Simon uncovers the city's ancient Greek roots, maps its transformation into the imperial capital of a Christian Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great and reveals how ecclesiastical clashes forced Eastern and Western Churches apart.
Simon explores modern Istanbul in search of the last desperate centuries of Christian Byzantium, in which the once glorious city was buffeted by enemies in both East and West, and yet still produced a golden artistic renaissance. This is story of the Christian crusaders who destroyed the city, and the Ottoman Muslims who restored it to life as an imperial capital after the epic siege of 1453.
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore charts how Istanbul rose to become one of Islam's most powerful cities, and visits the mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman sultans, sharing stories of royal concubines and murderous bodyguards along the way. He also examines how the ancient city was transformed by the secular vision of the first President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the 20th century after he launched a programme of revolutionary social and political reform.
