Istanbul
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey.
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History
The city was founded as Byzantium by Greeks around 667 BCE. It was conquered by Darius I during the Scythian campaign, but reclaimed during the ensuing Greco-Persian Wars.
Septimius Severus conquered the city and rebuilt it. Constantine I chose the location to serve as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. He established Constantinople there in 330.
The Hagia Sophia was built just a few decades later to serve as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and therefore the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Theodosius II order the construction of massive walls around the city in the 5th century.
The Fourth Crusade sacked the city in 1204, and it remained under occupation until it was reclaimed by Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261.
The Ottoman Empire rapidly expanded into Byzantine territory, until only the city itself remained under Byzantine control. The population declined as the war front moved in. Mehmed II finally conquered Constantinople in 1453 and established it as the Ottoman capital.
After the empire fell, Ankara was made the capital of Turkey instead. The city was renamed to Istanbul in 1930.
Government
Municipal elections are held simultaneously across Turkey every five years. The province of Istanbul is comprised of 39 districts, each electing their own mayor. There is also the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality covering all of these districts; elections for more than 300 council seats are held on the same day. The municipal council then elects a mayor and an executive committee.
The provincial government is led by a governor appointed by the president.
Istanbul and Ankara are the only provinces that elect 3 deputies to the national assembly.