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The Fall of Constantinople

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 marked the end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the early modern period.

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The city's Theodosian Walls, which had protected it for 800 years, were overcome by Ottoman cannons and bombards.[1][2]

Key facts and history

Recent studies and Ottoman archival data state there were some 50,000–80,000 Ottoman soldiers.[3] In 330, Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor, consecrated Constantinople, and from that time it served as an imperial capital.[4] The Palaiologos dynasty saw the Byzantine Empire restored in 1261 after the Nicaeans recaptured Constantinople from the Latins.[5] Roughly half of Constantinople's population perished from the Black Death during the period spanning 1346 to 1349.[6]

Mehmed II was 19 years old at the time of his succession to his father's throne in 1451.[7]

What the cited sources add

The World History Encyclopedia account notes that Constantinople was founded by Constantine I in 324 CE and acted as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for over 1,000 years.[8] The same source states that the city was conquered, smashed, and looted on Tuesday, 29 May 1453 CE.[8] After the conquest, Mehmed entered the city and declared that the Hagia Sophia church be immediately converted into a mosque.[8] The same source adds that Constantinople was made the new Ottoman capital, and the Christian community was permitted to survive, guided by bishop Gennadeios II.[8]

Cartwright's article on the Theodosian Walls notes that Theodosius II, the emperor, ordered the construction of a substantial triple-wall fortification system after the Goths captured Rome in 410 CE.[2]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Fall of Constantinople" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cartwright, "Theodosian Walls", World History Encyclopedia; "The fall of Constantinople", The Economist, 18 June 2017; Cartwright, "1453: The Fall of Constantinople", World History Encyclopedia; Silverburg, "The Middle East Online: Series 1: Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917–1970. Edited by Eugene Rogan. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale", Microform & Imaging Review, 26 January 2007 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Cartwright, "Theodosian Walls", World History Encyclopedia. facts only, no text reused. worldhistory.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Fall of Constantinople" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "La Caduta di Costantinopoli, I: Le testimonianze dei contemporanei. (Scrittori greci e latini)", Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 1976; Lanning 2005, p. 139–140; Nicolle 2000, p. ; İnalcıkt, "Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Klasik Çağ (1300–1600)", Orion, 2001; Buc 2020; Ivanović 2019; Buc 2020; Ivanović 2019; "La Caduta di Costantinopoli, I: Le testimonianze dei contemporanei. (Scrittori greci e latini)", Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, 1976; Nicolò Barbaro, Giornale dell'Assedio di Costantinopoli, 1453. The autograph copy is conserved in the Bibliot en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Fall of Constantinople" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Norwich 1997, p. 304 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Fall of Constantinople" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Norwich 1997, p. 304; Madden, "Crusades: The Illustrated History", University of Michigan, 2005; Haldon, "Byzantium at War 600–1453", Osprey, 2000; Mango 2002 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Fall of Constantinople" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Black Death" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Fall of Constantinople" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Runciman 1965, p. 76; Crowley 2005; Norwich 1997, p. 304 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Cartwright, "1453: The Fall of Constantinople", World History Encyclopedia. facts only, no text reused. worldhistory.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Fall of Constantinople (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Empire of NicaeaTurkish language

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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