Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 47:11-48:12

Was the Ottoman capital still called Constantinople?

Constantinople remained a widely used historical name, while the official push toward Istanbul belongs to a later Turkification campaign.

ConstantinopleHistorical NamesIstanbulNationalismOttoman EmpirePlace NamesTurkification
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Question

In 1827 was the city still called Constantinople, or was that only the Greek name?

Short answer

Constantinople remained widely used; the official nationalist shift toward Istanbul came in the twentieth century.

Notes

Place names can vary by language and political moment. Istanbul was already used, but Constantinople remained a normal name for the Ottoman capital in nineteenth-century European diplomacy. The Treaty of Constantinople therefore reflects contemporary usage rather than a purely Greek label. The formal nationalist push to standardize Istanbul came much later, during twentieth-century Turkification.