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Description
The Shield of Byzantium, of Constantinople, and of Istanbul. The city was founded as Byzantion in Thrace by Greek settlers in 657 BC, on suggestion of the Oracle of Delphi. The city was named after their first king, Byzas of Megara. The Flag of Byzantium featured the Bow of the virgin goddess Artemis, depicted as a crescent moon.

The star's origin is in 340 BC, when the Byzantines and the Athenians were besieged by King Phillip II of Macedon. The virgin goddess Hecate Light-Bearer, it is said, thwarted one attack by producing a bright light, presumably a star, in the sky. The star was later associated with the Star of Bethlehem and the Virgin Mother Mary, when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity.

Renamed Nova Roma (New Rome), then Constantinopolis (City of Constantine), it was known as such until the founding of the Republic of Turkey, when it was named Istanbul, taken from the Greek "eis ten polin," meaning, "to the city." The flag of the city was adopted by the Ottoman Empire, and later the Republic of Turkey, changing the eight-pointed star to a five-pointed one.

The crown is the supposed mitre of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (circa 963), which is kept today in a monastery on Mt. Athos, Greece.

Description
The Shield of Byzantium, of Constantinople, and of Istanbul. The city was founded as Byzantion in Thrace by Greek settlers in 657 BC, on suggestion of the Oracle of Delphi. The city was named after their first king, Byzas of Megara. The Flag of Byzantium featured the Bow of the virgin goddess Artemis, depicted as a crescent moon.

The star's origin is in 340 BC, when the Byzantines and the Athenians were besieged by King Phillip II of Macedon. The virgin goddess Hecate Light-Bearer, it is said, thwarted one attack by producing a bright light, presumably a star, in the sky. The star was later associated with the Star of Bethlehem and the Virgin Mother Mary, when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity.

Renamed Nova Roma (New Rome), then Constantinopolis (City of Constantine), it was known as such until the founding of the Republic of Turkey, when it was named Istanbul, taken from the Greek "eis ten polin," meaning, "to the city." The flag of the city was adopted by the Ottoman Empire, and later the Republic of Turkey, changing the eight-pointed star to a five-pointed one.

The crown is the supposed mitre of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (circa 963), which is kept today in a monastery on Mt. Athos, Greece.