ConstantinopleTo Istanbul

By: Cara Treneer

Constantine Concurred the east and west of Byzantium,

after he defeated Maxentius in 312 at the Battle of the Mulvian.

Roman emperor who founded Constantinople the “New Rome.”

Converted to Christianity after his victory in the battle and made Christianity the empires official religion.

Constantine

The first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.

Reigned over Constantinople for almost 31 years

Died 337 AD

Constantinople

ConstantinopleImportant geographically because it was a land route from Asia to Europe, and connected the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

Silk an important trade.

Important men and families came to live here from Rome.

Capital of the Greek-speaking empire.

Very much a Roman city from architecture to statues around the capital.

Richest and largest European city due to its geographical positioning for trade.

A tall wall surrounded the city for protection

A City where before Constantine people believed in more than one god, and then with his transformation believed only in one Christian God.

Constantinople

Aqueducts and Cisterns

Lacking any local water supply, the aqueducts supplied the land with water. The aqueduct of Valen and the cisterns came before Constantine, but were very important in the empires survival.

Roman Empire

The East The east was a

Hellenized (Culture of Greece) known as the Byzantine Empire.

Adopted Greek Orthodoxy in the east.

Byzantium in the east remained until 1261 AD when Ottoman Turks won control over it.

Now “Europe”

Roman Empire

The West

The west was Latin

Adopted Catholicism.

The western empire ended in 410 AD when the “Eternal City,” was destroyed by Alaric.

Now “Europe”

Istanbul Sultan Mehmet II

known as “the conqueror,” brought in armies to Constantinople in 1453 making Istanbul.

Became an Islamic empire.

Sultan Mehmet IIHeld the throne of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1453 he set out with 80,000-200,000 troops along with a navy to conquer Constantinople after two months his army succeeded, he was age 21.

During his reign he expanded the Ottman empire with all the Turkish empires.

Died in 1481 at age 49