This article is about the city. See also Byzantine Empire.

Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Latin: BYZANTIVM, Byzantium) was an ancient Greek city, which was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions Megara ( Greek:, "Big Houses" is an ancient city (pop Events and trends 669 BC: Ashurbanipal succeeds his father Esarhaddon as king of Assyria. In Greek legend Byzas ( Greek Βύζας Βύζαντας was the eponymous founder of Byzantium ( Greek Βυζάντιον the city later The name "Byzantium" is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion. The city is what later evolved to be the center of the Byzantine Empire (the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of late Antiquity and the Middle Ages) under the name of Constantinople. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Late Antiquity (c 300-600 is a Periodization used by historians to describe the transitional centuries from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Constantinople fell to the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1453. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The name of the city was changed to Istanbul in 1930. Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey

Contents 1 History 2 Emblem 3 Notable people 4 Notes 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

History

The origins of Byzantium are shrouded in legend. The traditional legend has it that Byzas from Megara (a town near Athens), founded Byzantium, when he sailed northeast across the Aegean Sea. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. Byzas had consulted the Oracle at Delphi to ask where to make his new city. PYTHIA is a computer simulation program for particle collisions at very high energies (see Event (particle physics) in Particle accelerators The Oracle told him to find it "opposite the blind. " At the time, he did not know what this meant. But when he came upon the Bosporus he realized what it meant: on the Asiatic shore was a Greek city, Chalcedon. The Bosporus or Bosphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, (İstanbul Boğazı (Βόσπορος is a Strait that forms the boundary between the For the Ecumenical Council of 451 see Council of Chalcedon; For the religious/political organization see Chalcedon Foundation. It was they who must have been blind because they had not seen that obviously superior land was just a half mile away on the other side of the Bosporus. Byzas founded his city here in this "superior" land and named it Byzantion after himself. It was mainly a trading city due to its strategic location at the Black Sea's only entrance. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey Byzantion later conquered Chalcedon, across the Bosporus.

After siding with Pescennius Niger against the victorious Septimius Severus, the city was besieged by Roman forces and suffered extensive damage in 196 AD. Gaius Pescennius Niger (c 140&ndash194 was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194 Lucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) ( April 11 145 - February 4 211) was a Roman general and Roman Emperor The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Byzantium was rebuilt by Septimius Severus, now emperor, and quickly regained its previous prosperity. The location of Byzantium attracted Roman Emperor Constantine I who, in 330 AD, refounded it as Nova Roma. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine The term " New Rome " has been used in the following contexts After his death the city was called Constantinople (Greek Κωνσταντινοπολησ or Konstantinopolis) ('city of Constantine'). Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS It remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, which was later called the Byzantine Empire by historians.

This combination of imperialism and location would affect Constantinople's role as the crossing point between two continents: Europe and Asia. Imperialism has two meanings one describing an action and the other describing an attitude A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions It was a commercial, cultural, and diplomatic magnet. Commerce is a division of trade or production which deals with the exchange of goods and services from producer to final consumer Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states With its strategic position, Constantinople could control the route between Asia and Europe, as well as the passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea.

On May 29, 1453, the city fell to the Ottoman Turks, and, once again, became the capital of another powerful state, the Ottoman Empire. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the The Ottoman Turks were the subdivision of the Ottoman Muslim Millet that dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Turks called the city Istanbul (though not officially renamed until 1930) and it has remained Turkey's largest (and arguably its most important) city, although Ankara is now the capital. Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after İstanbul.

Emblem

In 670 BC, the citizens of Byzantium made the crescent moon as their state symbol, after an important victory. Events and trends 677 BC — Esarhaddon leads the Assyrian army against rebellious Arab tribes advances as far as the Brook of Egypt Lunar phase (or Moon phase refers to the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer usually on Earth Byzantium was the first governing state to use the crescent moon as its national symbol. In 330 AD Constantine I added the Virgin Mary's star to the flag. Events By Place Roman Empire May 11 — Constantine I refounds Byzantium, renames it New Rome This ecumenical article is about general Christian views on and veneration of the Virgin Mary Byzantium would then also be the first attested nation or empire to use the combination of the crescent moon and star together as an emblem.

The crescent moon and star was not completely abandoned by the Christian world after the fall of Constantinople. To date the official flag of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is a labarum of white, a church building with two towers, and on either side of the arms, at the top, are the outline in black of a crescent moon facing center and a star with rays. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in The Labarum (☧ was a military standard that displayed the first two Greek letters of the word " Christ " ( Greek: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ or Χριστός ^[1]

Notable people

• Homerus, early 3rd century BC, tragedian
• Philo (ca. Homerus ( Greek:) from Byzantium was an ancient Greek Grammarian and tragic poet. The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC Philo of Byzantium ( Greek: Φίλων ο Βυζάντιος ca 280 BC-ca. 220 BC), engineer
• Epigenes (3rd century BC-2nd), astrologer
• Leontius (c. The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. Leontius (c 485 – c 543 theological writer born at Constantinople, flourished during the sixth century 485-c. 543), theologian and writer

Notes

References

See also

• Constantinople details the history of the city before the Turkish conquest of 1453. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The Fall of Constantinople refers to the capture of the Byzantine Empire's capital by the Ottoman Empire on Tuesday May 29, 1453 (Julian Calendar
• Istanbul details the history of the city from 1453 on, and describes the modern city. Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey

External links

• Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies : www.byzantium.ac.uk
• Description of Byzantine monetary system - fifth Century BC : History of money FAQs

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