Studia Etymologica Cracoviensiavol.20:221245Krakw2015doi:10.4467/20843836SE.15.015.2801

www.ejournals.eu/SEC

MarekSTACHOWSKI(Krakw)/RobertWOODHOUSE(Brisbane)

THEETYMOLOGYOFSTANBUL: MAKINGOPTIMALUSEOFTHEEVIDENCE*

Abstract.ThediscussionoftheoriginoftheTurkishcitynamestanbulthatbeganwelloveracenturyagohasdividedscholarsintotwogroups:thosewhoaccepttheGreekphrase(orsimilar)asthesourceofthename,vs.thosewhotrytotraceitbackdirectlytoGreek ~ .ThewritingsofbothpartiesareencumberedbypoorTurcology,inaccurateattentiontoearlyrecordsandanoverlynarrowviewofmedievalAnatolianGreekphonetics.Morescrupulousexami-nationofallthreetypesofevidencehasrevealedamoreinterestingpicturethanhaspreviouslybeensuggested.

Keywords:genericsasplacenames,transcription,transliteration,vowelharmony,em-phaticconsonants

1.Apartfromafolk-etymologicalexplanationofthenamestanbul as a re-shapedvariantofanallegedlyoriginalformslambol,lit.lotsofIslam,fullofIslam(which in reality is a distortion of stanbul itself)1 or slambul,lit.findIslam,2 the town name stanbulistraditionallyaccountedforasareflexofthesupposedMiddleGreeksyntagmtothecity.Theveryforminwhichthisexplanationissofrequentlygivenalreadycontainstwomisconceptionswhich,whencombined

* TheinvestigationpresentedheregrewoutofMarekStachowskiscriticismoftheturcologicalbasisandotherfeaturesofthe2008paperbyHansackplusarequesttoRobertWoodhousetochecktheGreekmaterialcitedinthepaperwithaviewtorestoringthetraditionalinterpretation.Thecheckrevealedtheneedforafreshevalu-ationofpastscholarlytreatmentsoftheGreekaspectsoftheproblem,aswellassomeinadequaciesintheinterpretationsonofferregardingtheArabicandArmenianevidence,thecorrectionofthebulkofwhichisalsoduetoRobertWoodhouse.

1 TheoldestEuropeanattestationoftheformslambolisprobablythatinMeninski(1680:176,219).

2 The1872statementbyglireproducedbyBourne(1077:78)thattheEastern/Turkishname Stambul contains bul **MengeoderVielheitisthusinerror;moreover,Islm,beingaverbalnoun,canhardlymean**rechtglubigasthenameofareligionitisoftenexplainedassubmission(tothewillofGod).

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withsomeoftheothershortsightedassumptionswithwhichithasbecomebur-dened,makeitaneasytargetforridiculeandconsequentreplacementbyalternativeaccountsbasedoncorruptionsof ~ itself.ThefollowingextractfromRahn(2002:31n.92)isfairlytypical:3

AuchBabinger(Maometto, S.164)undInalcik(Istanbul,S.224)leitendenNamenIstanbulvongriech.eistnpolin,gesprochenis tin bolin (in die Stadt)ab.[D]ieGriechen[aber]werdenkaumaufdenGedankenge-kommensein,ihrerHauptstadtdenverstndlichen,abersinnlosenNamenindieStadtzugeben.

Questionablehereare:(1)theformoftheGreekphrase;(2)thepronuncia-tionascribedtotheGreekphrase;(3)themeaningattributedtotheGreekphrase;(4)theassertionthatthenameissinnloswiththeconcomitantimplications(5)thatthelinguisticformofsuchareferencetoaplaceisotherwiseunknowninGreeceand(6)thatanessentialfeatureofthetraditionalexplanationisthatStambol4 ~ Istanbulvelsim.wasoncetheofficialnameofConstantinople.

Thetaskofthepresentcontributionistoelucidatetheseandsomeotherdeficiencies,notnecessarilyintheaboveorder,aswellastoreviewtheevidenceforthetraditionalversion,andinadditiontoexaminewhatlittleactualargumentthereisforthecorruptionalternative,withaviewtoarrivingataninterpretationbasedmoresecurelyontheevidenceandonsoundTurcology.

Beforewedothis,thefactshouldbenotedthatthemodernTurkishspell-ingofthistownnameisstanbul,with-,whereasIstanbul,apartfrombeingacommonnon-Turkishspelling,isinfactagraphicalrenderingofthepopularpronunciationwithTurkish-(=IPA[]=Russ.)thatis,asamatteroffact,anextstepinthevocalicadaptationofthisoriginallyforeignnametotheTurkishsystembasedonvowelharmony.Therefore,theofficialliteraryformwith- is usedhere,thedifferencebetween and ibeinginTurkishnolessimportantthatthat between o and inGerman.

2. TheformoftheGreekphraseinwhatappearstobetheoriginalsourceofthetraditionaletymologyisgivennotas,butitsDemoticdescendant .Thissourceistheunpublished17thcenturyDemoticGreekgrammarofRomanusNicephorus,ateacherofGreek.Theetymologyappearstohavefirstbeenpublishedbythe17thcenturysavantDuCange(alsowrittenDucange)andtransmittedtomodernscholarshipbyBourne(1887:78andn.1,withlit.).Wecan

3 Cf.,e.g.,Rosen(1885),Room(1994;2006s.v.Istanbul)andHansack(2008).4 Forthesakeofsimplicityinthispapertheshorteralternativewillbegenerallywrit-

ten StambolwiththeoriginalGreekvowelinthesecondsyllable;thechangetou in thissyllableisalmostcertainlyduetoTurkishdislikeofooutsidethefirstsyllableofaword.

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emendthisetymonstillfurtherto(thusalsoHesseling1890:194)sinceboththereductionoftotheprefix- before the article and the conditioned omissionofthefinalnasalwereestablishedinDemoticGreekduringtheearlymedievalperiod,60011thcenturyCE(Browning1969:62f.).(Formsreportedwithinitialvowelwillbediscussedasappropriatebelow.)

Actually,sinceaGreekspellinglike for datingfromthe1stcenturyBCE(ibid.34)revealsnotonlytheobviousnarrowingofnonsyllabic/u/indiphthongstoafricative,butalsotheimportantchangeoftheoldpitchac-centintostress(ibid.33),withconcomitantlossofaccent/stressinwordsoflessprominenceinthephrase,weshallhenceforth,whereappropriate,presentGreekmaterialoftheCurrentErainthemodernmonotonicsystem(singleaccentmark,nobreathings)withunaccentedarticles,thus.5

3.ThetranslationoftheGreekphraseastothecity,whileperfectlycorrectforClassicalGreek,isinadequateforthemedievaldescendantofthephraseontwocounts.

First,wehaveRomanusNicephorusremarkthattheexpression,thenominative of (),wasusedbyGreeksonlywithreferencetoConstantinople,nottoGreekcitiesingeneral,thegenericnameforwhichwasthentheVenetianloan(Prof.R.D.Milns,pers.com.)().AccordingtoHesseling(1890:191),Oberhummer(1900:965)andGeorgacas(1947:358),thisusageof is at-testedfromc.400CE:itwaswidespreadamongByzantinewritersandhasbeencommonplaceamongtheGreek-speakingpopulationatlargeeventothepresentday(Prof.R.D.Milns,pers.com.).

Strictlyspeaking,suchusagehasnotbeenentirelylimitedtoreferringsole-lytoConstantinople:inadditiontosevenexamplesofandtwenty-threeof (),bothmeaningVillage,usedasthenamesofvillages,Georgacas(1947:361)documentseightotherinstances,besidethereferencetoConstantinople,inwhichtheapparentlyobsolescentGreekappellative,andeventhearchaicvariant ,6town,citywasusedasthenameofaparticulartownorcity.7 TheseincludetheAcropolisatAthens,AlexandriaontheNiledeltaand,somewhatmoresignificantly,aCretanprovincialtownthatenjoyedanumberofnamesend-ingin-,beginningwithandalternatingandfinallyfinishingwith ,thesameNewGreekformasforConstantinople.Thegenitiveofthis,

5 Cf.NewGreekmonotonic Iexpressmygratitude, totakepartincombat, appertainstothemilitiaortothemilitiaman(examplesfromVarmazi1985:319).

6 E.g.,,theoldnameofMantineia(ibid.).7 Georgacas(ibid.)alsomentionsderivativesof,suchas and

Townletandothers,usedastownnames;buttheseareperhapslessinterestingforourpurpose.

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,figuresinaGreek-Latincontractof1299matchedintheLatintextbyStinboli; andthetownwasknownduringtheperiod18681878bytheTurkishname Stamblkj(ibid.359f.andesp.n.80),i.e.withsuffixedTksh.8 ky vil-lage.ItmustbesaidthatitishardtoseehowthenameConstantinecouldhavefiguredinthecreationofeitheroftheseformsofthename.

FromthisitisclearthatGreeksingeneralhadfewifanyqualmsaboutusingappellativesmeaningtownandvillageastheactualnameofthelocalfocalpointofbusinessandcommunications.Itisalsoclearthatinmostcasescontextwouldhavebeensufficienttodistinguishastrictlylocalreferentbearingthename()fromthecentreoftheEasternEmpire.Consequently,we,too,canhavefewifanyqualmsaboutacceptingGeorgacaspracticeofwriting(),withcapitalinitial,asanameofConstantinopleoraboutfollowingHesselings(1890:193)Frenchintranslatingthisinthephrase() ~ ()withtheEnglishformConstantinople.

Oursecondsemanticpointofcontention,whichisencapsulatedinRahnsremarkabouttheunlikelihoodofanexpressionmeaningto(aparticularplace)becomingaplacename,wasalsoanticipated(overacenturyago!)byHesseling(1890:195;echoedbyGeorgacas1947:367)thus:Cetusagemeparatsansexempleetriennelejustifie:allerdansunendroitestunecirconstancepurementfortuite;ysjournerestunfaitconstant.Hesseling(l.c.),followedbyGeorgacas(l.c.),corrected(orexpanded)thesemanticsbypointingoutthatthepost-Classicalpreposition(andbyimplicationitsDemoticdescendant9/-) has not only theterminativemeaning(in)tobutalsothepurelylocativeorinessivemean-ingindsunepoquerelativementancienneinfactitisattestedatleastasearlyastheNewTestament(Browning1969:42).Hesseling(l.c.)citesanumberofparallelscontaininglocativeconstructionsasplacenamesinotherlanguages,particularlysuchGermannamesasAmsteg, AmbachandthemoststrikingforourpurposeImDrflliterallyIntheHamlet.10

ThereisthereforenoreasonwhyGreekshouldnothavesimilarnamessimi-larlyconstructed.Infact,asweshallseeinthenextsection,Greekcanboastasubstantialnumber.

4.Thefallacy,partlyexposedabove,thattheGreekuseofsuchaconstruc-tion as in (the) Xasaninformalplacenamewouldbesenselessandunheardofwasalsodisposedofoveracenturyagobylistsofsimilarlyformedmaterial

8 Abbreviationsused:Ar.=Arabic,Arm.=Armenian,Bulg.=(Slavonic)Bulgarian,Gr.=Greek,It.=Italian,Lat.=Latin,Ott.=Ottoman,P=Proto-,Pers.=Persian,Span.=Spanish,Tksh.=Turkish.

9 Alsowrittenwithoutaccentinthemonotonicsysteminsteadofearlier.10 Georgacas(l.c.)producessomeothersimilarnamesthoughnoneareasstrikingas

HesselingsImDrfl.

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pertainingtotheGreekspherecompiledbybothBourne(1887:81f.)andHesseling(1890:195f.).Thematerialintheselistsisclearlybasedonorallytransmittedphrasesconsistingof/-(+article)+acc.ofplacenameorappellativeasshownbelowforeachitemwherethesethingsareknowntous.TwoofthemarefoundinalistcompiledbyoneChristopherBondelmonte(alsowrittenBuondelmonte)whovisitedGreeceasearlyas1422(Hesseling1890:191);theyare(withmonot-onicsourcenameorappellativeintheaccusativeinparentheses)Stanco (()) and StalimeneStalimini onp.196(()).Otherexamples,commontobothBournesandHesselingslists,are: Setines ~ Satine ~ Astines (A()), Isnicmid (()), Sam(p)son (), Standia ~ Stantia ~ Estanti (()). TotheseBourneadds:Tzembela(vines;vineyards),Tzecampo(sea-monster) andthelesseasilyverifiableTzitana~Sitana(Itanus), Setea (Etea), Tzerapetna(Hierapytna) and Satalia (Attalia);whileHesselingadds: Estves (), Stampalia (), Sdiles (()), Isnik (()).InadditiontoStanco,occurringinbothanon-GreekandaGreeksource, and the above clearly foreignattestations,Hesseling(l.c.)alsocitesthefurtherintra-Greekexample.ClearlyitwouldbeabsurdtoclaimthatallthesenamessomehowresultfromgradualabbreviationofsomeformofthenameConstantine.

ItisstrikingthatnamesofthiskindseemtobereportedrathermoreoftenbyforeignersthanbyGreeksthemselves,andthis,combinedwiththefactualambi-guityofthephrase,mayleavethequestionofsemanticoriginssomewhatopen.Inthedaysbeforeplentifulroadmapsandgoodsignage,atravellersdeclarationsofinterestorintentiontovisitandhis/herenquirieswithintheGreek-speakingworldaboutthebestwaytogettosuchandsuchaplacemaywellhaveelicitedresponsescontainingthetargetplacenameinthe ~ phrasequiteprobablywiththemeaningto.PerhapsthisiswhatmorerecentlypromptedMoravcsik(1976:12)tokeepbothmeaningsinmindbyglossingthetraditionaletymonofstanbulasinderStadtorindieStadt,althoughinthelattercaseamorere-alisticglossmightwellbe(sokommtman)nachKonstantinopel.Ontheotherhandthemorefrequentreportingbyforeigners,ifindeeditistrue,mayhavehadmoretodowiththecolloquialflavouroftheGreekexpressionsthemselves,whichinturnwouldconditiontheirgeneralavoidanceinwritingwitnessHesselings(1890:191f.)inabilitytounearthanyGreekrecordofor earlierthanDuCange.

Lookingatthephonologyofthenamesintheabovelists,itisnoteworthythatinitialvowelsarefoundonlyintheOldFrenchEstvesandintheTurkishexamplesIsnicmid (now zmit,fromtheshortenedformRoom1994:379)andIsnik (now znik),bothlanguageshavinganaversioneithertoinitialst-(OldFrench,seeEwert1943:91)ortoanlautclustersingeneral(Turkish).TotheTurkishexampleswecanaddsparta (cf. nom. Symeonidis1976:103)andthelaterTurkishdevelopmentstanky of Stanco (thistimewithTksh.ky

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villagereplacingtheGreeknameoftheisland).Alltheseformsthereforeclearlyattestprosthesisand,liketherestofthelist,supplynoevidencefortheliterarypreposition.Thislastremarkclearlyappliesalsotozmir (),whichhasbeenincludedinthisgroup(bySymeonidisl.c.),nodoubtquitecorrectlydespiteitsobviouslackofevidentiaryvalue.Consequentlyweshouldliketoamend,asunderlined,Leakes(1814:52)remark(quotedbyHesseling1890:195)toread[the]CustomofRomaicofexpressingnamesofplacesintheacc.,withthepreposition,colloquially-,andthearticleor;whence,,afterthe article have the force of b, g, d.

The nasal in Stampalia,ifHesselingsderivationiscorrect,maybedueei-thertoaGreekreinterpretationoftheetymonassingularfollowingthelossofthefinalnasalintheaccusativesingularofnouns(cf.theNewGreekreassess-mentoftheformerpluraltothesingularandthesg.-pl.-sg.oscil-lation of Boeotian Thebe(s): Epicgen.sg.allativepl.,Classicalpl.Modernsg.)ortoanalogicaltransferfromtheotherformscon-tainingSta-+nasal.Intheotherforms Sta(n/m)-must,byandlarge,haveariseninsomewayfromMiddleGreek.Itisnowappropriatetoexaminehowthismayhavecomeabout.

5.ThequestionofhowGreek yields stan instanbul and many of the othersimilarlyformednameshastodatenotbeentreatedadequatelyeitherbythoseinfavourofthetraditionaletymologyorbythoseagainst.FirstitisnecessarytodisposeofthetraditionalfallacythattheonlypossiblephonologicalinterpretationofallovertheGreekspeakingworldwasorisstin,eventhoughthisisthepronunciationrecommendedingrammarsetc.ofNewGreek.

TherotwasnodoubtstartedbyRosen(1885)who,inordertorejectthetra-ditionaletymology,referredexplicitlytotheitacismofConstantinople,meaningthat wouldhavebeentreatedthereasstin.NowwhilethereisevidenceforthisintheexplicitlyGreekpronunciationIstimboli11recordedin1426,apparentlyinthecityitself,bytheBavariantravellerSchiltberger(Bourne1887:80;Hesseling1890:192)12therecanbenodoubtthatthisrepresentsinfactthepuristicitacistic

11 Therepresentationofwrittennpbyspoken[mb],alludedtoalsobyLeake(above4)doesnotrequireTurkishmediationtoexplainit.JudgingbyBrownings(1969:33f.)treatmentofthestatusofb, d, ginKoineandNewGreek,itseemsprobablethat the Greeksetofassimilativechanges[np]/[mp]>[mb], [nt]>[nd],[nk]/[k]>[g] goesbacktothe2ndcenturyCE.

12 BoththesescholarsquotetherelevantpassageinLangmantels(1885:45)editionofSchiltbergerstravelswithscrupulouscorrectness:ConstantinopelhayssendieChrichenIstimboliunddieThrckenhayssendsStambol.Inaperplexingroundrobinoferrors, Rahn(l.c.)incorrectlylabelsSchiltbergers15thcenturyGreekrecordanOsmanlipronunciationfromtheendofthe14thcentury,citingasauthorityInalcik(1978:224),whouses,orperhapsmisuses,SchiltbergersGreekformassupport

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literarycorrection()oftheDemoticphrase,13 yet the testimony citedaboveforthepan-GreekuseofConstantinoplesuggeststhattheDemoticphrasewouldhavebeeninusewhereverGreekwasspoken,notjustinthecityitself.Consequently,besideitacisticstin,travellerswouldalsohavehadopportunitiesforhearingetacisticstenandevenLaconian/Tsakonianstan,sincethisalmostuniquesurvivalofanon-Koinedialect,likesomeoftheGreekdialectsofItaly,preservesthequalityoftheancientpan-Greek that changedonlyinAttic/IonictoyieldingthelaterKoine(itacistic)i ~ (etacistic) e (Browning1969:123).

SinceetacismwasatypicalfeatureofanumberofGreekdialectsspokeninAsiaMinoruntil1922/23andTsakonianwasspokenalongthesouthernshoreoftheSeaofMarmarauntilthesamedate(Browning1969:122f.)itisevidentthattherewereampleopportunitiesinearliercenturiesforTurksandotherrelativenewcomerstoAsiaMinortohearGreeknamespronouncedwiththesedialectalcharacteristics.

ProofthatTurksdidindeedhavecontactwithbothoftheselessfavouredkindsofGreekpronunciationisprovidedbyGreekloansinTurkish.

ThusPontic/e/forhasbeenidentifiedintheunderlinedvowelsofTksh.dial.anehder14 ~ enetter key(Pont.,NGr.id.),defne ~ tefne baytree(Pont.,NGr.id.)andotherwords(Symeonides1976:74)note that the other instances of eintheseTurkishitemscorrespondingtoGr./i/and/a/areduetovowelharmony;similarly:

foroneoftheotherwiseunsupportedtranscriptionshecitesoftheSeljukandearlyOttomanspellinginArabicscript,inprecisetransliterationstnbwl;InalcikalsohasthedatewrongdespitecitingasauthorityPauly-Wissowa,s.v.ConstantinopolisOberhummer,i.e.Oberhummer(1900:967),whohasthecorrectdateandalsocitestherelevantpassagefromLangmantelsedition,butunfortunatelymisspellsthecru-cial name Istamboli.WhereInalcikgotthecorrectIstimboli fromhedoesnotsay.Tocompletetheperplexities,Bourne(1887:80)spellsthenameofSchiltbergerseditorLangmentel.

13 Thisjudgementisbasedonthestatement,towhichattentionwasdrawnbyHesseling(1890:193n.2),thatSchiltbergerlivedinthepatriarchshouseforthreemonths(Langmantel1885:47)andHesselings(l.c.)informationthatthetranscriptionsofGreekwordsprovidedbySchiltbergerarereasonablyaccurate,meaning,presumably,freeofDemotictaint,asisnodoubttobeexpectedinmaterialsuppliedtoaforeignerinsuchaugustlodgingscertainlythespellingprossvoraforGr.communionbread(Langmantel1885:48)seemstoshowthatSchiltbergerhadfewifanyproblemswithhearingGreekwordsaccurately;cf.Hesselings(1890:191f.)inabilitytofindanywrittenGreekrecordof or beforeDuCange(above4).

14 The x and ofoursourceshavebeenchangedheretohinTurkishdatainconformitywithnormalTurkishorthographyandtheprinciplewhich,paraphrasingOckhamsfamousrazor,wemayexpressthus: transcriptionesnonsuntmultiplicandaepraeternecessitatem.

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Tsakonian Attic/Koine)inTksh.artukalpaddleonwhichmaizebreadiscooked