How did Constantinople develop to a major urban centre in the Byzantine times
... In the centre of this vast empire was Rome, the largest city in the world at that time, with a population exceeding half a million people in the beginning of the first millennium. ... It was renamed “Constantinople” in honour of Constantine. At this time, Christianity becomes the official religion of the Empire, so Constantinople does not combine just Roman civilisation –as an imperial capital-, Greek/Hellenistic heritage –as a city of the Greek-speaking world and culture-, but is also linked directly with the establishment oh Christianity and its church. Although Byzantium was a small city, Constantine managed to make such a significant urban centre, that Constantinople beared no relationship to its predecessor apart from the common geographical position. We can divide the initial urban development of the city in three phases. ... However, Constantinople was different to Rome in many aspects. In Rome, the centre of the city was the forum whereas in Constantinople was the imperial Great Palace. ... In fact, the centre of Constantinople was a “city within a city”. Roads and big avenues were connecting the centre with the forums, the suburbs and the main harbour, the “Golden Horn”. Moreover, a complex aqueduct system started to develop. In order to keep Constantinople well protected, Constantine built walls 4km west of the centre. ... In order for Constantinople to become a major economic and urban centre, people from the eastern Greco-Roman world immigrated to the new capital in massive scales. Constantinople developed at such a rate that soon outmatched the decayed Rome -which eventually fell to the barbarians-, and became the biggest city in Europe at its time. In the fifth century, although the wealth of the city constantly increased, Constantinople came into a new short phase. ... The zone between the two walls was neither truly urban nor truly suburban. The third phase of Constantinople’s development began after AD450, when the city started differentiating from the previous traditional Roman centres. The heritage of Greek and Hellenistic times had stayed indelible and started surpassing the Latin element. While trading and urban development continued to thrive, more effort was put to make a city-milestone to Christianity. ... Justinian, probably the most important Byzantine emperor, rebuilt much of the city, the greatest example of all being the rebuilding of the vast dome of Agia Sophia. Under Justinian’s rule, Constantinople reached its peak.