Istanbul is the most strategically important city in the world. It's located on one of the busiest waterways in the world, the Bosporus straight, which links the Black Sea with the Mediterranean, and a land route between Europe and Asia.
Notes about the names of Istanbul:
During the Ottoman Empire, the people of the city would call it Istanbul, while the government still referred to the city as the Turkish variant of Constantinople. The city's official name was not changed to Istanbul until Turkey became a republic.
Byzantium was refereed to as the New Rome until after emperor Constantine's death, when it became Constantinople.
Links:
Extra History:
Justinian and Theodora: [ Ссылка ]
The First Crusade: [ Ссылка ]
Suleiman The Magnificent: [ Ссылка ]
Crash Course:
Byzantine Empire: [ Ссылка ]
Crusades: [ Ссылка ]
Ottoman Empire: [ Ссылка ]
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