This map shows two of the most prominent regions during Constantine’s rule. Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) was the namesake capital city of the Roman Empire founded in 330 and dissolved in 1453. 87 miles (140 km) to the south is Nicea (modern-day Iznik). The council of bishops that took place in 325 established a consensus on the Holy Trinity.
Hagia Sophia was established during Constantine’s reign as the largest, the most intricately designed Christian church in Constantinople. After the fall of the city to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the cathedral was transformed into a mosque and remained so until Turkey repurposed it into an all-inclusive museum in 1935.
“The Great Schism” in the 11th century split Europe down through the Mediterranean – it was essentially a “formal break between Rome and Constantinople.” (McCulloch, 362) The two opposing cities differed on interpretations of faith, practices, doctrines, icons, God’s will, and the nature of man. (Azkoul, 1994)
This extremely detailed (and frankly beautiful) map of the first crusade shows the Christian and Muslim territories as well as the exhaustive routes of the Crusaders. Directed by the Latin Church, the first campaign was designed and iniated to reclaim to Holy Land from Muslim forces.
