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The Story of Turkey: From Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire to Today — Fexingo History
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Latest episodes
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The Tulip Era: How Istanbul’s Aristocracy Chose Art Over War
October 10, 2026 · 10 minWhile previous episodes have traced the military might of the Ottoman Empire and the political restructuring under Atatürk, Episode 260 turns its gaze to a brief but dazzling period of peace and aesthetic refinement known as the Lale…
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The Sultan's Secret: How Suleiman Lost His Heir
October 9, 2026 · 10 minIn this episode of The Story of Turkey, we uncover the dramatic fall from grace of Mehmed, the favored son of Suleiman the Magnificent. Once groomed to inherit the Ottoman throne and hailed as a military prodigy at Diyarbekir, Mehmed’s…
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Istanbul's Secret Tunnels: How Water Built an Empire
October 8, 2026 · 7 minWe often think of Istanbul’s history in terms of sultans, battles, and treaties, but the city’s survival has always depended on something less visible: water. In this episode, we explore the underground cisterns that kept Constantinople…
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The Great Schism: How the Ecumenical Patriarchate Survived
October 7, 2026 · 10 minAfter centuries of navigating the complex political landscape of the Ottoman Empire, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople emerged as a unique institution bridging religious and secular authority. This episode explores how the…
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Istanbul's Hidden Waters: The City’s Secret Life
October 6, 2026 · 7 minThis episode explores the subterranean world beneath Istanbul, focusing on the Yerebatan Sarnıcı, also known as the Basilica Cistern. We trace how Justinian I ordered its construction in the sixth century to secure Constantinople’s water…
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The Great Fire of Istanbul: Burning the Old City
October 5, 2026 · 12 minIn this episode, we explore the catastrophic Great Fire of Istanbul in July 1865, an event that reshaped the physical and social landscape of the Ottoman capital. While earlier episodes covered the architectural grandeur of the Topkapi…
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The Great Schism: How the Ecumenical Patriarchate Survived
October 4, 2026 · 8 minThis episode explores the intricate survival of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople after the Ottoman conquest. While Sultan Mehmed II is often remembered for his military prowess, his establishment of the Millet system allowed…
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The Treaty of Lausanne: How Modern Turkey Was Drawn
October 3, 2026 · 8 minEpisode 253 takes us to the quiet, smoke-filled rooms of the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, during 1922 and 1923. While previous episodes covered the collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate and Atatürk’s military victories, this…
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The Armenian Genocide: Origins and Aftermath
October 2, 2026 · 7 minThis episode examines the systematic destruction of the Armenian population within the Ottoman Empire during World War I, focusing on the political machinations of the Committee of Union and Progress. We trace the escalation from the…
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The Ottoman Tax Farmer Who Bankrupted an Empire
October 1, 2026 · 6 minIn this episode, we explore the lives of the tax farmers who kept the Ottoman economy afloat while quietly undermining its stability. We meet men like Yahya Efendi and the complex system of mütesellim and timar that defined revenue…
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Istanbul's Forgotten Armenian Quarter: Surp Prgyç
September 30, 2026 · 9 minThis episode explores the vibrant, often overlooked history of Istanbul’s Armenian neighborhoods, particularly the Surp Prgyç district in Balat and Fener. We trace how these communities thrived as centers of trade, printing, and diplomacy…
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The Last Caliph: Abdülmejid II's Quiet Exile
September 29, 2026 · 12 minEpisode 249 follows the final chapter of the House of Osman after the abolition of the Sultanate in November 1922. While Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Grand National Assembly dismantled centuries of imperial power, Abdülmejid II remained…
About the show
From the eastern Roman capital of Constantinople to the sprawling Ottoman sultanate and the modern Turkish republic, the land that is now Turkey has been a crossroads of empires, faiths, and cultures for over two millennia. Lucas and Luna guide listeners through this layered history, starting with the foundation of Byzantium, the reign of Justinian and Theodora, and the construction of Hagia Sophia. They explore the rise of the Seljuks, the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 under Mehmed II, and the empire's golden age under Suleiman the Magnificent. The show dives deep into the Tanzimat reforms, the Armenian Genocide, the partition of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, and the Turkish War of Independence led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Later episodes cover the population exchange with Greece, Turkey's transition to a multiparty system, the 1980 military coup, the rise of political Islam, and the recent shift to an executive presidency. Why does this story matter today? Because Turkey's struggle between secularism and religious identity, its role in NATO, its European Union aspirations, and its complex relationship with the Kurdish minority echo the very tensions that defined its imperial past. Listen as Lucas and Luna examine the enduring legacy of the Ottoman millet system, the contested memory of the Gallipoli campaign, and the ever-present ghost of Byzantium in Istanbul's streets.
#ByzantineEmpire #OttomanEmpire #TurkishHistory #Constantinople #HagiaSophia #SuleimanTheMagnificent #Ataturk #FallOfConstantinople #Tanzimat #ArmenianGenocide #TurkishRepublic #Gallipoli #Kemalism #TurkishWarOfIndependence #Bosphorus #History #WorldHistory #FexingoHistory
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