İstanbul

The Beyazit Tower was built in the north of the Beyazit Square, measuring 85 m high, in 1828. One climbs up the tower through stairs of 180 steps. The Galata Tower which was built in the 5th century during the Byzantine era is 68 m high and located at Galata. A touristic restaurant serves today in the tower of 211 steps. Kiz Kulesi was built at a point of the Bosphorus which is close to the shore of Uskudar as a lighthouse during the Byzantine era and is 18 m high. According to mythology, there is a young soldier striving to reach to a Byzantine Princess locked in the tower which was constructed by her father, the emperor, on the sea so as to avoid her to marry. He presents her a bouquet of roses. However, a snake hidden among the roses bites the princess on her chest and poisons her. Upon this, the young soldier sucks out the poison and saves the princess and marries her. Today, a restaurant and a cafeteria are in service for tourism. The suspension bridges of Atatiirk and Fatih Sultan Mehmet spanning the Bosphorus and the Galata Bridge and the Unkapam Bridge over the Golden Horn are of the foremost bridges of the city. The Castle of Anatolia was built by Yildinm Beyazit on the bank of the Creek Goksu for the purpose of besieging the city in 1393. This castle also controlled any enemy ships which could come from the direction of the Black Sea.
The Castle of Europe built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 to conquer Istanbul consists of 13 bastions and 3 towers The tower on the side of the Bosphorus is called the Sanca Pasha Gate and is 28 m high. Today open air concerts are organized in the Castle of Europe. On the extinct wall remains of the prehistoric Saray Burnu acropolis hill city walls were built during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Theodosios II in the 4th century which were restored, extended and enlarged for several times until the conquest of Istanbul in 1453. Only a small part of the city walls has survived. The most important gate of the ancient city was the Porta Hagios Romanos Gate during the Byzantine era which is now called Topkapi (Cannon Gate). The other important city wall gates are Ahirkapi (Stable Gate). Bahcekapi (Garden Gate), Fenerkapi (Lighthouse Gate), Demirkapi (Iron Gate), Yedikulekapi (Little Golden Gate), Sulukulekapi (Water Tower Gate), Edirnekapi (Adrianople Gate), Silivrikapi (Pighi Gate), Balatkapi and Ayvansaraykapi.
The foremost commercial and touristic site of Istanbul is the Covered Bazaar located to the eastern end of the Beyazit Square, with thousands of business places and buildings, Turkish baths, fountains, mosques and mesjids. The Covered Bazaar with 13 entrance gates was first built of wood before the Byzantine era, however, it was subsequently ruined as a result of earthquakes and fires. The covered bazaar as visible today was built during the reign of Sultan Abduihamit II and is the largest and oldest market with covered top in the world. The Spice Bazaar is located in front of the Yeni Mosque in the district Emindnu. The market built with 6 gates by Kazim Aga, the architect of the New Mosque, in 1660 has been called the Spice Bazaar as it houses the sales shops of the spices and roots brought from the Middle East. On the facade of the Haydarpasa railway station terminal located on the Anatolian shore, built of the gothic architectural order on an area of 3900 m2 by the German company which laid the railway track Berlin -Baghdad in 1870, coloured Lefke stones and pink Hereke granite were used. The link between the Sirkeci railway station terminal on the European side and the Haydarpasa railway station terminal is provided through steamships. There are Turkish baths numbering over one hundred in the city, built during the Ottoman era which are still in use.
The Cagaloglu Hammam which was built during the reign of Mahmut I is the most renowned one. On the islands known today as the Istanbul Islands, palaces, monasteries and seclusion houses were built during the Byzantine age and they were called the Prince Islands after those Byzantine princes exiled to here. On Buyiikada (the Big Island) there are a total of 9 Orthodox, 1 Armenian, 1 Latin Churches and 1 Jewish Synagogue including Hagia Yorgi. Hagia Nicholaus and Christos Monastary which later was converted into a clerical school. The island hosts a great number of villas and yalis (seaside houses). Trotsky spent his four years on exile here. The other 9 islands are Kinali (Henna), Burgaz, Heybeli (Saddlebag), Sedefadasi (the Pearl Island), Kasikadasi (the Spoon Island), Tavsanadasi (the Rabbit Island), Yassiada (the Flat Island) and Sivriada (the Sharp Island).
Other settlements around istanbul are Khalkedon/Kadikoy, which was a metropolis during the Byzantine period, Sanyer where the Sari Baba turbe is located, Beyoglu, formerly called Pera, now a center of shopping and entertainment, Eminonu, Tahtakale and Unkapam, the heart of the business of Turkey, Beykoz, Beylerbeyi, Bebek, Tarabya and Ortakoy, well-known for their yalis and fish restaurants on either side of the Bosphorus, Sile, famed for its magnificent beaches by the Black Sea.

The walls of the palace which originally stretched for 2,5 km were later extended with additional walls. One enters into the palace through the imperial gate called Bab-i Humayun. The site of the palace has the unique appearance of a city with its kiosks, hamams, libraries, mesjids, medreses, ovens and kitchens and its structures such as fountain, pool, cistern, hospital, armoury, mint, harem and its rooms inside. The Church of Saint Irene within the palace has been restored and today it is used as a concert hall. The interior ornamentations, tilings, wood and stone carving craftsmanships and the ivory and mother-of-pearl inlays of the kiosks in the Topkapi Palace as caused to be built with same names in commemoration of various conquests are at the peak ol their ' grandeur. Tiles, glasswares, ceramics, ethnographic and islamic works of art as belonging to the Ottoman era as well as weapons, thrones, treasures seized as booty during conquests or received as gift, further, armours, helmets, swords and rifles and articles of the Sultanate are on display in the Topkapi Palace which is now a museum, The granite column situated in front of the door of the palace overlooking the sea is called the Goth's Column, 15 m high, with a Corinthian capital. It was erected in memory of the unsuccessful siege of Goths during the Byzantine age The Dolmabahce Palace which was built on the shore of Besiktas. of the Bosphorus during the 19th century and is a museum today, has two storeys with 285 rooms, 4 halls, 6 balconies and 6 baths. It covers an area of 1660 m2. The important halls of the palace are the Hall with Staircase, Ziitvechein (Two-Sided), Reception Hall, Pink and Blue Halls. Ambassadors were received in the Ambassadors' Hall. The Padishah sat in the red room. The Harem section with the covered with 13 rooms of the Sultana Mother, imperial princes, concubines and servants was at the rear of the palace,The rooms and halls of the palace were decorated with crystal chandeliers and gilded furniture and the walls with paintings. In Besjktas, on the hitl of Yildiz, is the Yildiz Palace, with its interiors embellished with mother-of-pearl inlays, along with its garden which was the hunting and promenading place of padishah. During the following periods a kiosk, a fountain, a summer palace and other structures were added inside of the garden. Built in Beylerbeyi on the Anatolian bank in 1865 is the two-storeyed Beylerbeyi Palace with a pool in its garden and hospital rooms. The Qiragan Palace, built in 1867 and used today as a hotel of the same name, is located on the shore of Ortakoy. Besides, the Beykoz Pavillion and Goksu Pavillion are of the other dwelling structures of padishahs and lined along the Bosphorus are various kiosks of grand viziers and pashas. The Yerebatan Sarmci (Underground Cistern), which was known as Ciderna Basilica during the Byzantine age, was built during the reign of Justinian I. Measuring 70x140 m it is the largest cistern in Istanbul. The cistern with 336 columns inside is used as a restaurant today. Ciderna Filikaninos.The Binbirdirek Sarmci (The Cistern of 1001 Columns), situated on the Fazli Pasha Square, which was built during the reign of Constantine I is domed and measures 56x65 m. In addition to these, there are the Cold Cistern and Theodos Cistern in the Sultan Ahmet Square, the Byzantine Cistern with 32 marble columns in Kadirga, the Maximum Cistern and Fountain in Beyazit Square and the Fener Cistern in Cibali. Water was carried to the cisterns in the old Byzantine from the creek Kagithane and Kemerburgaz via aqueducts. The most important one among these is the Valens Aqueduct/Bozdogan Kemeri built early 4th century during the Byzantine era, measuring 19 m high and 1 km long. A great number of fountains were built during the Ottoman era. The best known of these is the German Fountain in the Sultan Ahmet Square as ordered to be built by the German Emperor Wilhelm II, the Fountain of Ahmet III facing the Topkapi Palace, the Valide Fountain, Azap Kapi Fountain, Fountain of Mahmut I, Fountain of Abdulhamit I in Aksaray and the Fountain of Ahmet III in Uskudar. Beyazit Tower. Galata Tower and Kiz Kulesi (Maiden's Tower) are of the important towers in Istanbul.

The mosque was built oi smoothly dressed stone. Its central dome with 32 windows measures 53 m high and 25 m in diameter and rises on 4 granite columns. Around the central dome, two semidomes and associated twin domes were built by Architect Sinan ensure the sound acoustics within the mosque. In the mosque with the most prominent examples of the classical Ottoman era, the mihrab (niche) tiles, pomegranate flower and floral reliefs in the corners, decorations in relief in the pulpit corners, ivory and mother-of-pearl inlays on the doors are artistic masterpieces. The front courtyard is encircled with a portico consisting of 28 cupolas and witfi^jwinted arch supported on 28 marble and pink coloured granite columns. The adjacent complex of buildings include the tombs of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and his wife Roxellana and the medrese, the lunatic asylum, the soup kitchen for the poor, the clinic, the hamam and the caravanserai. The Complex of Buildings of Yeni Mosque, also known as the Queen Mother's Mosque, was finished by Mustafa Aga the Architect in 1633. The mosque with 4 minarets has a central dome encircled with 24 windows and supported by 4 semidomes on the sides which rises on four Mars. The side domes are set upon 26 columns. Its mimber of arabesque motifs, and blue tiles on the walls and wall ornaments, and mihrab wall embellished with stones of 47 colours are each an artistic masterpiece. The courtyard of the mosque is encircled with a portico of 24 cupolas set upon 24 columns. The Fethiye Mosque in the district of Qars,amba was in Byzantine days a structure used as the Church of Pammacharistos and a Convent. It was transformed into a mosque during the reign of Murat III. The structure, with a rectangular floor plan, is adorned with the frescoes of Jesus Christ in the center and the 12 Apostles on the sides of the great dome with a diameter of 5 m. The apsis of the church was converted in a mihrab and the mosaics inside are of the most elegant examples of the Byzantine art. The structure in Cibali which was the Hagia Theodosia Church during the Byzantine era was converted into the Giil Mosque in 1566. The vaults of the structure having a cross-shaped floor plan have a pointed arch. It has a low tambour dome. The interiors of the mosque which run up high were made two-storeyed with the galleries. Andreas Monastery, built during the Byzantine era, was converted into the Sumbiil Efendi Mosque in 1439. The structure, also called today the Koca Mustafa Pasa Mosque and Adjacent Complex of Buildings after the district where it is located, has 3 apsides and 2 narthexes. It is covered with a great dome set upon four columns in the center. The adjacent complex of buildings includes the medrese, soup kitchen for the poor, clinic and the tomb of Koca Mustafa Pa§a the Grand Vizier. The Hirka-i §erif Mosque was built for the purpose of safekeeping and visiting the holy cloak gifted by Mohammed the Prophet to Veysel Karani in 1851. The Eyüp Sultan Mosque and Turbe, built in 1458, is in the Eyup district. It was built on site of the tomb of Eyup Ensari, the standard bearer of Mohammed the Prophet, who fell a martyr in Byzantium at the time of the Arab siege. The central dome of the mosque was set upon 6 columns with arches resting on two pillars. The inner courtyard of the mosque is covered with 13 cupolas rising on 12 columns. In the entrance courtyard there are the turbe and tombs and a great ablutions fountain. Located in front of the enclosure wall of EyOp Sultan is the octagonal Eyiip Sultan Turbe made of stone, with a single dome, decorated with tiles inside. Today this place serves as a wish and prayer site. The other mosques in istanbul are the mosques and mesjids of Dolmabah^e, Tophane, Azap Kapi, Nusretiye, Ortakoy, Sokullu, Selimiye, f inili, FiruzAga. Beylerbeyi, Rustem Pas.a, §ehzade, Mihrimah, Atik Ali Pa§a, Hekimoglu, Davut Pa§a and Ayazma. The site called the Hippodrome in times of Byzantium is the place where Sultan Ahmet's Park lies today. The hippodrome was built during the reign of the Emperor Constantine the Great and served as a site where horse and chariot races as well as athletic competitions were held, ft has a seating capacity of 100.000 people and measures 370 m long by 180 m wide. To the east of it, on site of the imperial box called Kathisma, the Wilhelm II (Kaiser's) Fountain is seen today. Monuments are erected in the center of the hippodrome. The foremost of these is the Obelisk, made of a monolithic granite, measuring 30 m high which, according to the hieroglyphic legends appearing on it, was built in honour of the Egyptian Pharaoh Totmossis III during the 1700s B.C. and was subsequently brought over to Byzantium. Around the pedestal, measuring 2 m wide, the monolith which was erected during the reign of Theodos I in 390 A.D. depicts, in relief carvings, scenes from the emperor and his family and the games organized in Hippodrome. The Serpentine Column, made of bronze, which was originally 8 meters high and made by the carvings of three intertwining snakes, has inscriptions on it of the names of the Anatolian cities which fought against the Persians. Of the Built (Walled) Column which was erected in 909 A.D., measuring 25 m high, carved out of stone and originally covered with bronze, the bronze plates were removed at the time of Latin occupation of Byzantium and taken by the Latins to Italy in order to strike coins. The Hooped Column (Qemberlita?), located in the district of the same name today, consists of 9 pieces. Originally, there were the statues of Constantine and other Byzantine emperors on top of it. The statues which were destroyed as a result of the earthquake in 1081 were topped with Corinthian column capitals, upon which a cross was placed, and a thick reinforcing wall was built around the pedestal. Located on the hill where first the acropolis city was established in Sarayburnu with a commanding view over to the Bosphorus is the worldwide renowned Topkapi Palace which was expanded with additional annexes during various periods after the Ottoman conquest of istanbul.

There are coloured mosaics visible on part of the inner walls and on the floors. On the frescoes and mosaics on the walls depictions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, and the Christian Saints, and the Byzantine Emperors and Empresses are seen. A Mihrab (niche) was added to the eastern apsis of the church which was converted into a mosque during the reign of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. The thick minaret was built by Sinan the Architect during the reign of Selim II and a marble Mimber (pulpit) was added beneath the large dome and the frescoes were covered over with plaster. Two large candelabra were placed in front of the niche by Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (the Lawgiver). The marble jars and the stone rostrum and the ball oil lamp hanging of the large dome were provided in the 17th century.. Within St. Sophia there are the St. Sophff tomtjs which contain coffins of the sultans and shahzadahs, their sons, and display the most elegant examples of the Ottoman mother-of-pearl craftsmanship and tile-making. To the west of the museum is the street where the finest examples of the Ottoman wooden house architecture are found. The large square located to the west of the museum is called the Sultan Ahmet Square. The Sultan Ahmet Mosque, situated at the other end of the square, was ordered by Sultan Ahmet I to be built by Sedefkar (Inlayer of Mother-of-Pearly/' Mehmet Aga in 1616. As it is renowned for its blue coloured tilings, it is afso known as the Blue Mosque. Its inner courtyard having a plan of two square sections is covered with 30 domes set upon 26 granite columns. The central large dome of the mosque with 6 minarets is supported by four semidomes and set upon four pillars. Around the courtyard paved with marble flooring there is an ablution fountain with 6 marble columns. The second harem section of the mosque with 4 minarets and 260 windows is covered by a great central dome, measuring 43 m in height and 24 m in diameter, and supporting cupolas on the flanks. The mihrab (niche) within the mosque is embellished with mosaics of jade. The legends and decorations inside of the mosque are gold-gilded on turquoise-blue tiles. The tulip and carnation motifs seen in the stone-engraved reliefs and marble workmanships in the mosque are of the most delicate examples of the Ottoman art. The mosque which is in the form of a complex of buildings includes the turbe (tomb) of Sultan Ahmet, a soup kitchen for the poor, a medrese (theological school), a sanatorium and a marketplace. The Ayios Petros Basilica of the Byzantine era was converted into the Mosque of Little Saint Sophia by the addition of a minaret and an ablution fountain in 1497. The central dome of the structure is octagonal with flanking semidomes and the narthex sections beneath them. There is a total of 34 green and red columns within the mosque which is located in the district of Sultan Ahmet. Beneath the Square of Sultan Ahmet, in the district of Nuru Osmaniye is the Nuru Osmaniye Mosque, built in 1755, in the form of a complex of buildings consisting of the medrese, library, turbe, a fountain, shops and an inn enclosed by a vast courtyard having two doors. The spires of the two minarets of the mosquebuilt in the baroque and classical styles are~made of stone and a dome is visible rising on the arches on the flanks and in the corners. Around the dome 14 cupolas rise on 12 columns. The Laleli Mosque erected in 1763 as a complex of buildings together with a soup kitchen for the poor, a turbe, a fountain, a shop, a bathhouse and inns is single galleried and with two mihrabs. Its central dome rises on arches resting upon 8 columns and is encircled with 6 semidomes on the flanks. The Fatih Mosque and Adjacent Complex of Buildings, built in 1471, is situated in the district Fatih. Its central dome rises on 4 pillars, flanked by 4 semidomes. Behind the Mihrab (niche) of the mosque is the turbe of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror. The ablution fountain of the mosque with 22 cupolas set upon 18 columns, medrese enclosed with porticoes, and the courtyards with an ablution fountain comprise the other sections. The Beyazit Mosque and Adjacent Complex of Buildings located at the Square Beyazit, opposite the istanbul Technical University, consist of a medrese, a soup kitchen for the poor, a cookhouse, a bathhouse, a mosque and a caravanserai. The dome of the mosque with two minarets rises on four pillars and two thick masts. In front of the mosque there is a porticoed courtyard with cupolas. The Suleymaniye Mosque and Adjacent Complex of Buildings were built by Architect Sinan the Great at the orders of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (the Lawgiver) in 1557. The mosque is situated at a commanding place for both the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. It has 4 minarets and a rectangular floor plan. The Ottomans let the "Orthodox Patriarchate" of the East Rome located at Fener continue wjth its activities in exactly the same manner. Besides this, they, at a later period, permitted establishment of the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate under the leadership of Baba Eftim who sided with Ataturk during the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish-Khazar Synagogue for the Turkish Jew society and the Armenian Patriarchate in Samatya by the Armenians brought from Anatolia, thus respecting the'survival of all faiths. Istanbul which was the capital of the Ottoman Empire is today one of the mystical cities in the world where nature and history and east and west merge into one other. The Kariye (Chora) Museum -Chora Monastery Church, situated in the district of Edirne Kapi of the city, is of the oldest Christian works and.was rebuilt by Justinian. During the 11th century the church was enlarged with new annexes and its interiors were embellished with coloured mosaics. There are mosaics depicting the life of Jesus Christ on the outer narthex and those depicting the life of the Virgin Mary on the inner narthex of the church. Besides, the mosaics depicting the Christian saints and the families of emperors and the prophets named in the Old Testament are visible on the inner narthex and the interiors of domes. The church which was later transformed into a mosque is a museum today. The foremost work of art in Istanbul is the Saint Sophia Museum, The church was constructed of wood by the Emperor Constantine II in 326 A.D. It was laid waste as a result of a public rebellion in 404. Ten years later, during the reign of Theodisos II, the church was reconstructed in the form of a basilica. It was destroyed by fire again at the Nikaia Rebellion. In 537, during the reign of the Emperor Justinian, it was rebuilt. Its domes which subsequently collapsed during earthquakes were repaired by Isodoros the Architect. Hagia Sophia of which a dome and a wall were ruined as a result of an earthquake in 986 was repaired by the Armenian Architect Dirtad. The dome of St. Sophia built upon 8 columns brought from the Temple of Artemision in Ephesus during the period of Justinianus rises upon a tambour enclosed with forty windows. It is 56 m high and the dome is decorated with frescoes in the interior. In the church of which the inner walls are embellished with frescoes coloured marble facings are seen. 108 pcs. granite and marble columns carry the large dome in the center and the cupolas at the sides. After the vain attacks of the Huns, Bulgarians, Goths, Avars, Slavs, Kipchaks, Cumans and Pecheneks from the 4th century until the 6th century A.D.. the city walls were built which extended from Silivri to the shores of the Biack Sea during the reign of the Emperor Anastasius. In the 6th century the Byzantines sent delegations to Turkistan in order to trade with the Gok Turk State founded in Turkistan and to research their cultural and scientific values. The commercial, cultural and kinship relations between the Byzantine State and the Khazar Turkish Empire established in the Euroasian steppes of the Northern Black Sea developed and emperors of Khazar Turkish origin such as the Empress Qigek Hatun and Khazar Leon had authoritative power in management. The city which suffered the vain attacks of the Arab armies for several times after the 7th century subsequently went through the besieging attempts of the Bulgarians and Russians. Byzantine defended it self by way of various alliances with Turks, Pecheneks, Gagauz,Kipchaks and Cumans who, descending from the Balkans, had come down lo the Byzantine borders after the 8th century. It gave them material aids and promises, encouraging them to convert into Christianity, and allowed them to pass to Anatolia. Of these warrior horseback riding Turkish branches using bows and arrows who were christianized "Turkopoleis" regiments were set up and, thus, a combatant army established, in the eastern boundaries of Byzantium and the various areas of Anatolia. When these Turkopoleis understood, during the Battle of Malazgirt waged against the Muslim Seljuk Turks in 1071, that the enemies of Byzantium were actually their brothers of the same origin,but of Muslim faith, they sided with the Turkish Seljuks, enabling them to win the battle and Anatolia to be Turkicized. During the Crusades, the city which allowed passage of the Crusading Armies was occupied by the Venetian Crusading Navy in 1203. after which Venetians came to the area and established a Latin Kingdom. Mihail Palailogos, Head of the Kingdom of iznik established by Lagkarites in iznik, saved Istanbul on August 15,1261. The city, which eliminated the Turkish sieges subsequently developing, was captured through a prodigious plan of the Ottoman Padishah Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, after a siege lasting 53 days, by the hauling of his fleet over the Hill of Pera into the Golden Horn, which had been closed with iron chains at the mouth, on May 29,1453. Thus, the existence of the East Rome/ Byzantine Empire was ceased and all works of art, faiths and the inhabitants were taken under protection by the Ottoman Turks. It is located to the northeast of the Anatolian Peninsula, between the Black and Aegean Seas, displaying the characteristics of a settlement formed as a result of a depression during the tertiary geological period and sprawling around the continents on either side of the straits, 32 km long by 700 m wide, linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea, and Halic/Golden Horn, 700 m wide. Thanks to this location the city has the character of being the only city with lands on the Asian and European continents. Throughout the history the area served as a crossing bridge between continents. The name of the city in the Scythian and Pelasgian language is "Asitana" meaning "olace of mother Ace". The city which was called Byzantine, Constantinopolis and Dersaadet then took on the name of istanbul. Based on the works of art recovered during the excavations into the prehistorical period in Rkir Tepe and Uskudar on the Asian shores and Kemerburgaz on the European shore the area was inhabited in the prehistorical era, The Scythians and Pelasgians having faith in Ace who came to the area in around 3000s B.C. and had a prehistorical life form of a tumulus and a cave first founded the acropolis settlement of Askutra/Uskudar meaning the "peninsular fortress of Adra" in memory of Adra, the man of the mother goddess, on the Hill of Uskudar. Later on, they multiplied upon the participation of the Etruscan, Trak and Pelasgian branches, of the Scythian tribes from the Balkans and they expanded their settlements towards both the Asian and European shores. y During the Hittite era in 2000s B.C. the area is mentioned of as Asitawanda. The dwellers of Asitana who took up sides with the Trojan Hector during the Trojan War in the 12th century B.C. multiplied upon the influx of the Etruscan, Trak, Phrygian and other Scythian tribes and those returning from the Trojan War and established a settlement with the name of Assa/Hisar (fort) on today's Hill of Sarayburnu and settled down on a geography commanding the straits and the Golden Horn. The double Sided axe called Labyra used by the Scythian warrior women, also known as the Amazons, which the Scythian tribes -believed to be sacred was depicted in the hand of Toro/Zeus, the Chief Bull God, upon theadoption of the patriarchal system. The city founded by them was therefore called labyrasantas" which first changed to "Byrasantas" and finally to "Bysans". During the 7th century B.C. the Pelasgian branch of Magara came to the area along with their riches in order to set up a colony and was merged with the locals. The city which was dominated by the Persians in 513 B.C. and Traks in the 4th century B.C. subsequently fell under the rule of the Macedonians. The city which then was attacked by the Galatians gained an autonomous status during the Pax Romana era during which time it was adorned and expanded with , structures towards the western direction. In the wake of the division of Rome in two, the city which became the capital of the eastern Rome and called as Constantinopolis was exposed to the assaults of Huns, Avars and Goths.