Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Justinian dies; his lasting memorial is the church of Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya), which
was to be the centre of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for many centuries.
620
Heraclius I (r 610-41) changes the oicial language of the eastern empire from Latin to
Greek, inaugurating what we now refer to as The Byzantine Empire.
717
Leo III, a Syrian, becomes emperor after deposing Theodosius III; he introduces edicts
against the worship of images, ushering in the age of iconoclasm.
1204
Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice, leads the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in a defeat
of Constantinople; they sack the city and steal many of its treasures.
1261
Constantinople is recaptured by Michael VIII Palaeologus, a Byzantine aristocrat in ex-
ile who had risen to become co-emperor of Nicaea; the Byzantine Empire is restored.
1432
Mehmet II, son of the Ottoman sultan Murad II, is born in Edirne; he succeeds his fath-
er as sultan twice - once in 1444 and then permanently in 1451.
1453
Mehmet's army takes İstanbul and he assumes power in the city becoming known as
Fatih, 'The Conqueror'; he dies in 1481 and is succeeded by his son Beyazıt II.
1520
Beyazıt's grandson Süleyman, who would come to be known as 'The Magniicent', as-
cends to the throne and soon builds a reputation for his military conquests.
1556
Süleyman dies while on a military campaign in Hungary; his son Selim II assumes the
throne and becomes known as 'The Sot' for obvious reasons.
1729
