Istanbul, Not Constantinople

“Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul not Constantinople
Been a long time gone
Old Constantinople’s still has Turkish delight
On a moonlit night

Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you’ve a date in Constantinople
She’ll be waiting in Istanbul”

On March 28, 1930, Constantinople was renamed Istanbul.

Constantinople was a part of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century. When the First World War broke out, the Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of the Central Powers. On April 24, 1915, Armenian intellectuals began to be deported from Constantinople and the surrounding areas. This event marked the beginning of the Armenian genocide.

Ottoman and Turkish policies quickly began to focus on policies of ‘Turkification’ and ethnic cleansing. Between 1914 and 1927, the Christian population declined from 450,000 to 240,000. As a final act, the Ottoman Empire had erased almost half of the Christian population.

While this was happening, the Central Powers were defeated in World War One, and the Armistice of Mudros was signed on October 30, 1918. The Allies began occupying Constantinople by the end of November.

The Allied Powers dissolved the Ottoman Parliament in April 1920. From there, an Ottoman delegation was forced to sign the Treaty of Sevres, which ceded large parts of the Ottoman Empire to France, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Italy. During this time, the Turkish War of Independence broke out.

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24, 1923. This treaty officially settled the conflict that initially existed between the no longer existing Ottoman Empire and the Allied Powers. Turkish forces were allowed to enter the city on October 6, 1923, also known as the Liberation Day of Istanbul. On October 29, the Assembly of Turkey declared the establishment of the Turkish Republic.

In reality, Constantinople had been referred to as Istanbul since it was declared to be the Capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1453. However, the name had yet to stick on the worldwide map. On March 28, 1930, Turkey insisted that the world must refer to Constanople as Istanbul.

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it, I can’t say
(People just liked it better that way)

Take me back to Constantinople
No, you can’t go back to Constantinople
Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks’
‘Stanbul!”