什麼是伊斯坦堡

舊稱君士坦丁堡（Constantinople）

古稱拜占庭（Byzantium）

土耳其城市和海港。處於進入黑海的半島上，是土耳其最大城市，位於博斯普魯斯海峽兩岸，亦同時分佔亞洲和歐洲。拜占庭於西元前8世紀時被建成希臘殖民地。西元前512年轉爲波斯帝國統治，後來的亞歷山大大帝，西元1世紀成爲羅馬人治下的一個自由城市。330年君士坦丁一世將該城定爲羅馬帝國的首都，後更名爲君士坦丁堡。它一直都是拜占庭帝國的首都，直到5世紀晚期羅馬帝國衰落爲止。6～13世紀常被波斯人、阿拉伯人、保加爾人和俄羅斯人圍攻。第四次十字軍時被佔領（1203），並受拉丁基督徒的統治。1261年重歸拜占庭統治。1453年成爲鄂圖曼帝國的都城，稱爲伊斯坦堡。1923年土耳其將首都移到安卡拉，君士坦丁堡於1930年正式更名爲伊斯坦堡。該城許多歷史古蹟在中世紀城牆圍到的城內（斯坦布爾）。伊斯坦堡偉大的建築包括了聖索菲亞教堂、蘇萊曼清真寺和布魯清真寺。其教育機構有伊斯坦堡大學（1453年成立），爲土耳其最古老的大學。面積254平方公里。人口約8,260,438（1997）。

Istanbul

ancientByzantiumCity and seaport (pop., 1996 est.: 7,774,000), Turkey. Situated on a peninsula at the entrance to the Black Sea, and Turkey's largest city, it lies on either side of the Bosporus and thus is located in both Europe and Asia. Byzantium was founded as a Greek colony in the 8th century BC. Passing to the Persian empire in 512 BC and then to Alexander the Great, it became a free city under the Romans in the 1st century AD. Constantine I made the city the seat of the Roman empire in 330, later naming it Constantinople. It remained the capital of the Byzantine empire after the fall of Rome in the late 5th century. In the 6th-13th century it was frequently besieged by Persians, Arabs, Bulgars, and Russians. It was captured by the Fourth Crusade (1203) and turned over to Latin Christian rule. It was returned to Byzantine rule in 1261. In 1453 it was made the capital of the Ottoman empire and dubbed Istanbul. The Turkish capital was moved to Ankara in 1923, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930. Many of the city's historic sites are located in the medieval walled city (Stamboul). Among its architectural treasures are the Hagia Sophia, the Mosque of Süleyman (1550-57), and the Blue Mosque. Its educational institutions include the University of Istanbul (founded 1453), Turkey's oldest university.