Location:
Turkey
Coordinates:
41.0082, 28.9784
Events at Constantinople (49)
330
ID: 4756
Constantine founds Constantinople - 'New Rome' becomes Eastern capital, Christian city from beginning
ID: 4756
330
ID: 5924
Constantine allegedly transfers Palladium to Constantinople - legend says he secretly moved it from Rome to protect new capital, buried under Column of Constantine
ID: 5924
336
ID: 5004
Death of Arius in Constantinople - dies suddenly in a latrine before being received back into communion, seen as divine judgment
ID: 5004
337
ID: 4757
Death of Constantine - empire divided among three sons, beginning of East-West division
ID: 4757
447
ID: 4731
Attila devastates Eastern Roman Empire - defeats army, earthquakes destroy Constantinople's walls during invasion
ID: 4731
482
ID: 5018
Henoticon of Emperor Zeno - attempted compromise between Chalcedonians and Monophysites, causes Acacian Schism with Rome
ID: 5018
532
ID: 4758
Nika Riots - chariot racing factions nearly overthrow Justinian, Theodora's courage saves throne
ID: 4758
534
ID: 4763
Corpus Juris Civilis completed - Justinian's legal code becomes foundation of Western law
ID: 4763
541
ID: 4762
Plague of Justinian begins - kills 25-50 million, emperor himself nearly dies
ID: 4762
553
ID: 5023
Second Council of Constantinople - Three Chapters condemned under Justinian, Theodore of Mopsuestia posthumously anathematized
ID: 5023
567
ID: 4806
Narses recalled to Constantinople - Empress Sophia insults him: 'eunuch should spin with women', Narses vows revenge
ID: 4806
600
ID: 5926
Byzantines believe Palladium protects Constantinople - city considered unconquerable while possessing sacred statue, falls only after Fourth Crusade (1204)
ID: 5926
610
ID: 4764
Heraclius becomes emperor - finds empire near collapse from Persian invasions
ID: 4764
638
ID: 5024
Ecthesis of Heraclius - imperial edict promoting Monothelitism (one will in Christ), later condemned
ID: 5024
648
ID: 5025
Type of Emperor Constans II - forbids discussion of one or two wills in Christ, persecution of orthodox
ID: 5025
653
ID: 5027
St. Maximus the Confessor arrested - brought to Constantinople, refuses to accept Monothelitism
ID: 5027
678
ID: 4767
First Arab siege of Constantinople fails - Greek fire saves city, Umayyad expansion stopped
ID: 4767
680
ID: 5030
Third Council of Constantinople (Sixth Ecumenical) begins - will condemn Monothelitism and posthumously censure Pope Honorius
ID: 5030
681
ID: 5031
Sixth Council concludes - defines two wills in Christ, condemns Monothelite patriarchs and censures Pope Honorius for negligence
ID: 5031
718
ID: 4768
Second Arab siege of Constantinople fails - Leo III saves Europe from Islamic conquest
ID: 4768
726
ID: 4769
Leo III begins Iconoclasm - bans religious images, century of theological civil war begins
ID: 4769
741
ID: 5032
Constantine V Copronymus becomes emperor - even more violent iconoclast than his father Leo III, called 'dung-named'
ID: 5032
754
ID: 5033
Iconoclast Council of Hieria - Constantine V convenes council declaring images idolatrous, no patriarchs attend
ID: 5033
761
ID: 5034
Martyrdom of St. Stephen the Younger - monk dragged through streets and torn to pieces for defending icons
ID: 5034
767
ID: 5035
Mass persecution of iconodules - Constantine V forces monks to marry in hippodrome, many martyred
ID: 5035
815
ID: 5037
Second Iconoclasm begins - Emperor Leo V revives icon destruction after Nicaea II restoration
ID: 5037
843
ID: 5038
Restoration of Icons - Empress Theodora definitively restores icon veneration, Feast of Orthodoxy established
ID: 5038
858
ID: 5039
Photius usurps Patriarchate of Constantinople - St. Ignatius deposed, Photius a layman consecrated in six days
ID: 5039
863
ID: 5040
Pope Nicholas I deposes Photius - declares Ignatius rightful patriarch, Photius responds by 'deposing' the Pope
ID: 5040
867
ID: 4771
Basil I founds Macedonian dynasty - begins Byzantine golden age, murders predecessor
ID: 4771
867
ID: 5041
Photius adds filioque controversy - accuses West of heresy for saying Spirit proceeds from Father 'and Son'
ID: 5041
869
ID: 5042
Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eighth Ecumenical) - condemns Photius, restores Ignatius, last council recognized by East and West
ID: 5042
877
ID: 5043
Photius restored after Ignatius dies - gains papal recognition through deception, holds false council
ID: 5043
886
ID: 5044
Final deposition of Photius - Emperor Leo VI deposes him, dies in exile unrepentant
ID: 5044
992
ID: 5101
Golden Bull of 992 - Byzantine Emperor Basil II grants Venice extensive trading privileges in Constantinople
ID: 5101
1025
ID: 4774
Death of Basil II - Byzantine Empire at medieval peak, stretches from Danube to Syria
ID: 4774
1053
ID: 5046
Michael Cerularius revives anti-Latin measures - closes Latin churches in Constantinople, attacks azymes and filioque
ID: 5046
1054
ID: 4775
Great Schism - Papal legate and Patriarch excommunicate each other, permanent Christian division
ID: 4775
1054
ID: 5047
July 16, 1054
Great Schism - Cardinal Humbert excommunicates Cerularius, who excommunicates papal legates, East-West split formalized
ID: 5047
1059
ID: 5048
Death of Michael Cerularius - dies unrepentant, schism continues and deepens
ID: 5048
1082
ID: 5106
Golden Bull of Alexios I - grants Venice duty-free trade throughout Byzantine Empire for helping against Normans
ID: 5106
1095
ID: 4777
Alexios I requests Western help - triggers First Crusade, unintended consequences follow
ID: 4777
1182
ID: 4779
Massacre of the Latins - Constantinople mob kills thousands of Western merchants, deepens East-West hatred
ID: 4779
1204
ID: 4780
Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople - worst disaster in Byzantine history, treasures looted, empire fragments
ID: 4780
1204
ID: 5108
Venice sacks Constantinople - directs Fourth Crusade against Byzantium, steals treasures including four bronze horses
ID: 5108
1261
ID: 4781
Michael VIII retakes Constantinople - Byzantine Empire restored but permanently weakened
ID: 4781
1341
ID: 4782
Byzantine civil war begins - empire exhausts itself while Ottomans expand in Anatolia
ID: 4782
1453
ID: 4784
Constantine XI dies on walls - last emperor refuses surrender, body never found, empire ends
ID: 4784
1453
ID: 5743
Ottomans capture Constantinople - spice prices triple in Europe, desperate search for alternative routes begins
ID: 5743