Byzantine Cookery

Constantine I, the first Christian emperor of Rome (306–37), established his new eastern capital at a site that was unrivalled for its beauty and unmatched as a centre for administration and commerce. The Greek colony of Byzantion had prospered on its exports of tuna, mackerel, and other Black Sea produce. Now renamed Constantinopolis, it was destined to rule the later Roman (‘Byzantine’) Empire for 1,100 years. After the Turkish conquest in 1453 Constantinople (Istanbul) would be the Ottoman capital for nearly 500 years more.