Ottomans called Istanbul "Konstantiniye" that is the city of Constantine the Great. The name was changed to Istanbul after the first world war. One explanation often given for Istanbul was that "istanbul" was derived from Stamboul which is ' from … (ees teen poleen), "to the city." It is believed that Ottomans constantly overheard this phrase rising from behind the city walls at the time of their siege. From this it is likely that they formed the word Stamboul. This derivation is of course untenable. However Ottomans often retained original names of places that they had captured.
It is such that where the name was too long, they dropped the first syllable, and contracted or abridged the last syllables. For instance from Thessalonica they made Selanik and from Constantinople they made Stamboul.
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