Istanbul

by John Freely

Tells the story of Istanbul from its founding to the present day, with an emphasis on daily life in the city throughout the centuries

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Travel, Politics, Turkish, Asia, Society

440 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

John Freely was born in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrant parents, and spent half of his early childhood in Ireland. He dropped out of high school when he was 17 to join the U. S. Navy, serving for two years, including combat duty with a commando unit in the Pacific, India, Burma and China during the last year of World War II. After the war, he went to college on the G. I. Bill and eventually received a Ph.D. in physics from New York University, followed by a year of post-doctoral study at Oxford in the history of science. He worked as a research physicist for nine years, including five years at Princeton University. In 1960 he went to İstanbul to teach physics at the Robert College, now the Boğaziçi University, and taught there until 1976. He then went on to teach and write in Athens (1976-79), Boston (1979-87), London (1987-88), İstanbul (1988-91) and Venice (1991-93). In 1993 he returned to Boğaziçi University, where he taught a course on the history of science. His first book, co-authored by the late Hilary Sumner-Boyd, was Strolling Through İstanbul (1972). Since then he has published more than forty books.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yowzer. I thought it was hard to memorize the Presidents of the United States. It would be quite an accomplishment to memorize all of the rulers of Istanbul. I finally abandoned the book about halfway through. I am sure that it is an accurate listing of who ruled when, what architectural feats they accomplished, what major battles they fought in, whose eyes they gouged out, but it to me was a mind-numbing whirl of facts and figures, none of which were terribly interesting. More interesting to me, who just wanted to learn more about the history of Turkey, was reading about the Ottoman Empire on Wikipedia.

[Nile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow managed to have at least a seven year gap between starting and finishing this.

Writing a history of a city that has been an imperial hub for what, ~1700 years is always going to be difficult in that the history of the empires and the history of the city blend into one another. The Byzantine Empire was saved countless times by the fact Constantinople was unconquerable. Equally, during the Ottoman period, the empire's highs and lows played out in Janissary riots across the city. Therefore what we often get when reading is a history of a war which ended at its gates rather than what was happening the other side of those gates during those years.

The middle ground of a history that truly covers the city while explaining the fortunes of the empires that revolve around it wasn't found in this book. Entire chapters cover lives of sultans and the only context in how it affected Kostantiniyye was that these sultans lived there.

Worse than that, the real expansion of the city over the centuries isn't really discussed. That's the equivalent of a history of London discussing kings or queens moving from Windsor to Buckingham Palace while neglecting to mention that London had expanded from the City well into what in previous chapters was being called countryside.

A book that diverts regularly into discussing frontier imperial politics somehow fails to mention the Armenian genocide which altered Istanbul's character, and even if this was too controversial, doesn't mention infamous documented official Greek pogroms over decades either.

That balance in storytelling is seldom found in books on the topic - the flipside is that histories of the Byzantine empire often read as histories of Constantinople, for example - and the issue is a lack of sources, with most focussing on the court. That is forgiven in the book until it reaches a period of mass sources and continues the trend, at which point it looks unimaginative from the author.

Ultimately this is a very safe but lacking history to be picked up a few weeks before a trip to Istanbul to add some flavour and depth to sights. It's a history of the power that resided in the city and tails off as soon as the capital is moved to Ankara. A true history of the city *as a city* this is not.

[Michael Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book on the road back from Istanbul, a city I enjoyed very much during a week-long visit. Istanbul: The Imperial City by John Freely is exactly what I should have been reading before visiting: it is a history of the city sprinkled with descriptions of the buildings and landmarks still visible at the middle of the 1990s. We are also given excerpts from some of the most important writings on the topic of Istanbul, especially from the old writs.

In active, somewhat repetitive prose, Freely exposes the two and a half millenia of the wonderful city of the Golden Horn, Istanbul, or Constantinople, or Byzantium. Founded by the colonist Byzas of Megara around 660BC, Byzantium made use of advanced military engineering to protect itself for centuries from a large number of wannabe conquerors: Persians, Thracians, Scytes, Macedonians, Athenians, etc. It is early in its history the Byzantium inaugurated its infamous treasonous behavior, with switches of allegiance and murdered leaders common. For example, around 440BC Byzantium revolts against Athens, to whom it was paying tribute, and is besieged by troops from the Athenian League; the siege ends when the pro-Athenian faction lets down ladders from the besieged walls. (The Byzantine generals agreement is, today, a famous and difficult problem of consistency in distributed systems/computer science. In this problem, the goal is to agree on the order to either attack or retreat, assuming that one or several of the generals, but not all, are traitors.)

This book raised a lot of memories from my history classes. Here ... We learn about the establishment of Constantinople (in Greek Constantinopolis, or the City of Constantine), the town that effectively quadrupled the size of the ancient Byzantium while maintaining its core in the Golden Horn. We read about the long internal struggle for power of a dying Roman Empire; names like Theodosius, Julian, Justinian, and others. We see how Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofia, Hagia Sofia, the Church of the Divine Wisdom) gets built and repeatedly rebuilt. We observe the Cristian Church being split into Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox. We conquer the city with the Crusaders (the first fall) and the Ottomans (the second fall). We understand the Dark Ages and the medieval world.

Overall, I loved reading about the places I've just seen. I felt at home with many of the names, peoples, and places. I was tested thoroughly on my knowledge of history, and I was not disappointed to see what has left from my gymnasium lessons. I was delighted to observe how many words I knew from childhood were of Greek or Turkish origin (ayazma, kestane, kadin, ...) If it wasn't for the rather long and somewhat unintelligible list of names, the rather superficial analysis of the causes of various events, and the too long excerpts in the latter parts of the book, it would have been a 5-star. Thumbs up, recommended reading for visitors of Istanbul!

[Missy J · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have always wanted to learn more about Turkish history, but I didn't know which book to read. I wanted something hip, addictive and fascinating. I somehow ended up with this book because I thought that instead of learning the history of the whole country, I might as well read about the history of its largest city first. Unfortunately, this book was quite boring and not as expected. Don't get me wrong, there were some good parts, which I will mention later. But overall, this book was a long chronological retelling of each of the Byzantine emperor up until the end of the Ottoman empire. Each emperor was mentioned. It was too much. I expected to learn about culture and political developments during the Byzantine and Ottoman era, but I didn't get any of that. It really only focused on each and every single emperor and how they ruled. That was disappointing. The book is divided into two parts; the Byzantine era and the Ottoman era. I'm glad to have learned a few new things. The city of Istanbul which was formerly known as Constantinople actually has a very long pre-Islamic history. The Greek/Hellenistic influence was very strong. The Justinian Age was a golden age. Italians from Venice and Genoa had their enclaves in the city. I enjoyed reading about the life of Evliya Celebi and of Mimar Sinan, the great architect. Ottoman kings used to practice fratricide when they were crowned emperor. But then this practice was replaced with simply imprisoning their brothers. The black eunuchs were briefly mentioned. The harem had quite a considerable influence over the emperors. A lot of the churches were turned into mosques. There's really a list of places that I would like to see in Istanbul now: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Dolmabahce Sarayi, Basilica Cistern, Galata Tower, Topkapi Sarayi, Fatih Camii, Süleymaniye Camii, Sehzade Camii, Rüstem Pasha Camii, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Selimiye Camii...
I hope I can find a better non-fiction book on Turkish history.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's already a part of tradition that I always find and buy a book about the places I visit - fortunately Istanbul have not one but two excellent english bookshops in the central area (same owner) that cater for tourists, visitors and diplomats - there is a nice selection of books about Turkey and Islam in english so I selected "Istanbul - the imperial city" by John Freely as my first introduction to this beautiful and exciting city, since I don't know much about its history except basic informations.

So far I am really enjoying it - not too much space was focused on early settlers but very soon author moves on to explain it greeks and roman roots that have left much more traces than people who lived here before. Right now I am at the Chapter 12 and romans are in full swing - lots of interesting and brutal anecdotes about emperors being killed by mobs and queen mothers having their tongues sliced (!), noses cut off and such stories. We also get informations about all the important palaces,temples and public buildings built around this time as well as occasional story about ordinary people who lived there, famous courtesans, saints, priests and soldiers who were remembered in history. Very gripping story and I am truly enjoying it - and so far its still a roman city, at this stage of the book muslims are only distant treat from far away.

[Mertan Deniz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dünyada bana göre 3-4 tane imparatorluk baskenti var. Sansliyim ki (bütün tahribata ragmen) bunlardan birinde yasama imkanina sahip oldum. Iste bu imparatorluk baskenti istanbulu tanimak icin cok iyi bir kaynak var elimizde. Sehrin yaklasik 2500 yillik tarihini okurken oldukca iyi vakit gecirdim. Freely sehri daha cok imparatorlar ve onlarin zamanindaki anitlar/saraylar/binalar ekseninde anlatiyor, konuya cok asina degilseniz isimler bazen birbirine giriyor. Aslinda objektif olsam 3 puan verirdim ama istanbul konusunda subjektif olacagim :)

bu arada bizim okullarda ogretilmeyen cok sasirdigim iki anekdotu da not ediyorum:
1) bizim cemberlitas dedigimiz anit konstantin tarafindan sehrin kurulusu onuruna yapilmis ve gercek ismi de "konstantin sütunu". Yani istanbulda ayaktaki hemen hemen en eski anit. Biz hem ismini hem önemini atlamisiz.
2) Osmanli ile kavalali mehmet ali pasa papaz olunca mehmet alinin ordulari bütün ortadoguyu fethetmekle kalmamis, ordusunu taa kütahyaya kadar getirmis. Osmanli careyi ruslarla ittifak yapmakta bulmus. Bizim bildigimiz adiyla Hünkar iskelesi anlasmasi. Ismini duymustum ama icerigini hic bilmiyordum.

Istanbul ile ilgili biseyler okumak isteyenlere tavsiyedir. Istanbulda turistik yerleri gezerken her sey bana cok daha anlamli gelecek, basta arkeoloji muzesi olmak üzere bir cok muzeyi, camiiyi tekrar ziyaret etmek istiyorum.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

This came highly recommended as a history of the city, but it was more of a history of people who ruled the city, which became dull quite quickly. The appendix which connects the chapters to existing (in the 1990s) monuments indicate its main intent as a walking guide with lots of background.

[Omar Taufik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I enjoyed reading ..

With my general love of history, the author introduced me to pre Ottoman Istanbul, .. which revealed to me along with Ottoman and Republican Istanbul this what weight and value this beautiful city has in world history making me love Istanbul even more ..

The author divides the book into three parts ; Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul.

The first two cover the period before the 1453 Ottoman conquest, taking us back to around 600 bc with the early Greek settlements in the area and the establishment of Byzantium on the first hill of the historical peninsula on the Marmara/Bosphorus.
Byzantium develops into a state and then into a capital of an empire chosen by the emperor Constantine to be the Roman empire capital named Constantinople after his name.
With it's empire the capital flourishes for centuries but then finally descends witnessing internal struggles and external threats which are covered in the material recording the social development and building of the city historical monuments.
Reading this pre Ottoman history was certainly interesting and very useful with the the load of details some readers might not be familiar with in the city's ancient history.

The third part, Istanbul, was more familiar. The city Constantinople is conquered by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror (Fatih) the year 1453 and is reborn as Istanbul the capital of the Ottoman empire inheriting the richness of the past and with the new Ottoman additions turns into a real metropolis of a city adding beauty to it's ancient historical beauty.
As in the pre Ottoman history, the city expands with numerous monuments built in the process recorded in the material along with the social developments of it's people where the author includes various texts written by historians and travellers adding value to the reading experience of the material.
The city lives with the empire and the Sultans witnessing the up and downs .. the good days and the bad days .. finally witnessing the collapse of the great Ottoman Empire ending the days of imperial Istanbul which transforms into the modern Republican Istanbul no longer a capital but still the beautiful city with it's special spirit and character surviving over it's centuries of long history on the Bosphorus.

The author added a useful appendix for readers interested in more details on the many monuments and landmarks mentioned throughout the book.

There were some very minor instances where some Ottoman political history details lacked accuracy or completion. This did not negatively impact my reading having this book a story of Istanbul the place and the inhabitants. Such minor notes will not impact my rating of the book deserving a full rating of 5/5.

A high recommendation for lovers of Istanbul and it's beauty throughout history.

[Mark Rossiter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book about Byzantium/Constantinople/Istanbul, by the American teacher John Freely, is a curious read. It purports to be a chronological history of the city, yet is in fact mostly a string of anecdotes about the doings of its sometime rulers interspersed with the odd undigested gobbet of political history. It has none of the contextual depth or atmospherics required to really understand the place, in the way, for example, that you can almost walk the streets of Victorian London in Desmond and Moore’s incredible biography of Darwin. So the first 300-odd pages skate unsatisfyingly over the surface of their subject – and then the final 60-odd, footnotes to the main text, consist of detailed architectural descriptions (with sketches) of the remaining monuments of the Byzantine and Ottoman eras which would no doubt be illuminating if you were examining those places with the book in your hand, but are really just annoying when you have to flick back and forth.

Perhaps I’ll pack it next time I go – it might change my mind.

[Zully Mustafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dacă cineva mi-ar fi vorbit în tinerețe despre Istanbul așa cum o face John Freely în cartea sa, aș fi iubit acest oraș mai repede. În schimb, am dat numai de tîmpiți cu prejudecăți sau slabi povestitori. Era suficient ca măcar unul să spună că e locul unde s-au născut legendele Olimpului, dar dintre cei pe care i-am cunoscut, pesemne că niciunul nu au auzit de ele. Trebuie să iubești cu adevărat istoria cu toți împărații, sultanii, prințesele, regii și zeii ei, ca să știi cum să privești în ochiul furtunii și apoi să-i faci și pe alții să te urmeze.

O carte bine documentată, care reînvie cele 7 straturi ale unor istorii niciodată apuse de pe malurile unui Bosfor-martor la tot ce s-a întîmplat, miracole și fărădelegi, dintr-un oraș care, așa cum spunea Petrus Gyllus în urmă cu mai bine de 400 de ani, atunci cînd s-a apucat să descrie topografia Istanbulului: ”va rezista atîta vreme cît vor fi oameni pe pămînt.”

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Objectively, this book is kind of boring. I picked this book up because I find Istanbul enchanting and I enjoyed the portions of this book that focus on the growth and development of the city and its landmarks enough to like the book as a whole. But, that really isn't the book's focus. Instead, Freely focuses on the long and violent parade of emperors and empresses that ruled the empires centered there. While these rulers' records brutality and duplicity makes the Song of Fire and Ice series look tame, a straightforward catalog of people betraying and killing family members actually grew dry.

[Stavros Afionis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο, αν και συχνά ο συγγραφέας εξιστορεί την ιστορία της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας αντί να επικεντρώνει στην ιστορία της Κωνσταντινούπολης αυτής καθ’ εαυτήν.

[Mehmet Dönmez · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Freely's reference book can be identified as "tale of three cities": Byzantium, Constantinople and İstanbul. This lyric tale, which attracts the reader from the very first page, just starting with ethymological roots of İstanbul "stin poli", i.e. to the city, ('no other name is needed to identify it' as Freely beautifully points out) and Anatolia which means "land of sunrise", whereas Europe can be translated as "land of darkness" in both Indo-Europe and Semitic languages according to Freely.

The tale floods from mythological origins of the city and touches every significant era until 20th century, and explains how a Greek colony evolved to first Roman capital, than land of promise for Muslim world, and a Muslim imperial city for 5 ages than part of new Turkish republic. Yet "queen of cities" İstanbul can not be understood by just digesting its own history, hence the book dwells on city's identity in multidimensional forms; including but not limited to its topographical details, sociological layers, its interaction with other millets, i.e. national compartments and cultural evolution and transformation throughout the centuries.

The book also contains some beautiful illustrations and maps as well as containing innumerable anecdotes and reviews from famous intellectuals, such as Lord Byron and Edmondo de Amicis that I will omit in this review in order not to further spoil the book and harm its fluency.

Another aspect of the fluency is the language: I read the book from an English copy, something I mitigate to do unless I am enforced to as this decelerates me due to my lack of vocabulary and this was even more explicit in long quotations in the book. Nevertheless, reading the book in its own language acts like the soul of the work is diffusing in my brain directly and that is why I dared to write this review in English, although I knew my English is not sufficient enough.

Having said all this, the relation that you establish with the city is eventually personal: Freely's masterpiece can be a key for you to enter through one of the Roman walls and help you wander around within centuries in İstanbul; but it will be your own personal experience to assoicate all of these pieces with you, build your own network of memories with the people you love. This, I believe, may be why Freely implies his personal experience towards the very end of the book which contrasts the formal language dominates the rest.

[Liviu Mihai Irimia · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than half of this book, which depicts the Ottoman period of Istanbul's existence, has rather similar content to "Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans in Istanbul," another book written by John Freely. It's clear that such a thing doesn't like and disappoints the reader of the two books. Otherwise, it is an interesting book, which captures in a captivating way the history of Istanbul, one of the greatest cities of the world, with a fabulous past. Reading the book, you see with your mind's eye and you would like to feel tangibly the greatness of the monuments erected by the Roman emperors. You are slightly disturbed by the drama of this city, passed through the hands of four successive civilizations, destroyed by the greed of the Venetians, by the hatred and duplicity of the medieval West, and then by the ignorance and disrespect for the Christian symbols of the Ottomans. Reading the text is slightly hampered by the names of many characters - rulers, emperors, sultans, valide sultans and viziers - difficult to remember in some places due to the rapid transition from one to another. Overall, it is a book that combines different types of information - historical, geographical, literary - offering a pleasant, rather holiday reading.

[Roxana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cu greu 3 stele. Ma asteptam la ceva mai mult decat simple insiruiri de nume de imparati bizantini si apoi sultani, cine i-a urmat si ce batalii au purtat. La fel si cu monumentele, insirate unul după altul. Sursele din care autorul da citate sunt fara introducere ( who is printesa Musbah?) si pare ca singurul motiv pentru care sunt acolo este ca se potrivesc cu capitolul.
This is not the Istanbul book I was looking for.

[Cosmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

O incursiune incredibilă în istoria metropolei de pe Bosfor, a singurului oraș situat pe două continente, capitală a Imperiilor Bizantin și Otoman, al cărei farmec continuă să persiste...

[Melisa Sahinkaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

made me fall in love with istanbul all over again. the kind of book that lingers—full of vivid anecdotes, layered history, and that unique east-meets-west rhythm only this city has. a perfect bit of preparatory mental stimulation before the bosphorus swim.

(also, can’t lie—there’s something extra special knowing the author walked the same halls at robert and nyu. a quiet, personal kind of connection.)

[Fatih · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya suka buku-buku John Freely. Asik dan menarik dibaca. Buat yang suka sejarah kota-kota, ini salah satu buku yang wajib dibaca mengingat Istanbul adalah kota tua yang sangat legendaris.

Berbagai kisah menarik, seperti kisah Kesultanan Usmani, peperangan, tragedi, hingga kisah-kisah tak terduga lainnya yang pernah terjadi disana. Siapapun yang baca buku ini pasti akan melihat Istanbul dari sudut pandang yang baru.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too many facts to really digest by reading it through, but lots of information for someone visiting Istanbul that provides a significant depth of knowledge.

I would have rated it lower if I had to read it all in one sitting--probably too overwhelming for that--but if you spread it out, you can see patterns and understand the flow of the city.

[Fitria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dalam buku ini dipaparkan sejarah Istanbul dari kacamata kota itu sendiri, bukan dari pemikiran barat ataupun Muslim. Menarik untuk dibaca karena kita bisa mengetahui sejarah perkembangan kota itu dari zaman romawi sampai berakhirnya kekhalifahan Turki Ustmani dan awal pemerintahan negara republik yang sekuler.

[Afifah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Byzantium, Konstantinopel, Istanbul, nama yang sama, diciptakan sesuai penguasanya. Telah berdiri tegak sejak 658 Masehi. Membaca buku ini membuat keinginan untuk suatu saat mendatangi kota ini kian berbuncah.

[Neil Stroup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given the age of the city of Istanbul I expected more commentary on the larger themes and patterns in the city's history. Instead this book read like a laundry list of emperors and sultans. That aside, it was very informative.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

A nice overview of the city and its long history. It's thin in parts due to the length of time it covers but it's a terrific read.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book for casual tourists, or for those who are not really, deeply interested in the history and architecture of Istanbul. With that aside, it is rich and well written, full of insights.

[Riatmi Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dalam buku setebal 440an halaman ini membahas 3 imperium yang pernah menguasai sebuah kota yang menjadi salah satu yang paling bersejarah dalam muka bumi. Awalnya ia bernama Byzantium, dengan penduduk awal orang -orang Yunani Dorian, yang secara institusi politik lebih dekat dengan bangsa Sparta, ketimbang Athena. Sejak awal kota ini mengalami serangan dari berbagai bangsa. Akhirnya kota otonomi Yunani itu berakhir karena tak mampu menghalau serangan bangsa Romawi dan masuk ke dalam bagian wilayah kekaisaran tersebut.

Pada 311 M, kekaisaran Romawi dibagi menjadi tetrarki / empat kaisar. Namun keempat kaisar tersebut saling bersaing sehingga tersisa 1 pemenang , yaitu Konstantinus yang kemudian dikenal sebagai Konstantin Agung, penguasa tunggal Kekaisaran Romawi. Konstantin yang telah memeluk Kristen, merasa Roma yang dipenuhi dengan berhala, tidak cocok untuk ibu kota kekaisaran Kristen yang ada dalam bayangannya, lalu pilihannya jatuh kepada Byzantium, yang kemudian berganti nama menjadi Konstantinopel. Lalu ia mengambil langkah untuk mencipatkan keharmonisan dalam Gereja Kristen yang terlibat dalam kontroversi yang meluas, yaitu antara ajaran Arius vs Athanasius, dengan mengadakan Konsili Nicea pada 325 M, yang memenangkan ajaran Athanasius yang singkatnya melalui forum tersebut Yesus (Nabi Isa AS) resmi diangkat menjadi Tuhan.

Selanjutnya adalah rentetan panjang daftar Kaisar Romawi (yang ada banyak sekali nama Konstantin dan Theodora wkwk) selama ratusan tahun. Ada beberapa catatan yang ingin aku tulis, diantaranya :
- Theodosius II dikenang karena tembok-tembok besar yang salah satunya dibangun pada masanya, dan telah menjadi benteng pertahanan Konstantinopel selama ribuan tahun.
- Hagia Sophia / Aya Sofya dibangun pada era Kaisar Justinian. Pada masa ini disebut-sebut sebagai era keemasan Konstantinopel.
- Kaisar Heraklius, yang sezaman dengan Rasulullah Muhammad SAW, mengalahkan Raja Persia Chosroes II yang sebelumnya telah merebut wilayah Romawi di Mesopotamia, Armenia, Syria, dan Palestina.
- Pada Pada 636 M, adik kaisar yaitu Theodorus dimusnahkan Kaum Muslimin pada perang Yarmuk di Yordania. Peristiwa ini membuka daerah di Syria dan Yordania untuk bangsa Arab yang menguasai Yerusalem pada 638 M. Aku mencari informasi di Go*gle bahwa perang ini dilatarbelakangi banyaknya orang murtad sepeninggal Rasulullah SAW, sehingga Khalifah Abu Bakar memerintahkan untuk memeranginya. Orang-orang murtad tersebut adalah orang-orang munafik yang takut dibunuh sepeninggal Rasulullah SAW.
- Pemerintahan Konstantin III hampir selalu dihiasi peperangan melawan bangsa Arab.
- Konstantinus IV menghabiskan sebagian besar pemerintahannya dengan mempertahankan kekaisarannya dari Khalifah Muawiyah dan putranya, Yazid.
- Pada pemerintahan Jusninian, diselenggarakan Konsili Ekumenis yang beberapa isinya menurutku sama dengan nilai-nilai islam, diantaranya melarang kelanjutan berbagai festival penyembah berhala, melarang kaum Wanita menari di jalanan, melarang kaum pria memakai pakaian Wanita, melarang pemujaan Dionysus pada saat Panen, dan merayakan titik balik matahari pada musim panas.
- Leo III mengkampanyekan Ikonoklasme (penolakan dan pemusnahan pada gambar, patung dan monument religus)
- Pada 1204 M, Pasukan Latin menguasai Konstantinopel, menghancurkan seisi kota selama tiga hari, membunuh 2000 orang Yunani, merampok dan menodai Hagia Sophia.
-Selama pendudukan Latin, Gereja Hagia Sophia dan sejumlah gereja lain yang beraliran Orthodox Yunani dialihfungsikan menjadi Gereja Katholik Roma.

Lanjut dengan gesekannya dengan Turki Usmani...
- Pada 1324 Bangsa Turki yang dipimpin oleh Usman, yang dikenal sebagai Gazi (Kesatria Iman), dan pengikutnya, Usmani, mengalahkan pasukan Byzantium di Nikomedia. Usman Gazi digantikan oleh putranya, Orhan Gazi.
- Pada 1326 Orhan Gaza merebut Prusa, dan kemudian dinjadikan ibu kota pertama Pasukan Turki, dengan nama Bursa.
- Pada 1347 terjadi Wabah Hitam yang mengakibatkan sepertiga penduduk Konstantinopel meninggal. Wabah ini berasal dari kapal-kapal laut Genoa yang datang dari Krimea.
- Orhan Gazi digantikan Murat I, yang berhasil merebut Adrianopolis (kota yang didirikan Hadrianus) yang kemudian disebut Edirne dan menjadikannya ibu kota baru.
- Penerus Murat I, yaitu Beyezid I membangun benteng Anadolu Hisari di sisi Asia dari selat Bosporus sehingga menempatkan dirinya dalam posisi memotong Konstantinopel dari persediaan gandumnya di Laut Hitam.
- Beyezid I digantikan Mehmet I. Mehmet I digantikan Murad II. Pada Masa Murad II, Tesalonika jatuh ke tangan Pasukan Turki yang mendorong rekonsiliasi Gereja Yunani dan Latin.
- Murad II digantikan oleh Muhammad II / Mehmet II yang kemudian membangun Rumeli Hisari di pantai Eropa selat Bosporus tepat di seberang Anadolu Hisari, yang jelas memotong Konstantinopel dari Laut Hitam. Pada masa Muhammad II inilah Konstantinopel ditaklukan oleh Kaum Muslimin dan diubah menjadi Istanbul.

Selanjutnya adalah pembahasan tentang Istanbul dalam pemerintahan Usmani serta kejatuhan Kekhalifahan pada awal abad 20 yang menghapuskan sistem Syariah.. Naudzubillah.

[John Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the first book you should read about Istanbul. Yes, it gives you an amazing one-volume overview of the city's history from the 7th century BC to the 20th century AD—Istanbul's history is arguably richer than Rome's, and what else but amazing could such a history be?—but Freely's determination not to leave a single emperor or sultan unmentioned gives the book an unfortunate resemblance to the Bible's books of Kings, with their endless variations on "In the twenty-third year of King Joash son of Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned seventeen years..." Yes, there are memorable anecdotes and astounding facts, but the fact remains that we've got 300 pages of rulers given a page or two each, leaving little room for substantial discussion of anything else. The value of this book is its compact comprehensiveness, not its readability.

If, like me, you are fascinated by old monuments and wonder about the circumstances of their creation, the eighty-page appendix listing the major buildings and wonders surviving in modern Istanbul is the most notable part of the book, and the part that I will return to before returning to Istanbul.

[Kenneth Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a work which you might say stands on the shoulders of giants. In writing it John Freely surely had in mind the monumental example of John Norwich's "A History of Venice" (1989), and even more pertinently, Bernard Lewis's "Istanbul and the Civilisation of the Ottoman Empire" (1963), and Glanville Downey's "Constantinople in the Age of Justinian" (1991--but that was a later reprint). All three are classic biographies of a city.
Freely says at the outset that his work is aimed at visitors to the city on the Bosphorus, but in fact, the book is a little heavy and large for your average tourist to lug along. I think we can say it is a good history work of the survey type. Not the last word on Istanbul, to be sure, but useful for a quick read, for reference, for looking up specific buildings and sites.
When you proceed into the text, it turns out Freely devotes more space to Eastern Roman Constantinople than to Istanbul, but however that may be, Freely has done good work. Regarding the age of Justinian, I especially appreciate his inclusion of poetry by Agathias and Paul--we usually don't hear much about the popular literature of this period.
Perhaps visitors to this grand city will need to bring a bigger suitcase, to fit this work in.
Enjoy!

[William Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book is best described as a whirlwind of emperors, sultans, patriarchs, grand viziers, palaces, and mosques which can at times be indiscernible unless you are already equipped with a basic understanding of the history. The titular Istanbul (Constantinople) is at times merely the backdrop to the lives of emperors and sultans who exit the stage as quickly as they are introduced and very little of the cities expansion through the centuries is remarked upon. Indeed Freely seems to write less and less about the city as the pages go on.

Overall, Istanbul: The Imperial City is a useful whistle stop tour of the rulers of the city and some of its major monuments. The ‘Notes on Monuments and Museums’ at the end provides much better detail on the buildings in Istanbul and this information would have been better served within the body of the book.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

It purports to offer a history of the city which will situate you in terms of the architecture and history. I wouldn't say it perfectly delivers. Mostly because there's way too much "Constantine XIII took over, killed his brothers, married someone, and then was overthrown by John VI, who killed all his brothers, married someone, and then..."

Basically, too much shallow history to no purpose. I think I'd have been much happier with a book that focused on a few specific periods. Maybe the original Constantine, Justinian, the 4th Crusade, the Ottoman conquest, the 19th century opulence and degeneracy, Ataturk, and the postwar to contemporary reforms.

[Abdulla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent overview of the history of Istanbul. However it focus too much on high politics, at the expense of much else. Much of it feels essentially like a narrative of palace intrigue. I didn't really get a feel for the growth and/or transformation of the city thoughout history. Rather disappointing if that's what you're looking for.

I liked the footnotes for each historical site however, they make this book a really useful travel guide, if one wishes to understand the city chronologically. For a good guide to the city broken down by neighborhood, you might want to check out Freely's other book on Istanbul.