This ancient city, sited at the crossroads of Europe and Asia; has an immensely long, diverse, cultural and turbulent history:
Byzantium: Founded by pagan, Greek colonists hailing from the ancient settlement of Megara in 667 BCE.
Constantinople: The ‘New Rome’ – once, the richest city in Europe. The Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, was an ambitious and driven man. And, to mark out his own territory and make a statement of his power, and independence from the powerful Roman rulers to the west, in May 330 BCE, Emperor Constantine made the city his own, and the new Christian capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Istanbul: More than a 1700 years later, when the famous, seemingly, impenetrable walls of Constantinople finally fell to the mighty Ottoman Empire in 1453 – to mark their great achievement, they occupied the city, converted the ancient churches into mosques, and renamed the city Istanbul – the name it holds to this day.
These changes of name over the centuries, reflect the many power struggles: from Greek, Roman, Ottoman: from pagan, Christian, Islam – all of which have left their mark on this fascinating and unique city.
Unearthing Egyptology - Talks on Egyptology 