CChronica Maps

Istanbul: History, Former Names & Timeline

Guarding the Bosporus and straddling Europe and Asia, it was for some sixteen centuries the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

Map showing Istanbul in 1200Istanbul
Border map for 1200. See Europe in 1200.

Explore Istanbul in the interactive map

Former names of Istanbul

FromNameNote
667 BCByzantionfounded by Greek colonists from Megara
AD 330ConstantinopolisConstantine the Great's “New Rome”
1453Kostantiniyye / İstanbulOttoman capital
1930İstanbulofficial Turkish name

Timeline of Istanbul

YearEvent
667 BCColonists from Megara found Byzantion
AD 330Constantine I makes it his capital, the “New Rome”
AD 537Justinian's rebuilt Hagia Sophia is completed
1204The Fourth Crusade storms and sacks Constantinople and founds the Latin Empire
1261Michael VIII recovers Constantinople
1453Mehmed II takes Constantinople; the Byzantine Empire falls
1923The Turkish Republic moves its capital to Ankara

Who ruled Istanbul

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–324 BCAchaemenid Empire
323 BC–301 BCCappadocia
300 BC–201 BCBithynia
200 BC–2 BCminor states
1 BC–299Roman Empire
300–399Rome (Diocletianus)
400–799Eastern Roman Empire
800–1399Byzantine Empire
1400–1919Ottoman Empire
1920–1929Unclaimed / no data
1930–1937Republic of Turkey
1938–todayTurkey

Landmarks in and around Istanbul

Nearby cities