Istanbul, The Imperial City by John Freely

Istanbul, The Imperial City by John Freely (ISBN 978-0140244618) is by far the most complete historical guide you can find. It is a lightweight, handy format that easily fits into your backpack.

Every first-time visitor will inevitably be overwhelmed by the many remnants of this capital, famed successively as Byzantium, Constantinople, and Istanbul, which had a far-reaching role on the world map for over three thousand years.

For obvious reasons, the book is divided into three parts.

The first and shortest covers the city's birth on the Bosporus and the first Greek colonization to become the Roman Byzantium with all the wealth that could be displayed. This was the city besieged by Philip II of Macedonia in preparation for his invasion of Asia. The Romans, in turn, linked the city to Italy through the Via Egnatia, and the Golden Milestone known as The Million marked the distance to the towns stringed along the road. The Great Palace and the Hippodrome date from that era.

The second part starts with the advent of Emperor Constantine in 330 AD, who renamed the city after himself Constantinople. As such, it became the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire. Under great emperors like Theodosius, Justinian, and the dynasty of the Comneni, the city expanded again. Constantinople was besieged repeatedly from the 7^th to the 10^th century by the Sassanids from Persia, the Arabs from the Umayyad caliphate, and the Crusaders, who thoroughly sacked the city.

The last and not less important part treats the birth of Istanbul as the capital of the rising Ottoman Empire that started in 1453. Sultans like Suleiman the Magnificent wrote history, and many of today's great buildings were built in those days. To name just a few, there is the Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, and the many mosques, especially those made by Sinan, to rival the Hagia Sofia from the 6^th century.

Instead of a dry and dull account, John Freely takes us by the hand and leads us from one place to the next, often unfolding the many superposed layers of Istanbul's rich history. A handy additional chapter is dedicated to Notes on Monuments and Museums, which the author referred to in previous pages. As another helpful tool in the complicated and long succession of rulers, there is also a complete list of all the Byzantine emperors and Ottoman sultans ending when Turkey as such was born and Atatürk became its leader.

As always, John Freely makes history look simple, and it is a great pleasure to travel through the ancient world in his footsteps. Another excellent book by the same author is Aladdin's Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World – a treasure trove of knowledge!