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Constantinople


Agia Sophia in Constantinople

Constantinople (now Istanbul) was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. It was captured and sacked by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and then re-captured by Nikean forces under the command of Michael VIII Paleologos in 1261. Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire finally fell to the Ottoman Empire in May 1453.

In Byzantine times the Greeks called Constantinople “i Poli” (which means the city in Greek), since it was the centre of the Greek world and for most of the Byzantine period, the largest city in Europe. It is said that its modern name 'Istanbul' also comes from another Greek phrase ( Εις την Πόλη) meaning to the city. The film "Politiki Kouzina" is based on the lives of the Greeks of Constantinople.

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document
To capture: to take, to conquer.
To sack: to destroy a place after it has been conquered.

For further information visit:
Constantinople
The fall of Constantinople
The story of Constantinople presentation