Fall of Constantinople

Overview

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

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453 marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, concluding a siege of 53 days that had begun on 6 April. The city had served as the capital of the Byzantine state, and its capture by the Ottoman forces of Mehmed II represented the definitive termination of the empire's political existence within the context of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars. The Ottoman force numbered 100,000 against a Byzantine garrison of 8,000, a disparity that framed the outcome of the siege. The fall terminated a state that had persisted through centuries of contraction and pressure, and placed Constantinople under Ottoman control, where it would serve as the seat of Ottoman power. Within the arc of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars stretching from 1265, the capture of the imperial capital constituted the concluding event of the conflict.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (21)