Constantinople (now called Istanbul) was considered to be the seat of power in the Golden Days of territorial expansion, originally founded and established by the Roman Emperor Constantine the First; it was completed around the year 330 AD, some six years since the emperor first started rebuilding the city.

Constantinople used to be the city of Byzantium, originally founded by the Greeks in 671-662 BC, which was in turn conveniently located where Europe and Asia are connected (both by land and by water).

Not long after it was initially established, Emperor Constantine the First declared it as the new capital of the Roman Empire, as it was strategically situated where a ruler could have the benefit of luxuries and convenient access to his armies and territories.

Sometime in the year 425 AD up until the middle of that century, the city of Constantinople became the largest and most influential city of the Roman Empire, with the Emperors choosing to stay in the main palace of this capital. In the years of Emperor Justinian’s rule, Constantinople became the center of conquest and re-conquest. Following those years were ages of both victory and defeat, including the Battle of Manzikert (1017) and the Comneni (1081 to 1185), which strengthened the Empire’s central government; though at a certain point, Constantinople ended up under Greek rule.

Considered the capital of Christianity for centuries, it was eventually captured by the Latins (1204), before the Nicaeans took it from them (1261). Constantinople continued to exist until its fall in the year 1453. To this day, however, Constantinople’s culture is still apparent in territories it had touched.