Istanbul : a tale of three cities / Bettany Hughes.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 705-762) and index.

Istanbul explores a city which stands as a gateway between the east and west, one of the indisputably greatest cities in the world. Previously known by the names Byzantium and Constantinople, this is the most celebrated metropolis in the world to sit on two continents, straddling the dividing line of the Bosphorus Strait between Europe and Asia. During its long history, Istanbul has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires. Its architecture reflects these many cultures, including the Hagia Sophia (Byzantine), the Blue Mosque (Ottoman), the Valens Aqueduct (Roman), the Topkapi Palace (Ottoman), and more modern Art Nouveau avenues built in the 19th and 20th centuries - many of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. With the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Ataturk in 1923, Istanbul was overlooked and Ankara became the capital. Over the next 90 years, Istanbul has undergone great structural change, and in the 1970s the population of the city rocketed as people moved to the city to find work, turning Istanbul into the cultural, economic and financial centre of Turkey. Events there recently have again brought Istanbul to the forefront of global attention. Indeed, while writing this book, Bettany was caught with her daughters in the crossfire of Taksim Square. Bettany Hughes has been researching and writing this rich portrait of one of the world's most multi-faceted cities for over a decade. Her compelling biography of a momentous city is visceral, immediate and sensuous narrative history at its finest.

Machine generated contents note: part ONE Byzantion, Byzas' City, 800,000 BC -- AD 311 -- 1. Bones, Stones and Mud -- 2. City of the Blind -- 3. City of Light -- 4. Persian Fire -- 5. City of Siege -- 6. Wine and Witches -- 7. All Roads Lead from Rome: The Egnatian Way -- 8. Enemy Within -- 9. Persecution -- 10. Meek Shall Inherit the Earth -- part TWO Constantinople, City of God, AD 311 -- 475 -- 11. Battle of Milvian Bridge -- 12. City of Gold -- 13. In the Name of Christ's Blood -- 14. Queen of Cities -- 15. Faith, Hope, Charity and the Nicene Creed -- 16. Helena -- 17. Births and Deaths -- 18. Pagans and Pretenders -- 19. Problem with Goths -- 20. Dove of Peace or a Fist of Iron: Theodosios -- 21. Battles in Heaven and on Earth: Gaza and Alexandria -- 22. Christian Particles in a Pagan Atmosphere: Nova Roma -- 23. Statues in the Sky: Ascetics -- 24. Sex and the City: Eunuchsê̂̂d as people moved to the city to find work, turning Istanbul into the cultural, economic and financial centre of Turkey. Events there recently have again brought Istanbul to the forefront of global attention. Indeed, while writing this book, Bettany was caught with her daughters in the crossfire of Taksim Square. Bettany Hughes has been researching and writing this rich portrait of one of the world's most multi-faceted cities for over a decade. Her compelling biography of a momentous city is visceral, immediate and sensuous narrative history at its finest.

25. Sack of Old Rome: The Problem with Goths, Part Two -- 26. Vandals, Wisdom and Attila the Hun -- part THREE New Rome, AD 476 -- 565 -- 27. City of the Mother of God -- 28. Golden Age -- 29. Earthquakes and Fires -- 30. Phoenix City -- 31. Spectacular, Spectacular -- 32. Law and Order -- 33. Jewish City -- 34. Classical City -- 35. All Is Vanity -- part FOUR World's Desire, AD 565 -- 1050 -- 36. Silkworm's Journey -- 37. Al-Qustantiniyya -- 38. Bone in the Throat of Allah -- 39. Monks by Night, Lions by Day -- 40. Byzantium and Britannia -- 41. Icons and Iconoclasm -- 42. Viking Foe-Friends and the Birth of Russia -- 43. Within the Walls -- 44. Varangian Guard -- part FIVE City of War, AD 1050 -- 1320 -- 45. Great Schism? -- 46. 1071, 1081 and All That -- 47. City of Crusades -- 48. Negotiating Monks and Homicidal Usurpers -- 49. Venetian Peril, Chivalric Kingdomsŝ̂̂ê̂̂d as people moved to the city to find work, turning Istanbul into the cultural, economic and financial centre of Turkey. Events there recently have again brought Istanbul to the forefront of global attention. Indeed, while writing this book, Bettany was caught with her daughters in the crossfire of Taksim Square. Bettany Hughes has been researching and writing this rich portrait of one of the world's most multi-faceted cities for over a decade. Her compelling biography of a momentous city is visceral, immediate and sensuous narrative history at its finest.

part SIX Allah's City, AD 1320 -- AD 1575 (Islamic Calendar 720 -- 983) -- 50. Yildirim: The Thunderbolt -- 51. No Country for Old Men -- 52. Twilight City -- 53. Abode of Felicity -- 54. One God in Heaven, One Empire on Earth -- 55. Renaissance City -- 56. Garden of Mixed Fruit -- 57. Diamond between Two Sapphires -- 58. Muslim Millennium -- part SEVEN Imperial City, AD 1550 -- 1800 (Islamic Calendar 957 -- 1215) -- 59. Gunpowder Empires and Gunning Personalities: Dragomans and Eunuchs -- 60. Sultanate of Women -- 61. Janissaries -- 62. Great Siege of Vienna -- 63. White Slave Trade and the White Plague -- 64. White Caucasians -- 65. Soap and Smallpox -- 66. Tulips and Textiles -- part EIGHT City of Revolt and Opportunity, AD 1800 (Islamic Calendar 1215) onwards -- 67. O Love! Young Love! -- 68. Massacre -- 69. Revolution -- 70. Tsargrad -- 71. Scutari -- 72. One-Way Traffic -- 73ŝ people moved to the city to find work, turning Istanbul into the cultural, economic and financial centre of Turkey. Events there recently have again brought Istanbul to the forefront of global attention. Indeed, while writing this book, Bettany was caught with her daughters in the crossfire of Taksim Square. Bettany Hughes has been researching and writing this rich portrait of one of the world's most multi-faceted cities for over a decade. Her compelling biography of a momentous city is visceral, immediate and sensuous narrative history at its finest.

Sick Man in the Rose Garden -- 74. Gallipoli: The End of an Empire -- 75. Red Apple -- 76. Catastrophe -- 77. Last Caliph -- 78. Global Futures -- Coda.