Byzantion

   Byzantion was settled in the seventh century B.C. by Megarians under a leader named Byzas, hence the city's original name. Situated at the juncture of Europe and Asia, where the Sea of Marmara meets the Bosporos (qq.v.), it possessed an easily defensible topography that included a large natural harbor, the Golden Horn (q.v.). This strategic location may have influenced Constantine I's (q.v.) decision to establish in 324 at Byzantion a Christian capital for the Roman Empire; it was dedicated officially in 330. Called "New Rome," it was soon referred to as Constantinople (q.v.), i.e., "the city of Constantine." The modern terms "Byzantium," (q.v.) and "Byzantine Empire," derive from the fact that Constantinople (modern Istanbul) was formerly called Byzantion.