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He
was soon fascinated by the beauty of the area. Hearing of a
civilization living on the opposite Asian side, named
Chalcadeon (Kadikoy), he felt them to be ill-sighted. How
could they have not found and appreciated the wonderfully
convenient location just opposite them on the European
peninsula? So, the Oracle's prediction was confirmed, and he
so he built his town on the peninsula.
In 512 BC, the city was conquered by the Persian Emperor
Darius, until 479 BC, when it was captured by the Spartan
king Pausinias. Later, it passed into the hands of Athenian
rule. It wasn't long before the city came under siege again,
this time by Philip of Macedon in 340 BC, but the strong
fight put up by the Byzantines allowed them to defeat the
Macedonians. However, not long after, the son of Philip,
Alexander the Great, went on to capture the city in 334 BC.
Following his death, the city came under the power of the
Romans.
In the year 179 BC, the city was captured by the Rhodian,
Pergamonian and Bithinian forces, followed by a brief
takeover by Mithritades, the king of Pontus, before
returning again to Roman domination. It was the Roman
Emperor Septimius Severus who first built the city walls. In
324 AD, Constantine rose to power and during his reign the
city was enhanced and new city walls were added, further
beautified and enlarged by his successor, Theodosius the
Great.
The year
395 saw the Roman Empire split in two - to western and
eastern Rome, although the Western Roman Empire quickly
declined within a hundred years. The powerful Eastern Roman
Empire, or Byzantine Empire, choose Istanbul as its capital.
However, it came under Arab and Bulgarian rule for a short
time, although the city always remained the capital of the
Byzantine Empire during these periods. It also suffered from
the crusades.
Finally, in 1453, the Ottomans lead by Mehmet II conquered
the city and made it their capital, from 1453 until 1922.
When the Turkish Republic was established in 1923 by Ataturk,
Ankara became the capital. Nevertheless, Istanbul remains
the commercial and tourist center of the country today
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