Constantinople
Turkey · modern Istanbul
Founded by Constantine the Great in 330 CE as the "New Rome." Capital of the Byzantine Empire for over a thousand years. A crossroads between Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam.
Associated figures
Constantine the Great
The emperor who transformed Christianity from a persecuted sect into the favored religion of the Roman Empire. He reunified the empire, founded Constantinople as a new eastern capital, and convened the Council of Nicaea - decisions that shaped the course of Western and Eastern civilization for the next millennium and beyond.
Justinian I
Byzantine emperor who codified Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis, the foundation of legal systems across Europe to this day. He reconquered vast swaths of the former Western Roman Empire and built the Hagia Sophia, one of the greatest architectural achievements in history.
Marco Polo
Venetian merchant and explorer whose account of his travels through Asia, including seventeen years at the court of Kublai Khan, introduced Europeans to the civilizations of the East. His book, Il Milione (The Travels of Marco Polo), became one of the most influential travel accounts ever written.