FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE: BACKGROUND, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The fall of Constantinople was a warlike event that occurred on May 20, 1453 in which the Ottoman Empire won victory, which for historians meant the end of the Middle Ages on the European continent and the end of the last vestiges that they remained of the Roman Empire in the East.

Since the middle of the fourteenth century the Ottoman Empire had appropriated many territories of Christian inclination; only Constantinople, the great metropolis, remained intact, being one of the most important cities at that time thanks to its privileged location.

The fall of Constantinople in 1453. Akcel1406, from Wikimedia Commons

For the Muslims, Constantinople was a promised city. According to their beliefs, Muhammad had prophesied that this city would fall. For 1000 years several of the Byzantine emperors had resisted the attacks of their adversaries in the Bosphorus, by creating impenetrable walls and a forceful weaponry.

Constantinople is said to have been great. Among its great attractions were its powerful fortifications, which had been designed in order to protect the power of that city. In the middle of the 15th century, these walls were the ones that protected the last Christian enclosure that had not been touched by the Ottoman power.

In 1453 there was a new threat: the young Sultan Mehmed II decided to conquer the city of Constantinople at all costs. Before his arrival, many of the sultans who had preceded him had the same aspiration; however, none had managed to penetrate the city before.

It is said that the sultan had the largest cannons in the world made at that time by a Hungarian blacksmith. This weaponry was at the service of the greatest Muslim power of that time, whose military campaign was aimed at establishing the only true faith.

On April 12, 1453, the Turkish cannons opened fire, thus penetrating the huge and rough walls that were believed to be invulnerable. Six weeks later, on May 20, the confrontation ended, thus handing over control of the coveted metropolis to Muslims, after centuries of trying to possess it.

Background

Birth of the Ottoman Empire

Constantinople had been faltering for several centuries, when the Byzantine dominions located in southern Italy were disappearing due to the continuous attacks of Robert Guiscard and his Normans.

In addition, to the north an Asian tribe was also brewing, known as the Cumans, who invaded several European provinces.

However, the most terrible enemy of the city was forming in the east, where various Turkish tribes invaded the Islamic regions and converted to the Islamic religion. While this was happening, the Byzantine Empire was crumbling internally due to a lack of strong leadership.

A new Turkish tribe manifested at that time. During 1037 and 1055 he established his government in Persia and then they captured Baghdad, prompting them to become the greatest power in the Islamic world.

Decline of Constantinople

In the year 1190 the decline of the city began to be more noticeable since, when the Byzantines refused to participate in the Third Crusade, they chose to remain in a neutral position.

This caused that the crusaders stormed the city in 1204. However, some decades later Miguel VIII Palaiologos managed to reconquer the city.

The Ottomans had already acquired several Byzantine territories before the final catastrophe, leaving Constantinople untidy of its territorial defenses. For example, the Muslims had taken some cities of Asian origin such as Nicaea, Nicomedia and Bursa.

Despite political differences, the Byzantine regent Cantacuceno enlisted the help of the Turks to maintain order within the Byzantine Empire.

In fact, Cantacuceno made three alliances with the Muslims, which was not beneficial for the Byzantines because, in form of payment, the regent granted him a fortress located on the European side, which offered a strategic position for the Ottomans.

In addition, Prince Suleiman decided to take the city of Gallipoli, which allowed the Ottoman Empire to have control over the peninsula and a favorable position for the expansion of its territories.

When Cantacuceno asked for the return of Gallipoli, the empire of the Turks decided to break relations with Constantinople, becoming adversaries again.

Decisions of the Ottomans

To maintain control of the peninsula, the Ottomans made some decisions that delayed the fall of Constantinople. Sultan Bayazid had decided to attack the great metropolis by destroying its fields and isolating the city.

However, Constantinople could still obtain supplies from the sea, since the Ottomans did not close the sea lane.

In this way, Constantinople managed to resist for six more years until the Turkish-Mongolian army commanded by Tamerlane settled in the Ottoman Empire in the eastern area, so Sultan Beyazid had to return to his territory in 1402.

For two decades the Byzantines managed to rest from the insistence of the Ottomans, as this Empire faced a family dispute, where Mehmed I emerged triumphant and assumed power.

In 1422 Manuel Palaiologos decided that the most convenient thing for the survival of Constantinople was to ally himself with the new Turkish prince.

However, Murad II (who was Mehmed's son) did not agree to this request, so he sent 10,000 warriors to encircle the entrances to the metropolis. Despite this, the city managed to prevail once more.

Causes

Siege of Constantinople 1453 map-fr.svg: Sémhur (talkcontribs) derivative work: Rowanwindwhistler, via Wikimedia Commons

As stated in previous paragraphs, the decline of Constantinople occurred progressively over the decades, in the first instance due to the massive expansion of the Turks, as well as the failed decisions made by the Byzantine emperors.

In addition, to this is added that the Byzantine army had been greatly reduced as a result of the Black Death, a disease that had hit the city at its time of greatest vulnerability.

Similarly, another cause was that, since the population was mostly Latin and Greek, the religion that was taught was Orthodox, instead of following the commandments of the Roman Church. This resulted in the excommunication of the Byzantine country.

Finally, it should be mentioned that from the beginning of the metropolis the Byzantines were strongly dependent on the walls that surrounded Constantinople.

Despite the fact that these constituted the main defense of the city, the Ottomans were in charge of conglomerating one of the largest armies of late antiquity, which assured them victory.

Development

The Byzantines longed for the help of the West; however, Rome and its allies refused to assist them due to their religious differences (between the Orthodox and Roman Churches).

In a moment of despair, John VIII tried to resolve the religious differences between the two nations through a council that was held in Ferrara; However, this brought discontent in the Byzantine population, since some rejected the Roman Church and others supported the political and military tactics of John VIII.

Constantine XI

In 1448 the Byzantine King John VIII died, so his brother Constantine XI had to assume the throne a year later. Constantine had the support of the crowd, as he had gained popularity after having participated in the Peloponnesian war campaign against the Turks.

Constantine, like John VIII, agreed with his brother regarding the necessary conciliation between the Christian churches of the East and the West, which annoyed the Byzantine clergy and Sultan Murad II, who was aware that this alliance could wreak havoc on your territorial expansion projects.

In 1451 Sultan Murad II died and was succeeded by his son Mehmed II. At the beginning of his reign, Mehmed had promised not to attack the Byzantine territories.

This made Constantine trust himself, which prompted him to demand an income from the Ottomans for the maintenance of a Turkish prince who was held hostage in the metropolis.

This upset Mehmed II greatly not only because of the injury to his relative, but also because of the impudence of Constantine, who was in no position to demand such an agreement. For this reason Mehmed, who had always coveted Constantinople, decided to attack the great city to its full potential.

Start of the war

The Byzantines, who now had the support of the western territories, received three Genoese ships. These were sent by the pope and were intended to supply provisions, weapons and food. Similarly, 300 archers from Naples were sent.

Likewise, the Venetians collaborated with 800 soldiers and 15 boats, along with several barrels full of Greek fire.

Constantine XI conducted a census of the city to find out who could be counted on for the battle. The result was not encouraging, since it only had 50,000 inhabitants due to constant fighting and the Black Death.

In the city's splendor, Constantinople had had half a million inhabitants. Furthermore, at that time they only had 5000 soldiers to maintain the defense.

For their part, the Ottomans built a giant wall in order to surround the city. This time Mehmed II did not want to leave loose ends like his predecessors, so he blocked the sea entrances, thus prohibiting any kind of supply for the great metropolis.

In 1452 a Hungarian blacksmith and engineer named Orbón volunteered to make the most terrible weapon for the sultan. This thirty-foot cannon was called the Great Bombard.

Attack and confrontation

The war event began on April 7, 1453, when the Great Bombard fired the first shot. Never before had the wall of Constantinople been weakened until then. In just a few weeks, the once secure fortifications collapsed.

During the nights the Byzantines tried to repair the damage to the wall using wood, stones and sand barrels. However, the Ottomans were in no hurry; Mehmed knew that he would achieve victory.

At first the Byzantines believed that they could survive the siege, having achieved two rather hopeful victories. However, on April 22, the sultan led a brilliant strategic coup, as he ordered the construction of a road that would allow him to push his ships overland, thus avoiding the Byzantine contingents.

To cause fear and as a protest, the Byzantines decided to behead 200 Turks who were prisoners and then throw their corpses over the imposing walls.

At that time, manpower was beginning to run low, while soldiers were exhausted and supplies were running low. Trying to keep up his spirits, Constantine stood by his men and coordinated the defenses.

After several failed attempts and with exhausted troops, Mehmed ordered a total attack on the Byzantine fortifications; However, Constantinople did not yield for two hours.

Later, thanks to the cannon, they finally managed to tear down the wall; However, Constantine ordered a human chain to be made in order to prevent the passage of the Turks.

It is said that the Byzantine emperor fought to death in front of its walls and alongside his men. Constantine was beheaded and his head was kidnapped by the Turks.

Consequences

As a consequence of this military attack, some believers considered that the end of the Christian era was approaching, since they had lost an important city located in the East. Similarly, the trade that existed between Europe and Asia abruptly ceased.

Likewise, Europe had to establish new trade routes, giving way to maritime excursions that contributed to the discovery of America.

A positive aspect of the fall of this city is that several Greek scholars and intellectuals fled to Italy, which favored the artistic movement of the Renaissance.

With the fall of Constantinople the Roman Empire ended once and for all. Furthermore, Christendom was divided between the western and the eastern, the latter eclipsed under Turkish rule.

References

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3. López, F. (sf) Constantinople, 1453: A synthesis and some reflections. Retrieved on December 18, 2018 from WordPress: apccuam.files.wordpress.com
4. Asimov, I. (1970) Retrieved on December 18 from Bdigital: bdigital.binal.ac.pa
5. Barreiro, R. (nd) The siege and fall of Constantinople. Retrieved on December 19, 2018 from CEFA digital: cefadigital.edu.ar