What is the modern name of the city Constantinople?

The modern name of the city Constantinople is Istanbul, the Turkish name used for the city today.

Constantinople was founded as the refounded capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great in 330. It occupied the site of the older Greek city Byzantium and became the political, economic, and religious center of the Eastern Roman Empire, later called the Byzantine Empire. The name Constantinople means “City of Constantine.”

Istanbul developed from Greek expressions meaning “in the city” or “to Constantinople.” During Ottoman rule, Istanbul existed alongside more formal names such as Kostantiniyye. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, Istanbul became the standard international name, particularly during the twentieth century.

Constantinople is still the historically appropriate name for the city in Roman, Byzantine, and much Ottoman-era contexts, so it is not simply an outdated synonym in every sentence. Byzantium refers to the earlier settlement, while Istanbul refers to the modern Turkish metropolis. The city is also known in Greek as Konstantinoupoli or simply “the City.”