Fall of Constantinople - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

The falls of Constantinople took place the May 29th 1453 and marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, as well as a new era of expansion for the Ottoman Empire. The historians consider sometimes that this date marks also the Fin the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance.

State of the Byzantine empire

In 1453, the Byzantine Empire is tiny room to the adequate portion. The Paléologues do not exert any more the power but around Constantinople and part of the Peloponnese. The Byzantines do not control any more the shopping streets between the Occident and the Far East which had contributed to their enrichment. The commercial concessions granted to Venetian and Génois notably increased with the wire of the centuries, the cases are in fact vacuums.

The city already had been encircled by the Turkish forces in 1393. Only in front of the obligation to fight the Mongols in the East, the Turks left the safe city. The years which followed constituted one period of relative calm for Constantinople, the Othomans being occupied by dynastic quarrels.

This lull was not made profitable to reinforce the Empire. The theological competitions between the churches of the East and Occident prevented the routing of assistance to the Byzantines. In addition, mistrust towards the Westerners was large following the bag of the city at the time of the Fourth crusade in 1204. Lucas Notaras, the last Lord High Admiral of the Byzantine fleet would have said: “Better the turban of a sultan is worth than the miter of a bishop”.

In 1422, Murad II, having put an end to the dynastic quarrels, makes the head office of Constantinople, implied in the intrigues of the Othoman court. It plunders the Byzantine possessions of the Peloponnese. The sultan negotiates nevertheless a peace treaty and the payment of a tribute with Jean VIII Paleologist in order to turn over to subdue a revolt in Anatolia.

In 1430, the Turkish forces take and put at bag Thessalonique and reduce the population in slavery.

The Othoman threat is done increasingly pressing and the Basileus Jean VIII Paleologist is decided to find an agreement with the church of Occident. Also, in 1438, it takes the sea for Italy while taking along with him of the theologists and the bishops (they are nearly 700 to have made the voyage). The two churches meet in the Concile of Ferrare and Concile of Florence. An agreement ends up being found between the churches Latin and orthodoxe in 1439.

In 1440, the Turks are pushed back in front of Belgrade and the pope conceives great hopes of them. He thus preaches for a new crusade. This one is ordered by Vladislas, king de Pologne and of Hungary. In 1444, the crusaders are put in rout at the Bataille of Varna, Vladislas is killed.

In 1448, a new battle takes place with Kossovo Polié; the Turks, thanks to forces four times more, gain the victory over the Hungarian troops of Jean Hunyadi. It was the last attempt to help the Byzantine empire failing.

In 1451, Mehmet II reaches the capacity and as soon as on the throne, the head office of Constantinople prepares. The same year, the sultan, eager to remove all chances of help in Constantinople, signs a treaty with Venice (September 10th), then with Jean Hunyadi (November 20th). Constantinople, given up by its allies, is found only vis-a-vis the very strong Turkish military organization. In 1452, it makes build the fortress of Rouméli-Hissar to block the entry of the Bosphorus to the Christians. Nothing any more is opposed so that the Turks conquer the city.

Unfolding of the seat

Since its accession with the throne, Mehmet II prepares the attack against Constantinople. In front of the reputation of solidity of the walls of the city, it makes especially contruire guns by a Hungarian engineer, Urbain. The Byzantines could not offir its services, it thus went to propose them to the Turks. The sultan places at the disposal of Urbain all the means necessary in order to melt of the guns of strong gauge. He will melt of them one whose dimensions are formidable for the time, with the whole beginning of the Artillerie. Its tube had length a 7,80 m and it could draw from the balls of a mass of 544 kg.

On its side Constantinople hopelessly tries to exhort the Venetian admiral Gabriel Trévisano, which had brought the papal legate for the proclamation of the Union, to remain in Constantinople. But the Venetian one refuses and from goes away with its galères to the great displeasure of Constantin XI. However, on January 28th, 1453 Génois Giovanni Giustiniani, old podestat of Caffa arrives with two ships and 700 men. It is received very chaleuresement by the basileus. The inhabitants of the city of Péra, them, refuse to help the capital of the Byzantine empire because they are in peace with the sultan.

Thus, Phrantzès, which is the man that Constantin indicated to defend the city, counts in all and for only 4973 men including the volunteers like 2000 foreigners. This number is of course very insufficient to defend the Constantinople capital.

The armament in possession of the defenders was poor. They fought all with the knife and the artillery consisted of small iron guns. The navy, it, consisted of 7 to 8 ships located along the chain of the Corne of Gold. The emperor has an enormous evil to collect enough money to pay the troops and must ask some the Church. It is understood immediately that between the 7000 to 8000 men, for the majority volunteers and not having any experience with the combat, and the troops which the sultan had requested from all his vassal disproportion is enormous. Finally the fleet that Mehmet II raised proves most powerful which was ever gathered by the Ottoman Empire. It consists of 15 galères and several other types of ships ordered by Bulgarian Baltoglou and is positioned in Péra.

It is under these conditions that is on the point of being held thirtieth and last head office of Constantinople.

After two years of preparations, Mehmet II is ready and starts from Edirne the March 23rd 1453, it arrives under the walls of the city the April 5th, preceded by its army.

The Turks are positioned opposite the city, of the district of Blachernes until Propontide. Constantin XI organized the defense of the city of 14 sectors, Giustiniani with 400 knights must keep the Porte Saint-Romain, the most exposed to the attack of the Turks. The Greeks tried an exit well to obstruct the preparations of the Turks, but it was a bitter failure.

The following day, the Turkish army begins the ramming of the Mur of Théodose. One of the guns destroys a tower near the Saint-Romain Door. He will become famous because while exploding a few days later, he provoquea the death of his manufacturer. The fire of artillery lasts several days until the final attack.

In same time, the Turk seek to fill the ditch in front of the city with all the means available. On their side, besieged after a fashion try to repair the walls, while the Turks try to destroy them with mines which answer of the counter-mines génoise which pulverize Greek fire on the Turks. Then on April 18th, Mehmet II orders an attack of the infantrymen of night who are pushed back once again thanks to the Greek fire.

The engagements are also held on water; at the beginning of the seat the Turks had taken the control of the advanced stations of Constantinople. April 19th, the Turkish fleet tries the attack of the chain which bars the Gold Horn but it is pushed back by the mégaduc Lucas Notaras.

The evening of the April 20th, a fleet of three ships sent by the pope Nicolas V with vivres and ammunition manages to force the maritime blockade in spite of the intervention of Mehmet II which ordered with its admiral to destroy them. In front of the failure of this Baltoglou action is coiled of blow by the sultan. This providential help will be very useful, but insufficient for them. The tergiversations of Venice to send 15 boats in reinforcement make that these boats leave too late and arrive at one rather advanced moment of the seat; Constantinople cannot thus profit from this help.

The 22 in the morning, a fleet of a score of ships Turkish wet in the Corne of Gold. Constantinopolitains are dismayed because the passage towards this natural harbor, located at the east of the city, is ordered by a heavy chain whose Byzantines still have control. Mehmet II, remembering an old Russian strategy of the 10th century, made hoist the ships on ground by hundreds of oxen lasting during the night of bank of Top Hané until Péra, on approximately 1300 meters. For besieged the effect on the moral one is terrible, indeed the maritime wall is only protected very little (1 man for 2 or 3 crenels) and the defenders are obliged to bring men of other sectors what of course dismantles them.

But the ships sent by the sultan do not have the effect not discounted; indeed, they are in some prisoners kinds in the Gold Horn and do not have any liberty of action. Some ships Venetian coming from Trébizonde and directed by Jacopo Cocco try to go to set fire to these ships. The operation could have succeeded if Génois de Galata had not transmitted information to the sultan who hastens to destroy the ships flamers.

Little by little the defenders weaken and Génois and Vénitiens quarrel. April 23rd, Constantin XI tries to offer peace with the help of the payment of a tribute but Mehmet II answers: “I will take the city, or it will take to me dead or sharp”. The impatient sultan launches several attacks through the breaches of the wall, in particular between the door of Caligaria and carries it Turkey-red cotton May 7th and 12th, but the Turkish infantry is pushed back heroically by the defenders led by Constantin XI itself.

May 16th, the Turkish navy tries once again the attack of the chain but it is pushed back by Trévisano; to the same moment the sultan sends part of his fleet to mine the door of Caligaria, but Notaras prevents some. Two days afterwards, the attack is launched by means of a travelling tower (hélépole) which is advanced with the front of the walls but the machine is burnt after 24 hours of combat before the Turks do not take feet on the walls. Again, the 21, an attack is led to the front of the chain but it resists.

The final attack

After 40 days of intense combat, three breaches were carried out: between Tekfour-Seraï and the door of Turkey-red cotton to the Caligaria door, another breach on the side of the Saint-Romain door and the last with the door of Selymbria. The work of the defenders is to fill these breaches with all the means available. But of the seat the sultan is not to like the length more especially as the moral one of its troops dropped in particular because of a rumor of gigantic crusade in Occident. Mehmet II tries to be made deliver the city by capitulation, offering to the basileus Morée and in the event of refusal the massacre of Constantinopolitains, but Constantin XI answers that him and its men préfèrerent to die rather than to deliver the city. Nevertheless besieged are in a catastrophic situation, while the Turks receive reinforcements, the Greeks despair and the relations between the defenders are bad: Constantin XI has for example much evil to reconcile Notaras and Giustiniani whose relations were envenimées. May 3rd, a boat is sent in the Aegean Sea to have news of the Venetian fleet, but returns on May 23rd without any news of the Venetian ones. The defenders thus understand that they do not have any more any chance of help and that they must prepare with the last sacrifice.

The final attack is launched in the night from Monday the 28th to Tuesday, May 29, 1453. The battle lasts all during the night; in the small hour, the Turks manage to penetrate inside the city.

Venetian the Barbaro, witness of the catch of Constantinople tells that " the Turks made, by all the city a great carnage of Christians. Blood ran on the ground as if it rained and formed truths ruisseaux" of them;. the victorious Turks delivered themselves to plundering, the rape and the massacre a whole day. Slaughter stopped only when the Turks launched out in a terrible hunting to the slaves, reducing in captivity women, children and old men. They made Holy-Sophie a stable and delivered to fire an incalculable number of invaluable Greek and Latin manuscripts. the nuns were violated by the crews of the galères… (Source: Jacques Heers, Fall and Mort of Constantinople , PERRIN, coll Tempus).

Some Venetian citizens, and génois especially, manage to escape in crammed ships survivors. Basileus Constantin XI Paleologist, one finds only the imperial badges and a body that several soldiers, including Turkish, recognize being that of the emperor. The legend thus maintains the image a sovereign having fought until the last hours of Byzance, and died the sword with the hand.

Conclusion

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 is one key moment of the history. This date is even regarded for some as marking the end of the Middle Ages (instead of 1492). Indeed, the disappearance of the Byzantine empire marks the beginning of a new era. In spite of their complete satisfying for the state of Constantinople, its fall causes a great vacuum in Occident. The Byzantine empire had since its creation be a rampart with the Arab invasions, thus protecting the greatest part from Christian Europe. This empire was continuously in war and it is astonishing to think that it resisted during more than 1000 years the attack of 20 people and that its capital had to undergo the incredible number of 30 seats. Constantinople had during centuries be one of the richest cities and most populated in the world. The Byzantine empire had perpetuated the heritage of the Roman empire which, it, collapsed under the attack of the barbarians. This heritage was perpetuated through the centuries and nouveau riche. Constantinople marked the history of the people in an indelible way. The capital of this empire moreover was located at a strategic crossroads of first importance between the East and the Occident, Asia and Europe. All the main roads of trade converged there.

But the empire was ruined by the crusades and the catch of Constantinople by Latin. It was ruined unnecessarily because never the crusaders could not settle durably in the East. Of course the empire had known to be raised under the impulse of the Comnène and the Paléologue, but the Occident prevented some and more particularly Genoa and Venice which, wanting to allot the strategic points of the Empire charmed its independent source of richness to him, with the image of the génois of Galata which, attracting the boats of the whole world, had made them desert the port constantinopolitain. Moreover, the wars between the two maritime powers ruined the Empire definitively. The Turks had made only his territorial conquest, the Occident had ruined it at the commercial level. However the fall of Constantinople opens one new era in Occident: all the Greek scientists after the fall of the last Greek state that was Trébizonde take refuge in Italy where they bring the remainder of their library and their knowledge. This movement led to the Rebirth.

Sources

Mika Waltari reports in its novel " Lovers of Byzance" (1952), last days of Constantinople.

See too

Be-X-old: ПадзеньнеКанстантынопалю

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