ISTANBUL WAS CONSTANTINOPLE
ISTANBUL (Part II) Istanbul is believed to have been inhabited since 5500 BC. Being strategically located on the Mediterranean , it was vulnerable to invaders from different countries in Asia and Europe who periodically occupied Istanbul from time to time. The first recorded occupation had taken place in the late seventh century BC when the Greek ruler Byzas established his kingdom here and named it Byzantium. Emperor Constantine the Great of Rome conquered the place in 306 AD and renamed it Constantinople. He also made it the capital of the second Roman Empire. He was the first Roman Emperor who devoted in spreading Christianity in his empire and was sometimes referred as Saint. Tradition and ethnicity make the city so unique that one is bound to brush with History at every nook and corner