All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it.
Notes:
Page revised in January 2021.
Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller
- Map of Istanbul and Key Dates(inscription on a gate opposite Topkapi Sarayi)
You may wish to see an introduction to this section first.
Clickable map of the monuments shown in this section.
Blue dots: Roman Memories; red dots: Byzantine Heritage; green dots: Ottoman Monuments
The walls and their gates can be seen by the links "Walls 1), 2) 3) and 4)". These pages include also the following monuments: Tekfur Sarayi, Yedikule, The Golden Gate, St. Saviour Philantropus, Incili Kosk and Bucoleon Palace. The medieval monuments of Galata are shown in a separate page. The image used as background for this page shows the dome of Hagia Sophia.
Key Dates
| Year | Event | Other aspects |
| 667 BC | Foundation of Byzantium by Greek settlers | The town is located on the tip of a peninsula controlling the Golden Horn, a natural harbour |
| 193-196 AD | Siege and destruction of Byzantium by Emperor Septimius Severus | The town is rebuilt by the Emperor who names it Augusta Antonina. |
| 326 | Emperor Constantine selects Byzantium as the new capital (Nova Roma) of the Roman Empire | In 330 the construction of the new city is completed: it will become known as Constantinopolis. |
| 379-395 | Emperor Theodosius I makes Christianity the official state religion of the empire | Theodosius places an obelisk in the Hippodrome and builds a triumphal gate (Golden Gate) at the entrance of the city. |
| 408-450 | Emperor Theodosius II builds new walls | First reconstruction of Hagia Sophia |
| 527-565 | Emperor Justinian conquers Tunisia and Italy. During the 540s an outbreak of bubonic plague greatly reduces the population of the empire and its economy | Second reconstruction of Hagia Sophia. It is thought that the plague killed 40% of the inhabitants of Constantinople. |
| 610-641 | Emperor Eraclius manages to reconquer Syria and Egypt which were occupied by the Persians, but these provinces are soon lost to the Arabs. | Latin is replaced by Greek as official language of the Empire. |
| 674-678 | First Arab siege of Constantinople | - |
| 717-741 | Emperor Leo III repels the Second Arab siege of Constantinople | Beginning of the Iconoclasm period (730-842) |
| 886-912 | Emperor Leo VI is defeated by the Bulgarians. The strength of the empire rests on its navy. | Venice starts having an important role in shipping to western Europe the luxury goods manufactured at Constantinople |
| 1056-1081 | Continued dynastic quarrels weaken the empire. In 1071 Turkish tribes defeat the Byzantines at Manzikert and establish the Sultanate of Rum. | - |
| 1081-1185 | The Comnenan dynasty restores the authority of the state. | Construction of Christ Pantokrator. |
| 1204 | The crusaders conquer Constantinople and put a temporary end to the Byzantine Empire | - |
| 1261 | The Byzantine Empire is restored by the Palaeologus dynasty | - |
| 1326-1356 | The Ottomans conquer Bursa and Nicaea and expand their territories in Europe. | Decoration of St. Saviour in Chora and of the Parecclesion of Theotokos Pammakaristos. |
| 1420-1453 | The Ottomans gradually control most of the Byzantine Empire and in 1453 Sultan Mehmet II conquers Constantinople which becomes the capital of his empire | Construction of Anadolu Hisar and Rumeli Hisar |
| 1460-1461 | The Ottomans conquer the last Byzantine possessions at Mistrà and Trebizond. | Sultan Mehmet II starts the construction of Yeni (Topkapi) Sarayi. |
| 1463-1479 | War with Venice; the Ottomans conquer Negroponte; they also expand their territories in central Anatolia. | Construction of several mosques by the sultan and his grand viziers. |
| 1499-1502 | War with Venice; the Ottomans acquire several fortresses on the Greek mainland. | Sultan Beyazit II starts the construction of a large mosque. |
| 1512-1515 | Expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Syria, Palestine, Egypt and along the coasts of the Red Sea. | - |
| 1522 | The Knights of Rhodes surrender their fortresses in the Aegean Sea. | Completion of Sultan Selim Camii. |
| 1531 | Battle of Mohacs. The Ottomans conquer most of Hungary. | - |
| 1537-1541 | War with Spain and Venice; failed siege of Corfu; Ottoman naval supremacy after they defeat a Christian fleet at Preveza. | Mimar Sinan is appointed chief architect of the Ottoman court; Haseki Hurrem Kulliye is his first work in Constantinople. |
| 1542-1543 | Alliance with France; the Ottoman fleet raids Imperial possessions in Spain, Sicily and near Naples. | Mimar Sinan builds a turbe for Barbarossa, the admiral of the Ottoman fleet. |
| 1551-1562 | War with Spain in the Mediterranean Sea; failed siege of Malta in 1565. | Mimar Sinan builds many mosques and Suleymaniye. |
| 1570-1571 | The Ottomans occupy Cyprus. Their fleet is defeated at the Battle of Lepanto. | Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmet builds a large mosque at Kadirga. |
| 1574 | After the death of Sultan Selim II, the mothers of the sultans acquire a great power on the government of the state. | Valide Sultan, mother of Sultan Murad II builds a large kulliye at Uskudar. |
| 1593-1606 | Long War with Austria: the Ottomans are unable to expand into Habsburg territory. | Foundation of Yeni (Valide) Camii by Safiye Sultan, mother of Sultan Mehmet III. |
| 1603-1614 | The Safavids (Persians) seize Ottoman territories in the Caucasus. | Construction of Sultan Ahmet Kulliyesi. |
| 1645-1669 | War of Candia. Rise of the Koprulu family. | Construction of Koprulu Kulliyesi. |
| 1682-1699 | War with Austria and Venice; failed siege of Vienna; the Ottomans cede Hungary to Austria and Morea to Venice. | Construction of Yeni Valide Camii at Uskudar in 1708. |
| 1714-1718 | New war with Austria and Venice; the Ottomans cede Belgrade to Austria but reoccupy Morea. | - |
| 1718-1730 | Tulip period. | Construction of Sultan Ahmet III fountain. |
| 1735-1774 | Wars with Russia (1735-1739 and 1768-1774); in 1771 Count Orloff destroys an Ottoman fleet at Cesme. | Construction of Nuruosmaniye (1748-1755) and Laleli Camii (1759-1763). |
| 1808-1839 | Sultan Mahmut II vainly attempts to strengthen the empire by introducing a series of reforms, including the disbandment of the Janissary corps. | Construction of Nusretiye Camii and of Beyazit tower. |
| 1853-1856 | Crimean War; the main European powers compete to take advantage of the Ottoman decline. | The Sultan and his court relocate to Dolmabahce Sarayi |
| 1911-1918 | Wars with Italy, the Balcanic nations and finally WWI lead to the dissolvement of the Empire. | - |
| 1923 | The Sultanate is abolished. Ankara is the capital of the newly founded Republic of Turkey. | - |
Bibliography:
Richard Pococke - A Description of the East and Some Other Countries - 1745
James Dallaway - Constantinople Ancient and Modern with Excursions to ... - 1797
H. W. Haussig - Kulturgeschichte von Byzanz - Alfred Kroner Verlag Stuttgart 1959
S. J. Shaw - History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey - Cambridge University Press 1976
G. Hern - Strahlend in Purpur und Gold - Econ Verlag GmbH Dusseldorf 1979
L. P. Peirce - The Imperial Harem - Oxford University Press US, 1993
H. Sumner-Boyd & John Freely - Strolling through Istanbul - Redhouse Press - Istanbul 2006
Websites:
Archnet - Islamic Architecture Community
Muslim Heritage
Plan of this section:
Introduction
Roman Monuments
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Irene and Little Hagia Sophia
Roman/Byzantine exhibits at the Archaeological Museum
Great Palace Mosaic Museum
St. Saviour in Chora
Byzantine Heritage - Other Churches (before 1204)
Byzantine Heritage (between 1204 and 1453)
First Ottoman Buildings
The Golden Century: I - from Sultan Selim to Sinan's Early Works
The Golden Century: II - The Age of Suleyman
The Golden Century: III - Suleymaniye Kulliye
The Golden Century: IV - Sinan's Last Works
The Heirs of Sinan
Towards the Tulip Era
Baroque Istanbul
The End of the Ottoman Empire
Topkapi Sarayi
Museums near Topkapi Sarayi
The Princes' Islands
Warwick Goble's 1906 Constantinople
Other pages/sections which might be of interest to you:
