The Etymology of Istanbul: Making Optimal Use of the Evidence

Abstract

The discussion of the origin of the Turkish city name Istanbul that began wellover a century ago has divided scholars into two groups: those who accept the Greekphrase εἰς τὴν πόλιν (or similar) as the source of the name, vs. those who try to traceit back directly to Greek Κωνσταντινούπολις ~ Κωνσταντινόπολις. The writings ofboth parties are encumbered by poor Turcology, inaccurate attention to early recordsand an overly narrow view of medieval Anatolian Greek phonetics. More scrupulousexamination of all three types of evidence has revealed a more interesting picture thanhas previously been suggested.