Fall of Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople
Part of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars and the Ottoman wars in Europe
The siege of Constantinople (1453), French miniature by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.
Date 6 April – 29 May 1453 (1 month, 3 weeks and 2 days) Location Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) 41°01′48″N 28°56′06″E / 41.030°N 28.935°E / 41.030; 28.935 Result Ottoman victory Territorial changes Ottoman Empire annexes the remaining Byzantine territories with some exceptions; Constantinople becomes its new capital Morea, Trebizond, Theodoro and Epirus continue as Byzantine rump states until their conquests in 1460, 1461, 1475 and 1479, respectively
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Vassal: Serbian Despotate[note 1]	Byzantine Empire Genoese mercenaries Venetian volunteers Papal States Kingdom of Sicily[3] Crown of Aragon (Catalan retinue) Orhan Çelebi loyalists
Commanders and leaders
Mehmed II Çandarlı Halil  Zagan Pasha Suleiman Baltoghlu (WIA) Karaca Pasha Hamza Bey Mahmud Pasha[4]	Constantine XI † Loukas Notaras  Theophilos Palaiologos † Demetrios Kantakouzenos  Giovanni Giustiniani (DOW) Gabriele Trevisano (POW) Alviso Diedo (WIA) Gabriele Orsini del Balzo (DOW)[3][5] Cardinal Isidore (POW) Orhan Çelebi
Strength
Land forces: 100,000–130,000 in total[note 2] 45,000–50,000 Janissaries[citation needed] 40,000 archers[citation needed] 40,000 infantry[citation needed] Various cannon and bombards Naval forces: 31 galleys 95 large row boats	Land forces: 7,000–10,000 professional soldiers 30,000–35,000 armed[7] 600 Orhan Çelebi loyalists[8] 200 archers[5] 200 archers[9] 200 Catalan retinue Naval forces: 26 ships 10 Byzantine 8 Venetian 5 Genoese 1 Aragonese 1 Anconitan 1 Provençal
Casualties and losses
200–18,000[10] (first day) Heavy: 15,000–50,000 (disputed)	4,500 killed in action (both military and civilian)[11][12][13] 30,000–50,000 civilians enslaved[14][15][16]

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The fall of Constantinople, also known as the conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun on 6 April.

The attacking Ottoman Army, which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the Byzantine army was led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing Adrianople.

The conquest of Constantinople and the fall of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed of the Late Middle Ages, marking the effective end of the Roman Empire, a state which began in roughly 27 BC and had lasted nearly 1500 years. For many modern historians, the fall of Constantinople marks the end of the medieval period and the beginning of the early modern period.^[17][18] The city's fall also stood as a turning point in military history. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon ramparts and walls to repel invaders. The Walls of Constantinople, especially the Theodosian Walls, were some of the most advanced defensive systems in the world at the time. For 800 years, the Theodosian Walls, regarded by historians as the strongest and most fortified walls in the ancient and medieval era, protected Constantinople from attack.^[19] However, these fortifications were overcome with the use of gunpowder, specifically from Ottoman cannons and bombards, heralding a change in siege warfare.^[20] The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) which created gaps in the Theodosian Walls for the Ottoman siege.^[21][22]

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