Conquest of Constantinople

Conquest of Constantinople
Part of the Byzantine–Ottoman Wars and Ottoman wars in Europe
The last siege of Constantinople, contemporary 15th century French miniature
Date 6 April – 29 May 1453 (53 days) Location Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) Result Decisive Ottoman victory Fall of the Byzantine Empire
Belligerents
Byzantine Empirec  Republic of Genoa  Republic of Veniced  Kingdom of Sicilye  Papal States Ottoman defectors	Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Constantine XI † Loukas Notaras  Theophilos Palaiologos † Giovanni Giustiniani Longo (WIA)f Orhan Çelebi	Mehmed II Zagan Pasha Suleiman Baltoghlu
Strength
Byzantines Land forces: 7,000–10,000-12,000, many of whom were civilians 600 Ottoman defectors Naval forces: 26 ships Note: Of the 7,000 – 10,000 soldiers in the Byzantine army, 700 were both Genoese and Greek from the island of Chios and Genoa (400 were recruited at Genoa and 300 at Chios), 800 soldiers led by the Venetians (mostly of Cretan origin, and renowned for having fought heroically during the siege), and 200 men from Cardinal Isidore, all of whom were archers. By nationality, there were 5,000 Greeks and 2,000 foreigners, mostly of Genoese and Venetian origin.	Ottomans Land forces: [a]: 50,000–80,000 [b]: 100,000–160,000–200,000 to 300,000 1,500 Serbian cavalry 70 cannons (14 large and 56 small caliber) Naval forces: 70 ships, 20 galleys 90 – 126 ships
Casualties and losses
4,000 killed in total (including combatants and civilians) 30,000 enslaved or deported	Unknown but heavy
a: Figures according to recent estimates and Ottoman archival data. The Ottoman Empire, for demographic reasons, would not have been able to put more than 80,000 men into the field at the time. b: Figures according to contemporaneous Western/Christian estimates c: More specifically, the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty d: The Kingdom of Sicily mainly donated ships and a few soldiers, it was not official however, and was done by several Cardinals. e: The Venetians decided to make a peace treaty with the Ottomans in September 1451, because their Doge was on good terms already with the Ottomans and they did not want to ruin a relationship. They also did not want the Ottomans to interfere with their trade in the Black Sea and Mediterranean. The Venetians' efforts mainly included giving Constantine XI ships and a total of 800 soldiers in February 1453. The Venetians also promised that a larger fleet would arrive to save Constantine, this fleet would be full of ammunition, fresh soldiers and supplies. This fleet never came. f: The Genoese captain Giovanni Giustiniani Longo was wounded in battle, but managed to escape, he died during the early days of June 1453.

Byzantines

Land forces:

Naval forces:

Note: Of the 7,000 – 10,000 soldiers in the Byzantine army, 700 were both Genoese and Greek from the island of Chios and Genoa (400 were recruited at Genoa and 300 at Chios), 800 soldiers led by the Venetians (mostly of Cretan origin, and renowned for having fought heroically during the siege), and 200 men from Cardinal Isidore, all of whom were archers. By nationality, there were 5,000 Greeks and 2,000 foreigners, mostly of Genoese and Venetian origin.

Ottomans

Land forces: ^[a]:
50,000–80,000
^[b]:
100,000–160,000–200,000 to 300,000

Naval forces:

The Fall of Constantinople (Greek: Ἃλωσις τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Halōsis tēs Kōnstantinoupoleōs; Turkish: İstanbul'un Fethi Conquest of Istanbul) was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading army of the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453. The Ottomans were commanded by the then 21-year-old Mehmed the Conqueror, the seventh sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who defeated an army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. The conquest of Constantinople followed a 53-day siege that had begun on 6 April 1453.

The capture of Constantinople (and two other Byzantine splinter territories soon thereafter) marked the end of the Roman Empire, an imperial state that had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople also dealt a massive blow to Christendom, as the Muslim Ottoman armies thereafter were left unchecked to advance into Europe without an adversary to their rear. After the conquest, Sultan Mehmed II transferred the capital of the Ottoman Empire from Edirne to Constantinople.

The conquest of the city of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire was a key event in the Late Middle Ages, which also marks, for some historians, the end of the Middle Ages.

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