The History of Byzantium

Before Istanbul was Istanbul.
Before Constantinople was Constantinople.

There was Byzantium.

In this first session of our three-part series on the history of Istanbul, we’ll travel back to the city’s earliest phase when it was a small Greek colony perched at the edge of two continents.

This is not a lecture. It’s a conversation.

We’ll explore how geography shaped destiny, why this seemingly modest settlement mattered, and how the foundations of a global city were quietly laid centuries before emperors and sultans arrived.