''Konstantinoupolis'' (, "

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

"), originally ''Heptalophos'' or ''Eptalofos'' (Ἑπτάλοφος, "City of Seven Hills"), was a Greek-language newspaper and periodical published in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The historian Johann Strauss wrote that ''Konstantinoupolis'' "was long to remain the most widely read Greek paper in the Ottoman Empire."
info page on book
at

Martin Luther University Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

) // Cited: p. 29 (PDF p. 31). An employee, Manuel Gedeon,Balta and Kavak, p
37
stated that the style of the periodical was similar to that of '' Revue des Deux Mondes''.Balta and Kavak, p
35
According to historians Evangelia Balta and Ayșe Kavak, ''Konstantinoupolis'' "went down in the history of the Istanbul press as setting the seal on /nowiki>Ottoman Greek newspaper and legal code publisher Demetrius Nicolaides]'s career in journalism".Balta and Kavak, p
3637
They also wrote that its popularity was reflected by the long length of publication.Balta and Kavak, p
55
The newspaper was published daily for much of its history, though initially it was a thrice weekly publication.

History

Ioannis M. Raptarchis owned a periodical named ''Heptalophos''. Nicolaides became the editor in 1864, and in 1865 Raptarchis sold it to him. Initially Nicolaides renamed it ''Eptalofos Nea''/''Nea Eptalofos'', with the first new issue in 15 January of that year.Balta and Kavak, p
33
Publication in a by newspaper format began in 1867, and after six months of newspaper publication it was given the name ''Konstantinoupolis''.Balta and Kavak, p
36
Publication as a periodical stopped in 1871. At times the Ottoman authorities enacted censorship, so publication did not occur for circa 1883 until 1884. As more and more Greeks adopted the

Megali Idea The Megali Idea () is a nationalist and irredentist concept that expresses the goal of reviving the Byzantine Empire, by establishing a Greek state, which would include the large Greek populations that were still under Ottoman rule after the ...

, clashing with Nicolaides' Ottomanist beliefs,Balta and Kavak, p
57
the readership decreased in the 1900s and 1910s. Nicolaides' son Nikolakis "Nikos" received the publication in June 1909 (mid-1327 in the Ottoman calendar) after their father asked the Ottoman Press office, in summer 1905 (start of Ottoman calendar 1326) to allow for a change of ownership as he was becoming elderly. Because Nicolaides tried to save the newspaper no matter what it took, he sold his possessions and lost his wealth.Balta and Kavak, p
56
Balta and Kavak concluded, therefore, that the newspaper also caused "his financial ruin". Publication stopped permanently in 1914, when

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out.

The ''Konstantinoupolis'' newspaper had political news and commentary for the first two pages, and letters to the editor and other news on the third page. Classifieds and announcements were on page four. The ''Nea Eptalofos'' periodical version had three sections. The first was for literary and science articles, some Greek versions of content from European journals and some initially published in ''Nea Eptalofos''. The second discussed ethnic Greek notable figures and home economics and other personal content.Balta and Kavak, p
34
The third was dedicated to poetry and literary fiction, with some translations from European publications, as well as tourism-related content and content about the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

.Balta and Kavak, p
3435
''Nea Eptalofos'' included German studies of the Turks, including a glossary of terminology related to administration, Oghuz Turkish history, and where the Turkish people came from. Balta and Kavak stated that this was the first publication in the Greek language to have such content.

Political stances

The newspaper favored the Rum Millet,Balta and Kavak, p
38
the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

, and Joachim III. Balta and Kavak stated that it had a "moderate stance" in regards to the " Bulgarian Question". The editors opposed illegal activity.Balta and Kavak, p
39

Publishing

The ''Eptalofos'' publishers published the Greek version of the ''

Düstur The Ottoman Code of Public Laws, also known as the Düstur or Destur or Doustour, was a set of laws in the Ottoman Empire.Strauss, "A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire," p. 23 (PDF p. 25) It includes the penal code as well as some civil and co ...

'', Ὀθωμανικοὶ Κώδηκες ("Othōmanikoi kōdēkes", meaning "Ottoman Codes", with Demotic Greek using "Οθωμανικοί Κώδικες"). In addition they published versions of ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' and ''

The Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

''.

Access

Libraries and archives with copies of the paper include the website of the

Hellenic Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme demo ...

Library, the

National Library of Greece The National Library of Greece () is the main public library of Greece, located in Athens. Founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1832, its mission is to locate, collect, organize, describe and preserve the perpetual evidence of Greek culture and its ...

, and other such facilities in Athens.

References

* - Volume 12 of Bamberger Orientstudien - Old - Hosted at (KOBV)

Notes

External links

{{commons category, Nea Eptalofos *
Eptalofos Nea
' - Articles in 1865 -

Veria Digital Library Veria (; ), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Beroea or Berea, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the re ...

*
Eptalofos Nea
' - Articles in 1867 -

1914 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire Defunct daily newspapers Defunct newspapers published in the Ottoman Empire Greek-language newspapers Constantinopolitan Greeks Publications disestablished in 1914