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 1458.

The only major transcontinental city in the world, during the Renaissance, it was Europe's largest and wealthiest city, consisting of four distinct 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

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. 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.

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

Around 361 CE, the Emperor Julian built a harbor close to the Hippodrome and the Great Palace. In 375 CE, 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 CE, 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 CE, his successor and son Arcadius also built a forum. In 455 CE, 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 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.

After the Nikia riots in 532 CE, 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. Later venerated as a saint and the Hagia Theodosia was built for her cult.

In 870 CE, the Raven Clan Viking Sigurd Styrbjornsson met and befriended the Hidden One Basim Ibn Ishaq and his student Hytham in the city while on his two-year journey across the world. The Hidden Ones would later accompany him in leaving Constantinople on his return trip to Fornburg, Norway.

In 908 CE, 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.

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 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.

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 Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, who had come from the Assassin fortress of Masyaf. They also hid the five Masyaf Keys given to them by Altaïr in the Yerebatan Cistern, the Maiden's Tower, beneath the Forum of the Ox, Galata Tower and what would become Topkapı Palace. They also hid books from Library of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad across the city, leaving clues to find the Keys. With the Masyaf Key hidden in the Yerebatan Cistern, the brothers left a map indicating where to find the books.

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.

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.

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.

Under the Byzantine emperors, the Assassins were hunted in the city and killed on the spot.

In 1453, Constantinople was besieged by Sultan Mehmet II and his army who circumvent the Great Chain by their warships over the hills of Galata and slid them on greased tracks into the Golden Horn, far upriver from the chain. Although Byzantine 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 legends, 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, many hundreds of people remained in the church, adorning it with rose petals and chanting endless prayers for their safety. The Emperor led a final assault where he disappeared.

In the ruined city, Bayezid went first to Hagia Sofia, falling to the ground and sprinkling some raw earth over his turban as a sign of respect. When Ottoman army reached 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

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.

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 transformed as a Bazaar in one of the poorest district of the city.

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 Ottomans Empire. The Assassins built eight Assassin Dens across the city, serving as operational centers. The Assassins also allied with the Thieves, the Mercenaries and the Romanies of the city.

In 1459, Mehmet ordered the construction of a new palace in the city. 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 1485, Manuel Palaiologos, nephew of Constantine XI, arrived in Constantinople. He sold to the Sultan Bayezid II his rights on the throne against a large pension, becoming one of the wealthiest people in the city. Secretly, Manuel was a Templar, planning over decades the retaking of Constantinople by the Byzantines.

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, the Sultan Bayezid II invite 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. But as an avowed rival of Da Vinci's, he refused the invitation outright, evidently 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.

At the end of his reign, Bayezid II left Topkapi Palace and temporarily relocated to Edirne in the north, giving to the Assassins a bit more leeway to wander the palace grounds without attracting too much attention.

By 1509, the Templars had begun to relocate themselves to Constantinople due to their defeat in Italy and the disruption of their activities throughout Western Europe. 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, due to his civil war with his son Selim.

During this year, an earthquake greatly damaged the city. The earthquake also opened the room storing one of the Masyaf Keys hidden beneath Topkapı Palace. This Key was recovered by the Templars 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. With 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 Palailogos, Bayezid's son Ahmet took control of the operations, influenced by his uncle Cem to destroy the superstitions that divided men. Believing that the Altaïr's Library will lead them to the Grand Temple to accomplish their goal, the Templars searched the other Masaf Keys in the city.

In 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 other Keys before the Templars. His leadership enabled the Assassins to reclaim their dens from the Byzantines and liberated most of the shops from their control, much as he had in Rome, as well as training several Assassins to the rank of Master Assassin through the assassination of key Templar agents. They prevented the assassination of the Patriarch Pachomius I of Constantinople by the Templar Cyril of Rhodes and stopped [[Odai Dunqas to bribe the merchants of the city to turn the public opinion against the Assassins.

Investigating the old Polo's post, Auditore discovered that the building was owned by the librarian Sofia Sartor. Finding the secret door leading to Yerabatan Citern, Auditore recovered the Masyaf Key and Polo's map. Working with Sartor, the Assassin localized books from Altaïr's library and the other Keys.

To increase his popularity, Ahmet planned to abduct his nephew Suleiman by Byzantine during a party at the Topkapi Palace to later save him and pretended to be a hero. A group of Assassins led by Auditore and Tazim was only informed that the Prince was in danger. Infiltrating the party, they prevented the plot. Suleiman tasked the Mentor to investigate the Janissary's captain Tarik Barleti believing he was behind the plot.

In fact, Barleti fainted to plot with Palailogos to discover the Byzantines' hideout and eliminate them before they attacked Constantinople. At the Theodosius Harbor, Barleti sold unusable riffles to the Templar to gain his trust. As Auditore wanted to spy on their deal, the Assassin provoked a riot to infiltrate the Harbor. Finding the weapons, the Mentor informed Suleiman who ordered him to kill Barleti. Impersonating a Janissary, the Assassin killed the captain who revealed his plan in his last breath. Barleti gave the map indicating that the Byzantine hideout was in Derinkuyu, in Cappadocia.

With the death of their captain, the Janissaries raised the Great Chain, preventing anyone to leave the city. As Auditore needed to leave the city to recover the last Masyaf Key and stop the Byzantines, the Assassins planned his escaped. Auditore 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 to burn them before taking a ship captained by the Assassin Piri Reis.

While Auditore was away, Ahmet ordered to abduct Sartor as she was close to Auditore. As Tazim protected her, the Templars killed him. Returning to Constantinople with the last Key, the Mentor led the Assassins to attack Theodosius Harbor where Ahmet was hidden. Confronting the Templar, the Auditore discovered that Sartor was there. Ahmet proposed to exchange the woman against the Masyaf Keys.

The Assassins proceeded to the exchange even if Ahmet tried to kill his hostage. As Auditore saved her, they followed the Prince who tried to leave the city. The Mentor caught him and recovered the Keys while Selim who took control of the throne, arrived and killed his brother. The new Sultan, who heard of the Assassin by his son Suleiman, banished the Mentor from Constantinople.

After their travel to Masyaf, Selim allowed Auditore and Sartor one final visit to the city to sort out his affairs, at the request of his son Suleiman.

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 fat bag of gold coins, then banished him to Algeria.

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

In 1766, the city was struck once again by an earthquake. The Bayezid Mosque was repaired after that.

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

Modern Era

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

In the 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.

Trivia

• Bernardo Baroncelli, one of the Pazzi conspirators, fled to Constantinople following the failed attempt to take over Florence.
• 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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  Constantinople at night
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  Ezio and Yusuf looking out over Constaninople from 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 at night panorama
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  Constantinople as seen from the Bosphorus
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  Map of the city

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: Recollection (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (mentioned only, as "Byzantium")
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (mentioned only, as "Miklagard")
• 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)