26 Posts: B; Byzantium

Here is the link to the introduction for these 26 posts:
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Byzantium, originally called Byzantion, was a city belonging to Ancient Greece but was never actually in Greece. It is the modern-day Istanbul, a city in Turkey. The history of Byzantium can be traced back as far as 657 BC but a lot of it is legend. Byzantium was founded by a king or leader from Megara named Byzas, hence the name Byzantion. Byzantium became a trading city but when conflict arose in 196 AD due to Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (which just reminds me of Harry Potter) deciding he wanted a go at the place. The city changed hands but soon resumed its flourishing ways under the new emperor. By 330, however, Byzantium had attracted a different Roman Emperor, Constantine I, who refounded the place as an imperial residence. Constantinople was named after him but it wasn’t until after he died. Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire or, what most like to call, the Byzantine Empire.

So. The Byzantine Empire was a Roman ruled, Greek speaking place in Turkey. It was up and running from 330 until 1453, when the Fall of Constantinople took place and was replaced by the  Ottoman Turks. For the 1100 years or so that the Byzantine Empire was going, there were many wars, religious disputes and crusades. Now, Byzantium is Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, though the capital is actually Ankara.

Thanks for reading,
StephAndAllThat

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