°57′E  /  41.000°N 28.950°E  / 41.000; 28.950 Byzantium Latin Byzantium ( / b ɪ ˈ z æ n t i ə m , - ʃ ə m / ) or Byzantion ( Ancient Greek : Βυζάντιον )

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3328-525: The word is 'Stamboul') has always been the Turkish name for the whole of Constantinople". The Observer wrote that "To the Turks themselves it never was Constantinople, but Istanbul." In 1929 Lloyd's agents were informed that telegrams now must be addressed to "Istanbul" or "Stamboul", but The Times stated that mail could still be delivered to "Constantinople". However The New York Times stated that year that mail to "Constantinople" may no longer be delivered. In 1929, Turkish government advocated for

3392-432: The works of Hesychius of Miletus , who in all probability lived in the time of Justinian I . His works survive only in fragments preserved in Photius and the tenth century lexicographer Suidas . The tale is also related by Stephanus of Byzantium , and Eustathius . Devotion to Hecate was especially favored by the Byzantines for her aid in having protected them from the incursions of Philip of Macedon. Her symbols were

3456-497: Was added to the administrative province of Skudra . Though Achaemenid control of the city was never as stable as compared to other cities in Thrace , it was considered, alongside Sestos , to be one of the foremost Achaemenid ports on the European coast of the Bosphorus and the Hellespont . Byzantium was besieged by Greek forces during the Peloponnesian War . As part of Sparta 's strategy for cutting off grain supplies to Athens during their siege of Athens, Sparta took control of

3520-413: Was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name Byzantion and its Latinization Byzantium continued to be used as a name of Constantinople sporadically and to varying degrees during the thousand-year existence of the Eastern Roman Empire , which was commonly referred to by the former name of that city,

3584-659: Was an adjective, also used as an ethnonym for the people of the city and as a family name. In the Middle Ages , Byzántion was also a synecdoche for the eastern Roman Empire . (An ellipsis of Medieval Greek : Βυζάντιον κράτος , romanized :  Byzántion krátos ). Byzantinós ( Medieval Greek : Βυζαντινός , Latin : Byzantinus ) denoted an inhabitant of the empire. The Anglicization of Latin Byzantinus yielded "Byzantine", with 15th and 16th century forms including Byzantin , Bizantin(e) , Bezantin(e) , and Bysantin as well as Byzantian and Bizantian . The name Byzantius and Byzantinus were applied from

3648-445: Was an alternative to Constantinople 's traditional berths situated along the inlet of the Golden Horn . The Yenikapı Square is an artificial piece of land created on the Sea of Marmara , enlarging Yenikapı. It is used for large gatherings, particularly pro- Erdoğan political rallies , and events such as the Ethnosport Cultural Festival . The Yenikapı Transfer Center is also the site of an underground mass rapid transit terminal,

3712-428: Was ascribed by some contemporary writers to sultan Mehmed II himself. Some Ottoman sources of the 17th century, most notably Evliya Çelebi , describe it as the common Turkish name of the time. Between the late 17th and late 18th centuries, it was also in official use. The first use of the word "Islambol" on coinage was in 1730 during the reign of sultan Mahmud I . The term Kostantiniyye still appeared, however, into

3776-532: Was bound to Perinthus during the period of Septimius Severus. After the war, Byzantium lost its city status and free city privileges, but Caracalla persuaded Severus to restore these rights. In appreciation, the Byzantines named Caracalla an archon of their city. The strategic and highly defensible (due to being surrounded by water on almost all sides) location of Byzantium attracted Roman Emperor Constantine I who, in AD 330, refounded it as an imperial residence inspired by Rome itself, known as Nova Roma . Later

3840-409: Was common even before the Ottoman period: Navarino for earlier Avarino, Satines for Athines, etc. Similar examples of modern Turkish place names derived from Greek in this fashion are İzmit , earlier İznikmit, from Greek Nicomedia , İznik from Greek Nicaea ([iz nikea]), Samsun ( s'Amison from "se" and "Amisos"), and İstanköy for the Greek island Kos (from is tin Ko ). The occurrence of

3904-433: Was later favored by Constantine the Great , who celebrated Byzantium's 1,000th anniversary between the years 333 and 334. Byzantium was mainly a trading city due to its location at the Black Sea 's only entrance. Byzantium later conquered Chalcedon, across the Bosphorus on the Asiatic side. The city was taken by the Persian Empire at the time of the Scythian campaign (513 BC) of Emperor Darius I (r. 522–486 BC), and

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3968-411: Was the common name for the city in normal speech in Turkish even before the conquest of 1453, but in official use by the Ottoman authorities other names, such as Kostantiniyye , were preferred in certain contexts. Thus, Kostantiniyye was used on coinage up to the late 17th and then again in the 19th century. The Ottoman chancery and courts used Kostantiniyye as part of intricate formulae in expressing

4032-443: Was the name by which the city became soon more widely known, in honor of Constantine the Great who established it as his capital. It is first attested in official use under Emperor Theodosius II (408–450). It remained the principal official name of the city throughout the Byzantine period, and the most common name used for it in the West until the early 20th century. This name was also used (including its Kostantiniyye variant) by

4096-451: Was thwarted by the appearance of a bright light in the sky. This light is occasionally described by subsequent interpreters as a meteor , sometimes as the moon, and some accounts also mention the barking of dogs. However, the original accounts mention only a bright light in the sky, without specifying the moon. To commemorate the event the Byzantines erected a statue of Hecate lampadephoros (light-bearer or bringer). This story survived in

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