The ancient city walls of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul).
The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was originally the eastern territory of the Roman Empire. After the division of the Roman Empire from east to west in the fourth century AD, it gradually became a new regime, with Greece and western Asia Minor (present-day western Turkey) as the core area.
The empire lasted through 93 emperors and at its peak spanned three continents: Asia, Europe and Africa. Then, under the influence of plagues and foreign invasions, the empire's strength declined from the 11th century onwards. Finally, on May 29, 1453, the capital Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) was captured by the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and the empire that lasted more than 1,400 years was destroyed.
Today, let us follow in the footsteps of history and relive the last years of the empire together.
Hagia Sophia, originally built during the Byzantine Empire, was converted into a mosque after the fall of the Empire
In 1451, the young Muhammad II succeeded to his father's throne and became the new Sultan of Turkey.
The young leader, it seems, was born for war: he was well-informed, ambitious, passionate and cunning at the same time. He worked day and night to study strategies for the sole purpose of keeping Constantinople, the ancient capital of the world, for himself.
His father had already defeated Europeans in war, and he was determined to surpass his predecessors. He was determined to conquer the capital of this thousand-year-old empire.
Mohammed II (1432 - 1481)
The rise to power of Muhammad II undoubtedly shocked and frightened the Byzantines.
The empire now is no better than it was then. Once upon a time, the Byzantine Empire stretched from Persia to the Alps, stretching from the deserts of Asia to the coast of North Africa. Today, under the constant invasion of foreign tribes, the territory of the empire is only a small piece of territory in and around the capital Constantinople.
As one later writer put it, the Byzantine Empire at that time was just a "head without a body, a capital without land."
Before Muhammad II could prepare to attack Constantinople, the city's fate seemed to have been written down.
The historical territory of the Byzantine Empire (red and orange), green is the territory of the end of the empire
The difference in strength between the two armies was quite large: the Byzantine defenders totaled 7,000 men, while the Turkish army numbered more than 100,000 men, including the Ottoman Empire's most advanced and elite force, the New Turkish Army.
Perhaps the only thing that gave the Byzantines a shred of comfort was their walls.
Constantinople as a whole is triangular, protected by strong stone walls on both sides facing the sea, and extremely well-fortified on the land-facing side, supplemented by a seven-kilometer-long wall. Under the Empire's centuries of operation, the city resisted repeated barbarian attacks, guarding the empire's lifeblood, and even the most advanced artillery and city pestles of the time were powerless against such a tight defense.
Schematic diagram of the defense of Constantinople
Faced with this situation, Mehmed II made a bold decision: to develop a new cannon!
To this end, he found a Hungarian engineer named Oben, who claimed to be a specialist in making cannons. Interestingly, Ophan was once a Byzantine engineer, but because the empire's finances were exhausted in the last years and he could not afford to develop new artillery, he turned to Mehmed II, who had sufficient financial resources to support his research.
Ruben succeeded. It is a giant cannon, more than eight meters long, about 75 centimeters in diameter, capable of firing 544 kilograms of shells. When the fire was fired, the sound was deafening, and shells with flames could destroy the city walls in one fell swoop.
Mohammed II was overjoyed and immediately ordered the artillery to be equipped with such cannons.
Russian's "super cannon"
The siege began.
Again and again, huge artillery tore through the walls of Constantinople. For technical reasons, this artillery takes 3 hours to fire each time, and the efficiency of the attack is greatly reduced, but the damage caused by the shells to the city walls is inevitable. In the situation of being besieged, the people in the city had no choice but to fill the vacancies with wooden fences after dark.
Despite this, the Turks were met with stubborn resistance, and their charge was unable to break through the Byzantine lines.
Some of the Turkish generals were a little impatient, but Mehmed II was very determined: he was like a demon, insisting on advancing the attack to the end and not giving up until it reached its goal.
In order to encircle Constantinople more thoroughly, Mehmed II adopted a plan that would go down in history.
Due to byzantine chains, the Turkish army had been unable to control the Golden Horn (pictured below), so Muhammad II decided to "tow" the ship from land into the Golden Horn.
He first attracted the attention of the defending army with artillery, and at the same time ordered the construction of a tank in Pella to facilitate the transport of ships on the road, and assembled a group of ships near the coast. After a long period of preparation, he took advantage of the night to tow 70 ships into the Golden Horn.
The next morning, when the Byzantines saw the Turkish fleet sailing in the waters of the Golden Horn, they couldn't believe their eyes. In addition to the consternation, a deep despair hung over the city.
In a schematic of Constantinople, the Turkish fleet enters the Golden Horn from Pella in the north
As time went on, the Byzantines in the city also became increasingly nervous. They knew that the fall of Constantinople was inevitable if they did not call for help.
Before the official war began, they had asked the Holy See of Rome for help, but the Holy See had heard nothing after sending four ships. So they sent 12 more people to inquire about the news. The 12 men risked their lives to cross the Turk blockade, but they were greatly disappointed: the Holy See was already in disarray because of internal contradictions, the kingdoms in Italy were strife, and no one had time to take care of the besieged Constantinople.
Byzantium was forgotten and completely isolated.
As the Ottoman encirclement tightened, the moment of the final general offensive drew nearer.
On the morning of 29 May, the Ottoman Turkish army launched its final offensive. The first wave of offensives was carried out by undertrained auxiliary units, with the aim of depleting the enemy's physical strength and weakening the defenses.
Subsequently, a second wave of well-trained and disciplined troops began to storm the Byzantine lines, at this time the defenders were slightly tired, but after a fierce battle, they finally did not let the enemy climb the walls.
After two consecutive rounds of attacks, Mehmed II personally led the most elite troops, the New Turkish Army, to launch the final charge. At this time, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Constantine XI, also climbed the city walls to participate in the battle. This is a war that determines history, and both sides have done their best.
The final showdown
But history always likes to joke with humans.
Just as the two armies were in full swing, several wandering Turkish soldiers found a small gate in the hidden place of the city wall, the so-called "Cockpota Gate". To their surprise, this small door was open, leading directly to the heart of the city!
The Cork Porta Gate is a "trail" for pedestrians in peacetime. After the other gates are closed, pedestrians can still enter the city through this gate.
But now it's a time of war.
The Turkish soldiers immediately called in reinforcements and entered the city effortlessly.
When the defenders were horrified to find themselves on their backs, they could no longer hold on and began to flee. The Turkish army then poured into Constantinople like a tidal wave.
The tide is gone, and resistance is no longer helpful. Constantine XI fought to the last moment and was killed in a street battle. Like a true last emperor, he was full of dignity and coexisted with his empire.
The Turkish army then went on a rampage, and the city was covered in blood. The cross of hagia Sophia was also removed and turned into a mosque, officially announcing the end of the Byzantine Empire.
Mehmed II entered Constantinople
The confrontation between the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire was actually a confrontation between Eastern and Western civilizations, Christianity and Islam. It is lamentable that such a magnificent war was determined by a small forgotten door.
Perhaps, abandoning its macroscopic surface, history is composed of tiny moments, as the Austrian writer Zweig said, "Regret cannot return to that decisive moment, and the efforts of a thousand years cannot make up for the missed moment."
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