In its long history, Istanbul (earlier known as Byzantium and Constantinople) has been the capital of the Roman, the Byzantine, the Latin (established by Crusaders who sacked the city), and the Ottoman empires. Under Sultan Mehmed II (b. 1432, reigned 1444–1446 and 1451–1481), who conquered the city, and his great-grandson, Suleiman the Magnificent (b. 1494, reigned 1520–1566), the city was transformed by new palaces and mosques. Suleiman made the Ottoman Empire one of the world’s foremost powers, with Istanbul as its cultural center. This image from the sixteenth century, the golden age of the Ottoman empire, provides a valuable record of Istanbul’s appearance at that time.