Byzantine necklace,

From a Constantinopolitan workshop, Late 6th–7th century,

Gold, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts and pearls,

Diameter: 23 cm,

Vessel for rose water by an Armenian artist living in Constantinople. 19th Century.

Not only does every country in Western Europe miraculously descended from it - from Brute, descendant of Aeneas, who apparently founded Britain, to Hector's son Astyanax, who apparently changed his name to Francus and founded France, to the Trojan city of Sicambria whose inhabitants... also founded France apparently

The French lords who sacked Constantinople in 1204 justified their actions as "avenging Troy" which must have been quite the shock to the Byzantines they were killing, who also claimed descent from Aeneas (side note : the Eastern Romans massacred a bunch of Catholics in Constantinople a few decades earlier, which would have theoretically been a much better excuse. Unfortunately, those Catholics were mostly Genoese and Pisan, and the Venetians who sponsored the Sack had a burning hatred for both Genoa and Pisa, their rivals on the waves)

Mehmet the Conqueror claimed that he had avenged Troy by taking Constantinople, nearly 246 years later... which at least made slightly more sense, because unlike Venice, Edirne was at least to the EAST

Fast forward to the 20th century, and the Brits signed the Armstice of Mudros with the Ottomans on HMS Agamemnon (AGAIN). In response, upon winning the Turkish War of Independence, Atatürk would famously say "Hector has been avenged."

Meet the voice actors of Constantinople!

There will be more like this for artists, animators, ect!