before we get into this why didn't you
give this video a like I hate sounding
like a generic youtuber but apparently
it helps so smash that like button oh I
feel dirty just saying it on with the
show it seems to me that there are a few
other cities on our planet that have
gone through as many name changes as the
largest city in Turkey Istanbul from
Byzantium Constantinople to the modern
name we know as today and while these
are three of the most recognizable names
the city has gone by there are actually
many more the reason the city has gone
by so many names is due to a long
history of different empires who have
ruled over the city and I feel it
struggle he plays a huge role in this
turkey is a country is in a really
interesting spot it's something of a
bridge between Europe at the Middle East
and Asia as a whole with the country as
a whole represent and clash of these
cultures apparently just five percent of
Turkey is in Europe with the remaining
95% in Asia
a while back I read Bill Bryson's
neither here nor there travels in Europe
he ended his travels in Istanbul
reflects on his time in Europe and
looking across the city he wrote I'd
clearly come to the end of my own Road
that was Asia over there this was as far
as I could go in Europe it was time to
go home he went on to write I had quite
an irrational urge to just keep going
that was Asia over there after all right
there in my view were Asia the fort of
it seemed incredible I could be there in
minutes I still had money left an
untouched continent laid before me to
meet these quotes of my favourite offer
best explains Istanbul and Turkey's
geographical place on our planet anyway
this video isn't going to be just me
gushing over bill for Ison let's take a
look at some of the names this city has
gone by its fought that the earliest
known name for this city is the Lagos
this was first recorded by Pliny the
Elder and was apparently settled by a
frisian tribe as they saw the benefits
of a strategic location where does name
comes from however we don't seem to be
too sure as I said this initial
settlement was founded by the fractions
and their language isn't that understood
to us unfortunately it wouldn't have a
stay as Lee goes for long as the city
was expanded in the 600 BC by the Greeks
and given the new name of Byzantium
leading to its first name as a major
settlement and one recognized by many to
this day his name is believed to come
from the city's founder the ancient king
buys as you may have heard of an empire
named after the city the Byzantine
Empire I presumed this was a separ
Empire ruled by the Byzantines with this
city as their harbour however this
wasn't actually
the case the Byzantine empires actually
just another name for the eastern half
of the Roman Empire and it's believed
they wouldn't have actually called
themselves this at a time just calling
themselves members of the Roman Empire
but it's a name we've since given to
them to differentiate this part of the
Roman Empire from the western half of
the Empire
Sidda Byzantium ruled by the Greeks
wouldn't have really existed during the
Byzantine Empire so I just spoiled the
next part of this story I'm afraid
as I said Byzantium would eventually
fall under Roman rule and while it seems
the Romans would have kept on using this
name to an extent they also gave the
settlements and fittingly Roman names at
first the Romans briefly named the city
Agusta Antonina
after much rebuilding in the settlement
had taken place it was the current Roman
Emperor at a time Septimus Severus who
gave it this name and be naming it after
his own son who go on to be Emperor
himself but under the name a Caracalla
this city was treasured under the Roman
Empire they held in high regard so much
so that later in the Empire's history
emperor constantine the great rebuilt
much of the city and claimed as Rome's
second eastern capital with this came a
new name constantine dubbed the city new
Rome or Nova Roma
as it would have been then to cement the
fact that this city was just as
important to the empire as Rome itself
was as I said at Constantine was crucial
for the rise popularity and the
importance of this city so much so that
the city eventually took on his name
initially being called a Constantine
nopales meaning at Constantine City well
this was his Greek name is much more of
a known by his Roman transliteration of
the name Constantinople his name was
supposedly given to the city by the
Roman Emperor fear deus ii in honor of
what constantine the great did for the
city and this is the name that stuck
with the city for centuries even
maintaining this name once a rome had
finally fallen and the city was in the
hands of a different empire altogether
the Ottoman Empire while the Ottomans
still called this city Constantinople
they also dubbed it Constantine any
apologies for pronunciation on that one
this is an Arabic form of the name
Constantinople is a nun played a huge
role in the Ottoman Empire being the
official religion of the Empire this
Arabic name reflects the importance of
Islam in the Ottoman Empire the city
would remain as Constantinople order
until 1923 of the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire and the formation of the
Republic of Turkey it was in this time
the city's name was officially changed
to Istanbul however this name is listed
way before 1920
three it's fought to have originated in
the sixteenth century from the Greek
term East tan pollen which means in
slash to the city as this is how Greeks
referred to the city this Greek term was
eventually pressed together to be formed
into one world and then corrupted to
become Istanbul as we know it today this
is also a folk etymology that claims the
name actually comes from the term Islam
ball which means plenty of Islam which
while may be true for the city doesn't
appear to be true for its etymology and
that more or less brings us to the end
of our etymological journey into
Istanbul is if you have a negative
interest at the shortening of Istanbul
of just Istanbul and the pun based name
of Islam ball which once again reflects
to all of Islam in the city but with the
city of Istanbul we have a settlement
founded by the fractions taken over by
the Greeks then taken over by the Romans
then taken over by the Ottomans and
finally becoming part of the independent
nation of Turkey leading to a city of a
holder of history and a whole lot of
names Istanbul was suggested by Dave
denty and a thanks to their suggestion
they will now be honored as named
explains at patreon st. of Istanbul do
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