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Fall of Constantinople

(Redirected fromConquest of Constantinople)
For other sieges of the city, seeList of sieges of Constantinople.

Thefall of Constantinople,also known as theconquest of Constantinople,was the capture ofthe capitalof theByzantine Empireby theOttoman Empire.The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-daysiegewhich had begun on 6 April.

Fall of Constantinople
Part of theByzantine–Ottoman wars

The siege of Constantinople(1453), French miniature by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.
Date6 April – 29 May 1453
(1 month, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Constantinople,Byzantine Empire (present-dayIstanbul,Turkey)
41°01′48″N28°56′06″E/ 41.030°N 28.935°E/41.030; 28.935
Result Ottoman victory
Territorial
changes
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Land forces:
  • 100,000–130,000 in total (Western sources)[note 2]

40,000–50,000 in total (Turkish sources)[7][8] 60,000–80,000 in total (Modern sources)[9][10]

Naval forces:

Land forces:
  • 7,000–10,000 professional soldiers
  • 30,000–35,000 armed civilians[7]
  • 600 Orhan Çelebi loyalists[11]
  • Kingdom of Sicily200 archers[5]
  • Papal States200 archers[12]
  • 200 Catalan retinue

Naval forces:
26 ships

Casualties and losses
200–18,000[13](first day)
Heavy:
15,000–50,000 (disputed)		 4,500 killed in action (both military and civilian)[14][15][16]
30,000–50,000 civilians enslaved[17][18][19]

The attackingOttoman Army,which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-oldSultanMehmed II(later nicknamed "the Conqueror" ), while theByzantine armywas led byEmperorConstantine XI Palaiologos.After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacingAdrianople.

The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed of theLate Middle Ages,marking the effective end of theRoman Empire,a state which began in roughly 27 BC and had lasted nearly 1500 years. For many modern historians, the fall of Constantinople marks the end of themedieval periodand the beginning of theearly modern period.[20][21]The city's fall also stood as a turning point inmilitary history.Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended uponrampartsand walls to repel invaders. TheWalls of Constantinople,especially the Theodosian Walls, protected Constantinople from attack for 800 years and were noted as some of the most advanced defensive systems in the world at the time.[22]However, these fortifications were overcome with the use ofgunpowder,specifically from Ottoman cannons andbombards,heralding a change in siege warfare.[23]The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) which created gaps in the Theodosian Walls for the Ottoman siege.[24][25]

The Byzantine Empire

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Constantinoplehad been an imperial capital since its consecration in 330 under Roman emperorConstantine the Great.In the following eleven centuries, the city had beenbesieged many timesbut was captured only once before: theSack of Constantinopleduring theFourth Crusadein 1204.[26]The crusaders established an unstableLatin statein and around Constantinople while the remainder of the Byzantine Empire splintered into a number of successor states, notablyNicaea,EpirusandTrebizond.They fought as allies against the Latin establishments, but also fought among themselves for the Byzantine throne.

The Nicaeans eventuallyreconquered Constantinoplefrom the Latins in 1261, reestablishing the Byzantine Empire under thePalaiologos dynasty.Thereafter, there was little peace for the much-weakened empire as it fended off successive attacks by theLatins,Serbs,BulgariansandOttoman Turks.[27][page needed][28][29][30][page needed]

Between 1346 and 1349, theBlack Deathkilled almost half of the inhabitants of Constantinople.[31]The city was further depopulated by the general economic and territorial decline of the empire, and by1453,it consisted of a series of walled villages separated by vast fields encircled by the fifth-centuryTheodosian Walls.

By 1450, the empire was exhausted and had shrunk to a few square kilometers outside the city of Constantinople itself, thePrinces' Islandsin theSea of Marmaraand thePeloponnesewith its cultural center atMystras.TheEmpire of Trebizond,an independentsuccessor statethat formed in the aftermath of theFourth Crusade,was also present at the time on the coast of theBlack Sea.

Preparations

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WhenMehmed IIsucceeded his father in 1451, he was 19 years old. Many European courts assumed that the young Ottoman ruler would not seriously challenge Christian hegemony in theBalkansand theAegean.[32]In fact, Europe celebrated Mehmed coming to the throne and hoped his inexperience would lead the Ottomans astray.[33]This calculation was boosted by Mehmed's friendly overtures to the European envoys at his new court.[34]But Mehmed's mild words were not matched by his actions. By early 1452, work began on the construction of a secondfortress(Rumeli hisarı) on the European side of theBosphorus,[35]several miles north of Constantinople. The new fortress sat directly across the strait from theAnadolu Hisarıfortress, built by Mehmed's great-grandfatherBayezid I.This pair of fortresses ensured complete control of sea traffic on theBosphorus[34]and defended against attack by theGenoesecolonies on the Black Sea coast to the north. In fact, the new fortress was calledBoğazkesen,which means "strait-blocker" or "throat-cutter". The wordplay emphasizes its strategic position: in Turkishboğazmeans both "strait" and "throat". In October 1452, Mehmed orderedTurakhan Begto station a large garrison force in thePeloponneseto blockThomasandDemetrios(despotesin SouthernGreece) from providing aid to their brotherConstantine XI Palaiologosduring the impending siege of Constantinople.[note 3]Karaca Pasha,thebeylerbeyiofRumelia,sent men to prepare the roads fromAdrianopleto Constantinople so that bridges could cope with the massive cannons. Fifty carpenters and 200 artisans also strengthened the roads where necessary.[15]The Greek historianMichael CritobulusquotesMehmed II's speech to his soldiers before the siege:[37]

My friends and men of my empire! You all know very well that our forefathers secured this kingdom that we now hold at the cost of many struggles and very great dangers and that, having passed it along in succession from their fathers, from father to son, they handed it down to me. For some of the oldest of you were sharers in many of the exploits carried through by them—those at least of you who are of maturer years—and the younger of you have heard of these deeds from your fathers. They are not such very ancient events nor of such a sort as to be forgotten through the lapse of time. Still, the eyewitness of those who have seen testifies better than does the hearing of deeds that happened but yesterday or the day before.

European support

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Byzantine EmperorConstantine XIswiftly understood Mehmed's true intentions and turned toWestern Europefor help; but now the price of centuries of war and enmity between theeasternandwestern churcheshad to be paid. Since themutual excommunicationsof 1054, thePopein Rome was committed to establishing unity withthe eastern church.The union was agreed by the Byzantine EmperorMichael VIII Palaiologosin 1274, at theSecond Council of Lyon,and indeed, some Palaiologoi emperors had since been received into theLatin Church.EmperorJohn VIII Palaiologoshad also recently negotiated union withPope Eugene IV,with theCouncil of Florenceof 1439 proclaiming aBull of Union.The imperial efforts to impose union were met with strong resistance in Constantinople. Apropaganda initiativewas stimulated by anti-unionistOrthodoxpartisans in Constantinople; the population, as well as the laity and leadership of the Byzantine Church, became bitterly divided. Latentethnic hatredbetween Greeks and Italians, stemming from the events of theMassacre of the Latinsin 1182 by the Greeks and theSack of Constantinoplein 1204 by the Latins, played a significant role. Ultimately, the attempted union between east and west failed, greatly annoyingPope Nicholas Vand the hierarchy of the Roman church.[citation needed]

In the summer of 1452, whenRumeli Hisarıwas completed and the threat of the Ottomans had become imminent, Constantine wrote to the Pope, promising to implement the union, which was declared valid by a half-hearted imperial court on 12 December 1452.[34]Although he was eager for an advantage,Pope Nicholas Vdid not have the influence the Byzantines thought he had over the Western kings and princes, some of whom were wary of increasing papal control. Furthermore, these Western rulers did not have the wherewithal to contribute to the effort, especially in light of the weakened state of France and England from theHundred Years' War,Spain's involvement in theReconquista,the internecine fighting in theHoly Roman Empire,and Hungary and Poland's defeat at theBattle of Varnaof 1444. Although some troops did arrive from the mercantile city-states in northern Italy, the Western contribution was not adequate to counterbalance Ottoman strength. Some Western individuals, however, came to help defend the city on their own account.Cardinal Isidore,funded by the Pope, arrived in 1452 with 200 archers.[33]An accomplished soldier fromGenoa,Giovanni Giustiniani,arrived in January 1453 with 400 men from Genoa and 300 men from GenoeseChios.[38]As a specialist in defending walled cities, Giustiniani was immediately given the overall command of the defence of the land walls by the Emperor. The Byzantines knew him by the Latin spelling of his name, "John Justinian", named after the famous 6th century Byzantine emperorJustinian the Great.[39]Around the same time, the captains of the Venetian ships that happened to be present in theGolden Hornoffered their services to the Emperor, barring contrary orders fromVenice,and Pope Nicholas undertook to send three ships laden with provisions, which set sail near the end of March.[40] From theKingdoms of NaplesandSicilyarrived in Constantinople thecondottieroGabriele Orsini del Balzo,duke ofVenosaand count ofUgento,together with 200 Neapolitan archers, who died fighting for the defense of the capital of the Byzantine Empire.[5]

Meanwhile, in Venice, deliberations were taking place concerning the kind of assistance the Republic would lend to Constantinople. TheSenatedecided upon sending a fleet in February 1453, but the fleet's departure was delayed until April, when it was already too late for ships to assist in battle.[41][page needed][42]Further undermining Byzantine morale, seven Italian ships with around 700 men, despite having sworn to defend Constantinople, slipped out of the capital the moment Giustiniani arrived. At the same time, Constantine's attempts to appease the Sultan with gifts ended with the execution of the Emperor's ambassadors.[34][43][44][45][46][47][48]

Restored Walls of Constantinople
Thechainthat closed off the entrance to the Golden Horn in 1453, now on display in theİstanbul Archaeology Museums.

The Great Chain of the Golden Horn

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Fearing a possible naval attack along the shores of theGolden Horn,Emperor Constantine XIordered that adefensive chainbe placed at the mouth of the harbour. This chain, which floated on logs, was strong enough to prevent any Turkish ship from entering the harbour. This device was one of two that gave the Byzantines some hope of extending the siege until the possible arrival of foreign help.[49]This strategy was used because in 1204, the armies of the Fourth Crusade successfully circumvented Constantinople's land defences by breaching theGolden Horn Wall,which faces the Horn. Another strategy employed by the Byzantines was the repair and fortification of the Land Wall (Theodosian Walls). Emperor Constantine deemed it necessary to ensure that theBlachernaedistrict's wall was the most fortified because that section of the wall protruded northwards. The land fortifications consisted of a 60 ft (18 m) wide moat fronting inner and outercrenellated wallsstudded with towers every 45–55 metres.[50]

The Ottoman Sultanate and the Eastern Roman Empire in April 1453.

Strength

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Map of Constantinople and the dispositions of the defenders and the besiegers

The army defending Constantinople was relatively small, totalling about 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreigners.[note 4]The population decline also had a huge impact upon the Constantinople's defense capabilities. At the end of March 1453, emperor Constantine XI ordered a census of districts to record how many able-bodied men were in the city and whatever weapons each possessed for defense. George Sphrantzes, the faithful chancellor of the last emperor, recorded that "in spite of the great size of our city, our defenders amounted to 4,773 Greeks, as well as just 200 foreigners". In addition there were volunteers from outside, the "Genoese, Venetians and those who came secretly from Galata to help the defense", who numbered "hardly as many as three thousand", amounting to something under 8,000 men in total to defend a perimeter wall of twelve miles.[51]At the onset of the siege, probably fewer than 50,000 people were living within the walls, including the refugees from the surrounding area.[52][note 5]Turkish commander Dorgano, who was in Constantinople working for the Emperor, was also guarding one of the quarters of the city on the seaward side with the Turks in his pay. These Turks kept loyal to the Emperor and perished in the ensuing battle. The defending army's Genoese corps were well trained and equipped, while the rest of the army consisted of small numbers of well-trained soldiers, armed civilians, sailors and volunteer forces from foreign communities, and finallymonks.The garrison used a few small-calibre artillery pieces, which in the end proved ineffective. The rest of the citizens repaired walls, stood guard on observation posts, collected and distributed food provisions, and collected gold and silver objects from churches to melt down into coins to pay the foreign soldiers.

The Ottomans had a much larger force. Recent studies and Ottoman archival data state that there were some 50,000–80,000 Ottoman soldiers, including between 5,000 and 10,000Janissaries,[6][page needed]70cannons,[53][54][page needed][55][page needed]and an elite infantry corps, and thousands of Christian troops, notably 1,500 Serbian cavalry thatĐurađ Brankovićwas forced to supply as part of his obligation to the Ottoman sultan[1][2]— just a few months before, Branković had supplied the money for the reconstruction of the walls of Constantinople.[1][2]Contemporaneous Western witnesses of the siege, who tend to exaggerate the military power of the Sultan, provide disparate and higher numbers ranging from 160,000 to 300,000[6][page needed](Niccolò Barbaro:[56]160,000; the Florentine merchant Jacopo Tedaldi[57][page needed]and the Great LogotheteGeorge Sphrantzes:[58][page needed]200,000; the CardinalIsidore of Kiev[59]and the Archbishop ofMytileneLeonardo di Chio:[60]300,000).[61]

Ottoman dispositions and strategies

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TheDardanelles Gun,cast by Munir Ali in 1464, is similar tobombardsused by the Ottoman besiegers of Constantinople in 1453 (BritishRoyal Armouriescollection).

Mehmedbuilt a fleet (crewed partially by Spanish sailors fromGallipoli) to besiege the city from the sea.[54][page needed]Contemporary estimates of the strength of the Ottoman fleet span from 110 ships to 430 (Tedaldi:[57][page needed]110; Barbaro:[56]145; Ubertino Pusculo:[62]160, Isidore of Kiev[59]and Leonardo di Chio:[63]200–250; (Sphrantzes):[58][page needed]430). A more realistic modern estimate predicts a fleet strength of 110 ships comprising 70 largegalleys,5 ordinary galleys, 10 smaller galleys, 25 large rowing boats, and 75 horse-transports.[64]

Before the siege of Constantinople, it was known that the Ottomans had the ability to cast medium-sizedcannons,but the range of some pieces they were able to field far surpassed the defenders' expectations.[65]The Ottomans deployed a number of cannons, anywhere from 12 to 62 cannons. They were built atfoundriesthat employed Turkishcannonfounders and technicians, most notably Saruca, in addition to at least one foreign cannon founder,Orban(also called Urban). Most of the cannons at the siege were built by Turkish engineers, including a large bombard by Saruca, while one cannon was built by Orban, who also contributed a large bombard.[66][67]

Orban, aHungarian(though some suggest he wasGerman), was a somewhat mysterious figure.[65]His 27-foot-long (8.2 m) cannon was named "Basilica"and was able to hurl a 600-pound (270 kg) stone ball over amile(1.6 km).[68]Orban initially tried to sell his services to the Byzantines, but they were unable to secure the funds needed to hire him. Orban then left Constantinople and approached Mehmed II, claiming that his weapon could blast "the walls ofBabylonitself ". Given abundant funds and materials, the Hungarian engineer built the gun within three months atEdirne.[69]However, this was the only cannon that Orban built for the Ottoman forces at Constantinople,[66][67]and it had several drawbacks: it took three hours to reload; cannonballs were in very short supply; and the cannon is said to have collapsed under its own recoil after six weeks. The account of the cannon's collapse is disputed,[6][page needed]given that it was only reported in the letter of ArchbishopLeonardo di Chio[60]and in the later, and often unreliable, Russian chronicle ofNestor Iskander.[70]

Modern painting of Mehmed and the Ottoman Army approaching Constantinople with a giant bombard, byFausto Zonaro.

Having previously established a large foundry about 150 miles (240 km) away, Mehmed now had to undertake the painstaking process of transporting his massive artillery pieces. In preparation for the final assault, Mehmed had an artillery train of 70 large pieces dragged from his headquarters at Edirne, in addition to the bombards cast on the spot.[71]This train included Orban's enormous cannon, which was said to have been dragged from Edirne by a crew of 60 oxen and over 400 men.[65][69]There was another large bombard, independently built by Turkish engineer Saruca, that was also used in the battle.[66][67]

Mehmed planned to attack the Theodosian Walls, the intricate series of walls and ditches protecting Constantinople from an attack from the West and the only part of the city not surrounded by water. His army encamped outside the city on 2 April 1453, the Monday afterEaster.

The bulk of the Ottoman army was encamped south of the Golden Horn. The regular European troops, stretched out along the entire length of the walls, were commanded by Karadja Pasha. The regular troops fromAnatoliaunderIshak Pashawere stationed south of theLycusdown to theSea of Marmara.Mehmed himself erected his red-and-gold tent near theMesoteichion,where the guns and the eliteJanissaryregiments were positioned. TheBashi-bazoukswere spread out behind the front lines. Other troops underZagan Pashawere employed north of the Golden Horn. Communication was maintained by a road that had been destroyed over the marshy head of the Horn.[72]

The Ottomans were experts in laying siege to cities. They knew that in order to prevent diseases they had to burn corpses, sanitarily dispose of excrement, and carefully scrutinize their sources of water.[33]

Byzantine dispositions and tactics

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Painting of the Fall of Constantinople, byTheophilos Hatzimihail

The city had about 20 km of walls (land walls:5.5 km; sea walls along the Golden Horn: 7 km; sea walls along the Sea of Marmara: 7.5 km), one of the strongest sets of fortified walls in existence. The walls had recently been repaired (underJohn VIII) and were in fairly good shape, giving the defenders sufficient reason to believe that they could hold out until help from the West arrived.[73]In addition, the defenders were relatively well-equipped with a fleet of 26 ships: 5 fromGenoa,5 fromVenice,3 from VenetianCrete,1 fromAncona,1 fromAragon,1 from France, and about 10 from the empire itself.[74]

On 5 April, the Sultan himself arrived with his last troops, and the defenders took up their positions. As Byzantine numbers were insufficient to occupy the walls in their entirety, it had been decided that only the outer walls would be guarded. Constantine and his Greek troops guarded theMesoteichion,the middle section of the land walls, where they were crossed by the river Lycus. This section was considered the weakest spot in the walls and an attack was feared here most. Giustiniani was stationed to the north of the emperor, at theCharisian Gate(Myriandrion); later during the siege, he was shifted to theMesoteichionto join Constantine, leaving theMyriandrionto the charge of the Bocchiardi brothers.Girolamo Minotto[el;es;fr;it]and his Venetians were stationed in theBlachernae Palace,together with Teodoro Caristo, the Langasco brothers, andArchbishop Leonardo of Chios.[75]

To the left of the emperor, further south, were the commanders Cataneo, who led Genoese troops, and Theophilus Palaeologus, who guarded thePegae Gatewith Greek soldiers. The section of the land walls from the Pegae Gate to the Golden Gate (itself guarded by a Genoese called Manuel) was defended by the Venetian Filippo Contarini, while Demetrius Cantacuzenus had taken position on the southernmost part of the Theodosian wall.[75]The sea walls were guarded more sparsely, with Jacobo Contarini atStoudion,a makeshift defence force of Greek monks to his left hand, andPrince Orhanat theHarbour of Eleutherios.Genoese and Catalan troops were stationed at theGreat Palace;Cardinal Isidore of Kiev guarded the tip of the peninsula near the boom. Finally, the sea walls at the southern shore of theGolden Hornwere defended by Venetian and Genoese sailors underGabriele Trevisano.[76]

Two tactical reserves were kept behind in the city: one in the Petra district just behind the land walls and one near theChurch of the Holy Apostles,under the command ofLoukas Notarasand Nicephorus Palaeologus, respectively. The VenetianAlviso Diedocommanded the ships in the harbour.[77]Although the Byzantines also had cannons, the weapons were much smaller than those of the Ottomans, and therecoiltended to damage their own walls.[60]According toDavid Nicolle,despite many odds, the idea that Constantinople was inevitably doomed is incorrect and the situation was not as one-sided as a simple glance at a map might suggest.[78]It has also been claimed that Constantinople was "the best-defended city in Europe" at that time.[79]

Siege

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Painting byFausto Zonarodepicting the Ottoman Turks transporting their fleet overland into theGolden Horn.

At the beginning of the siege, Mehmed sent out some of his best troops to reduce the remaining Byzantine strongholds outside the city of Constantinople. The fortress of Therapia on the Bosphorus and a smaller castle at the village of Studius near the Sea of Marmara were taken within a few days. ThePrinces' Islandsin the Sea of Marmara were likely taken byAdmiral Baltoghlu's fleet during this phase of the siege.[80]Mehmed's massive cannons fired on the walls for weeks but due to their imprecision and extremely slow rate of fire, the Byzantines were able to repair most of the damage after each shot, mitigating the effect of the Ottoman artillery.[81]

Despite some probing attacks, the Ottoman fleet under Baltoghlu could not enter the Golden Horn due to the chain across the entrance. Although one of the fleet's main tasks was to prevent any foreign ships from entering the Golden Horn, on 20 April, a small flotilla of four Christian ships managed to get in after some heavy fighting, an event which strengthened the morale of the defenders and caused embarrassment to the Sultan.[81][note 6]Baltoghlu was most likely injured in the eye during the skirmish. Mehmed stripped Baltoghlu of his wealth and property and gave it to the janissaries and ordered him to be whipped 100 times.[33]

Mehmed ordered the construction of a road of greased logs acrossGalataon the north side of the Golden Horn and dragged his ships over the hill, directly into the Golden Horn on 22 April, bypassing the chain barrier.[81]This action seriously threatened the flow of supplies from Genoese ships from the nominally neutral colony ofPeraand it demoralized the Byzantine defenders. On the night of 28 April, an attempt was made to destroy the Ottoman ships already in the Golden Horn usingfire shipsbut the Ottomans forced the Christians to retreat with many casualties. Forty Italians escaped their sinking ships and swam to the northern shore. On orders of Mehmed, they wereimpaledon stakes, in sight of the city's defenders on the sea walls across the Golden Horn. In retaliation, the defenders brought their Ottoman prisoners, 260 in all, to the walls, where they were executed, one by one, before the eyes of the Ottomans.[83][84]With the failure of their attack on the Ottoman vessels, the defenders were forced to disperse part of their forces to defend the sea walls along the Golden Horn.

The Ottoman army had made several frontal assaults on the land wall of Constantinople, but they were costly failures.[85]Venetian surgeonNiccolò Barbaro,describing in his diary one such land attack by the Janissaries, wrote

They found the Turks coming right up under the walls and seeking battle, particularly the Janissaries... and when one or two of them were killed, at once more Turks came and took away the dead ones... without caring how near they came to the city walls. Our men shot at them with guns and crossbows, aiming at the Turk who was carrying away his dead countryman, and both of them would fall to the ground dead, and then there came other Turks and took them away, none fearing death, but being willing to let ten of themselves be killed rather than suffer the shame of leaving a single Turkish corpse by the walls.[56]

Siege of Constantinople as depicted between 1470 and 1479[86]

After these inconclusive attacks, the Ottomans sought to break through the walls by constructing tunnels tominethem from mid-May to 25 May. Many of thesapperswere miners of Serbian origin sent fromNovo Brdounder the command ofZagan Pasha.[87]An engineer namedJohannes Grant,a German who came with the Genoese contingent, had counter-mines dug, allowing Byzantine troops to enter the mines and kill the miners.[note 7]The Byzantines intercepted the first tunnel on the night of 16 May. Subsequent tunnels were interrupted on 21, 23 and 25 May, and destroyed withGreek fireand vigorous combat. On 23 May, the Byzantines captured andtorturedtwo Turkish officers, who revealed the location of all the Turkish tunnels, which were destroyed.[89]

On 21 May, Mehmed sent an ambassador to Constantinople and offered to lift the siege if they gave him the city. He promised he would allow the Emperor and any other inhabitants to leave with their possessions. He would recognize the Emperor as governor of the Peloponnese. Lastly, he guaranteed the safety of the population that might choose to remain in the city. Constantine XI only agreed to pay higher tributes to the sultan and recognized the status of all the conquered castles and lands in the hands of the Turks as Ottoman possessions. The Emperor was not willing to leave the city without a fight:

As to surrendering the city to you, it is not for me to decide or for anyone else of its citizens; for all of us have reached the mutual decision to die of our own free will, without any regard for our lives.[note 8]

Around this time, Mehmed had a final council with his senior officers. Here he encountered some resistance; one of his Viziers, the veteranHalil Pasha,who had always disapproved of Mehmed's plans to conquer the city, now admonished him to abandon the siege in the face of recent adversity.Zagan Pashaargued against Halil Pasha and insisted on an immediate attack. Believing that the Byzantine defence was already weakened sufficiently, Mehmed planned to overpower the walls by sheer force and started preparations for a final all-out offensive.

Final assault

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Painting by the Greek folk painterTheophilos Hatzimihailshowing the battle inside the city, Constantine is visible on a white horse

Preparations for the final assault began in the evening of 26 May and continued to the next day.[91]For 36 hours after the war council decided to attack, the Ottomans extensively mobilized their manpower for the general offensive.[91]Prayer and resting was then granted to the soldiers on 28 May before the final assault would be launched. On the Byzantine side, a small Venetian fleet of 12 ships, after having searched theAegean,reached the Capital on 27 May and reported to the Emperor that no large Venetian relief fleet was on its way.[92]On 28 May, as the Ottoman army prepared for the final assault, mass religious processions were held in the city. In the evening, a solemn last ceremony of Vespers was held in theHagia Sophia,in which the Emperor with representatives and nobility of both the Latin and Greek churches partook.[93]Up until this point, the Ottomans had fired 5,000 shots from their cannons using 55,000 pounds of gunpowder. Criers roamed the camp to the sound of the blasting horns, rousing the Ghazis.[94][page needed]

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday 29 May, the offensive began.[39][95]The Christian troops of the Ottoman Empire attacked first, followed by successive waves of the irregularazaps,who were poorly trained and equipped andAnatolian Turkmen beylikforces who focused on a section of the damagedBlachernaewalls in the north-west part of the city. This section of the walls had been built earlier, in the 11th century, and was much weaker. TheTurkmenmercenaries managed to breach this section of walls and entered the city but they were just as quickly pushed back by the defenders. Finally, the last wave consisting of eliteJanissaries,attacked the city walls. TheGenoesegeneral in charge of the defenders on land,Giovanni Giustiniani,was grievously wounded during the attack, and his evacuation from the ramparts caused a panic in the ranks of the defenders.[6][page needed][59][60][note 9]

With Giustiniani's Genoese troops retreating into the city and towards the harbour, Constantine and his men, now left to their own devices, continued to hold their ground against the Janissaries. Constantine's men eventually could not prevent the Ottomans from entering the city and the defenders were overwhelmed at several points along the wall. Janissaries, led byUlubatlı Hasan,pressed forward. Many Greek soldiers ran back home to protect their families, the Venetians retreated to their ships and a few of the Genoese escaped to Galata. The rest surrendered or committed suicide by jumping off the city walls.[97]The Greek houses nearest to the walls were the first to suffer from the Ottomans. It is said that Constantine, throwing aside his purple imperial regalia, led the final charge against the incoming Ottomans, perishing in the ensuing battle in the streets alongside his soldiers. The Venetian Nicolò Barbaro claimed in his diary that Constantine hanged himself at the moment when the Turks broke in at the San Romano gate. Ultimately, his fate remains unknown.[note 10]

After the initial assault, the Ottoman army fanned out along the main thoroughfare of the city, the Mese, past the great forums and theChurch of the Holy Apostles,which Mehmed II wanted to provide as a seat for his newly appointed patriarch to better control his Christian subjects. Mehmed II had sent an advance guard to protect these key buildings. The Catalans that maintained their position on the section of the wall that the emperor had assigned them, had the honor of being the last troops to fall. The sultan had Pere Julià, his sons and the consul Joan de la Via, amongst others, beheaded.

A few civilians managed to escape. When the Venetians retreated over to their ships, the Ottomans had already taken the walls of the Golden Horn. Luckily for the occupants of the city, the Ottomans were not interested in killing potentially valuable slaves but rather in the loot they could get from raiding the city's houses, so they decided to attack the city instead. The Venetian captain ordered his men to break open the gate of the Golden Horn. Having done so, the Venetians left in ships filled with soldiers and refugees. Shortly after the Venetians left, a few Genoese ships and even the Emperor's ships followed them out of the Golden Horn. This fleet narrowly escaped prior to the Ottoman navy assuming control over the Golden Horn, which was accomplished by midday.[97]

The army converged upon theAugusteum,the vast square that fronted the great church of Hagia Sophia whose bronze gates were barred by a huge throng of civilians inside the building, hoping for divine protection. After the doors were breached, the troops separated the congregation according to what price they might bring in the slave markets.[citation needed]Ottoman casualties are unknown but they are believed by most historians to be severe due to several unsuccessful Ottoman attacks made during the siege and final assault.[citation needed]The Venetian Barbaro observed that blood flowed in the city "like rainwater in the gutters after a sudden storm" and that bodies of Turks and Christians floated in the sea "like melons along a canal".[56]

Atrocities

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According to theEncyclopædia Britannica,Mehmed II"permitted an initial period of looting that saw the destruction of many Orthodox churches", but tried to prevent a complete sack of the city.[7]The looting was extremely thorough in certain parts of the city. On 2 June, the Sultan found the city largely deserted and half in ruins; churches had been desecrated and stripped, houses were no longer habitable, and stores and shops were emptied. He is famously reported to have been moved to tears by this, saying, "What a city we have given over to plunder and destruction."[99]

Looting was carried out on a massive scale by sailors and marines who entered the city via other walls before they had been suppressed by regular troops, who were beyond the main gate. According toDavid Nicolle,the ordinary people were treated better by their Ottoman conquerors than their ancestors had been by Crusaders back in 1204, stating that only about 4,000 Greeks died in the siege, while according to aVenetian Senatereport, 50 Venetian noblemen and over 500 other Venetian civilians died during the siege.[100]Many of the riches of the city were already looted in1204,leaving only limited loot to the Ottomans.[101]

Other sources claim far more brutal and successful pillaging by the Ottoman invaders.Leonard of Chiosmade accounts of the atrocities that followed the fall of Constantinople stated the Ottoman invaders pillaged the city, murdered or enslaved tens of thousands of people, and raped nuns, women and children:

All the valuables and other booty were taken to their camp, and as many as sixty thousand Christians who had been captured. The crosses which had been placed on the roofs or the walls of churches were torn down and trampled. Women were raped, virgins deflowered and youths forced to take part in shameful obscenities. The nuns left behind, even those who were obviously such, were disgraced with foul debaucheries.[102]

During three days of pillaging, the Ottoman invaders captured children and took them away to their tents, and became rich by plundering the imperial palace and the houses of Constantinople. The Ottoman official Tursun Beg wrote:

After having completely overcome the enemy, the soldiers began to plunder the city. They enslaved boys and girls and took silver and gold vessels, precious stones and all sorts of valuable goods and fabrics from the imperial palace and the houses of the rich... Every tent was filled with handsome boys and beautiful girls.[103]

If any citizens of Constantinople tried to resist, they were slaughtered. According toNiccolò Barbaro,"all through the day the Turks made a great slaughter of Christians through the city". According toMakarios Melissenos:

As soon as the Turks were inside the City, they began to seize and enslave every person who came their way; all those who tried to offer resistance were put to the sword. In many places the ground could not be seen, as it was covered by heaps of corpses.[104]

The women of Constantinople suffered from rape at the hands of Ottoman forces.[105]According to historianPhilip Mansel,widespread persecution of the city's civilian inhabitants took place, resulting in thousands of murders and rapes.[17]The vast majority of the citizens of Constantinople (30,000–50,000) were forced to become slaves.[17][19][106][18][107]

"They made the people of the city slaves and killed their emperor, and the gazis embraced their pretty girls", confirm Ottoman Chroniclers.[108]

According to Nicolas de Nicolay, slaves were displayed naked at the city's slave market, and young girls could be purchased.[109]The elder refugees in the Hagia Sophia were slaughtered and the women raped.[110]George Sphrantzessays that people of both genders were raped insideHagia Sophia.According toSteven Runcimanmost of the elderly and the infirm/wounded and sick who were refugees inside the churches were killed, and the remainder were chained up and sold into slavery.[111]

"Everywhere there was misfortune, everyone was touched by pain" when Mehmed entered the city. "There were lamentations and weeping in every house, screaming in the crossroads, and sorrow in all churches; the groaning of grown men and the shrieking of women accompanied looting, enslavement, separation, and rape."[112]Mehmed entered the Hagia Sophia, "marveling at the sight" of the grand basilica. Witnessing a Ghazi wildly hammering at the marble floor, he asked what he was doing. "It is for the Faith!" the Ghazi said. Mehmed cut him down with hisKilij:"Be satisfied with the booty and the captives; the buildings of the city belong to me."[113]

During the festivities, "and as he had promised his viziers and his other officers," Mehmed had the "wretched citizens of Constantinople" dragged before them and "ordered many of them to be hacked to pieces, for the sake of entertainment."[114][page needed][115]

Byzantine historianDoukasclaims that, while drunk during his victory banquet, the Sultan ordered the Grand DukeLoukas Notarasto give his youngest son to him for his pleasure. He replied that "it would be far better for me to die than hand over my own child to be despoiled by him." Mehmed was enraged after hearing this and ordered Loukas to be executed. Before his death, Notaras supposedly said that "Him who was crucified for us, died and arose" ' and urged his horrified sons to reject the advances of Mehmed and not fear the outcome. Their father's words encouraged them, and they also "were ready to die". They are also said to have been executed.[116]However, American researcher and professor Walter G. Andrew doubts the authenticity of this story, citing the similarities with the earlier story of SaintPelagius,he states that, "it is likely that Doukas's tale owes more to Saint Pelagius and a long history of attempts to portray Muslims as morally inferior than to anything that actually happened during the conquest of Constantinople/Istanbul."[117]

Aftermath

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Mehmed IIgranted his soldiers three days to plunder the city, as he had promised them and in accordance with the custom of the time.[118][119]By noon, the city streets were filled with blood. The Turks looted houses, raped and impaled women and children, destroyed churches, tore icons from their frames and books from their bindings. All that remained of the imperial palace in Blachernae were the walls; Byzantium's most sacred icon, theHodegetria,was cut into four pieces and destroyed. The most monstrous events took place in the Church of Hagia Sophia. There, the morning service was already underway when the parishioners heard the maddened conquerors approaching. The huge bronze doors immediately slammed shut, but soon the Turks smashed them and entered the temple. The poorer and less attractive looking parishioners were killed on the spot, the rest were taken to a Turkish camp, where they remained to await the decision of their fate.[120]Soldiers fought over the possession of some of thespoils of war.[121]On the third day of the conquest,Mehmed IIordered alllootingto stop and issued a proclamation that all Christians who had avoided capture or who had been ransomed could return to their homes without further molestation, although many had no homes to return to, and many more had been taken captive and not ransomed.[122]Byzantine historianGeorge Sphrantzes,an eyewitness to the fall of Constantinople, described the Sultan's actions:[123][page needed][124][page needed]

On the third day after the fall of our city, the Sultan celebrated his victory with a great, joyful triumph. He issued a proclamation: the citizens of all ages who had managed to escape detection were to leave their hiding places throughout the city and come out into the open, as they were to remain free and no question would be asked. He further declared the restoration of houses and property to those who had abandoned our city before the siege. If they returned home, they would be treated according to their rank and religion, as if nothing had changed.

— George Sphrantzes

Mehmed himself knocked over and trampled on the altar of the Hagia Sophia. He then ordered a muezzin to ascend the pulpit and sound a prayer.[125][126]TheHagia Sophiawas converted into a mosque,[127]but theGreek Orthodox Churchwas allowed to remain intact andGennadius Scholariuswas appointedPatriarch of Constantinople.This was once thought to be the origin of theOttomanmilletsystem;however, it is now considered a myth and no such system existed in the fifteenth century.[128][129]

Following the city's conquest, the Church of theHoly Wisdom(theHagia Sophia) was converted into amosque.

The fall of Constantinople shocked many Europeans, who viewed it as a catastrophic event for their civilization.[130]Many feared other European Christian kingdoms would suffer the same fate as Constantinople. Two possible responses emerged amongst thehumanistsand churchmen of that era:Crusadeor dialogue.Pope Pius IIstrongly advocated for another Crusade, while the GermanNicholas of Cusasupported engaging in a dialogue with the Ottomans.[131]

In the past we received our wounds in Asia and in Africa—in foreign countries. This time, however, we are being attacked in Europe, in our own land, in our own house. You will protest that the Turks moved from Asia to Greece a long time ago, that the Mongols established themselves in Europe and the Arabs occupied parts of Spain, having approached through the straits of Gibraltar. We have never lost a city or a place comparable to Constantinople

— Pope Pius II[132]

TheMorean(Peloponnesian) fortress ofMystras,where Constantine's brothersThomasandDemetriusruled, constantly in conflict with each other and knowing that Mehmed would eventually invade them as well, held out until 1460. Long before the fall of Constantinople, Demetrius had fought for the throne with Thomas, Constantine, and their other brothersJohnandTheodore.[133]Thomas escaped to Rome when the Ottomans invaded Morea while Demetrius expected to rule a puppet state, but instead was imprisoned and remained there for the rest of his life. In Rome, Thomas and his family received some monetary support from the Pope and other Western rulers as Byzantine emperor in exile, until 1503. In 1461, the independent Byzantine state inTrebizondfell to Mehmed.[133]

Constantine XIhad died without producing an heir, and had Constantinople not fallen he likely would have been succeeded by the sons of his deceased elder brother, who were taken into the palace service of Mehmed after the fall of Constantinople. The oldest boy, renamed Murad, became a personal favourite of Mehmed and served asBeylerbey(Governor-General) ofRumeli(the Balkans). The younger son, renamedMesih Pasha,became Admiral of the Ottoman fleet and Sancak Beg (Governor) of the province of Gallipoli. He eventually served twice as Grand Vizier under Mehmed's son,Bayezid II.[134]

With the capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II had acquired the future capital of his kingdom, albeit one in decline due to years of war. The loss of the city was a crippling blow toChristendom,and it exposed the Christian West to a vigorous and aggressive foe in the East. The Christian reconquest of Constantinople remained a goal in Western Europe for many years after its fall to the Ottoman Empire. Rumours ofConstantine XI's survival and subsequent rescue by an angelled many to hope that the city would one day return to Christian hands.Pope Nicholas Vcalled for an immediate counter-attack in the form of a crusade,[citation needed]however no European powers wished to participate, and the Pope resorted to sending a small fleet of 10 ships to defend the city. The short lived Crusade immediately came to an end and as Western Europe entered the 16th century, theage of Crusadingbegan to come to an end.

For some time Greek scholars had gone toItalian city-states,a cultural exchange begun in 1396 byColuccio Salutati,chancellor of Florence, who had invitedManuel Chrysoloras,to lecture at theUniversity of Florence.[135]After the conquest many Greeks, such asJohn ArgyropoulosandConstantine Lascaris,fled the city and found refuge in the Latin West,bringing with them knowledge and documents from the Greco-Roman tradition to Italyand other regions that further propelled theRenaissance.[136][137]Those Greeks who stayed behind in Constantinople mostly lived in thePhanarandGalatadistricts of the city. ThePhanariotes,as they were called, provided many capable advisers to the Ottoman rulers.

A severed head that was claimed to belong to Byzantine EmperorConstantine XI Palaiologoswas found and presented to Mehmed and nailed onto a column. While standing before the head, the sultan in his speech said:[138]

Fellow soldiers, this one thing was lacking to make the glory of such a victory complete. Now, at this happy and joyful moment of time, we have the riches of the Greeks, we have won their empire, and their religion is completely extinguished. Our ancestors eagerly desired to achieve this; rejoice now since it is your bravery which has won this kingdom for us.

The news spread rapidly across the Islamic world. In Egypt "good tidings were proclaimed, and Cairo decorated" to celebrate "this greatest of conquests." The Sharif of Mecca wrote to Mehmed, calling the Sultan "the one who has aided Islam and the Muslims, the Sultan of all kings and sultans". The fact that Constantinople, which was long "known for being indomitable in the eyes of all," as the Sharif of Mecca said, had fallen and that the Prophet Muhammad's prophecy came true shocked the Islamic world and filled it with a great jubilation and rapture.[139]

Third Rome

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Main article:Third Rome
Mehmed II byGentile Bellini

Byzantiumis a term used by modern historians to refer to the later Roman Empire. In its own time, the Empire ruled from Constantinople (or "New Rome" as some people call it, although this was a laudatory expression that was never an official title) and was simply considered as "the Roman Empire." The fall of Constantinople led competing factions to lay claim to being the inheritors of the Imperial mantle. Russian claims to Byzantine heritage clashed with those of the Ottoman Empire's own claim. In Mehmed's view, he was the successor to theRoman Emperor,declaring himselfKayser-i Rum,literally "Caesar of the Romans",that is, of the Roman Empire, though he was remembered as" the Conqueror ".

Stefan Dušan,Tsar ofSerbia,andIvan Alexander,Tsar ofBulgaria,both made similar claims, regarding themselves as legitimate heirs to the Roman Empire[citation needed].Other potential claimants, such as theRepublic of Veniceand theHoly Roman Empirehave disintegrated into history.[140]

Impact on the Churches

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Pope Pius IIbelieved that the Ottomans would persecuteGreek OrthodoxChristians and advocated for another crusade at theCouncil of Mantuain 1459.[130][141]

Legacy

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Siege of Constantinople on a mural at theMoldovița Monasteryin Romania, painted in 1537

Legends

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There are many legends in Greece surrounding the Fall of Constantinople. It was said thatthe partial lunar eclipsethat occurred on 22 May 1453 represented a fulfilment of a prophecy of the city's demise.[142]

Four days later, the whole city was blotted out by a thickfog,a condition unknown in that part of the world in May. When the fog lifted that evening, a strange light was seen playing about the dome of theHagia Sophia,which some interpreted as theHoly Spiritdeparting from the city. "This evidently indicated the departure of the Divine Presence, and its leaving the City in total abandonment and desertion, for the Divinity conceals itself in cloud and appears and again disappears."[143]

For others, there was still a distant hope that the lights were the campfires of the troops ofJohn Hunyadiwho had come to relieve the city. It is possible that all these phenomena were local effects of the cataclysmic1452/1453 mystery eruptionwhich occurred around the time of the siege. The "fire" seen may have been an optical illusion due to the reflection of intensely red twilight glow by clouds of volcanic ash high in the atmosphere.[144]

Another legend holds that two priests sayingdivine liturgyover the crowd disappeared into the cathedral's walls as the first Turkish soldiers entered. According to the legend, the priests will appear again on the day that Constantinople returns to Christian hands.[111]Another legend refers to theMarble Emperor(Constantine XI), holding that an angel rescued the emperor when the Ottomans entered the city, turning him into marble and placing him in a cave under the earth near the Golden Gate, where he waits to be brought to life again (a variant of thesleeping herolegend).[145][146]However, many of the myths surrounding the disappearance of Constantine were developed later and little evidence can be found to support them even in friendly primary accounts of the siege.

Cultural impact

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Mehmed the Conquerorenters Constantinople, painting byFausto Zonaro

Guillaume Dufaycomposed several songs lamenting the fall of the Eastern church, and theduke of Burgundy,Philip the Good,avowedto take up arms against the Turks. However, as the growing Ottoman power from this date on coincided with theProtestant Reformationand subsequentCounter-Reformation,the recapture of Constantinople became an ever-distant dream. Even France, once a fervent participant in the Crusades,became an ally of the Ottomans.

Nonetheless, depictions of Christian coalitions taking the city and of the late Emperor's resurrection byLeo the Wisepersisted.[147]

29 May 1453, the day of the fall of Constantinople, fell on a Tuesday, and since thenTuesdayhas been considered an unlucky day by Greeks generally.[148]

Impact on the Renaissance

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Main article:Greek scholars in the Renaissance

The migration waves ofByzantinescholars and émigrés in the period following thesacking of Constantinopleand the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is considered by many scholars key to the revival ofGreekandRomanstudies that led to the development of theRenaissance humanism[137][better source needed]andscience.These émigrés were grammarians, humanists, poets, writers, printers, lecturers, musicians, astronomers, architects, academics, artists, scribes, philosophers, scientists, politicians and theologians.[149][better source needed]They brought to Western Europe the far greater preserved and accumulated knowledge of Byzantine civilization. According to theEncyclopædia Britannica:"Many modern scholars also agree that the exodus of Greeks to Italy as a result of this event marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance".[7]

Renaming of the city

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Ottomans used the Arabic transliteration of the city's name "Qosṭanṭīniyye" (القسطنطينية) or "Kostantiniyye", as can be seen in numerous Ottoman documents.Islambol(اسلامبول,Full of Islam) orIslambul(find Islam) orIslam(b)ol(oldTurkic:be Islam), both inTurkish,werefolk-etymologicaladaptations ofIstanbulcreated after the Ottoman conquest of 1453 to express the city's new role as the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire. It is first attested shortly after the conquest, and its invention was ascribed by some contemporary writers toMehmed IIhimself.[150]

Thename of Istanbulis thought to be derived from the Greek phraseīs tīmbolī(n)(Greek:εἰς τὴν πόλιν,translit.eis tēn pólin,"to the City" ), and it is claimed that it had already spread among the Turkish populace of the Ottoman Empire before the conquest. However, Istanbul only became the official name of the city in 1930 by the revised Turkish Postal Law.[151][152][153]

Primary sources

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For the fall of Constantinople,Marios Philippidesand Walter Hanak list 15 eyewitness accounts (13 Christian and 2 Turkish) and 20 contemporary non-eyewitness accounts (13 Italian).[154]

Eyewitness accounts

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  1. Mehmed Şems el-Mille ve'd Din,Sufi holy man who gives an account in a letter
  2. Tursun Beg,wrote a history entitledTarih-i Abu'l Fath
  3. George Sphrantzes,the only Greek eyewitness who wrote about it, but his laconic account is almost entirely lacking in narrative
  4. Leonard of Chios,wrote a report to Pope Nicholas V
  5. Nicolò Barbaro,physician on a Venetian galley who kept a journal
  6. Angelino Giovanni Lomellini,Genoesepodestàof Pera who wrote a report dated 24 June 1453
  7. Jacopo Tetaldi,Florentine merchant
  8. Isidore of Kiev,Orthodox churchman who wrote eight letters to Italy
  9. Benvenuto,Anconitan consul in Constantinople
  10. Ubertino Puscolo,Italian poet learning Greek in the city, wrote an epic poem
  11. Eparkhos and Diplovatatzes,two refugees whose accounts has become garbled through multiple translations
  12. Nestor Iskander,youthful eyewitness who wrote a Slavonic account
  13. Samile the Vladik,bishop who, like Eparkhos and Diplovatatzes, fled as a refugee toWallachia
  14. Konstantin Mihailović,Serbian who fought on the Ottoman side
  15. a report by someFranciscanprisoners of war who later came to Bologna

Non-eyewitness accounts

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  1. Doukas,a Byzantine Greek historian, one of the most important sources for the last decades and eventual fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans
  2. Laonikos Chalkokondyles,a Byzantine Greek historian
  3. Michael Kritoboulos,a Byzantine Greek historian
  4. Makarios Melissourgos,16th-century historian who augmented the account of Sphrantzes, not very reliably
  5. Paolo Dotti,Venetian official on Crete whose account is based on oral reports
  6. Fra Girolamo's letter from Crete toDomenico Capranica
  7. Lauro Quirini,wrote a report to Pope Nicholas V from Crete based on oral reports
  8. Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini(Pope Pius II), wrote an account based on written sources
  9. Henry of Soemmern,wrote a letter dated 11 September 1453 in which he cites his sources of information
  10. Niccola della Tuccia,whoseCronaca di Viterbowritten in the autumn of 1453 contains unique information
  11. Niccolò Tignosi da Foligno,Expugnatio Constantinopolitana,part of a letter to a friend
  12. Filippo da Rimini,Excidium Constantinopolitanae urbis quae quondam Bizantium ferebatur
  13. Antonio Ivani da Sarzana,Expugnatio Constantinopolitana,part of a letter to the duke of Urbino
  14. Nikolaos Sekoundinos,read a report before the Venetian Senate, the Pope and the Neapolitan court
  15. Giacomo Languschi,whose account is embedded in the Venetian chronicle ofZorzi Dolfin,had access to eyewitnesses
  16. John Moskhos,wrote a poem in honour of Loukas Notaras
  17. Adamo di Montaldo,De Constantinopolitano excidio ad nobilissimum iuvenem Melladucam Cicadam,which contains unique information
  18. Ashikpashazade,included a chapter on the conquest in hisTarih-i al-i Osman[155]
  19. Neshri,included a chapter on the conquest in his universal history[155]
  20. Evliya Çelebi,17th-century traveller who collected local traditions of the conquest[155]

Notes

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  1. ^Đurađ Branković,being a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, had to send 1,500 soldiers to help Mehmed II in his siege of Constantinople.[1][2]
  2. ^Some contemporaneous Western sources gave exaggerated figures ranging from 160,000 to 300,000.[6]
  3. ^While Mehmed II had been steadily preparing for the siege of Constantinople, he had sent the old general Turakhan and the latter's two sons, Ahmed Beg and Omar Beg, to invade theMoreaand to remain there all winter also to prevent the despots Thomas and Demetrius from giving aid to Constantine XI.[36]
  4. ^According to Sphrantzes, whom Constantine had ordered to make a census, the Emperor was appalled when the number of native men capable of bearing arms turned out to be only 4,983. Leonardo di Chio gave a number of 6,000 Greeks.[42]
  5. ^The SpanishCristóbal de Villalónclaims there were ' 60,000 Turkish households, 40,000 Greek and Armenian, 10,000 Jewish.[42]
  6. ^These were the three Genoese ships sent by the Pope, joined by a large Imperial transport ship which had been sent on a foraging mission to Sicily previous to the siege and was on its way back to Constantinople.[82]
  7. ^Runcimanspeculates that he may have been Scottish.[88]
  8. ^Original text: Τὸ δὲ τὴν πόλιν σοῖ δοῦναι οὔτ' ἐμὸν ἐστίν οὔτ' ἄλλου τῶν κατοικούντων ἐν ταύτῃ• κοινῇ γὰρ γνώμῃ πάντες αὐτοπροαιρέτως ἀποθανοῦμεν καὶ οὐ φεισόμεθα τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν.[90]
  9. ^Sources hostile towards the Genoese (such as the Venetian Nicolò Barbaro), however, report that Longo was only lightly wounded or not wounded at all, but, overwhelmed by fear, simulated the wound to abandon the battlefield, determining the fall of the city. These charges of cowardice and treason were so widespread that theRepublic of Genoahad to deny them by sending diplomatic letters to the Chancelleries ofEngland,France,theDuchy of Burgundyand others.[96]Giustiniani was carried toChios,where he succumbed to his wounds a few days later.
  10. ^Barbaro added the description of the emperor's heroic last moments to his diary based on information he received afterward. According to some Ottoman sources Constantine was killed in an accidental encounter with Turkish marines a little further to the south, presumably while making his way to the Sea of Marmara in order to escape by sea.[98]

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  5. ^abcLilie (2005),p. 464.
  6. ^abcdePertusi, Agostino, ed. (1976).La Caduta di Costantinopoli, I: Le testimonianze dei contemporanei. (Scrittori greci e latini)[The Fall of Constantinople, I: The Testimony of the Contemporary Greek and Latin Writers] (in Italian). Vol. I. Verona: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla.
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Books

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  • Vasiliev, Alexander (1928).A History of the Byzantine Empire, Vol. II.Vol. II. Translated by Ragozin, S. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Journal articles

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Websites

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Further reading

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  • Babinger, Franz(1992):Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time.Princeton University Press.ISBN0-691-01078-1.
  • Fletcher, Richard A.:The Cross and the Crescent(2005) Penguin GroupISBN0-14-303481-2.
  • Harris, Jonathan (2007):Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium.Hambledon/Continuum.ISBN978-1-84725-179-4.
  • Harris, Jonathan (2010):The End of Byzantium.Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-11786-8.
  • Momigliano, Arnaldo;Schiavone, Aldo (1997).Storia di Roma, 1(in Italian). Turin: Einaudi.ISBN88-06-11396-8.
  • Murr Nehme, Lina(2003).1453: The Conquest of Constantinople.Aleph Et Taw.ISBN2-86839-816-2.
  • Pertusi, Agostino, ed. (1976).La Caduta di Costantinopoli, II: L'eco nel mondo[The Fall of Constantinople, II: The Echo in the World] (in Italian). Vol. II. Verona: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla.
  • Novo, Andrew, Queen of Cities, Seattle, Coffeetown Press, 2010.ISBN978-1603810760
  • Philippides, Marios and Walter K. Hanak, The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Ashgate, Farnham and Burlington 2011.
  • Smith, Michael Llewellyn, "The Fall of Constantinople", inHistory Makers magazineNo. 5 (London, Marshall Cavendish, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1969) p. 192.
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew (2003):The Infidels: The Conflict Between Christendom and Islam, 638–2002.Viking PublishingISBN0-670-86942-2.
  • Wintle, Justin(2003):The Rough Guide History of Islam.Rough Guides.ISBN1-84353-018-X.
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Fall of Constantinople
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