Topkapı Palace Historical Timeline

Construction began under Sultan Mehmed II shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, with the palace serving as the empire's political and ceremonial heart from the 1460s onward. Over the following four centuries, successive sultans expanded and modified the complex, adding new courtyards, pavilions, and the Harem quarters, reflecting the empire's changing needs and tastes across generations.

Topkapı remained the seat of Ottoman power until Sultan Abdülmecid I moved the court to the newly built Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, after which Topkapı gradually declined in day-to-day administrative importance. Following the abolition of the Ottoman sultanate in 1922 and the founding of the Turkish Republic, the palace was converted into a museum in 1924 on the order of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, opening its treasury, relics, and imperial chambers to the public for the first time.