Constantinople

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"The crossroads of the world. Many generations of men have ruled this city, but they have never subdued her. She always bounces back."

―Yusuf Tazim regarding Constantinople, 1511.

Constantinople (Byzantine Greek: Konstantinoupolis; Latin: Constantinopolis or Byzantium; Turkish: Kostantiniyye or İstanbul; Old Norse: Miklagard), presently known as Istanbul, was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and, following the city's conquest in 1453, became the Ottoman Empire's capital in the year 1458. Presently, the city is located in the Republic of Turkey, serving as its economic, cultural, and historical center.

The only major transcontinental city in the world, during the Renaissance, it was Europe's largest and wealthiest city, consisting of four districts: Constantine, Bayezid, Imperial, and Galata.

History

Origins

The city began in 658 BCE as Byzantium, a modest city-state situated on First Hill. It was founded by Byzas, a devout soldier who had chosen the location based on a promising prophecy uttered by the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The Golden Horn served as a natural port for the city.

Reportedly a rowdy port town, Byzantium was nevertheless considered an "island" of Hellenic civilization due to the many barbarian tribes that surrounded it. As time went on, both the city's inhabitants and its rulers diversified, with Spartans, Macedonians, Athenians, and Romans all having controlled Byzantium at one point.

Byzantine Empire

New Rome

In 324 CE, the Roman Emperor Constantine I, supposedly inspired by a vision from God, moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium, which he then rebuilt and expanded with many fora as the Forum of Constantine. He expanded the Hippodrome of the city, bringing from the Sanctuary of Delphi the Serpent Column holding the Tripod of Plataia. He also ordered the construction of the first church of the city, the Hagia Eirene. When the construction was finished in 330 CE, he had the city rechristened Nova Roma Constantinopolitana, or "New Rome, City of Constantine". Colloquially, it came to be known as both "Constantinopolis" and "New Rome", as the rulers still considered themselves Romans living in the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Harbor of Julian

During the reign of Constantine, a member of the Hidden Ones was active in the city. At some point in the next five centuries, the Hidden Ones installed a bureau in the city, permitting them to operate in the region.

Around 361, the Emperor Julian built a harbor close to the Hippodrome and the Great Palace. In 375, Valens began the construction an aqueduct through the city.

The Emperor Theodosius I made many constructions in the city. He transported an Egyptian obelisk from Alexandria to the Hippodrome of Constantinople. He also expanded the Harbor of Eleutherios which became the Harbor of Theodosius. In 393, to commemorate his victories in battle and politics, he rebuilt the Forum Tauri which also took his name. At its center, the triumphal Column of Theodosius, built with an internal spiral staircase, allowed visitors a grand view of the city. In 403, his successor and son Arcadius also built a forum. In 455, the Emperor Marcian erected a column for his glory.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Constantinople served as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire—later known as the Byzantine Empire—as well as a beacon of Christianity, while the West experienced barbarian attacks and economic hardship. At the beginning of the 6th century, the Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus built the Cistern of Mocius on the Seventh Hill of Constantinople.

The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, later renamed to the Little Hagia Sophia

After the Nikia riots in 532, the Emperor Justinian I rebuilt the Hagia Sophia and Hagia Eirene. The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus was built during his reign. He also transformed a roman basilica in a cistern for the Byzantine palace complex.

In the 8th century, the nun Theodosia of Constantinople was martyred for her opposition to iconoclasm. She would later come to be venerated as a saint and the Hagia Theodosia was built for her worshippers.

Macedonian dynasty

By the mid-9th century, the Hidden Ones maintained their presence in Constantinople. In 860, they bore witness to the city's siege by Vikings from the north-east who were known as the Rus. The Vikings raided the villages beyond the city, laying damage to the surroundings in their wake before ultimately departing. The Constantinople Hidden Ones subsequently wrote a letter to their brethren in Alamut requesting reinforcements, as they believed the Vikings would return.

Around the same time, a Hidden One operating in Constantinople began utilizing dual Hidden Blades, though this required him to amputate both of his ring fingers. One of his brethren later sent a letter to the Karkh bureau in Baghdad to inform the local Rafiq, Rebekah, about the practice.

In the 860s, the Viking jarl Rig Reidarasson arrived in Constantinople. As the reborn form of the Isu Heimdall, Rig thought to convert to Christianity to fully commune with the voices that pestered his mind. His visions also led him to attempt to kill Basim Ibn Ishaq, the local Hidden Ones' bureau leader and the reincarnation of Heimdall's killer Loki. Rig entered the Brotherhood hideout and killed a Hidden One but not Basim. Unsuccessful in his mission, Rig left the city shortly thereafter.

In 867, Basim and his Acolyte Hytham were assigned to investigate the Order of the Ancients' presence in Constantinople. After venturing through the city, they came to garner two new allies: Thyra, a Viking of the Eagle Clan and leader of the Varangian guard, and Empress Eudocia Ingerina. Both women asked for the Hidden Ones' help, as they believed that Emperor Basil I planned to kill his son Leo. Understanding, the Hidden Ones agreed to help by having Hytham work undercover as a new Varangian guard.

While Hytham protected Leo as his guard, he and Basim also began to investigate Leo's circle to find possible suspects wishing to harm the prince. In time, Hytham came to care for Leo as a father figure and even began to teach him in the Hidden Ones' ways. While undercover, the Hidden One became a target when Basil and the Order sent an assailant after him but he survived.

The Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Order finally made their move by ordering an assault on the palace's children wing. Leo survived, but there were many casualties on both sides and Hytham was severely injured. Disobeying Basim's orders, Hytham later tracked a fleeing Order member but realized it was a trap. Taken hostage, he was interrogated by the Order and tortured. Confronted by the Ancients' leader Isaac, Hytham refused to reveal anything and was almost killed, until Basim, Thyra and Leo came to his rescue, although Isaac and some of his men managed to escape.

After learning that Leo's tutor Theodore had aided the Order in planning their palace assault, Leo was secured while Theodore was dealt swift justice. Wanting to end the Order's influence, Basim and Hytham later reconciled and agreed to use Leo as bait at Basil's Hippodrome race. Reluctant, Hytham and Thyra set up the emperor's box to be accessible for the Order to kidnap Leo. On the day of the race, they waited for the Order to make their move. Despite some complications, the Hidden Ones made their way to the Hippodrome and later caused Basil's cart to be destroyed. This event allowed the Order to attack and abduct Leo amidst the chaos, only to fall into a trap set by the Hidden Ones, Thyra, and Justin, who chased and cornered them in an alley.

During their fight, Isaac and his Order forces were defeated and killed and Leo was ultimately saved. With this last failure, the Order's alliance with Basil was severed and Leo was able to grow up without any threat looming over him. Bidding farewell to Hytham, Leo thanked his protector, before Hytham joined Basim in leaving the city for their next task.

Basim at the Hidden Ones bureau in Constantinople

By 870, Basim returned to Constantinople and became the leader of the local Hidden Ones bureau. After the Hidden One Ammon was killed during a mission to recover a Shroud of Eden from Bulgar, Basim was informed of Ammon's failure, as well as the fact that his killer was a Norseman with a peculiar mark on his neck. Basim and Hytham later met Ammon's killer, the Raven Clan Viking Sigurd Styrbjornsson, who had come to Constantinople as part of his two-year journey across the world. The two Hidden Ones befriended Sigurd and acted as his guides in the city before joining him in leaving Constantinople and sailing to Norway.

By 882, Basil I opened a trade route between Constantinople and the Viking Kingdom of Dublin, tradding with the merchant Azar and the Raven Clan jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir.

In 908, admiral Constantine Lips built a nunnery known as the Lips Monastery. During the 10th century, Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos built a funerary chapel under Myrelaion Church for his wife Theodora. His successor, Emperor Constantine VII, ordered the restoration and expansion of the Walled Obelisk in the Hippodrome, which took his name.

The Great Chain raised

Around 1000, two large towers were built across the mouth of the Golden Horn, with a Great Chain between them to prevent enemy ships from sailing up the waterway and attacking the sensitive and poorly defended ports of Constantinople's interior.

In 1110, a lighthouse was built on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus Strait, off the coast of Üsküdar in eastern Constantinople.

During the 12th century, a newly founded Orthodox monastery expanded rapidly acquiring a library, a hospital, a second church, a courtyard, and a tomb in less than a century.

Latin Empire

By the High Middle Ages, the city suffered its share of turmoil as well; in 1204, mass riots against the Emperor occurred, following which French and Venetian Crusaders invaded and sacked Constantinople, stealing decorations that were used for the facade of the Basilica di San Marco. As a result, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Mentor of the Levantine Assassins, could not carry out his intentions of introducing the Assassin Brotherhood to the city and was forced to retreat.

Captured by the invaders, Constantinople became part of the Latin Empire, leading to an influx of Venetian and Genoese merchants that settled on the south and north side of the Golden Horn respectively. The Vatican Clergy's see was established in an Orthodox Monastery.

In 1258, an Assassin Guild was established in the city by the Venetian travellers Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, who had come from the Assassin fortress of Masyaf on the order of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad. Entrusted with the five Masyaf Keys that could open Altaïr's library, the Polos hid them in vaults underneath the city: one beneath the Forum of the Ox, one under the Galata, one at the eastern part of the peninsula, and one under the Üsküdar's lighthouse. They also hid books from Altaïr's library across the city, which contained clues to find the Keys. Hidding the last Masyaf Key under their trading post, inside the Yerebatan Cistern, the brothers left a map indicating where to find the books.

Palaiologos Dynasty

In 1261, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Greek heir to the Byzantine throne, marched on Constantinople and, after a decisive victory, managed to reclaim it. The Vatican Clergy's see was expelled and the building was restored as a monastery. Yet, the recaptured city was struggling to survive; the Empire possessed but a mere fraction of its former land and power. Although Constantinople still flourished culturally, its population rapidly dwindled, leaving it an easy target for the continually expanding Ottoman Empire.

The Galata Tower

Michael VIII's widow, Theodora Palaiologina, built a church just south of the Lips Monastery which over the next few centuries was gradually built up and renovated to such an extent that the two structures became one.

In 1348, Genoese settlers built the Galata Tower as the key component to a larger defensive structure just above one of the Masyaf Keys.

In 1397, Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I waged an unsuccessful attack on the city, which gave the Byzantines a minute sense of relief in the ensuing years. The Byzantine Emperors attempted to get help from leaders in Western Europe, but ongoing wars and the complicated feelings held by the Catholic west concerning their Orthodox cousins led only to a series of half-hearted gestures and weak alliances.

During the last decades of Byzantine rule, the Assassins in Constantinople were hunted and killed on the spot.

In 1453, Constantinople was besieged by Sultan Mehmet II and his army who circumvented the Great Chain by pulling their warships over the hills of Galata and sliding them on greased tracks into the Golden Horn. Although Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos managed to hold the city for 54 days, he and his forces were eventually defeated by the attackers, thanks to the Apple of Eden in Mehmet's possession.

According to legend, Constantine and the Orthodox Patriarch of the city held their final vigil to Hagia Theodosia, praying for a miracle to deliver them from almost certain death. When the time came for the Emperor to lead his final defense, mundreds of people remained in the church, adorning it with rose petals and chanting endless prayers for their safety. The Emperor led a final assault during which he presumably perished.

In the ruined city, Bayezid went first to the Hagia Sofia, falling to the ground and sprinkling some raw earth over his turban as a sign of respect. When the Ottoman army reached the Hagia Theodosia, they found it littered with rose petals and filled with heavy-hearted citizens. All who had remained were taken prisoner, and the church was converted for general military purposes.

Ottoman Empire

Reconstruction of a capital

Once Constantinople had officially come under Ottoman control and became their capital, the Turks made it their priority to restore the city to its former glory, with the Sultans being tolerant of different religions. As a result, Constantinople became attractive to all kinds of people, causing the population to grow once more. It was also around this period that the city began to be called Istanbul by many of its residents.

The Fatih Camii, the first Mosque in Constantinople

Mehmet II ordered the construction of the first Mosque of the city, the Fatih Camii. A story said that after realizing that its dome was smaller than Sofia's, he had the architect's hand cut off for lack of ambition. After this, the architect contacted a local member of the Ottoman judiciary for legal counsel. The judge sided with the architect and ordered that the Sultan's arm be cut off in retribution but it did not happen.

The Sultan also ordered the construction of the Grand Bazaar near the Golden Horn, permitting easy access to and from ships arriving from all over the world, and its centralized location on the peninsula ensured all citizens had reasonable access to its bustling corridors. At its heart was built the Old Bedesten, a fortified enclosure originally used by merchants to store precious goods and expensive wares overnight. With the Grand Bazaar, the Harbor of Julian lost its attractivity. The Forum of Arcadius was converted into a bazaar in one of the poorest district of the city.

Hagia Sophia with its newly minarets

With the change of regime, many churches were used for other purposes. Hagia Sofia became a Mosque but as the Sultan was impressed by the monument, the structure remained unchanged. Only four minarets were added during the next century. The Lips Monastery became the Fenari Mosque while another monastery was converted into the Sancaktar Hayrettin Mosque. Myrelaion Church became the Bodrum Camii.

The Little Hagia Sofia also became a mosque and another Orthodox church became the Kalenderhane Mosque. The large Orthodox Monastery complex became the Zeyrek Mosque. One of the buildings became a madrasah while the Christians could pray in the church.'s facilities.

With the end of the Byzantine Empire, the Assassins could once again flourish in the city. The Grand Vizier and Mentor Ishak Pasha established peace between the Brotherhood and the Ottoman Empire. The Assassins built eight Assassin Dens across the city, serving as operational centers. They also cultivated alliances with the city's resident thieves, mercenaries, and Romani.

Topkapi Palace

In 1459, Mehmet ordered the construction of a new palace in the eastern part of the city, just above one of the Masyaf Keys. After ten years, the Topkapi Palace was finished, containing a harem for raising and educating the wives of future royalty, a Divan for his meetings with the Sublime Porte, barracks for the Janissaries, and the Sultan's personal residence. Near the palace, the Hagia Eirene, the first church in the city, was used as an armory by the Janissaries.

Two decades after the siege of Constantinople, the Ottomans repaired Hagia Theodosia's structure for use as a place of worship, calling it Rose Mosque in remembrance of its final days as a Christian church.

In 1476, following the Templar Vlad Tepes's defeat by Ishak Pasha and the Assassins, the Sultan ordered that his head be brought to Constantinople as a trophy. The head was placed in a specially made prison just outside the city, together with Vlad's sword.

In 1478, the Italian Templar Bernardo Baroncelli took refuge in Constantinople after the Pazzi conspiracy failed in Florence. He was captured and brought back to Italy to be punished.

In 1485, Constantine XI's nephew Manuel Palaiologos arrived in Constantinople. He sold to the Sultan Bayezid II his rights to the throne in exchange for a large pension, becoming one of the wealthiest people in the city. Secretly, however, Manuel was a member of Byzantine Templars, who began plotting to rebuild their influnce in Constantinople.

Around 1502, the Doge of Venice, along with Sultan Bayezid II, sought to ally their considerable naval powers through a free trade treaty. However, the Templars were wary of any peace between the two, and became intent on interfering with their alliance. The Borgia family dispatched a force of mercenaries to disrupt the agreement, but they were quickly intercepted by members of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins, who set their ship aflame before they could depart.

After the peace with the Venetians, Bayezid II invited the Florentine artist Leonardo Da Vinci to submit a design for a bridge that would span a 250-meter wide section of the Golden Horn. Upon seeing Leonardo's design, the Sultan felt the project was too ambitious and scrapped the idea. Four years later, Bayezid extended the same invitation to the young artist Michelangelo. However, Michelangelo - being an avowed rival of Leonardo's - refused the invitation outright, incensed that Leonardo had been asked first.

During his rule, Bayezid II built a large complex with a Mosque with unique features compared to other Mosques of the era. After the death of Ishak Pasha, Bayezid entrusted his armor to his loyal bodyguard, the Assassin Murat Bin Husn. He hid it in a secret sanctuary inside the Hagia Sophia and left clues within the pages of Ishak Pasha's memoir, which were scattered across the city.

Race for the Masyaf Keys

In 1509, an earthquake greatly damaged Constantinople. The earthquake also opened the room storing one of the Masyaf Keys hidden beneath Topkapı Palace, allowing the Templars to claim the artifact. The Templars formed a faction known as the Stewards of Byzantium and attempted to seize control of the city in the wake of Bayezid's absence, who temporarily relocated to Edirne due to his civil war with his son Selim. In the Sultan's absence, the Assassins led by Yusuf Tazim could investigate the Topkapi Palace grounds without attracting too much attention, while fighting the Templars who tried to take control of their dens.

Even if the Templars were secretly led by Manuel Palaiologos, Bayezid's son Ahmet took control of the operations, influenced by his uncle Cem to destroy the superstitions that divided men. Believing that Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's library would lead them to the Grand Temple and allow them to accomplish their goal, the Templars began searching for the remaining four Masyaf Keys hidden in the city.

Suleiman and Ezio Auditore arriving in Constantinople

In May 1511, after traveling to Masyaf to research his Assassin heritage, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Mentor of the Italian Assassins, arrived in Constantinople to retrieve the Masyaf Keys before the Templars. His leadership enabled the Assassins to reclaim their dens from the Byzantines and liberated many shops from their control. Ezio also trained several Assassin recruits to the rank of Master Assassin and helped them eliminate key Templar agents. They prevented the assassination of the Patriarch Pachomius I of Constantinople by the Templar Cyril of Rhodes, and stopped Odai Dunqas, who was bribing merchants to turn the public opinion against the Assassins.

Investigating the old Polo post, Ezio discovered that the building was owned by the librarian Sofia Sartor. Finding the secret door leading to Yerabatan Citern, Ezio recovered one of the Masyaf Keys and the Polos' map. Working with Sofia, the Mentor located the books from Altaïr's library and the other Keys. Ezio also recovered Vlad Tepes' sword and the Armor of Ishak Pasha.

The Assassins infiltrating the Banquet

To increase his popularity, Ahmet planned to have his nephew Suleiman abducted by the Byzantines during a party at the Topkapi Palace, in order to later "rescue" him. A group of Assassins led by Ezio and Yusuf Tazim learned about the plot, infiltrated the party and saved the prince, though Ahmet's involvement remained secret. In the aftermath, Suleiman befriended Ezio and asked him to investigate the Janissary captain Tarik Barleti, believing he was behind the plot.

Unbeknownst to both Suleiman and Ezio, Tarik feigned an alliance with the Byzantines in order to discover their hideout and eliminate them before they attacked Constantinople. At the Theodosius Harbor, Tarik sold secretly sabotaged rifles to the Templars to gain their trust. As Ezio wanted to spy on the deal, he provoked a riot to infiltrate the Harbor.

Finding the weapons, the Mentor informed Suleiman, who ordered him to kill Tarik for his apparent treason. Impersonating a Janissary, Ezio assassinated the captain, who in his final moments told him about his plan to ambush the Byzantines and gave him a map to the Templars' hideout in Derinkuyu, Cappadocia.

Ezio burning the ships blockading the harbor

With the death of their captain, the Janissaries raised the Great Chain to prevent anyone from leaving the city. Ezio used a bomb to destroy one of the towers, leading the chain to fall into the water. As many Ottoman ships blocked his exit, the Mentor used a Greek fire cannon to burn them before boarding a vessel captained by the Assassin Piri Reis, which brought him to Cappadocia.

While Ezio was away, Ahmet ordered the abduction of Sofia, and the Templars attacked her bookshop, which was under the Brotherhood's protection, resulting in the deaths of several Assassins, including Yusuf. Returning to Constantinople with the last Masyaf Key, Ezio led the remaining Assassins to attack the Theodosius Harbor where Ahmet was hidden. Confronting the Templar, Ezio discovered that Sofia was not there. Ahmet then proposed to exchange the woman for the Masyaf Keys.

A confrontation between the Assassins and Templars in Galata

In the Galata district, the Assassins proceeded to the exchange even if Ahmet tried to kill his hostage. As the two factions fought across the district, Ezio saved Sofia, and together they chased Ahmet, who tried to flee the city. The Mentor caught him and recovered the Masyaf Keys while Selim, who had recently taken control of the Empire, arrived and killed his brother. The new Sultan, having heard about Ezio from his son Suleiman, then chose to spare the Mentor's life and banished him from Constantinople.

Following their journey to Masyaf to unlock Altaïr's library, Selim allowed Ezio and Sofia one final visit to Constantinople to sort out their affairs, at the request of Suleiman. After selling Sofia's bookshop to the Assassins and hiding the Masyaf Keys, the two left the city for good.

Late empire

Years after Suleiman succeeded his father, a visiting diplomat rediscovered the Yerabatan Cistern's entrance and passed on his findings to the Sultan.

In 1632, according to reports from a travelling historian, a man named Hezafen Ahmet Chelebi strapped himself into a homemade glider and threw himself off the Galata Tower's cornice. According to the historian, Herzafen's flight took him over Galata and across the Bosphorus waterway, where he landed safely on the shores of the Asian continent. Awed by his apparently supernatural abilities, Sultan Murad IV paid Herzafen a generous amount of gold coins, then banished him to Algeria.

In 1679, Sultan Mustafa II ordered a major restoration of the Valens Aqueduct.

In 1766, the city was struck once again by an earthquake that damaged the Bayezid Mosque, which was consequently repaired.

During the 19th century, pipes were installed to deliver water across the city, replacing the millenary Valens Aqueduct.

Modern Era

In the mid-20th century, the Forum of Theodosius was unearthed after centuries of being built over, dismantled and damaged by earthquakes.

In the early 21st century, workers excavating the site of Theodosius Harbor in preparation for a project discovered the remains of dozens of ancient Byzantine galleys sunk deep into the soil.

With no more Janissaries, Hagia Eirene served primarily as a music hall and Hagia Sofia became a museum.

Geography

Situated in the eastern part of Thrace, the city of Constantinople is boarded in the east by the Bosphorus strait that connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea, making the city a crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean Sea. The estuary of the Golden Horn serves as a natural port and bisects the city into its northern and southern halves.

The southern part of the city is composed of seven hills with the Lycus River cutting a straight valley between the first six hills to the east and the large Seventh Hill to the west. The Lycus is notable for the fact that the final two thousand meters of the river flow underground, before dumping into the Harbor of Theodosius on the southern edge of the city.

The city's position makes it vulnerable to many earthquakes throughout history. The Mediterranean climate permitted a varied vegetation composed of palm trees, cypress and tulips among its.

Districts

At the beginning of the 16th century, Constantinople was divided into four districts.

Bayezid District

Main article: Bayezid District

As the central district on the south bank of the Golden Horn, the Bayezid was the merchant heart of the city, housing the Arsenal and the Bayezid Mosque. The mercenaries and thieves installed their headquarters in the district.

Constantine District

Main article: Constantine District

The western and poorest part of the city, the Constantine district was full of ramshackle wooden buildings with highly mismatched rooftops. Among the poor houses, many ruins reminded the Roman past of the city, such as the Valens Aqueduct and the Forum of the Ox. The Romanies also installed their headquarters in the district.

Galata District

Main article: Galata District

The only district on the north bank of the Golden Horn, the Galata district was the most cosmopolitan part of the city, with travelers from Asia and Europe settling there. The Galata Tower stood out from the rest of the district by its height. The Assassins Brotherhood installed their headquarters in the district, connecting it to the sewer system to travel across the city.

Imperial District

Main article: Imperial District

As the total opposite of the Constantine district, the Imperial district was the eastern and wealthiest part of the city, with marble buildings. Many landmarks embellished the district as the ruins of the Hippodrome, the Grand Bazaar and the Hagia Sophia. The Imperial district was also the political center of the city, housing the Topkapı Palace.

Trivia

• In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, the city was slightly smaller than Rome was in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, but it had more buildings, and was more densely populated.
• Alexandre Amancio, the Creative Director of the Assassin's Creed series, stated at E3 that Constantinople is a "really cool metaphor for Ezio meeting Altaïr", citing the fact that half of Constantinople was in Europe, and the other in Asia.
• It was also stated by Darby McDevitt that Constantinople would be a meaningful meeting of Ezio and Altaïr as the city itself was formerly under Christian control, then Muslim, which suited Altaïr and Ezio as the former hailed from a Muslim culture in Syria and the latter hailed from a Christian Italy.
• Constantinople was originally meant to be included in Assassin's Creed. ^{[citation needed]}
• In Assassin's Creed: Revelations, it is only possible to explore the section of the city within the Wall of Constantine and Galata, despite the fact that the Wall of Constantine had been superseded by the Theodosian Walls almost a thousand years beforehand and little remained of it. The rest of the city, which is wholly inaccessible, can be seen from high locations such as top of the Galata Tower and the minarets of the Fatih Camii.

Gallery

Concept artScreenshots

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  Constantinople panorama
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  Port of Constantinople
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  Port of Constantinople
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  Imperial district port
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  Imperial district port
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  Port market
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  Rich district buildings
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  Poor district buildings
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  Poor district
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  Poor district
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  Rich district
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  Rich district
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  Streets of Constantinople
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  Streets of Constantinople
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  Streets of Constantinople
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  Constantinople outskirts
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  Constantinople gates
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  Constantinople by night
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  Constantinople rooftops
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  Artwork from Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy
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  Artwork from Assassin's Creed: Atlas

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  A map of Constantinople
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  The Animus 2.03's map of Constantinople
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  Ezio and Yusuf looking out over Constantinople from the Galata Tower
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  Arcadia district of Constantinople
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  Constantinople's poor district
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  Poor district of Constantinople
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  Poor district of Constantinople
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  Constantinople as seen from the Bosphorus
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  Constantinople at night
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  Constantinople at night panorama

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Secret Crusade (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel
• Assassin's Creed: Memories (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Recollection (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants – Fate of the Gods (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (mentioned only, as "Byzantium")
• Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece (mentioned only)
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – Song of Glory
• Assassin's Creed: The Silk Road (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice (mentioned only)
  • Roma (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Golden City
• The World of Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North – Logs and Files of a Hidden One (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Mirage (mentioned only)
  • Valley of Memory (mentioned only, as "Qustantinīyah")
• Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game (mentioned only)