On 6 April-29 May 1453, the Siege of Constantinople was fought between the Ottomans under Mehmed II against the Byzantines under Constantine XI during the Ottoman-Byzantine Wars.
Why did it happen?
When Constantine XI became Byzantine emperor on 6 July 1449, the once mighty Byzantine Empire consisted of only the city of Constantinople and some territories in Greece. Most of their other territories had been captured by the Ottoman Turks, who had unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople several times, only for the Ottoman army to be repulsed by the city’s walls. But when Sultan Murad II died in 1451, he was succeeded by Mehmed II, who made it his life’s aim to capture Constantinople and make it the capital of the Ottoman Empire. In addition to constructing fortresses on the Bosporus and the Dardanelles to isolate the city from relief or supply by sea, Mehmed ordered the building of an artillery train with the biggest cannon yet seen. In April 1453, teams of oxen hauled this and other smaller artillery pieces in front of the walls of Constantinople while the city was blockaded by land and sea.
Who was involved?
The Ottoman army at Constantinople numbered 80,000 infantry, 70 artillery and 120 warships. The Ottoman army used artillery more than any other Muslim power during the Medieval Era. In the 1420s, they employed artillery to besiege cities and recruited gunners and engineers from conquered Balkan states. In addition, the Ottomans had the largest and best-trained army of the fifteenth century, with the core of the infantry being the Janissaries – Christian slaves that were trained to fight for the Sultan and were among the finest troops in Europe. The Byzantine army at Constantinople numbered 7,000 infantry and 26 warships. Although the population of Constantinople numbered 100,000 citizens, only 5,000 were willing to fight for Constantine XI, with another 2,000 mercenaries being employed from Venice, Pisa, and Genoa under Giovanni Giustiniani. In the harbour of the Golden Horn, the Byzantine fleet was under the command of Gabriel Trevisano.
What happened?
After setting up camp outside Constantinople on 2 April, the Ottomans began the siege of the city on 6 April by bombarding the city walls with heavy artillery. After six days, breaches began to appear in the walls, although the Byzantine garrison managed to repulse all Ottoman assaults. Between 22-28 April, to increase pressure on the Byzantines, the Ottomans dragged their warships overland to avoid the chain blocking the Golden Horn. The Byzantine warships failed to destroy the Ottoman fleet, and some of the Byzantine defenders became diverted from the landward wall to protect the city from the Ottoman navy. Finally, on 29 May, after peace offers were rejected, the Ottomans began a final land and naval assault. When Ottoman soldiers found an undefended side gate, Constantine XI was killed leading an unsuccessful counterattack, and the Ottoman army swarmed into the city to plunder and kill an estimated 4,000 Byzantines.
What changed as a result?
The Siege of Constantinople was a decisive Ottoman victory. During the afternoon of 29 May, while his Ottoman soldiers plundered and killed the city’s population, Mehmed II rode into the city to pray to Allah in the Hagia Sophia Cathedral. After several days, Mehmed ordered the slaughter to stop and amused himself by ordering the execution of Byzantine prisoners. The Siege of Constantinople was significant because not only had the last vestiges of the Roman Empire been snuffed out, but it established the Ottoman Empire as a major power that Western Christendom could no longer ignore. As stated by Geoffrey Regan, “This time the Turks had come to stay, and the problem of the Ottoman Empire in Europe was one that would engage the minds of European diplomats until the First World War and after” (Regan, 2002, p.81). However, the flight of Byzantine scholars and artists to Italy and France would help fuel the Renaissance that had taken root in those countries since 1350. In that sense, the Siege of Constantinople helped usher in the beginnings of the modern era.
Bibliography
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
McNab, Chris. The World’s Worst Military Disasters. London, Amber Books, 2005.
Regan, Geoffrey. Battles That Changed History: Fifty Decisive Battles Spanning Over 2,500 Years of Warfare. London, Andre Deutsch, 2002.
Robinson, Tony. Battles That Changed History. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2018.