Istanbul - Shaped by Two Empires

My Journey Through the Civilizations of Turkey - Part 3

I started my journey through Turkey writing about civilizations before the common era. Only a handful of sites remain from the neolithic times, I marveled at remnants of the ancient city of Tlos, constructed during the Hittite Empire. I walked through the ruins of the Halicarnassus and Ephesus constructed during the Persian and Hellenistic Empires. Ancient Greeks and Romans flourished in Anatolia. Roman influence is found in government, laws and policies, infrastructure (roads, aqueducts, etc) and trade. Greek influence is found in urban planning, architecture, language, philosophy and science. One such city is Byzantium.

Byzantium was a small but extremely well-located ancient Greek colony founded around 667 BCE. on the Bosphorus Strait. It became a crucial trading hub between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. For over a thousand years the city grew. Then the Roman Empire split around 285 CE. The Western Roman Empire ruled by Diocletian and Galerius with the capital of Rome collapsed two hundred years later in 476 CE. The Eastern Roman Empire ruled by Maximian and Constantius renamed itself the Byzantium Empire and chose Byzantium as the capital, renaming it to Constantinople in 330 CE. The empire collapse in 1453.

Rise and Fall of the Byzantium Empire

Constantinople, a blend of Hellenistic culture and Greek law, became the cultural and political center of the Byzantium Empire.

• Religion - Christianity (specifically Greek Orthodox)

• Language - Greek

• Governance - Political and urban

• Architecture - Domes, arches and mosaics influenced by Roman and Greek Styles. The most famous being the Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia - The greatest Byzantine church, built between 532-537 CE. It has served as an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral, a Catholic church, an Ottoman Mosque and a museum before becoming a mosque again in 2020. The building is an architectural masterpiece featuring a massive central dome 55 meters high, curved triangular supports, marble edifice and gold mosaics

Obelisk and Hippodrome- The hippodrome was the sporting, social and political center. Not only did it hold chariot races but was the site of imperial ceremonies, public executions and political riots. First built by a Roman Emperor in the 3rd century and expanded under Constantine. Little survives today except the outline of the U-shaped arena on Sultanahmet Square and the Obelisk of Theodosius. The Obelisk was originally constructed in Egypt and brought to Constantinople in the 4th century

Theodosian Walls - These massive walls have protected Constantinople for a millennium. This triple layered wall system was first constructed during the reign of Theodosian II around 430 CE and continuously expanded. The walls have only been breached twice. In 1204 during the fourth Crusade and 1453 by the Ottomans

Basilica Cistern - built in 532CE and serviced as an underground water reservoir for the palace and the city.

In 1204 the fourth Crusade invaded Constantinople. The empire fractures into smaller Greek states. The Byzantian reclaimed the city 60 years later, but it was a shell of its former glory. In 1453 the Ottoman Empire conquered the capital. Constantinople fell along with one of the greatest Empires

Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman empire began as small Turkic nomadic warrior tribes, weakened by constant battles with the Mongols, combined under the rule of Osman I around 1299CE in the southwest part of Anatolia. Osman's territory sat on the edge of the Byzantine frontier, giving his warriors opportunities for raids and expansion. By the 14th and 15th centuries, the Ottomans developed strong administrative and military organizations expanding across Anatolia, the Balkans and Southeastern Europe. In 1453, Mehmed II captured Constantinople, renaming its capital Istanbul becoming a vast multiethnic empire.

• Religion - Islam

• Language - Ottoman Turkish

• Governance - Military structured

• Architecture - Large domes, minarets and tilework influenced by Islamic and Seljuk traditions. The most famous building The Blue Mosque

Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque - Built between 1609 and 1617 directly facing Hagia Sophia as a symbol of power and legitimacy. The Mosque includes six minarets, a massive central dome 43 meters high, 200+ stained glass windows and a spacious courtyard larger than the mosque interior. Nicknamed the Blue Mosque for over 20,000 blue iznik tiles that decorate the interior walls.

Topkaki Palace - The political, ceremonial and cultural heart of the Ottoman Empire. It served as the primary residence of the Sultans and the administrative center of the empire. Construction began around 1460 with a series of four courtyards, each one becoming more private.

The Grand Bazaar - One of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. Construction began shortly after the Ottoman conquest of the Byzantium Empire in 1455 and continuously expanded to over 4,000 shops. It is a labyrinth of interconnected streets and courtyards where it's easy to get lost. The Grand Bazaar was created as global trading hub. The growth of the maritime industry along the Bosporus River enabled goods from Europe, Asia and the Middle East to be bought and traded

The Ottoman Empire collapsed in the early 20th century after centuries of gradual decline. Weakened by economic stagnation, internal revolutions and reform movements. The final blow came during WW I when the Ottoman Empire sided with the Central Powers and suffered catastrophic losses. In 1922, the Sultanate was abolished paving the way for the Republic of Turkey to form in 1923.

With the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the construction of the Grand Bazaar, and political instability across central Asia another trade route declined and ultimately dissolved namely The Silk Road. I hope you continue to follow me on my journey when I travel along the silk road in May-June 2026.