The Origins of Istanbul

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 December 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today we dig into the history of Istanbul, the city at the crossroads of East and West. Across thousands of years, the city has survived the rise and fall of empires, weathered sieges and Crusades, and remained a centre of world religion, trade and politics.

With us is Jonathan Harris, Professor of the History of Byzantium at Royal Holloway and author of 'Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium'. He tells us all about the key moments that transformed the Eastern Roman capital of Constantinople into the modern-day city of Istanbul.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

If you want to learn more about the Byzantine Empire, you could listen to our episode on its most famous leader, Emperor Heraclius - https://shows.acast.com/dansnowshistoryhit/episodes/emperor-heraclius-rome-vs-persia.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Dan Snow, and if you would like Dan Snow's History Hit ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit.
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0:24.6	Hi folks, this episode is sponsored by The World, specifically The World podcast, with Richard
0:31.9	Engel and Yalda Hakim from Sky News. The World is a new World Affairs podcast, hosted by NBC's chief foreign correspondent
0:41.4	and Sky's lead world news presenter. Every week, Richard and Yaldo are going to have decades
0:46.7	of experience the table, cut through the noise and explain what's going on in the world,
0:51.9	and why it matters. They cover conflict, democracy, and the most
0:56.8	urgent questions in geopolitics from the front lines, wherever in the world they are playing out.
1:01.9	If you're interested in how the world works, how nations and individuals make decisions,
1:07.1	and in war, conflict and diplomacy, then this podcast for you. And frankly, we should all be
1:12.5	interested in those things. This podcast is for everyone. Listen to and follow the world with Richard
1:18.1	Engel and Yalda Hakim, now on your favourite podcast app. Hi everybody, welcome to Dan Snow's History.
1:26.0	There is no city on earth with as dramatic and suggestive a geographical setting than Istanbul.
1:36.3	Under its various names, Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul, it has sat at the crossroads of this part of the world for thousands of years.
1:46.3	It's there right slapbang on the only sea route in and out of the Black Sea.
1:53.9	So it could not be a better place to tax those merchants, all that trade flowing through
2:00.0	this essential artery. But it also sits at the
2:03.3	border between Europe and Asia. It controls that narrow sliver of water between them. The huge
2:09.3	East-West highway that we've done so many podcasts on, the famous Silk Road that's carried people
2:14.2	and religions and goods and ideas from China to Europe and Europe to
2:19.2	China. That passes through Constantinople. North, south, east, west. And that's why history has
	...

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