Istanbul is widely recognized as the name of Turkey's most well known city, but it was not always this way, and even today some confusion over its proper name still exists. The confusion is rooted in the various names the city assumed under the Ottomans in the centuries after their conquest of the city in 1453. Although the Ottomans did not purposely change the city's name, they opted to make "Constantinople" into a more Turkish style name "Konstantiniye" (which loosely translates as "of Constantine"), however variations on Konstantiniye soon cropped up.

"Stanbulin," (Greek for "to the city") once commonly found on road signs directing travelers to the capital, was punned by devout Turks into Islambol, where "Islam abounds." The names Islambol and Konstantiniye were used interchangeably in Ottoman documents up until the empire's demise in 1923. Westerners continued to refer to the city as Constantinople well into the 20th century. In the 19th century, however, the city's large foreign expatriate community took to calling the old city Stamboul. Western accounts of the old city during this period make regular references to the name.
Many times the Germans refer to Istanbul as 'Konstantinopel', the French and the British as 'Constantinople' and the Italians as 'Constantinopoli'. Although the official name of the city has, ever since the establishment of the Republic, been 'Istanbul' and great sensitivity shown on this subject, Europe resists the adoption of the name 'Istanbul'.

According to a popular story that has existed for many years, the Byzantines did not refer to the city by its actual name, but, because of it size, simply as 'Polis' (the City), and when they wanted to say 'to the City', they said 'eist enpolin' (is-tin-polin), which was the (possible) origin of the name 'Istanbul'. Recent research has shown that the name 'Istanbul' was used if not during the Byzantine period, at least during the 11th century and that the Turks knew the city by this name. Istanbul has had other names at various times but none of them was used widely or for any great length of time. During the Turkish period the names 'Dersaadet' and 'Deraliye' were used. Some official correspondence and coins had the transcription of 'Konstantinoupolis' or 'Konstantiniye', although the use of the name 'Konstantiniye' was prohibited at one time during the Ottoman period by Sultan Mustafa III, its use continued, to be abandoned during the republican period.

The name controversy was assumed to be settled when Atatürk officially renamed the city Istanbul in the 1920s. It took Westerners a few decades to accept the name, as Constantinople continued to appear on maps well into the 1960s, when it began to appear in parentheses next to Istanbul. The Greeks still do not use the Turkish name, and Konstantinopolis continues to be used on maps and road signs in Greece today.





Artist: Trevor Horn Orchestra Lyrics
Song: Istanbul (Not Constantinople) Lyrics

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul not Constantinople
Been a long time gone
Old Constantinople's still has Turkish delight
On a moonlight night

Every gal in Constantinople
Is a Miss-stanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it, I can't say
(People just liked it better that way)

Take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks'

Istanbul!!

Istanbul!!

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it, I can't say
(People just liked it better that way)

Take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks'

Istanbul!!

source:karalahana.com

Thanks for sharing this with us, Jannissary!

I knew the story more short like this.. Istanbul's first name used to be Byzantium. It was a Greek city, funded by colonists from Megara in 667 before Christ. They called the city Byzantion because of the name of their king, Byzas. Byzantium is the Latin version of Byzantion. It was a wealthy city until it was conquered by the Macedonians. Several centuries later, the Macedonians were defeated by the Romans and became an important and wealthy Roman city.
Emperor Constantine the Great, wanted to move the capital of the Roman empire (Rome ofcourse) more to the important east. He gave Byzantion a new name: Nova Roma (new rome). Under the people, the name Constantinopel came up soon. It's the Greek translation of 'The city of Constantine'.

After that, it changed its name to Istanbul the way Janissary has shared with us



I'm really looking forward to go there in summer!! Btw, many Dutch people still think that Istanbul is the capital of Turkey and not Ankara!!

In our newspaper i once read under a picture: "Demonstrations against Mohammed-cartoons in the capital of Turkey, Istanbul"

What a fools :S

Thank you very much deli_kizin. I agree with you. even though they dont know where is the capital city of Turkey, they write about us

Conquest of İstanbul was a turning point. Fatih Sultan mehmet was only 20 years old when he conquered İstanbul. and he gived a very importend message to human:

AHDNAMA OF THE FATIH SULTAN MEHMET

MEHMET THE SON OF MURAT KHAN, ALWAYS VICTORIOUS!

THE COMMAND OF THE HONORABLE, SUBLIME SULTAN'S SIGN AND SHINING SEAL OF THE CONQUEROR OF THE WORLD IS AS FOLLOWS:

I, THE SULTAN MEHMET - KHAN INFORM ALL THE WORLD THAT THE ONES WHO POSSESS THIS IMPERIAL EDICT, THE BOSNIAN FRANCISCANS, HAVE GOT INTO MY GOOD GRACES, SO I COMMAND:

LET NOBODY BOTHER OR DISTURB THOSE WHO ARE MENTIONED, NOT THEIR CHURCHES. LET THEM DWELL IN PEACE IN MY EMPIRE. AND LET THOSE WHO HAVE BECOME REFUGEES BE AND SAFE. LET THEM RETURN AND LET THEM SETTLE DOWN THEIR MONASTERIES WITHOUT FEAR IN ALL THE COUNTRIES OF MY EMPIRE.

NEITHER MY ROYAL HIGHNESS, NOR MY VIZIERS OR EMPLOYEES, NOR MY SERVANTS, NOR ANY OF THE CITIZENS OF MY EMPIRE SHALL INSULT OR DISTURB THEM. LET NOBODY ATTACK INSULT OR ENDANGER NEITHER THEIR LIFE OR THEIR PROPERTY OR THE PROPERTY OF THEIR CHURCH. EVEN IF THEY BRING SOMEBODY FROM ABROAD INTO MY COUNTRY, THEY ARE ALLOWED TO DO SO.

AS, THUS, I HAVE GRACIOUSLY ISSUED THIS IMPERIAL EDICT, HEREBY TAKE MY GREAT OATH.

IN THE NAME OF THE CREATOR OF THE EARTH AND HEAVEN, THE ONE WHO FEEDS ALL CREATURES, AND IN THE NAME OF THE SEVEN MUSTAFAS AND OUR GREAT MESSENGER, AND IN THE NAME OF THE SWORD I PUT, NOBODY SHALL DO CONTRARY TO WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN, AS LONG AS THEY ARE OBEDIENT AND FAITHFUL TO MY COMMAND.

This Ahdnama, which brings independence and tolerance to the ones who are from another religion, belief and race, is written by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, after the conquest of Bosnia-Herzogovina, in May 28'th, 1463. The origin of the Ahdnama is at the Franciscan Catholic Church in Foznica, in Bosnia-Herzogovina. The Ahdnama has been recently arised and published by the Ministry of Culture, for the 700'th anniversary of the foundation of the State of Ottoman. The edict was issued the Sultan Mehmet II El Fatih to protect the basic rights of Bosnian people when he conquered Bosnia-Herzogovina in 1463. The original edict is still kept in Franciscan Monastery in the vicinity of Fojnica. The Ahdnama of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, oldest Human Rights Declaration known in history, written in 1463, it was announced. 326 years before 1789 French Revolution, 485 years before 1948 International Human Rights Declaration.