This volume deals with the history, topography and monuments of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and one of the greatest urban centres ever known, throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. It contains 21 papers that emanate from an international workshop which was held at Istanbul in 1999. Divided into eight sections, the collection addresses a variety of interconnected topics, ranging from topography to ritual and ideology, archaeology, religious and secular architecture, patronage, commercial life, social organization, women's roles, communities, urban development and planning. Partly drawing on new archaeological and textual evidence, partly directing new questions to or reinterpreting previously available sources, the papers presented here fill important gaps in our knowledge of Constantinople and enhance our conception of the city as both a physical and social entity.