This article was taken from the December 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by ...

Istanbul is a rare place. It's the only city to straddle Europe and the Middle East; the Turkish metropolis is simultaneously an Asian and a European city. This geography helps explain why it was once ...

In 1453, Constantinople was no longer the metropolis of Justinian. Its population had shrunk dramatically. Entire districts were fields. The Hippodrome lay in ruins. The Great Palace was largely ...

The Surp Krikor Lusavoriç church stands on the coastal road in the Istanbul neighborhood of Kuzguncuk. Below it lies the waters of the Bosphorus, to the northeast stands the intercontinental ...

Constantinople’s fall, Dunkirk evacuation, Everest summit, Einstein’s relativity, and key births of Kennedy and Patrick Henry.

On 6 April 1453, the Siege of Constantinople began under the command of Mehmed II, an Ottoman sultan who was just 21 years old but determined to see through his father’s dream of capturing the ...

In the years leading up to 1914, Europe’s Great Powers became embroiled in an arms race driven by French and Russian fears of German strength on land and British fears of German ambitions at sea.

On Tuesday morning, 20 Jumada al-Ulaa, 857H; may 29, 1453AD, the Ottoman sultan, Mohammed Alfateh launched his last attack to conquer constantinople, after a siege that lasted more than 50 days. When ...

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