The last emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantine XI, should have been known through the ages because of the reputation of "the Son of Heaven guarding the gate of the country, the king guarding the society", but because the last defenders of the Eastern Roman Empire were in the process of defending the city, they "forgot to close the city gate" because of the divine operation, which eventually led to the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Battle of Constantine XI's "Forgetting to Close the Gates" is known in the history books as the Battle of Constantinople, and the two sides involved in the war were: the Eastern Roman Empire (that is, the Byzantine Empire) and the Ottoman Empire.
Before speaking about this battle, it is necessary to have some basic understanding of Constantine XI and the Byzantine Empire at the time of his succession.
In 1449, Constantine XI, with the support of the Ottoman Emperor, ascended to the throne. However, when Constantine was appointed emperor, he was still abroad, and he did not even have the money to go back, and finally he had to pray for a merchant to abscond to his country in his "little black boat".
At the time of his succession, the Byzantine Empire was left with only one city (Constantinople).
As shown in the figure, the territory of the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire at the time of Constantine XI's succession is compared. As can be seen from the map, the Byzantine Empire was completely surrounded by the Ottoman Empire.
As soon as Constantine XI took the throne, he faced the Ottoman Empire's war of annihilation (more like the battle of annihilation).
In order to defend Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire, Constantine XI had to rack his brains and try every means to prolong the empire.'
For example, he sought marriage to the royal family of Western Europe in the hope of finding a powerful ally; took advantage of the internal contradictions of the Ottoman Empire to sow discord in order to weaken the Ottoman Empire; and asked for help from western Christian countries in the same way.
However, the weak countries had no diplomacy, let alone the fact that Byzantium faced the powerful Ottoman Empire. All the efforts made by Constantine XI were in vain in the face of the great strength of the enemy.
In 1453, before the two sides went to war, the Byzantine Empire could mobilize only 8,000 troops (including slaves); in stark contrast, the Ottoman Emperor gathered 200,000 troops to destroy Byzantium.
Even so, Constantine XI still believed that the Byzantine Empire, with its fortified city (the world's first fortress) and harsh terrain, would inevitably erupt as long as it could withstand the Ottoman attack without defeat. At that time, the Ottoman Empire will become a mess, and the Byzantine Empire will have a chance to breathe.
In preparation for this war that could break out at any time, Constantine XI mobilized the people of the whole country (city), demolished houses, demolished churches to strengthen the walls, soldiers went around collecting grain and grass, gathered all the weapons of the country (city), and then distributed them to all combatants again.
Later, Constantine XI carefully divided the city into war zones, arranged different arms according to different terrains, and sent emissaries to continue to ask for help from Western countries.
Everything is ready, just waiting for a battle.
In the spring of that year, Constantine XI took the lead in provoking war, and the Ottoman Empire suppressed the territory.
The Ottoman Empire, with its strong military strength, launched three large-scale siege battles, but three times were defeated; then, the enemy Ottoman army attacked with artillery, navy, tunneling and other means, all of which ended in failure.
200,000 people surrounded a Constantinople for 53 days, consuming about 5,000 shells and 55,000 pounds of gunpowder.
Just as the Byzantine emperor expected, Constantinople could not be conquered for a long time, and the internal contradictions of the Ottoman Empire intensified. If Constantinople could not be taken, the throne of the Ottoman Emperor would not even be secured.
In other words, there is not much time left for both sides.
On 29 May, the Ottomans launched another general offensive, and Constantine XI mobilized all the fighting forces, including the old man and the children, who tried to rely on the strong walls to continue their defenses.
Just as the two sides were in a battle, several Ottoman soldiers found a small open door, Kyle Kamen.
For a time, these Ottoman soldiers were blindfolded: Is it difficult for the Byzantines to have the strength to arrange the "empty city plan"? Could this open gate lure the Ottomans in and then make dumplings (fenced off and killed)? Several people did not dare to act rashly, looking at the open door awkwardly, thinking about whether they could enter or not.
If you go in, you may be wrapped in dumplings; if you don't go in, you will have to attack the city with a hard scalp!
Thinking about it, they finally made up their minds: leave him alone, the big deal is a death! Being surrounded and killed is also a painful way to die.
So the Ottoman soldiers quietly passed through the Kelcal Gate, and then prepared themselves to defend against the unwarranted siege. However, when they stood in the city of Constantinople, they were not attacked in any way. Only then did they realize that the Byzantine emperor, who had always been cautious, had forgotten to close the city gates!
It was this small door that had forgotten to close that made the Byzantines' will to resist, like a deflated ball, instantly lose its combat effectiveness. Constantinople, known as the "Shield of Europe", was also attacked by the Ottoman Empire on this day.
When the city was destroyed, Constantine XI led his Janissaries into the enemy position and martyred himself.
At this point, the Roman Empire collapsed, the millennium emperor finally fell into the hands of the Ottoman Empire, and European history also entered the Renaissance from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance because of this war; and all this was because the last emperor who "guarded the gate" forgot to close the city gate, and it has to be said that this mistake of Constantine XI is indeed a bit embarrassing.