Studies on Byzantine Istanbul
The first book on the Byzantine Constantinople was published in the 16th century but the real interest in the subject started only in the second half of the 19th century. In the early books, there was a tendency to document the physical remains of the city and to determine what was where. Some of these early studies tried to reconstruct the physical topography of the Byzantine Istanbul by making extensive use of textual sources. By the 1970s, the approach to the study of this city changed considerably and the topics such as its socio-economic structure, administration, relation with its hinterland and the mindset of its inhabitants started to attract attention. In the later years, the perspective was widened to include the patrons, ethnic and religious groups, the representation of power and authority and the role of the women in the city. Altough a bit delayed, the studies on Byzantine Istanbul in Turkey followed a similar process. There is now a shift from documenting the physical remains of the city to exploring its other facets. Today, successful exhibitions, conferences and publications about Constantinople, taking place in the very city, make up for the time lost due to the earlier prejudice against this subject.
ELİF KESER KAYAALP
