View source for Fall of Constantinople

{{Short description|1453 Ottoman capture of the Byzantine capital}}
{{For|other sieges of the city|List of sieges of Constantinople}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| partof            = the [[Byzantine–Ottoman wars]]
| image             = Le siège de Constantinople (1453) by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.jpg
| image_size        = 270px
| caption           = ''The siege of Constantinople'' (1453), French miniature by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455
| date              = 6 April – 29 May 1453<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=4|day1=6|year1=1453|month2=5|day2=29|year2=1453}})
| place             = [[Constantinople]], Byzantine Empire (present-day [[Istanbul]], Turkey)
| coordinates = {{Coord|41.030|N|28.935|E|display=inline,title}}
| result            = Ottoman victory
| territory         = Constantinople conquered by the Ottomans
| combatant1        = {{plainlist}}
* {{flagicon|Ottoman Empire|1453}} [[Ottoman Empire]] 
* [[File:Coat of arms of the Serbian Despotate.svg|30x20px]] [[Serbian Despotate]]{{NoteTag|[[Đurađ Branković]], being a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, had to send 1,500 soldiers to help Mehmed II in his siege of Constantinople.{{sfnp|Buc|2020}}{{sfnp|Ivanović|2019}}}}
{{endplainlist}}
| combatant2        = {{plainlist}}
*{{flagicon image|Byzantine_imperial_flag,_14th_century.svg}} [[Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty|Byzantine Empire]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Genoa.svg}} [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] mercenaries
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Republic of Venice (1659-1675).svg}} [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] volunteers
* {{flag|Papal States|old}}
* [[Kingdom of Sicily]]{{sfnp|Giardinetto|2022}}
*{{flagicon image| Royal Banner of Aragón.svg}} [[Crown of Aragón|Crown of Aragon]] (Catalan retinue)
* {{flagicon|Ottoman Empire|1453}} Orhan Çelebi loyalists
{{endplainlist}}
| commander2        = {{plainlist}}
* '''[[Constantine XI Palaiologos|Constantine XI]]'''{{KIA}}
* [[Loukas Notaras]]{{Executed}}
* [[Theophilos Palaiologos]]{{KIA}}
* [[Demetrios Palaiologos Kantakouzenos|Demetrios Kantakouzenos]]{{Executed}}
* [[Giovanni Giustiniani Longo|Giovanni Giustiniani]]{{DOW}}
* [[Gabriele Trevisano]]{{POW}}
* [[Alviso Diedo]]{{WIA}}
* [[Gabriele Orsini del Balzo]]{{KIA}}{{sfnp|Giardinetto|2022}}{{sfnp|Lilie|2005|p=464}}
* [[Isidore of Kiev|Cardinal Isidore]]{{POW}}
*  [[Orhan Çelebi]]{{Executed}}
{{endplainlist}}
| strength2         = {{plainlist}}'''Land forces:'''
* 7,000–10,000 professional soldiers
* 30,000–35,000 armed civilians<ref name="Fall of Constantinople"/>
* 600 Orhan Çelebi loyalists<ref name="osmanaras600askeri" />
* 200 archers{{sfnp|Lilie|2005|p=464}}
* 200 archers{{sfnp|Nicol|2002|p=57}}
* 200 Catalan retinue
{{endplainlist}}
'''Naval forces:'''<br />
26 ships
{{plainlist}}
* 10 [[Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty|Byzantine]]
* 8 [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]]
* 5 [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]]
* 1 [[Aragon]]ese
* 1 [[Republic of Ancona|Anconitan]]
* 1 [[Provence|Provençal]]
{{endplainlist}}
| casualties2       = 4,500 killed in action (both military and civilian)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1921 |title=Geographical Record |journal=Geographical Review |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=611–629 |jstor=208254 |issn=0016-7428 |quote=Less excusable still is the treatment accorded to the statements of Kritopoulos, that 4,500 were killed at the fall of Constantinople.}}</ref>{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=41}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Labatt |first=Annie |date=October 2004 |title=Constantinople after 1261 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cnst/hd_cnst.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20fourth%20to%20fifth,it%20had%20declined%20to%2050%2C000. |access-date=30 June 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630190945/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cnst/hd_cnst.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20fourth%20to%20fifth,it%20had%20declined%20to%2050%2C000. |url-status=live }}</ref><br/>30,000–50,000 enslaved<ref name="iK51W"/><ref name="Akbar2002">{{harvp|Akbar|2002|p=86}}: "Some 30,000 Christians were either enslaved or sold."</ref><ref name="Davis">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Paul K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKhZHVtIX8UC&pg=PA84 |title=Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-521930-2 |page=84 |language=en |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106131450/https://books.google.com/books?id=eKhZHVtIX8UC&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>
| commander1        = {{plainlist}}
* '''[[Mehmed II]]'''
* [[Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger|Halil Pasha]]{{Executed}}
* [[Zagan Pasha]]
* [[Suleiman Baltoghlu]]{{WIA}}
* [[Karaca Pasha]]
* [[Hamza Bey]]
* [[Mahmud Pasha Angelović|Mahmud Pasha]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mahmud-pasa |title=Mahmud Paşa |access-date=26 June 2023 |archive-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626212325/https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mahmud-pasa |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{endplainlist}}
| strength1         = {{plainlist}}'''Land forces:'''
* 100,000–130,000 in total (Western sources){{NoteTag|Some contemporaneous Western sources gave exaggerated figures ranging from 160,000 to 300,000.<ref name="pertusicadvol1" />}}
40,000–50,000 in total (Turkish sources)<ref name="Fall of Constantinople"/><ref>Feridun Emecen, Fetih ve Kıyamet 1453</ref>
60,000–80,000 in total (Modern sources)<ref>"Fall of Constantinople". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.</ref><ref>Setton, Kenneth M. (1978). The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571): The Fifteenth Century. Vol. 2. DJane Publishing.</ref>
* Various cannon and [[Bombard (weapon)|bombards]]
**
'''Naval forces:'''
* 31 [[galley]]s
* 95 large row boats
{{endplainlist}}
| casualties1       = 200–18,000{{sfnp|Crowley|2013b|p=104|ps=: "As always casualty figures varied widely; Neskor-Iskander gave the number of Ottoman dead at 18,000; Barbaro a more realistic 200"}} (first day)<br/>Heavy:<br/> 15,000–50,000 (disputed)
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Byzantine–Ottoman Wars}}
| conflict          = 
}}
{{History of the Byzantine Empire sidebar}}

The '''Fall of Constantinople''', also known as the '''Conquest of Constantinople''', was the capture of [[Constantinople|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 [[Army of the classical Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Army]], which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan]] [[Mehmed the Conqueror|Mehmed II]] (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the [[Byzantine army (Palaiologan era)|Byzantine army]] was led by [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor]] [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]]. After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing [[Edirne|Adrianople]].

The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed moment 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 1,500 years. For many modern historians, the fall of Constantinople marks the end of the [[Middle Ages|medieval period]] and the beginning of the [[early modern period]].<ref name="ealoipolis" /><ref name="GpAG8" /> The city's fall also stood as a turning point in [[military history]]. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon [[Rampart (fortification)|ramparts]] and walls to repel invaders. The [[walls of Constantinople]], especially the Theodosian walls, protected Constantinople from attack for 800 years and were noted as some of the most advanced defensive systems in the world at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Theodosian Walls |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Theodosian_Walls/ |access-date=30 April 2023 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430222628/https://www.worldhistory.org/Theodosian_Walls/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, these fortifications were overcome by Ottoman infantry with the support of [[gunpowder]], specifically from cannons and [[Bombard (weapon)|bombards]], heralding a change in siege warfare.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 June 2017 |title=The fall of Constantinople |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/1999/12/23/the-fall-of-constantinople |access-date=30 April 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618134946/http://www.economist.com/node/346800 |archive-date=18 June 2017}}</ref> The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing {{convert|500|kg|lb}} over {{convert|1.5|km|mi}} which created gaps in the Theodosian walls for the Ottoman siege.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=1453: The Fall of Constantinople |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1180/1453-the-fall-of-constantinople/ |access-date=30 April 2023 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en |archive-date=2 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602134956/https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1180/1453-the-fall-of-constantinople/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Silverburg |first=Sanford R. |date=26 January 2007 |title=The Middle East Online: Series 1: Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917–1970. Edited by Eugene Rogan. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale |journal=Microform & Imaging Review |volume=36 |issue=2 |doi=10.1515/mfir.2007.75 |s2cid=162273820 |issn=0949-5770}}</ref>

==Background==
[[Constantinople]] had been an imperial capital since its consecration in 330 under Roman emperor [[Constantine the Great]]. In the following eleven centuries, the city had been [[List of sieges of Constantinople|besieged many times]] but was captured only once before: the [[Sack of Constantinople]] during the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=304}} The crusaders established an unstable [[Latin Empire|Latin state]] in and around Constantinople while the remainder of the Byzantine Empire splintered into a number of successor states, notably [[Empire of Nicaea|Nicaea]], [[Despotate of Epirus|Epirus]] and [[Empire of Trebizond|Trebizond]]. They fought as allies against the Latin establishments, but also fought among themselves for the Byzantine throne.

The Nicaeans eventually [[Reconquest of Constantinople|reconquered Constantinople]] from the Latins in 1261, reestablishing the Byzantine Empire under the [[Palaiologos dynasty]]. Thereafter, there was little peace for the much-weakened empire as it fended off successive attacks by the [[Latins (Middle Ages)|Latins]], [[Serbs]], [[Bulgaria]]ns and [[Ottoman Turks]].{{sfnp|Norwich|1997}}{{page needed|date=May 2020}}<ref name="O2kxx" /><ref name="ospbyzwar6001453" />{{sfnp|Mango|2002}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}}

Between 1346 and 1349, the [[Black Death]] killed almost half of the inhabitants of Constantinople.<ref name="rCeS6" /> The city was further depopulated by the general economic and territorial decline of the empire, and by 1453, it consisted of a series of walled villages separated by vast fields encircled by the fifth-century [[Theodosian walls]].

By 1450, the empire was exhausted and had shrunk to a few square kilometers outside the city of Constantinople itself, the [[Princes' Islands]] in the [[Sea of Marmara]] and the [[Peloponnese]] with its cultural center at [[Mystras]]. The Empire of Trebizond, an independent [[successor state]] that formed in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, was also present at the time on the coast of the [[Black Sea]].

==Preparations==
When [[Mehmed II]] succeeded his father in 1451, he was 19 years old. Many European courts assumed that the young Ottoman ruler would not seriously challenge Christian hegemony in the [[Balkans]] and the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]].{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=60}} In fact, Europe celebrated Mehmed coming to the throne and hoped his inexperience would lead the Ottomans astray.{{sfnp|Crowley|2005}} This calculation was boosted by Mehmed's friendly overtures to the European envoys at his new court.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=373}} But Mehmed's mild words were not matched by his actions. By early 1452, work began on the construction of a second [[fortress]] (''[[Rumelihisarı|Rumeli hisarı]]'') on the European side of the [[Bosphorus]],<ref name="WDL" /> several miles north of Constantinople. The new fortress sat directly across the strait from the ''[[Anadoluhisarı|Anadolu Hisarı]]'' fortress, built by Mehmed's great-grandfather [[Bayezid I]]. This pair of fortresses ensured complete control of sea traffic on the [[Bosporus|Bosphorus]]{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=373}} and defended against attack by the [[Genoa|Genoese]] colonies on the Black Sea coast to the north. In fact, the new fortress was called ''Boğazkesen'', which means "strait-blocker" or "throat-cutter". The wordplay emphasizes its strategic position: in Turkish ''boğaz'' means both "strait" and "throat". In October 1452, Mehmed ordered [[Turakhan Beg]] to station a large garrison force in the Peloponnese to block [[Thomas Palaiologos|Thomas]] and [[Demetrios Palaiologos|Demetrios]] ([[despotes]] in Southern [[Greece]]) from providing aid to their brother [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]] during the impending siege of Constantinople.{{NoteTag|While Mehmed II had been steadily preparing for the siege of Constantinople, he had sent the old general Turakhan and the latter's two sons, Ahmed Beg and Omar Beg, to invade the [[Morea]] and to remain there all winter also to prevent the despots Thomas and Demetrius from giving aid to Constantine XI.{{sfnp|Setton|1978|p=146}}}} [[Karaca Pasha]], the [[beylerbey]]i of [[Rumelia Eyalet|Rumelia]], sent men to prepare the roads from [[Edirne|Adrianople]] to Constantinople so that bridges could cope with the massive cannons. Fifty carpenters and 200 artisans also strengthened the roads where necessary.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=41}} The Greek historian [[Michael Critobulus]] quotes Mehmed II's speech to his soldiers before the siege:{{sfnp|Kritovoulos|1954|p=23}}

{{blockquote | My friends and men of my empire! You all know very well that our forefathers secured this kingdom that we now hold at the cost of many struggles and very great dangers and that, having passed it along in succession from their fathers, from father to son, they handed it down to me. For some of the oldest of you were sharers in many of the exploits carried through by them—those at least of you who are of maturer years—and the younger of you have heard of these deeds from your fathers. They are not such very ancient events nor of such a sort as to be forgotten through the lapse of time. Still, the eyewitness of those who have seen testifies better than does the hearing of deeds that happened but yesterday or the day before.}}

===European support===
[[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine Emperor]] [[Constantine XI]] swiftly understood Mehmed's true intentions and turned to [[Western Europe]] for help; but now the price of centuries of war and enmity between the [[Eastern Christianity|eastern]] and [[Western Christianity|western churches]] had to be paid. Since the [[East–West Schism|mutual excommunications]] of 1054, the [[Pope]] in Rome was committed to establishing authority over [[Eastern Orthodox Church|the eastern church]]. The union was agreed by the Byzantine Emperor [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] in 1274, at the [[Second Council of Lyon]], and indeed, some Palaiologoi emperors had since been received into the [[Latin Church]]. Emperor [[John VIII Palaiologos]] had also recently negotiated union with [[Pope Eugene IV]], with the [[Council of Florence#Eugene IV's eastern strategy|Council of Florence]] of 1439 proclaiming a ''Bull of Union''. The imperial efforts to impose union were met with strong resistance in Constantinople. A [[Propaganda|propaganda initiative]] was stimulated by anti-unionist [[Greek Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] partisans in Constantinople; the population, as well as the laity and leadership of the Byzantine Church, became bitterly divided. Latent [[ethnic hatred]] between Greeks and Italians, stemming from the events of the [[Massacre of the Latins]] in 1182 by the Greeks and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the Latins, played a significant role. Ultimately, the attempted union between east and west failed, greatly annoying [[Pope Nicholas V]] and the hierarchy of the Roman church.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In the summer of 1452, when Rumeli Hisarı was completed and the threat of the Ottomans had become imminent, Constantine wrote to the Pope, promising to implement the union, which was declared valid by a half-hearted imperial court on 12 December 1452.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=373}} Although he was eager for an advantage, Pope Nicholas V did not have the influence the Byzantines thought he had over the Western kings and princes, some of whom were wary of increasing papal control. Furthermore, these Western rulers did not have the wherewithal to contribute to the effort, especially in light of the weakened state of France and England from the [[Hundred Years' War]], Spain's involvement in the [[Reconquista]], the internecine fighting in the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and Hungary and Poland's defeat at the [[Battle of Varna]] of 1444. Although some troops did arrive from the mercantile city-states in northern Italy, the Western contribution was not adequate to counterbalance Ottoman strength. Some Western individuals, however, came to help defend the city on their own account. [[Isidore of Kiev|Cardinal Isidore]], funded by the Pope, arrived in 1452 with 200 archers.{{sfnp|Crowley|2005}} An accomplished soldier from Genoa, [[Giovanni Giustiniani]], arrived in January 1453 with 400 men from Genoa and 300 men from Genoese [[Chios]].{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|pp=83–84}} As a specialist in defending walled cities, Giustiniani was immediately given the overall command of the defence of the land walls by the Emperor. The Byzantines knew him by the Latin spelling of his name, "John Justinian", named after the famous 6th century Byzantine emperor [[Justinian I|Justinian the Great]].<ref name="NewsIT">{{Cite web |date=29 May 2011 |title=Σαν σήμερα "έπεσε" η Κωσταντινούπολη |url=https://www.newsit.gr/ellada/san-simera-epese-i-kostantinoypoli/1973279/ |website=NewsIT |access-date=31 October 2020 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326030150/https://www.newsit.gr/ellada/san-simera-epese-i-kostantinoypoli/1973279/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Around the same time, the captains of the Venetian ships that happened to be present in the [[Golden Horn]] offered their services to the Emperor, barring contrary orders from [[Venice]], and Pope Nicholas undertook to send three ships laden with provisions, which set sail near the end of March.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=81}}
From the [[Kingdom of Naples|Kingdoms of Naples]] and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]] arrived in Constantinople the [[condottiero]] [[Gabriele Orsini del Balzo]], duke of [[Venosa]] and count of [[Ugento]], together with 200 Neapolitan archers, who died fighting for the defense of the capital of the Byzantine Empire.{{sfnp|Lilie|2005|p=464}}

Meanwhile, in Venice, deliberations were taking place concerning the kind of assistance the Republic would lend to Constantinople. The [[Venetian Senate|Senate]] decided upon sending a fleet in February 1453, but the fleet's departure was delayed until April, when it was already too late for ships to assist in battle.{{sfnp|Nicol|1993|p=}}{{page needed|date=June 2017}}{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=85}} Further undermining Byzantine morale, seven Italian ships with around 700 men, despite having sworn to defend Constantinople, slipped out of the capital the moment Giustiniani arrived. At the same time, Constantine's attempts to appease the Sultan with gifts ended with the execution of the Emperor's ambassadors.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=373}}<ref name="ThackerayFindling2012" /><ref name="Norwich1998" /><ref name="Somerwil-Ayrton2007" /><ref name="Roberts1973" /><ref name="Brownworth2009" />{{sfnp|Norwich|1995|p=415}}

[[File:Walls of Constantinople.JPG|right|thumb|upright=1|Restored walls of Constantinople]]
[[File:Haliç zinciri (2).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|The [[boom (navigational barrier)|chain]] that closed off the entrance to the Golden Horn in 1453, now on display in the [[İstanbul Archaeology Museums]]]]

=== The Great Chain of the Golden Horn ===
Fearing a possible naval attack along the shores of the Golden Horn, [[Emperor Constantine XI]] ordered that a [[boom (navigational barrier)|defensive chain]] be placed at the mouth of the harbour. This chain, which floated on logs, was strong enough to prevent any Turkish ship from entering the harbour. This device was one of two that gave the Byzantines some hope of extending the siege until the possible arrival of foreign help.{{sfnp|Nicol|1993|p=380}} This strategy was used because in 1204, the armies of the Fourth Crusade successfully circumvented Constantinople's land defences by breaching the [[Golden Horn Wall]], which faces the Horn. Another strategy employed by the Byzantines was the repair and fortification of the land wall (Theodosian walls). Constantine deemed it necessary to ensure that the [[Blachernae]] district's wall was the most fortified because that section of the wall protruded northwards. The land fortifications consisted of a {{cvt|60|ft|m}} wide moat fronting inner and outer [[Battlement|crenellated walls]] studded with towers every 45–55 metres.{{sfnp|Spilling|2010|p=187}}

{{CSS image crop
 | Image = Byz1453.png
 | bSize = 768
 | cWidth = 324
 | cHeight = 219
 | oTop = 104
 | oLeft = 382
 | Location = left
|Description=The Ottoman Sultanate and the Eastern Roman Empire in April 1453}}

===Strength===
[[File:Siege of Constantinople 1453 map-en.svg|thumb|left|Map of Constantinople and the dispositions of the defenders and the besiegers]]

The army defending Constantinople was relatively small, totalling about 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreigners.{{NoteTag|According to Sphrantzes, whom Constantine had ordered to make a census, the Emperor was appalled when the number of native men capable of bearing arms turned out to be only 4,983. Leonardo di Chio gave a number of 6,000 Greeks.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=85}}}} The population decline also had a huge impact upon the Constantinople's defense capabilities. At the end of March 1453, Constantine ordered a census of districts to record how many able-bodied men were in the city and whatever weapons each possessed for defense. George Sphrantzes, the faithful chancellor of the last emperor, recorded that "in spite of the great size of our city, our defenders amounted to 4,773 Greeks, as well as just 200 foreigners". In addition there were volunteers from outside, the "Genoese, Venetians and those who came secretly from Galata to help the defense", who numbered "hardly as many as three thousand", amounting to something under 8,000 men in total to defend a perimeter wall of twelve miles.{{sfnp|Crowley|2013a|pp=95–110}} At the onset of the siege, probably fewer than 50,000 people were living within the walls, including the refugees from the surrounding area.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=32}} {{NoteTag|The Spanish [[Cristóbal de Villalón]] claims there were ' 60,000 Turkish households, 40,000 Greek and Armenian, 10,000 Jewish.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=85}}}} Turkish commander Dorgano, who was in Constantinople working for the Emperor, was also guarding one of the quarters of the city on the seaward side with the Turks in his pay. These Turks kept loyal to the Emperor and perished in the ensuing battle. The defending army's Genoese corps were well trained and equipped, while the rest of the army consisted of small numbers of well-trained soldiers, armed civilians, sailors and volunteer forces from foreign communities, and finally [[monks]]. The garrison used a few small-calibre artillery pieces, which in the end proved ineffective. The rest of the citizens repaired walls, stood guard on observation posts, collected and distributed food provisions, and collected gold and silver objects from churches to melt down into coins to pay the foreign soldiers.

The Ottomans had a much larger force. Recent studies and Ottoman archival data state that there were some 50,000–80,000 Ottoman soldiers, including between 5,000 and 10,000 [[Janissary|Janissaries]],<ref name="pertusicadvol1" />{{page needed|date=June 2017}} 70 [[cannon]]s,{{sfnp|Lanning|2005|pp=139–140}}{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=}}{{page needed|date=June 2017}}<ref name="halilosmanimpklas" />{{page needed|date=June 2017}} and an elite infantry corps, and thousands of Christian troops, notably 1,500 Serbian cavalry that [[Đurađ Branković]] was forced to supply as part of his obligation to the Ottoman sultan{{sfnp|Buc|2020}}{{sfnp|Ivanović|2019}} — just a few months before, Branković had supplied the money for the reconstruction of the walls of Constantinople.{{sfnp|Buc|2020}}{{sfnp|Ivanović|2019}} Contemporaneous Western witnesses of the siege, who tend to exaggerate the military power of the Sultan, provide disparate and higher numbers ranging from 160,000 to 300,000<ref name="pertusicadvol1" />{{page needed|date=June 2017}} ([[Niccolò Barbaro]]:<ref name="Barbaro" /> 160,000; the Florentine merchant Jacopo Tedaldi{{sfnp|Concasty|1955}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}} and the Great Logothete [[George Sphrantzes]]:<ref name="sphrantzchron" />{{page needed|date=June 2017}} 200,000; the Cardinal Isidore of Kiev<ref name="isbesepistle" /> and the Archbishop of [[Mytilene]] Leonardo di Chio:<ref name="LeonardoChio" /> 300,000).<ref name="Ref-1" />

====Ottoman dispositions and strategies====
[[File:Dardanelles Gun Turkish Bronze 15c.png|thumb|The [[Dardanelles Gun]], cast by Munir Ali in 1464, is similar to [[bombard (weapon)|bombards]] used by the Ottoman besiegers of Constantinople in 1453 (British [[Royal Armouries]] collection).]]

Mehmed built a fleet (crewed partially by Spanish sailors from [[Gallipoli]]) to besiege the city from the sea.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=}}{{page needed|date=June 2017}} Contemporary estimates of the strength of the Ottoman fleet span from 110 ships to 430 (Tedaldi:{{sfnp|Concasty|1955}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}} 110; Barbaro:<ref name="Barbaro" /> 145; Ubertino Pusculo:<ref name="Pusculo" /> 160, Isidore of Kiev<ref name="isbesepistle" /> and Leonardo di Chio:<ref name="sQMpP" /> 200–250; (Sphrantzes):<ref name="sphrantzchron" />{{page needed|date=June 2017}} 430). A more realistic modern estimate predicts a fleet strength of 110 ships comprising 70 large [[galley]]s, 5 ordinary galleys, 10 smaller galleys, 25 large rowing boats, and 75 horse-transports.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=44}}

Before the siege of Constantinople, it was known that the Ottomans had the ability to cast medium-sized cannons, but the range of some pieces they were able to field far surpassed the defenders' expectations.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=374}} The Ottomans deployed a number of cannons, anywhere from 12 to 62 cannons. They were built at [[foundries]] that employed Turkish cannon founders and technicians, most notably Saruca, in addition to at least one foreign cannon founder, [[Orban]] (also called Urban). Most of the cannons at the siege were built by Turkish engineers, including a large bombard by Saruca, while one cannon was built by Orban, who also contributed a large bombard.<ref name="Steele" /><ref name="Hammer" />

Orban, a [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] (though some suggest he was [[Germans|German]]), was a somewhat mysterious figure.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=374}} His {{convert|27|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} cannon was named "[[Basilic (cannon)|Basilica]]" and was able to hurl a {{convert|600|lb|kg|adj=on}} stone ball over a [[mile]] (1.6&nbsp;km).<ref name="q6rsq" /> Orban initially tried to sell his services to the Byzantines, but they were unable to secure the funds needed to hire him. Orban then left Constantinople and approached Mehmed II, claiming that his weapon could blast "the walls of [[Babylon]] itself". Given abundant funds and materials, the Hungarian engineer built the gun within three months at Edirne.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|pp=77–78}} However, this was the only cannon that Orban built for the Ottoman forces at Constantinople,<ref name="Steele" /><ref name="Hammer" /> and it had several drawbacks: it took three hours to reload; cannonballs were in very short supply; and the cannon is said to have collapsed under its own recoil after six weeks. The account of the cannon's collapse is disputed,<ref name="pertusicadvol1" />{{page needed|date=June 2017}} given that it was only reported in the letter of Archbishop [[Leonard of Chios|Leonardo di Chio]]<ref name="LeonardoChio" /> and in the later, and often unreliable, Russian chronicle of [[Nestor Iskander]].{{sfnp|Philippides|Hanak|2011|p=112}}

[[File:Conquest_of_Constantinople,_Zonaro.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Modern painting of Mehmed and the Ottoman Army approaching Constantinople with a giant bombard, by [[Fausto Zonaro]]]]
Having previously established a large foundry about {{convert|150|mi|km}} away, Mehmed now had to undertake the painstaking process of transporting his massive artillery pieces. In preparation for the final assault, Mehmed had an artillery train of 70 large pieces dragged from his headquarters at Edirne, in addition to the bombards cast on the spot.{{sfnp|Arnold|2001|p=111}} This train included Orban's enormous cannon, which was said to have been dragged from Edirne by a crew of 60 oxen and over 400 men.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=374}}{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|pp=77–78}} There was another large bombard, independently built by Turkish engineer Saruca, that was also used in the battle.<ref name="Steele" /><ref name="Hammer" />

Mehmed planned to attack the Theodosian walls, the intricate series of walls and ditches protecting Constantinople from an attack from the West and the only part of the city not surrounded by water. His army encamped outside the city on 2 April 1453, the Monday after [[Easter]].

The bulk of the Ottoman army was encamped south of the Golden Horn. The regular European troops, stretched out along the entire length of the walls, were commanded by Karadja Pasha. The regular troops from [[Anatolia]] under [[Ishak Pasha]] were stationed south of the [[Lycus (river of Constantinople)|Lycus]] down to the Sea of Marmara. Mehmed himself erected his red-and-gold tent near the ''Mesoteichion'', where the guns and the elite Janissary regiments were positioned. The [[Bashi-bazouk]]s were spread out behind the front lines. Other troops under Zagan Pasha were employed north of the Golden Horn. Communication was maintained by a road that had been destroyed over the marshy head of the Horn.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|pp=94–95}}

The Ottomans were experts in laying siege to cities. They knew that in order to prevent diseases they had to burn corpses, sanitarily dispose of excrement, and carefully scrutinize their sources of water.{{sfnp|Crowley|2005}}

====Byzantine dispositions and tactics====
[[File:Fall-of-constantinople-22.jpg|thumb|Painting of the Fall of Constantinople, by [[Theophilos Hatzimihail]]]]

The city had about 20&nbsp;km of walls (land walls: 5.5&nbsp;km; sea walls along the Golden Horn: 7&nbsp;km; sea walls along the Sea of Marmara: 7.5&nbsp;km), one of the strongest sets of fortified walls in existence. The walls had recently been repaired (under John VIII) and were in fairly good shape, giving the defenders sufficient reason to believe that they could hold out until help from the West arrived.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=39}} In addition, the defenders were relatively well-equipped with a fleet of 26 ships: five from Genoa, five from [[Venice]], three from Venetian [[Crete]], one from [[Ancona]], one from [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]], one from France, and about 10 from the empire itself.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=45}}

On 5 April, the Sultan himself arrived with his last troops, and the defenders took up their positions. As Byzantine numbers were insufficient to occupy the walls in their entirety, it had been decided that only the outer walls would be guarded. Constantine and his Greek troops guarded the ''Mesoteichion'', the middle section of the land walls, where they were crossed by the river Lycus. This section was considered the weakest spot in the walls and an attack was feared here most. Giustiniani was stationed to the north of the emperor, at the [[Walls of Constantinople#Gate of Charisius|Charisian Gate]] (''Myriandrion''); later during the siege, he was shifted to the ''Mesoteichion'' to join Constantine, leaving the ''Myriandrion'' to the charge of the Bocchiardi brothers. {{ill|Girolamo Minotto|el|Τζιρόλαμο Μινόττο|es|Girolamo Minotto|fr|Girolamo Minotto|it|Girolamo Minotto}} and his Venetians were stationed in the [[Blachernae Palace]], together with Teodoro Caristo, the Langasco brothers, and Archbishop Leonardo of Chios.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=92}}

To the left of the emperor, further south, were the commanders Cataneo, who led Genoese troops, and Theophilus Palaeologus, who guarded the [[Walls of Constantinople#Gate of the Spring|Pegae Gate]] with Greek soldiers. The section of the land walls from the Pegae Gate to the Golden Gate (itself guarded by a Genoese called Manuel) was defended by the Venetian Filippo Contarini, while Demetrius Cantacuzenus had taken position on the southernmost part of the Theodosian wall.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=92}} The sea walls were guarded more sparsely, with Jacobo Contarini at [[Stoudion]], a makeshift defence force of Greek monks to his left hand, and [[Orhan Çelebi|Prince Orhan]] at the [[Harbour of Eleutherios]]. Genoese and Catalan troops were stationed at the [[Great Palace of Constantinople|Great Palace]]; Cardinal Isidore of Kiev guarded the tip of the peninsula near the boom. Finally, the sea walls at the southern shore of the Golden Horn were defended by Venetian and Genoese sailors under [[Gabriele Trevisano]].{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=93}}

Two tactical reserves were kept behind in the city: one in the Petra district just behind the land walls and one near the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], under the command of [[Loukas Notaras]] and Nicephorus Palaeologus, respectively. The Venetian [[Alviso Diedo]] commanded the ships in the harbour.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=94}} Although the Byzantines also had cannons, the weapons were much smaller than those of the Ottomans, and the [[recoil]] tended to damage their own walls.<ref name="LeonardoChio" /> According to [[David Nicolle]], despite many odds, the idea that Constantinople was inevitably doomed is incorrect and the situation was not as one-sided as a simple glance at a map might suggest.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=40}} It has also been claimed that Constantinople was "the best-defended city in Europe" at that time.<ref name="bZgqW" />

==Siege==
[[File:Kusatma Zonaro.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Painting by [[Fausto Zonaro]] depicting the Ottoman Turks transporting their fleet overland into the [[Golden Horn]]]]

At the beginning of the siege, Mehmed sent out some of his best troops to reduce the remaining Byzantine strongholds outside the city of Constantinople. The fortress of Therapia on the Bosphorus and a smaller castle at the village of Studius near the Sea of Marmara were taken within a few days. The Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara were likely taken by [[Suleiman Baltoghlu|Admiral Baltoghlu]]'s fleet during this phase of the siege.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|pp=96–97}} Mehmed's massive cannons fired on the walls for weeks but due to their imprecision and extremely slow rate of fire, the Byzantines were able to repair most of the damage after each shot, mitigating the effect of the Ottoman artillery.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=376}}

Despite some probing attacks, the Ottoman fleet under Baltoghlu could not enter the Golden Horn due to the chain across the entrance. Although one of the fleet's main tasks was to prevent any foreign ships from entering the Golden Horn, on 20 April, a small flotilla of four Christian ships managed to get in after some heavy fighting, an event which strengthened the morale of the defenders and caused embarrassment to the Sultan.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=376}}{{NoteTag|These were the three Genoese ships sent by the Pope, joined by a large Imperial transport ship which had been sent on a foraging mission to Sicily previous to the siege and was on its way back to Constantinople.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=100}}}} Baltoghlu was most likely injured in the eye during the skirmish. Mehmed stripped Baltoghlu of his wealth and property and gave it to the janissaries and ordered him to be whipped 100 times.{{sfnp|Crowley|2005}}

Mehmed ordered the construction of a road of greased logs across [[Galata]] on the north side of the Golden Horn and dragged his ships over the hill, directly into the Golden Horn on 22 April, bypassing the chain barrier.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=376}} This action seriously threatened the flow of supplies from Genoese ships from the nominally neutral colony of [[Beyoğlu|Pera]] and it demoralized the Byzantine defenders. On the night of 28 April, an attempt was made to destroy the Ottoman ships already in the Golden Horn using [[fire ship]]s but the Ottomans forced the Christians to retreat with many casualties. Forty Italians escaped their sinking ships and swam to the northern shore. On orders of Mehmed, they were [[Impalement|impaled]] on stakes, in sight of the city's defenders on the sea walls across the Golden Horn. In retaliation, the defenders brought their Ottoman prisoners, 260 in all, to the walls, where they were executed, one by one, before the eyes of the Ottomans.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=108}}<ref name="MoRBA" /> With the failure of their attack on the Ottoman vessels, the defenders were forced to disperse part of their forces to defend the sea walls along the Golden Horn.

The Ottoman army had made several frontal assaults on the land wall of Constantinople, but they were costly failures.{{sfnp|Philippides|Hanak|2011|p=520}} Venetian surgeon Niccolò Barbaro, describing in his diary one such land attack by the Janissaries, wrote

{{blockquote|They found the Turks coming right up under the walls and seeking battle, particularly the Janissaries&nbsp;... and when one or two of them were killed, at once more Turks came and took away the dead ones&nbsp;... without caring how near they came to the city walls. Our men shot at them with guns and crossbows, aiming at the Turk who was carrying away his dead countryman, and both of them would fall to the ground dead, and then there came other Turks and took them away, none fearing death, but being willing to let ten of themselves be killed rather than suffer the shame of leaving a single Turkish corpse by the walls.<ref name="Barbaro" />}}

[[File:Siege constantinople bnf fr2691.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Siege of Constantinople as depicted between 1470 and 1479<ref name="JRaLV" />]]
After these inconclusive attacks, the Ottomans sought to break through the walls by constructing tunnels to [[mining (military)|mine]] them from mid-May to 25 May. Many of the [[sapper]]s were miners of Serbian origin sent from [[Novo Brdo]] under the command of Zagan Pasha.<ref>Marios Philippides, ''Mehmed II the Conqueror and the Fall of the Franco-Byzantine Levant to the Ottoman Turks: Some Western Views and Testimonies'', (ACMRS/Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2007), 83.</ref> An engineer named [[Johannes Grant]], a German who came with the Genoese contingent, had counter-mines dug, allowing Byzantine troops to enter the mines and kill the miners.{{NoteTag|[[Steven Runciman|Runciman]] speculates that he may have been Scottish.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=84}}}} The Byzantines intercepted the first tunnel on the night of 16 May. Subsequent tunnels were interrupted on 21, 23 and 25 May, and destroyed with [[Greek fire]] and vigorous combat. On 23 May, the Byzantines captured and [[torture]]d two Turkish officers, who revealed the location of all the Turkish tunnels, which were destroyed.<ref name="TQ2Lp" />

On 21 May, Mehmed sent an ambassador to Constantinople and offered to lift the siege if they gave him the city. He promised he would allow the Emperor and any other inhabitants to leave with their possessions. He would recognize the Emperor as governor of the Peloponnese. Lastly, he guaranteed the safety of the population that might choose to remain in the city. Constantine XI only agreed to pay higher tributes to the sultan and recognized the status of all the conquered castles and lands in the hands of the Turks as Ottoman possessions. The Emperor was not willing to leave the city without a fight:

{{blockquote|As to surrendering the city to you, it is not for me to decide or for anyone else of its citizens; for all of us have reached the mutual decision to die of our own free will, without any regard for our lives.{{NoteTag|Original text: Τὸ δὲ τὴν πόλιν σοῖ δοῦναι οὔτ' ἐμὸν ἐστίν οὔτ' ἄλλου τῶν κατοικούντων ἐν ταύτῃ• κοινῇ γὰρ γνώμῃ πάντες αὐτοπροαιρέτως ἀποθανοῦμεν καὶ οὐ φεισόμεθα τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν.<ref name="29maiouiefemerida" />}}}}

Around this time, Mehmed had a final council with his senior officers. Here he encountered some resistance; one of his Viziers, the veteran [[Çandarlı Halil Pasha|Halil Pasha]], who had always disapproved of Mehmed's plans to conquer the city, now admonished him to abandon the siege in the face of recent adversity. Zagan Pasha argued against Halil Pasha and insisted on an immediate attack. Believing that the Byzantine defence was already weakened sufficiently, Mehmed planned to overpower the walls by sheer force and started preparations for a final all-out offensive.

===Final assault===
[[File:Theofilos Palaiologos.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Painting by the Greek folk painter [[Theophilos Hatzimihail]] showing the battle inside the city. Constantine is visible on a white horse.]]

Preparations for the final assault began in the evening of 26 May and continued to the next day.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=378}} For 36 hours after the war council decided to attack, the Ottomans extensively mobilized their manpower for the general offensive.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=378}} Prayer and resting was then granted to the soldiers on 28 May before the final assault would be launched. On the Byzantine side, a small Venetian fleet of 12 ships, after having searched the Aegean, reached Constantinople on 27 May and reported to the Emperor that no large Venetian relief fleet was on its way.{{sfnp|Norwich|1997|p=377}} On 28 May, as the Ottoman army prepared for the final assault, mass religious processions were held in the city. In the evening, a solemn last ceremony of [[Vespers]] was held in the [[Hagia Sophia]], in which the Emperor with representatives and nobility of both the Latin and Greek churches partook.{{sfnp|Vasiliev|1928|pp=651–652}} Up until this point, the Ottomans had fired 5,000 shots from their cannons using 55,000 pounds of gunpowder. Criers roamed the camp to the sound of the blasting horns, rousing the Ghazis.{{sfnp|Crowley|2013b}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}}

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday 29 May, the offensive began.<ref name="NewsIT" />{{sfnp|Durant|2011|p=227}} The Christian troops of the Ottoman Empire attacked first, followed by successive waves of the irregular [[azap]]s, who were poorly trained and equipped and [[Anatolian beyliks|Anatolian Turkmen beylik]] forces who focused on a section of the damaged Blachernae walls in the north-west part of the city. This section of the walls had been built earlier, in the 11th century, and was much weaker. The [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkmen]] mercenaries managed to breach this section of walls and entered the city but they were just as quickly pushed back by the defenders. Finally, the last wave consisting of elite Janissaries, attacked the city walls. The Genoese general in charge of the defenders on land, Giovanni Giustiniani, was grievously wounded during the attack, and his evacuation from the ramparts caused a panic in the ranks of the defenders.<ref name="pertusicadvol1" />{{page needed|date=June 2017}}<ref name="isbesepistle" /><ref name="LeonardoChio" />{{NoteTag|Sources hostile towards the Genoese (such as the Venetian Nicolò Barbaro), however, report that Longo was only lightly wounded or not wounded at all, but, overwhelmed by fear, simulated the wound to abandon the battlefield, determining the fall of the city. These charges of cowardice and treason were so widespread that the Republic of Genoa had to deny them by sending diplomatic letters to the Chancelleries of [[England]], France, the [[Duchy of Burgundy]] and others.{{sfnp|Desimoni|1874|pp=296–297}} Giustiniani was carried to [[Chios]], where he succumbed to his wounds a few days later.}}

With Giustiniani's Genoese troops retreating into the city and towards the harbour, Constantine and his men, now left to their own devices, continued to hold their ground against the Janissaries. Constantine's men eventually could not prevent the Ottomans from entering the city and the defenders were overwhelmed at several points along the wall. Janissaries, led by [[Ulubatlı Hasan]], pressed forward. Many Greek soldiers ran back home to protect their families, the Venetians retreated to their ships and a few of the Genoese escaped to Galata. The rest surrendered or committed suicide by jumping off the city walls.{{sfnp|Nicol|1993|p=388}} The Greek houses nearest to the walls were the first to suffer from the Ottomans. It is said that Constantine, throwing aside his purple imperial regalia, led the final charge against the incoming Ottomans, perishing in the ensuing battle in the streets alongside his soldiers. The Venetian Nicolò Barbaro claimed in his diary that Constantine hanged himself at the moment when the Turks broke in at the San Romano gate. Ultimately, his fate remains unknown.{{NoteTag|Barbaro added the description of the emperor's heroic last moments to his diary based on information he received afterward. According to some Ottoman sources Constantine was killed in an accidental encounter with Turkish marines a little further to the south, presumably while making his way to the Sea of Marmara in order to escape by sea.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=81}}}}

After the initial assault, the Ottoman army fanned out along the main thoroughfare of the city, the Mese, past the great forums and the Church of the Holy Apostles, which Mehmed II wanted to provide as a seat for his newly appointed patriarch to better control his Christian subjects. Mehmed II had sent an advance guard to protect these key buildings. The Catalans that maintained their position on the section of the wall that the emperor had assigned them, had the honor of being the last troops to fall. The sultan had Pere Julià, his sons and the consul Joan de la Via, amongst others, beheaded.

A few civilians managed to escape. When the Venetians retreated over to their ships, the Ottomans had already taken the walls of the Golden Horn. Luckily for the occupants of the city, the Ottomans were not interested in killing potentially valuable slaves, but rather in the loot they could get from raiding the city's houses, so they decided to attack the city instead. The Venetian captain ordered his men to break open the gate of the Golden Horn. Having done so, the Venetians left in ships filled with soldiers and refugees. Shortly after the Venetians left, a few Genoese ships and even the Emperor's ships followed them out of the Golden Horn. This fleet narrowly escaped prior to the Ottoman navy assuming control over the Golden Horn, which was accomplished by midday.{{sfnp|Nicol|1993|p=388}}

The army converged upon the [[Augusteum]], the vast square that fronted the great church of Hagia Sophia whose bronze gates were barred by a huge throng of civilians inside the building, hoping for divine protection. After the doors were breached, the troops separated the congregation according to what price they might bring in the slave markets.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}} Ottoman casualties are unknown but they are believed by most historians to be severe due to several unsuccessful Ottoman attacks made during the siege and final assault.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} The Venetian Barbaro observed that blood flowed in the city "like rainwater in the gutters after a sudden storm" and that bodies of Turks and Christians floated in the sea "like melons along a canal".<ref name="Barbaro" />

== Atrocities ==

According to the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', Mehmed II "permitted an initial period of looting that saw the destruction of many Orthodox churches", but tried to prevent a complete sack of the city.<ref name="Fall of Constantinople">{{cite web |title=Fall of Constantinople |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Constantinople-1453 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819143934/https://www.britannica.com/event/Fall-of-Constantinople-1453 |archive-date=19 August 2020 |access-date=2 August 2020 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> 
The looting was extremely thorough in certain parts of the city. On 2 June, the Sultan found the city largely deserted and half in ruins; churches had been desecrated and stripped, houses were no longer habitable, and stores and shops were emptied. He is famously reported to have been moved to tears by this, saying, "What a city we have given over to plunder and destruction."{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=152}}

According to David Nicolle, the ordinary people were treated better by their Ottoman conquerors than their ancestors had been by Crusaders back in 1204, stating that only about 4,000 Greeks died in the siege, while according to a Venetian Senate report, 50 Venetian noblemen and over 500 other Venetian civilians died during the siege.{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=|pp=81–84}} 
Many of the riches of the city were already looted in 1204, leaving only limited loot to the Ottomans.<ref>{{harvp|Crowley|2013a|p=191}}</ref>
Other sources claim far more brutal and successful pillaging by the Ottoman invaders. 

Looting was carried out on a massive scale by sailors and marines who entered the city via other walls before they had been suppressed by regular troops, who were beyond the main gate. 
"Everywhere there was misfortune, everyone was touched by pain" when Mehmed entered the city. "There were lamentations and weeping in every house, screaming in the crossroads, and sorrow in all churches; the groaning of grown men and the shrieking of women accompanied looting, enslavement, separation, and rape."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgAdAAAAYAAJ |title=The Fall of the Byzantine Empire: A Chronicle |author=Geōrgios Phrantzēs |year=1980 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |isbn=978-0-87023-290-9 |via=Google Books |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164808/https://books.google.com/books?id=QgAdAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

If any citizens of Constantinople tried to resist, they were slaughtered. According to Niccolò Barbaro, "all through the day the Turks made a great slaughter of Christians through the city". According to [[Makarios Melissenos]]:

{{blockquote|As soon as the Turks were inside the City, they began to seize and enslave every person who came their way; all those who tried to offer resistance were put to the sword. In many places the ground could not be seen, as it was covered by heaps of corpses.{{sfnp|Melissenos|1980|p=130}}}}

The women of Constantinople suffered from rape at the hands of Ottoman forces.<ref name="hRhtW" /> 
According to historian [[Philip Mansel]], widespread persecution of the city's civilian inhabitants took place, resulting in thousands of murders and rapes.<ref name="iK51W" /> 

Leonard of Chios made accounts of the atrocities that followed the fall of Constantinople stated the Ottoman invaders pillaged the city, murdered or enslaved tens of thousands of people, and raped nuns, women and children:
{{blockquote|All the valuables and other booty were taken to their camp, and as many as sixty thousand Christians who had been captured. The crosses which had been placed on the roofs or the walls of churches were torn down and trampled. Women were raped, virgins deflowered and youths forced to take part in shameful obscenities. The nuns left behind, even those who were obviously such, were disgraced with foul debaucheries.{{sfnp|Melville-Jones|1972|p=39}}}}
According to [[Steven Runciman]] most of the elderly and the infirm/wounded and sick who were refugees inside the churches were killed, and the remainder were chained up and sold into slavery.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=147}}

During three days of pillaging, the Ottoman invaders captured children and took them away to their tents, and became rich by plundering the Imperial [[Palace of Blachernae]] and the houses of Constantinople. 
The Ottoman official Tursun Beg wrote:
{{blockquote|After having completely overcome the enemy, the soldiers began to plunder the city. They enslaved boys and girls and took silver and gold vessels, precious stones and all sorts of valuable goods and fabrics from the imperial palace and the houses of the rich... Every tent was filled with handsome boys and beautiful girls.{{sfnp|Beg|1978|p=37}}}}
[[Michael Critobulus|Critobulus]] also noted: "As for the Sultan, he was sensual rather than acquisitive, and more interested in people than in goods. Phrantzes, the faithful servant of the Basileus, has recounted the fate of his young and good-looking family. His three daughters were consigned to the Imperial harem, even the youngest, a girl of fourteen, who died there of despair. His only son John, a fifteen-year-old boy, was killed by the sultan for having repelled his advances."<ref>Guerdan, Rene ́, Byzantium: its triumphs and tragedy, Allen & Unwin, 1956 p. 219-220</ref>

George Sphrantzes says that people of both genders were raped inside Hagia Sophia. Critobulus described the enslavement and sexual abuse committed by the Ottoman troops inside the Hagia Sophia: 
{{blockquote|Among all those outrages the profanation of Saint Sophia stood out. In the great church an immense crowd was assembled, praying despairingly. The famous bronze door had been closed, and full of anguish all awaited the conquerors. Suddenly violent blows shook and broke down the doors and a tide of blood-covered brutes swept in to  the holy place. To make rooms for them they begun by using the pikes and scimitar a little; but they were in the grip of covetouness not sadism. Here, they said to themselves as they looked about, fortune awaits us. In an instant, all who were young, good-looking and healthy were stripped, despoiled and herded. High-born women, young and gentle girls of noble family, now naked under their long hair, fell thus into slavery. Their masters bound them with whatever was at hand: sashes, belts, kerchiefs, stoles, tent ropes, camel and horse reins. With blows and kicks they were herded outside into long columns, to be led to a shameful fate and to all the extremities of the Islamic world.<ref>Guerdan, Rene ́, Byzantium: its triumphs and tragedy, Allen & Unwin, 1956 p. 219-220</ref>}}
The elder refugees in the Hagia Sophia were slaughtered and the women raped.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Calian |first=Florin George |date=25 March 2021 |title=The Hagia Sophia and Turkey's Neo-Ottomanism |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/ |newspaper=The Armenian Weekly |language=en |access-date=5 November 2021 |archive-date=5 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105091803/https://armenianweekly.com/2021/03/24/the-hagia-sophia-and-turkeys-neo-ottomanism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 
Mehmed entered the Hagia Sophia, "marveling at the sight" of the grand basilica. Witnessing a Ghazi wildly hammering at the marble floor, he asked what he was doing. "It is for the Faith!" the Ghazi said. 
Mehmed cut him down with his [[Kilij]]: "Be satisfied with the booty and the captives; the buildings of the city belong to me."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SoUJAQAAIAAJ |title=The Siege of Constantinople 1453: Seven Contemporary Accounts |year=1973 |publisher=Hakkert |isbn=978-90-256-0626-8 |via=Google Books |access-date=2 January 2023 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106131445/https://books.google.com/books?id=SoUJAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ottoman Chroniclers confirmed: "They made the people of the city slaves and killed their emperor, and the gazis embraced their pretty girls".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFBtAAAAMAAJ |title=Islam, from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople: Religion and society |year=1976 |via=Google Books |last1=Lewis |first1=Bernard |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164808/https://books.google.com/books?id=qFBtAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the festivities, "and as he had promised his viziers and his other officers," Mehmed had the "wretched citizens of Constantinople" dragged before them and "ordered many of them to be hacked to pieces, for the sake of entertainment."{{sfnp|Melville-Jones|1972}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hwdhQgAACAAJ |isbn=978-0-682-46972-2 |title=Diary of the Siege of Constantinople, 1453 |year=1969 |publisher=Exposition Press |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164808/https://books.google.com/books?id=hwdhQgAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Byzantine historian [[Doukas (historian)|Doukas]] claims that, while drunk during his victory banquet, the Sultan ordered the Grand Duke Loukas Notaras to give [[Jacob Notaras|his youngest son]], to him for his pleasure. He replied that "it would be far better for me to die than hand over my own child to be despoiled by him." Mehmed was enraged after hearing this and ordered Loukas to be executed. Before his death, Notaras supposedly said that "Him who was crucified for us, died and arose"' and urged his horrified sons to reject the advances of Mehmed and not fear the outcome. Their father's words encouraged them, and they also "were ready to die". They are also said to have been executed.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rPkcAAAAYAAJ |title=Decline and Fall of Byzantium to the Ottoman Turks |date= 1975 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-1540-8 |access-date=15 January 2023 |via=Google Books}}</ref> However, American researcher and professor Walter G. Andrew doubts the authenticity of this story, citing the similarities with the earlier story of Saint [[Pelagius of Córdoba|Pelagius]], he states that, "it is likely that Doukas's tale owes more to Saint Pelagius and a long history of attempts to portray Muslims as morally inferior than to anything that actually happened during the conquest of Constantinople/Istanbul."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Walter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jID6Z1l0IfEC&q=The+Age+of+Beloveds+%E2%80%93+Love+and+the+Beloved+in+Early-Modern+Ottoman+and+European+Culture+and+Society. |title=The Age of Beloveds: Love and the Beloved in Early-Modern Ottoman and European Culture and Society |last2=Kalpakli |first2=Mehmet |date= 2005 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-3424-8 |page=2 |language=en |quote=Some people who are familiar with the history of stories about sex and love will recognize close parallels to the story of Saint Pelagius, the thirteen-year- old Christian martyr of the early tenth century, said to have been a beautiful and pious youth, who was tortured and dismembered by the Cordoban caliph 'Abdu'r-Rahman III when he refused the caliph's sexual advances." It is easy to see how it could have seemed meaningful and hopeful to a Greek mourning lost Byzantium to reference the cult of Saint Pelagius, which for centuries provided spiritual energy to the Spanish Reconquista. Thus, although it is likely that Doukas's tale owes more to Saint Pelagius and a long history of attempts to portray Muslims as morally inferior than to anything that actually happened during the conquest of Constantinople/Istanbul... |access-date=29 January 2023 |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423205818/https://books.google.com/books?id=jID6Z1l0IfEC&q=The+Age+of+Beloveds+%E2%80%93+Love+and+the+Beloved+in+Early-Modern+Ottoman+and+European+Culture+and+Society. |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the [[History of concubinage in the Muslim world|concubines (sex slaves)]] in the [[Ottoman Imperial Harem|Ottoman Imperial harem]] of Sultan Mehmet II was [[Çiçek Hatun]], who was herself referred to as a slave-girl captured during the fall of Constantinople. 

The vast majority of the citizens of Constantinople (30,000–50,000) were forced to become slaves.<ref name="iK51W">{{cite news |last1=Mansel |first1=Philip |title=Constantinople: City of the World's Desire 1453–1924 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/constantinople.htm |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=7 August 2020 |archive-date=24 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724153239/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/constantinople.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Davis" /><ref name="Crowley2009">{{cite book |author=Roger Crowley |title=Constantinople: The Last Great Siege, 1453 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftOp1cR7VK8C&pg=PT226 |date= 2009 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-25079-0 |page=226 |quote=The vast majority of the ordinary citizens – about 30,000 – were marched off to the slave markets of Edirne, Bursa and Ankara.}}</ref><ref name="Akbar2002" /><ref name="Bradbury1992">{{cite book |author=Jim Bradbury |title=The Medieval Siege |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xVCRpsfwkiUC&pg=PA322 |year=1992 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-0-85115-312-4 |page=322 |access-date=7 August 2020 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115215624/https://books.google.com/books?id=xVCRpsfwkiUC&pg=PA322 |url-status=live }}</ref>
According to Nicolas de Nicolay, slaves were displayed naked at the city's slave market, and young girls could be purchased.<ref name="fisher2010">{{cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=Alan |title=A Precarious Balance |date=2010 |publisher=Gorgias Press |location=Piscataway, NJ |page=151 |chapter=The Sale of Slaves in the Ottoman Empire: Markets and State Taxes on Slave Sales, Some Preliminary Considerations}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
<!--Linked from infobox above-->

Mehmed II granted his soldiers three days to plunder the city, as he had promised them and in accordance with the custom of the time.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=145}}<ref name="mCj01" /> By noon, the city streets were filled with blood. The Turks looted houses, raped and impaled women and children, destroyed churches, tore icons from their frames and books from their bindings. All that remained of the imperial palace in Blachernae were the walls; Byzantium's most sacred icon, the [[Hodegetria]], was cut into four pieces and destroyed. The most monstrous events took place in the Church of Hagia Sophia. There, the morning service was already underway when the parishioners heard the maddened conquerors approaching. The huge bronze doors immediately slammed shut, but soon the Turks smashed them and entered the temple. The poorer and less attractive looking parishioners were killed on the spot, the rest were taken to a Turkish camp, where they remained to await the decision of their fate.<ref>История Византийской империи : От основания Константинополя до кру-
КоЛибри, Азбука-Аттикус, 2023. - 688 с. ; ил.
шения государства / Джон Норвич: [пер. с англ. О. Г. Постниковой]. - М.: {{ISBN|978-5-389-19591-2}}</ref> Soldiers fought over the possession of some of the [[War looting|spoils of war]].{{sfnp|Reinert|2002|p=283}} On the third day of the conquest, Mehmed II ordered all looting to stop and issued a proclamation that all Christians who had avoided capture or who had been ransomed could return to their homes without further molestation, although many had no homes to return to, and many more had been taken captive and not ransomed.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|pp=150–151}} Byzantine historian George Sphrantzes, an eyewitness to the fall of Constantinople, described the Sultan's actions:{{sfnp|Sphrantzes|1980}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}}{{sfnp|Kritovoulos|1954}}{{page needed|date=December 2023}}<!-- there was a ref to p.&nbsp;133, but it is not clear which edition of which book (Sphrantzes or Kritovoulos) it referred to-->

{{blockquote | On the third day after the fall of our city, the Sultan celebrated his victory with a great, joyful triumph. He issued a proclamation: the citizens of all ages who had managed to escape detection were to leave their hiding places throughout the city and come out into the open, as they were to remain free and no question would be asked. He further declared the restoration of houses and property to those who had abandoned our city before the siege. If they returned home, they would be treated according to their rank and religion, as if nothing had changed. | George Sphrantzes}}

Mehmed himself knocked over and trampled on the altar of the Hagia Sophia. He then ordered a muezzin to ascend the pulpit and sound a prayer.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=leqqBgAAQBAJ |title=Turkish Myth and Muslim Symbol: The battle of Mazikert |page=175 |isbn=978-0-7486-3115-5 |last1=Hillenbrand |first1=Carole |date=21 November 2007 |access-date=23 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164823/https://books.google.com/books?id=leqqBgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SoUJAQAAIAAJ |title=The Siege of Constantinople 1453: Seven Contemporary Accounts |pages=103–112 |year=1973 |publisher=Hakkert |isbn=978-90-256-0626-8 |via=Google Books |access-date=2 January 2023 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106131445/https://books.google.com/books?id=SoUJAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Freeman |first=Evan |url=https://pressbooks.pub/smarthistoryguidetobyzantineart/chapter/hagia-sophia-istanbul/ |title=Smarthistory Guide to Byzantine Art |date=2021 |chapter=Hagia Sophia in Istanbul |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=30 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230172933/https://pressbooks.pub/smarthistoryguidetobyzantineart/chapter/hagia-sophia-istanbul/ |url-status=live }}</ref> but the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Greek Orthodox Church]] was allowed to remain intact and [[Gennadius Scholarius]] was appointed [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]]. This was once thought to be the origin of the [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Ottoman ''millet'' system]]; however, it is now considered a myth and no such system existed in the fifteenth century.<ref name="aMn4U" /><ref name="AIhgF" />

[[File:Hagia-Sophia-Laengsschnitt.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Following the city's conquest, the Church of the [[Holy Wisdom]] (the ''[[Hagia Sophia]]'') was converted into a [[mosque]].]]
The fall of Constantinople shocked many Europeans, who viewed it as a catastrophic event for their civilization.<ref name=":0" /> Many feared other European Christian kingdoms would suffer the same fate as Constantinople. Two possible responses emerged amongst the [[Renaissance humanism|humanists]] and churchmen of that era: [[Crusade]] or dialogue. [[Pope Pius II]] strongly advocated for another Crusade, while the German [[Nicholas of Cusa]] supported engaging in a dialogue with the Ottomans.<ref name="NqTxI" />

{{Blockquote
|text=In the past we received our wounds in Asia and in Africa—in foreign countries. This time, however, we are being attacked in Europe, in our own land, in our own house. You will protest that the Turks moved from Asia to Greece a long time ago, that the Mongols established themselves in Europe and the Arabs occupied parts of Spain, having approached through the straits of Gibraltar. We have never lost a city or a place comparable to Constantinople.|author=Pope Pius II<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o3JUDwAAQBAJ |title=Europe and Islam |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-317-20724-5 |via=Google Books |last1=Jones |first1=Erik |last2=Genugten |first2=Saskia van |publisher=Routledge |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164808/https://books.google.com/books?id=o3JUDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The [[Morea]]n (Peloponnesian) fortress of Mystras, where Constantine's brothers Thomas and Demetrius ruled, constantly in conflict with each other and knowing that Mehmed would eventually invade them as well, held out until 1460. Long before the fall of Constantinople, Demetrius had fought for the throne with Thomas, Constantine, and their other brothers John and [[Theodore II Palaiologos, Lord of Morea|Theodore]].{{sfnp|Norwich|1995|p=446}} Thomas escaped to Rome when the Ottomans invaded Morea while Demetrius expected to rule a puppet state, but instead was imprisoned and remained there for the rest of his life. In Rome, Thomas and his family received some monetary support from the Pope and other Western rulers as Byzantine emperor in exile, until 1503. In 1461, the independent Byzantine state in Trebizon fell to Mehmed.{{sfnp|Norwich|1995|p=446}}

Constantine had died without producing an heir, and had Constantinople not fallen he likely would have been succeeded by the sons of his deceased elder brother, who were taken into the palace service of Mehmed after the fall of Constantinople. The oldest boy, renamed Murad, became a personal favourite of Mehmed and served as Beylerbey (Governor-General) of [[Rumeli]] (the Balkans). The younger son, renamed [[Mesih Pasha]], became Admiral of the Ottoman fleet and Sancak Beg (Governor) of the province of Gallipoli. He eventually served twice as Grand Vizier under Mehmed's son, [[Bayezid II]].<ref name="nsxzN" />

With the capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II had acquired the future capital of his kingdom, albeit one in decline due to years of war. The loss of the city was a crippling blow to [[Christendom]], and it exposed the Christian West to a vigorous and aggressive foe in the East. The Christian reconquest of Constantinople remained a goal in Western Europe for many years after its fall to the Ottoman Empire. Rumours of [[King asleep in mountain|Constantine XI's survival and subsequent rescue by an angel]] led many to hope that the city would one day return to Christian hands. Pope Nicholas V called for an immediate counter-attack in the form of a crusade,{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} however no European powers wished to participate, and the Pope resorted to sending a small fleet of 10 ships to defend the city. The short lived Crusade immediately came to an end and as Western Europe entered the 16th century, the [[Crusades|age of Crusading]] began to come to an end.

For some time Greek scholars had gone to [[Italian city-states]], a cultural exchange begun in 1396 by [[Coluccio Salutati]], chancellor of Florence, who had invited [[Manuel Chrysoloras]], to lecture at the [[University of Florence]].<ref name="Mw3eQ" /> After the conquest many Greeks, such as [[John Argyropoulos]] and [[Constantine Lascaris]], fled the city and found refuge in the Latin West, [[Greek scholars in the Renaissance|bringing with them knowledge and documents from the Greco-Roman tradition to Italy]] and other regions that further propelled the [[Renaissance]].<ref name="J2i2B" /><ref name="Byzantines in Renaissance Italy" /> Those Greeks who stayed behind in Constantinople mostly lived in the [[Phanar]] and Galata districts of the city. The [[Phanariotes]], as they were called, provided many capable advisers to the Ottoman rulers.

A severed head that was claimed to belong to Constantine was found and presented to Mehmed and nailed onto a column. While standing before the head, the sultan in his speech said:<ref name="auto">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SoUJAQAAIAAJ |title=The Siege of Constantinople 1453: Seven Contemporary Accounts |date=15 January 1973 |publisher=Hakkert |isbn=978-90-256-0626-8 |access-date=15 January 2023 |via=Google Books |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106131445/https://books.google.com/books?id=SoUJAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Blockquote
|text=Fellow soldiers, this one thing was lacking to make the glory of such a victory complete. Now, at this happy and joyful moment of time, we have the riches of the Greeks, we have won their empire, and their religion is completely extinguished. Our ancestors eagerly desired to achieve this; rejoice now since it is your bravery which has won this kingdom for us.|}}

The news spread rapidly across the Islamic world. In Egypt "good tidings were proclaimed, and Cairo decorated" to celebrate "this greatest of conquests." The Sharif of Mecca wrote to Mehmed, calling the Sultan "the one who has aided Islam and the Muslims, the Sultan of all kings and sultans". The fact that Constantinople, which was long "known for being indomitable in the eyes of all," as the Sharif of Mecca said, had fallen and that the Prophet Muhammad's prophecy came true shocked the Islamic world and filled it with a great jubilation and rapture.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QC03pKNpfaoC |title=Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs |author=Nadia Maria El-Cheikh |year=2004 |publisher=Harvard CMES |isbn=978-0-932885-30-2 |via=Google Books |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106131445/https://books.google.com/books?id=QC03pKNpfaoC |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Third Rome===
{{Main|Third Rome}}
[[File:Bellini, Gentile - Sultan Mehmet II.jpg|thumb|Mehmed II by [[Gentile Bellini]]]]

[[Byzantium]] is a term used by modern historians to refer to the later Roman Empire. In its own time, the Empire ruled from Constantinople (or "New Rome" as some people call it, although this was a laudatory expression that was never an official title) and was simply considered as "the Roman Empire." The fall of Constantinople led competing factions to lay claim to being the inheritors of the Imperial mantle. Russian claims to Byzantine heritage clashed with those of the Ottoman Empire's own claim. In Mehmed's view, he was the successor to the [[Roman Emperor]], declaring himself ''Kayser-i Rum'', literally "[[Caesar (title)|Caesar of the Romans]]", that is, of the Roman Empire, though he was remembered as "the Conqueror".

[[Stefan Dušan]], Tsar of [[Serbian Empire|Serbia]], and [[Ivan Alexander]], Tsar of [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]], both made similar claims, regarding themselves as legitimate heirs to the Roman Empire {{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}. Other potential claimants, such as the Republic of Venice and the Holy Roman Empire, have disintegrated into history.<ref name="W8pk7" />

===Impact on the Churches===
Pope Pius II believed that the Ottomans would persecute [[Greek Orthodox]] Christians and advocated for another crusade at the [[Council of Mantua (1459)|Council of Mantua]] in 1459.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Florescu, McNally, ''Dracula'', p. 129</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Siege of Constantinople fresco, Moldovița monastery, Vatra Moldoviței, 2017.jpg|thumb|Siege of Constantinople on a mural at the [[Moldovița Monastery]] in Romania, painted in 1537]]

===Legends===
There are many legends in Greece surrounding the Fall of Constantinople. It was said that [[May 1453 lunar eclipse|the partial lunar eclipse]] that occurred on 22 May 1453 represented a fulfilment of a prophecy of the city's demise.<ref name="L0Kni" />

Four days later, the whole city was blotted out by a thick [[fog]], a condition unknown in that part of the world in May. When the fog lifted that evening, a strange light was seen playing about the dome of the Hagia Sophia, which some interpreted as the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] departing from the city. "This evidently indicated the departure of the Divine Presence, and its leaving the City in total abandonment and desertion, for the Divinity conceals itself in cloud and appears and again disappears."{{sfnp|Kritovoulos|1954|p=59}}

For others, there was still a distant hope that the lights were the campfires of the troops of [[John Hunyadi]] who had come to relieve the city. It is possible that all these phenomena were local effects of the cataclysmic [[1452/1453 mystery eruption]] which occurred around the time of the siege. The "fire" seen may have been an optical illusion due to the reflection of intensely red twilight glow by clouds of volcanic ash high in the atmosphere.<ref name="nasakuwae" />

Another legend holds that two priests saying [[divine liturgy]] over the crowd disappeared into the cathedral's walls as the first Turkish soldiers entered. According to the legend, the priests will appear again on the day that Constantinople returns to Christian hands.{{sfnp|Runciman|1965|p=147}} Another legend refers to the ''Marble Emperor'' (Constantine), holding that an angel rescued the emperor when the Ottomans entered the city, turning him into marble and placing him in a cave under the earth near the Golden Gate, where he waits to be brought to life again (a variant of the [[sleeping hero]] legend).<ref name="3otvo" /><ref name="hatzfallhec" /> However, many of the myths surrounding the disappearance of Constantine were developed later and little evidence can be found to support them even in friendly primary accounts of the siege.

===Cultural impact===
[[File:Zonaro GatesofConst.jpg|thumb|[[Mehmed the Conqueror]] enters Constantinople. Painting by [[Fausto Zonaro]].]]

[[Guillaume Dufay]] composed several songs lamenting the fall of the Eastern church, and the [[duke of Burgundy]], [[Philip the Good]], [[Feast of the Pheasant|avowed]] to take up arms against the Turks. However, as the growing Ottoman power from this date on coincided with the [[Protestant Reformation]] and subsequent [[Counter-Reformation]], the recapture of Constantinople became an ever-distant dream. Even France, once a fervent participant in the Crusades, [[Franco-Ottoman alliance|became an ally of the Ottomans]].

Nonetheless, depictions of Christian coalitions taking the city and of the late Emperor's resurrection by [[Leo the Wise]] persisted.{{sfnp|Mango|2002|p=280}}

29 May 1453, the day of the fall of Constantinople, fell on a Tuesday, and since then [[Tuesday]] has been considered an unlucky day by Greeks generally.<ref name="QMrK6" />

===Impact on the Renaissance===
{{Main|Greek scholars in the Renaissance}}
The migration waves of [[Byzantine]] scholars and émigrés in the period following the [[Siege of Constantinople|sacking of Constantinople]] and the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is considered by many scholars key to the revival of [[ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[ancient Rome|Roman]] studies that led to the development of the Renaissance humanism<ref name="Byzantines in Renaissance Italy" />{{better source needed|reason=Tall claim requires high-quality academic citation, not a website|date=November 2016}} and [[History of science in the Renaissance|science]]. These émigrés were grammarians, humanists, poets, writers, printers, lecturers, musicians, astronomers, architects, academics, artists, scribes, philosophers, scientists, politicians and theologians.<ref name="v5gnl" />{{better source needed|date=November 2016}} They brought to Western Europe the far greater preserved and accumulated knowledge of Byzantine civilization. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'': "Many modern scholars also agree that the exodus of Greeks to Italy as a result of this event marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance".<ref name="Fall of Constantinople"/>

===Renaming of the city===
<!--Linked from infobox above-->
Ottomans used the Arabic transliteration of the city's name "Qosṭanṭīniyye" (القسطنطينية) or "Kostantiniyye", as can be seen in numerous Ottoman documents. ''Islambol'' ({{lang|ota|اسلامبول}}, ''Full of Islam'') or ''Islambul'' (''find Islam'') or ''Islam(b)ol'' (''old [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]: be Islam''), both in [[Turkish language|Turkish]], were [[folk etymology|folk-etymological]] adaptations of ''Istanbul'' created after the Ottoman conquest of 1453 to express the city's new role as the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire. It is first attested shortly after the conquest, and its invention was ascribed by some contemporary writers to Mehmed II himself.<ref name= "istanbulunadlari" />

The [[Names of Istanbul|name of Istanbul]] is thought to be derived from the Greek phrase ''īs tīmbolī(n)'' ({{langx|el|εἰς τὴν πόλιν}}, [[transliteration|translit.]] ''eis tēn pólin'', "to the City"), and it is claimed that it had already spread among the Turkish populace of the Ottoman Empire before the conquest. However, Istanbul only became the official name of the city in 1930 by the revised Turkish Postal Law.<ref name="ZooPt" /><ref name= "DwbQb" /><ref name="YEruk" />

==Primary sources==
For the fall of Constantinople, [[Marios Philippides]] and Walter Hanak list 15 eyewitness accounts (13 Christian and 2 Turkish) and 20 contemporary non-eyewitness accounts (13 Italian).{{sfnp|Philippides|Hanak|2011|pp=10–46 (eyewitnesses), 46 (Greeks) and 88–91 (Turks)}}

===Eyewitness accounts===
# [[Mehmed Şems el-Mille ve'd Din]], Sufi holy man who gives an account in a letter
# [[Tursun Beg]], wrote a history entitled ''Tarih-i Abu'l Fath''
# [[George Sphrantzes]], the only Greek eyewitness who wrote about it, but his laconic account is almost entirely lacking in narrative
# [[Leonard of Chios]], wrote a report to Pope Nicholas V
# [[Nicolò Barbaro]], physician on a Venetian galley who kept a journal
# [[Angelino Giovanni Lomellini]], Genoese ''podestà'' of Pera who wrote a report dated 24 June 1453
# [[Jacopo Tetaldi]], Florentine merchant
# [[Isidore of Kiev]], Eastern Catholic churchman who wrote eight letters to Italy
# [[Benvenuto (Anconitan consul)|Benvenuto]], Anconitan consul in Constantinople
# [[Ubertino Puscolo]], Italian poet learning Greek in the city, wrote an epic poem
# [[Eparkhos and Diplovatatzes]], two refugees whose accounts has become garbled through multiple translations
# [[Nestor Iskander]], youthful eyewitness who wrote a Slavonic account
# [[Samile the Vladik]], bishop who, like Eparkhos and Diplovatatzes, fled as a refugee to [[Wallachia]]
# [[Konstantin Mihailović]], Serbian who fought on the Ottoman side
# a report by some [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] prisoners of war who later came to Bologna

===Non-eyewitness accounts===
# [[Doukas (historian)|Doukas]], a Byzantine Greek historian, one of the most important sources for the last decades and eventual fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans
# [[Laonikos Chalkokondyles]], a Byzantine Greek historian
# [[Michael Critobulus|Michael Kritoboulos]], a Byzantine Greek historian
# [[Makarios Melissourgos]], 16th-century historian who augmented the account of Sphrantzes, not very reliably
# [[Paolo Dotti]], Venetian official on Crete whose account is based on oral reports
# Fra Girolamo's letter from Crete to [[Domenico Capranica]]
# [[Lauro Quirini]], wrote a report to Pope Nicholas V from Crete based on oral reports
# [[Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini]] (Pope Pius II), wrote an account based on written sources
# [[Henry of Soemmern]], wrote a letter dated 11 September 1453 in which he cites his sources of information
# [[Niccola della Tuccia]], whose ''Cronaca di Viterbo'' written in the autumn of 1453 contains unique information
# [[Niccolò Tignosi da Foligno]], ''Expugnatio Constantinopolitana'', part of a letter to a friend
# [[Filippo da Rimini]], ''Excidium Constantinopolitanae urbis quae quondam Bizantium ferebatur''
# [[Antonio Ivani da Sarzana]], ''Expugnatio Constantinopolitana'', part of a letter to the duke of Urbino
# [[Nikolaos Sekoundinos]], read a report before the Venetian Senate, the Pope and the Neapolitan court
# [[Giacomo Languschi]], whose account is embedded in the Venetian chronicle of [[Zorzi Dolfin]], had access to eyewitnesses
# [[John Moskhos (15th century)|John Moskhos]], wrote a poem in honour of Loukas Notaras
# [[Adamo di Montaldo]], ''De Constantinopolitano excidio ad nobilissimum iuvenem Melladucam Cicadam'', which contains unique information
# [[Ashikpashazade]], included a chapter on the conquest in his ''Tarih-i al-i Osman''<ref name="Angold" />
# [[Neshri]], included a chapter on the conquest in his universal history<ref name="Angold" />
# [[Evliya Çelebi]], 17th-century traveller who collected local traditions of the conquest<ref name="Angold" />

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="osmanaras600askeri">{{Cite web |title=İstanbul'un fethinde 600 Türk askeri, Fatih'e karşı savaştı |url=http://www.os-ar.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24133 |last=<!--Staff writers, no byline--> |website=Osmanlı Arauştırmalarlı |language=tr |trans-title=In the Conquest of Istanbul 600 Turkish Military Fought Against the Conqueror |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415140012/http://www.os-ar.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24133 |archive-date=15 April 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="ealoipolis">{{Cite book |last1=Frantzes |first1=Georgios |last2=Melisseidis (Melisseides) |first2=Ioannis (Ioannes) A. |last3=Zavolea-Melissidi |first3=Pulcheria |date=2004 |publisher=Vergina Asimakopouli Bros. |isbn=960-7171-91-8 |edition=5th |location=Athens |language=el |script-title=el:Εάλω η ΠόλιςΤ•ο χρονικό της άλωσης της Κωνσταντινούπολης: Συνοπτική ιστορία των γεγονότων στην Κωνσταντινούπολη κατά την περίοδο 1440–1453 |trans-title=The City has Fallen: Chronicle of the Fall of Constantinople: Concise History of Events in Constantinople in the Period 1440–1453}}</ref>
<ref name="ospbyzwar6001453">{{Cite book |last=Haldon |first=John |title=Byzantium at War 600–1453 |publisher=Osprey |year=2000 |location=New York}}</ref>
<ref name="WDL">{{Cite web |title=Bosphorus (i.e. Bosporus), View from Kuleli, Constantinople, Turkey |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/8836/ |date=1890–1900 |website=[[World Digital Library]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020201630/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/8836/ |archive-date=20 October 2013 |access-date=20 October 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="ThackerayFindling2012">{{Cite book |last1=Frank W. Thackeray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRl1sWYShpcC&pg=PA213 |title=Events That Formed the Modern World |last2=John E. Findling |date= 2012 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-901-1 |page=213 |access-date=13 February 2020 |archive-date=26 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426014400/https://books.google.com/books?id=BRl1sWYShpcC&pg=PA213 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Norwich1998">{{Cite book |last=John Julius Norwich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T9euYeUnGSEC&pg=PT453 |title=A Short History of Byzantium |date= 1998 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-0-14-192859-3 |page=453 |quote=Constantine made one last effort: his ambassadors were executed on the spot. |access-date=13 February 2020 |archive-date=26 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426123706/https://books.google.com/books?id=T9euYeUnGSEC&pg=PT453 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Somerwil-Ayrton2007">{{Cite book |last=Kathie Somerwil-Ayrton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RAtXAAAAYAAJ |title=The Train that Disappeared into History: The Berlin-to-Bagdad Railway and how it Led to the Great War |publisher=Uitgeverij Aspekt |year=2007 |isbn=978-90-5911-573-6 |page=117 |quote=The Byzantine emperor, then Constantine XI, sent his ambassadors in an attempt to conciliate: they were executed on ... |access-date=13 February 2020 |archive-date=26 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426161607/https://books.google.com/books?id=RAtXAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Roberts1973">{{Cite book |last=John Roberts |url=https://archive.org/details/civilization01robe |title=Civilization: The emergence of man in society |publisher=CRM Books |year=1973 |page=[https://archive.org/details/civilization01robe/page/391 391] |isbn=978-0-87665-156-8 |quote=It became obvious that Mehmed's messages of peace were false, when he had the Byzantine ambassador executed. |url-access=registration}}</ref>
<ref name="Brownworth2009">{{Cite book |last=Lars Brownworth |url=https://archive.org/details/losttowestforgot00brow |title=Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization |date= 2009 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-307-46241-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/losttowestforgot00brow/page/291 291] |quote=When Constantine sent emissaries to remind Mehmed that he was breaking his oath and to implore him to at least spare the neighboring villages, Mehmed had the ambassadors executed. |url-access=registration}}</ref>
<ref name="pertusicadvol1">{{Cite book |title=La Caduta di Costantinopoli, I: Le testimonianze dei contemporanei. (Scrittori greci e latini) |publisher=Fondazione Lorenzo Valla |year=1976 |editor-last=Pertusi |editor-first=Agostino |volume=I |location=Verona |language=it |trans-title=The Fall of Constantinople, I: The Testimony of the Contemporary Greek and Latin Writers}}</ref>
<ref name="halilosmanimpklas">{{Cite book |last=İnalcıkt |first=Halil |title=Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Klasik Çağ (1300–1600) |publisher=Orion |year=2001 |location=London |translator-last=Itzkouritz |translator-first=Norman |trans-title=The Ottoman Empire, The Classical Age, 1300–1600 |translator-last2=Imber |translator-first2=Colin}}</ref>
<ref name="Barbaro">Nicolò Barbaro, ''Giornale dell'Assedio di Costantinopoli'', 1453. The autograph copy is conserved in the [[Biblioteca Marciana]] in Venice. Barbaro's diary has been translated into English by John Melville-Jones (New York: Exposition Press, 1969)</ref>
<ref name="sphrantzchron">{{Cite book |last=Sphrantzes |first=George |language=el |script-title=el:Οικτρός Γεώργιος ο Φραντζής ο και Πρωτοβεσιαρίτης Γρηγόριος τάχα μοναχός ταύτα έγραψεν υπέρ των καθ' αυτών και τινων μερικών γεγονότων εν τώ της αθλίας ζωής αυτε χρόνω |trans-title=The Pitiful George Frantzes Who was Protovestiaros, Now a Monk, Wrote This for the Βetterment of Others and as Recompense for Some Deeds in His Miserable Life, This Chronicle |author-link=George Sphrantzes}}</ref>
<ref name="isbesepistle">{{cite letter |first=Isidorus |last=Rutheniae |recipient=Bisarion |subject=Epistola reverendissimi patris domini Isidori cardinalis Ruteni scripta ad reverendissimum dominum Bisarionem episcopum Tusculanum ac cardinalem Nicenum Bononiaeque legatum [Letter of the Most Reverend Lord Father [[Isidore of Kiev|Isidore of Ruthenia]], Cardinal, Written to the Most Reverend Lord [[Basilios Bessarion|Bessarion]] [[Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Frascati|Bishop of Tusculum]] and Cardinal of [[Nicaea]] and [[Bologna]]] |language=la |date=6 July 1453}}</ref>
<ref name="LeonardoChio">{{in lang|la}} Leonardo di Chio, ''Letter to [[Pope Nicholas V]]'', dated 16 August 1453, edited by J.-P. Migne, ''[[Patrologia Graeca]]'', 159, 923A–944B.</ref>
<ref name="Ref-1">Leonardo di Chio, ''Letter'',927B: "three hundred thousand and more".</ref>
<ref name="Pusculo">Ubertino Pusculo, ''Constantinopolis'', 1464</ref>
<ref name="Steele">{{Cite book |last=Steele |first=Brett D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBapOB93lE0C&pg=PA106 |title=The Heirs of Archimedes: Science and the Art of War Through the Age of Enlightenment |date=2005 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-19516-4 |page=106 |access-date=9 September 2019 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222063603/https://books.google.com/books?id=aBapOB93lE0C&pg=PA106 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Hammer">{{Cite book |last=Hammer |first=Paul E. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugkkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT511 |title=Warfare in Early Modern Europe 1450–1660 |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-87376-5 |page=511 |access-date=9 September 2019 |archive-date=29 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229115139/https://books.google.com/books?id=ugkkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT511 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="29maiouiefemerida">{{Cite web |title=29 Μαϊου 1453: Όταν "η Πόλις εάλω.... |url=http://www.iefimerida.gr/news/52795/29-%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%8A%CE%BF%CF%85-1453-%CF%8C%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%BD-%C2%AB%CE%B7-%CF%80%CF%8C%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%82-%CE%B5%CE%AC%CE%BB%CF%89%C2%BB |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=29 May 2012 |website=iefemerida.com |language=el |trans-title=29 May 1453: When the City Fell... |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525102233/http://www.iefimerida.gr/news/52795/29-%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%8A%CE%BF%CF%85-1453-%CF%8C%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%BD-%C2%AB%CE%B7-%CF%80%CF%8C%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%82-%CE%B5%CE%AC%CE%BB%CF%89%C2%BB |archive-date=25 May 2017 |access-date=5 June 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="Byzantines in Renaissance Italy">{{Cite web |title=Byzantines in Renaissance Italy |url=http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/late/laterbyz/harris-ren.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030930225420/http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/late/laterbyz/harris-ren.html |archive-date=30 September 2003 |access-date=10 April 2007}}</ref>
<ref name="nasakuwae">{{Cite press release |title=#1543 |publisher=Public Information Office, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/93/release_1993_1543.html |access-date=5 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214073610/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/93/release_1993_1543.html |archive-date=14 December 2016 |place=Pasadena, California |year=1993}}</ref>
<ref name="hatzfallhec">{{Cite web |title=Fall of Constantinople, 1453 |url=http://www.greece.org/romiosini/fall.html |last=Hatzopoulos |first=Dionysios |publisher=Hellenic Electronic Center |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304151602/http://www.greece.org/Romiosini/fall.html |archive-date=4 March 2009 |access-date=25 July 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="istanbulunadlari">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=İstanbul'un adları |encyclopedia=Dünden bugüne İstanbul ansiklopedisi |publisher=Türkiye Kültür Bakanlığı |last=Sakaoğlu |first=Necdet |date=1993–1994 |language=tr |trans-title=The names of Istanbul |place=Istanbul}}</ref>
<ref name="GpAG8">{{Cite web |title=The Conquest of Constantinople and the end of empire |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-155920054.html |last=Foster |first=Charles |date=22 September 2006 |website=Contemporary Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611074715/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-155920054.html |archive-date=11 June 2009 |quote=It is the end of the Middle Ages}}</ref>
<ref name="O2kxx">{{Cite book |last=Madden |first=Thomas |url=https://archive.org/details/crusades00thom |title=Crusades: The Illustrated History |publisher=University of Michigan |year=2005 |location=Ann Arbor |isbn=978-0-472-11463-4 |author-link=Thomas F. Madden |url-access=registration}}</ref>
<ref name="rCeS6">{{Cite web |title=The Black Death |url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/a-b/blackdeath.html |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625094232/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/a-b/blackdeath.html |archive-date=25 June 2008 |access-date=13 August 2008}}, Channel 4 – History.</ref>
<ref name="sQMpP">Leonardo di Chio, ''Letter'', 930C.</ref>
<ref name="q6rsq">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Paul |title=100 Decisive Battles |publisher=Oxford |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-19-514366-9 |page=166}}</ref>
<ref name="bZgqW">{{Cite news |title=The fall of Constantinople |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/1999/12/23/the-fall-of-constantinople |date=23 December 1999 |newspaper=The Economist |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604214149/http://www.economist.com/node/346800?story_id=346800 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |access-date=11 December 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="MoRBA">{{harvp|Crowley|2005|pp=150–154}}</ref>
<ref name="JRaLV">From Jean Chartier, ''Chronicle of Charles VII, king of France'', MS Bnf Français 2691, f. 246v [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9007428x/f304.item.zoom] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417173235/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9007428x/f304.item.zoom |date=17 April 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="TQ2Lp">{{harvp|Crowley|2005|pp=168–171}}</ref>
<ref name="mCj01">Smith, Michael Llewellyn, ''The Fall of Constantinople'', History Makers magazine No. 5, Marshall Cavendish, Sidgwick & Jackson (London).</ref>
<ref name="hRhtW">{{Cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Cyril J. |year=1974 |title=History of Rape and Rape Laws |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wolj60&div=31&id=&page= |magazine=Women Law Journal |issue=60 |page=188 |access-date=12 October 2020 |archive-date=26 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426103547/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fwolj60&div=31&id=&page= |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="aMn4U">{{Cite book |last=Braude |first=Benjamin |title=Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire |publisher=Holmes & Meier |year=1982 |isbn=0-8419-0519-3 |editor-last=Braude |editor-first=Benjamin |volume=1 |location=New York |pages=69–90 |chapter=Foundation Myths of the Millet System |editor-last2=Lewis |editor-first2=Bernard}}</ref>
<ref name="AIhgF">{{Cite book |last=Masters |first=Bruce |title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaotto00agos |url-access=limited |date=2009 |editor-last=Ágoston |editor-first=Gábor |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaotto00agos/page/n421 383]–384 |chapter=Millet |publisher=Facts On File |isbn=978-0-8160-6259-1 |editor-last2=Bruce Masters}}</ref>
<ref name="NqTxI">{{Cite journal |last=Volf |author-link=Miroslav Volf |first=Miroslav |year=2010 |title=Body counts: the dark side of Christian history |url=https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2010-04/body-counts |journal=The Christian Century |volume=127 |issue=Journal Article |pages=11– |issn=0009-5281 |access-date=27 July 2020 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727002852/https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2010-04/body-counts |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="nsxzN">Lowry, Heath W. (2003). ''The Nature of the Early Ottoman State''. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. pp. 115–116.</ref>
<ref name="Mw3eQ">N. G. Wilson, ''From Byzantium to Italy. Greek Studies in the Italian Renaissance'', London, 1992. {{ISBN|0-7156-2418-0}}</ref>
<ref name="J2i2B">{{Cite web |title=John Argyropoulos |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/34066/John-Argyropoulos |publisher=britannica.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080426183636/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/34066/John-Argyropoulos |archive-date=26 April 2008 |access-date=2 October 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="W8pk7">{{Cite web |title=Saving the Third Rome. "Fall of the Empire", Byzantium and Putin's Russia |url=http://www.iwm.at/publications/5-junior-visiting-fellows-conferences/vol-xxiv/saving-the-third-rome/ |website=IWM |date=9 November 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727180130/http://www.iwm.at/publications/5-junior-visiting-fellows-conferences/vol-xxiv/saving-the-third-rome/ |archive-date=27 July 2014 |access-date=13 February 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="L0Kni">{{Cite book |last1=Guillermier |first1=Pierre |url=https://archive.org/details/totaleclipsessci0000guil |title=Total Eclipses: Science, Observations, Myths, and Legends |last2=Koutchmy |first2=Serge |publisher=Springer |year=1999 |isbn=1-85233-160-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/totaleclipsessci0000guil/page/85 85] |access-date=27 February 2008 |url-access=registration}}</ref>
<ref name="3otvo">{{Cite web |url=http://www.aegean.gr/agios-therapontas/magazine/special/1453/Palaiologos.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213125432/http://www.aegean.gr/agios-therapontas/magazine/special/1453/Palaiologos.html |title=The Marble King |archive-date=13 December 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="QMrK6">{{Cite news |title=The fall of Constantinople |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/1999/12/23/the-fall-of-constantinople |last=<!--uncredited--> |date=23 December 1999 |newspaper=The Economist |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306015159/https://www.economist.com/europe/1999/12/23/the-fall-of-constantinople |archive-date=6 March 2019 |access-date=27 January 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="v5gnl">{{Cite web |url=http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/polyglots/greeks-in-italy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607223345/http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/polyglots/greeks-in-italy.html |title=Greeks in Italy |archive-date=7 June 2013 |website=how-to-learn-any-language.com}}</ref>
<ref name="ZooPt">Robinson, Richard D. (1965). ''The First Turkish Republic: A Case Study in National Development''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press</ref>
<ref name="DwbQb">Room, Adrian, (1993), ''Place Name changes 1900–1991'', (Metuchen, NJ, & London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.), {{ISBN|0-8108-2600-3}} pp. 46, 86.</ref>
<ref name="YEruk">{{Cite news |date=10 December 2009 |title=Timeline: Turkey |work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1023189.stm |url-status=live |access-date=18 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604170951/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1023189.stm |archive-date=4 June 2010}}</ref>
<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Hyslop |first1=Stephen Garrison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KK2TikRZJpsC |title=Great Empires: An Illustrated Atlas |last2=Daniels |first2=Patricia |last3=Society (U.S.) |first3=National Geographic |date=2011 |publisher=National Geographic Books |isbn=978-1-4262-0829-4 |page=284 |language=en |access-date=2 June 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801115148/https://books.google.com/books?id=KK2TikRZJpsC |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Angold">[[Michael Angold]], ''The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans: Context and Consequences'' (Routledge, 2012), pp. 150–152, 163.</ref>
</references>

===Books===
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em|indent=yes}}
<!-- A -->
* {{cite book |last=Akbar |first=M. J. |title=The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict Between Islam and Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d_iBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-45259-0 |access-date=6 August 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201012040247/https://books.google.com/books?id=d_iBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Thomas |title=The Renaissance at War |publisher=Cassell & Co. |year=2001 |isbn=0-304-35270-5}}
<!-- B -->
* {{cite book |last1=Beg |first1=Tursun |translator1-last=Inalcik |translator1-first=Halil |translator2-last=Murphey |translator2-first=Rhoads |title=The History of Mehmed the Conqueror |date=1978 |publisher=Biblioteca Islamica |location=Chicago}}
<!-- C -->
* {{cite book |last1=Concasty |first1=Marie-Louise |title=Les 'Informations' de Jacques Tedaldi sur le siège et la prise de Constantinople |date=1955 |oclc=459382832 |language=fr}}
* {{cite book |last=Crowley |first=Roger |year=2005 |title=1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West |publisher=Hyperion |isbn=978-1-4013-0558-1}}
** {{Cite book |last=Crowley |first=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVdrAwAAQBAJ |title=1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West |year=2013b |publisher=Hachette Books |isbn=978-1-4013-0558-1 |access-date=1 August 2022 |archive-date=10 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210182601/https://books.google.com/books?id=eVdrAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Crowley |first1=Roger |title=Constantinople |date=2013a |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-29820-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XuskQEACAAJ |access-date=2 March 2021 |language=en |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106131956/https://books.google.com/books?id=3XuskQEACAAJ |url-status=live }}
<!-- D -->
* {{Cite book |last=Desimoni |first=C. |title=Adamo di Montaldo |year=1874 |series=Atti della Società Ligure di Storia Patria (Proceedings of the Ligurian Society for Homeland History) |volume=X |location=Genoa |language=it}}
* {{cite book |last1=Durant |first1=Will |title=The Reformation: The Story of Civilization, Volume VI |date=2011 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-4763-1 |language=en}}
<!-- E -->
* {{cite book |last1=Emecen |first1=Feridun M. |title=Fetih ve kıyamet, 1453: İstanbul'un fethi ve kıyamet senaryoları |date=2012 |publisher=Timaş |location=İstanbul |isbn=9786051149318}}
<!-- F -->
<!-- G -->
<!-- H -->
<!-- I -->
<!-- J -->
<!-- K -->
* {{Cite book |last=Kritovoulos |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V2aHDwAAQBAJ |title=History of Mehmed the Conqueror |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1954 |isbn=978-0-691-19790-6 |location=Princeton, NJ |translator-last=Riggs |translator-first=C. T. |access-date=29 May 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801131219/https://books.google.com/books?id=V2aHDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
<!-- L -->
* {{Cite book |last=Lanning |first=Michael Lee |title=The Battle 100: The Stories Behind History's Most Influential Battles |publisher=Sourcebooks, Inc. |year=2005 |isbn=1-4022-2475-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lilie |first=Ralph-Johannes |title=Bisanzio la seconda Roma |year=2005 |publisher=Newton Compton |location=Rome}}
<!-- M -->
* {{Cite book |last=Mango |first=Cyril |title=The Oxford History of Byzantium |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last1=Melissenos |first1=Makarios |editor1-last=Philippides |editor1-first=Marios |title=The Fall of the Byzantine Empire, A Chronicle by George Sphrantzes, 1401–1477 |date=1980 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |location=Amherst |chapter=The Chronicle of the Siege of Constantinople, April 2 to May 29, 1453}}
* {{cite book |last1=Melville-Jones |first1=John R. |title=The Siege of Constantinople 1453: Seven Contemporary Accounts |date=1972 |publisher=Adolf M. Hakkert |location=Amsterdam |isbn=90-256-0626-1}}
<!-- N -->
* {{Cite book |last=Nicol |first=Donald M. |title=The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2d6OHLqwEsC&pg=PA388 |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-43991-6 |access-date=3 October 2022 |archive-date=3 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003234154/https://books.google.com/books?id=y2d6OHLqwEsC&pg=PA388 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Nicol |first=Donald M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lnSmnmL984YC |title=The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-89409-8 |language=en |access-date=9 January 2018 |archive-date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702192603/https://books.google.com/books?id=lnSmnmL984YC |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last=Nicolle |first=David |title=Constantinople 1453: The End of Byzantium (Campaign) |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]] |year=2000 |isbn=1-84176-091-9 |volume=78 |location=Oxford |author-link=David Nicolle}}
* {{Cite book |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |title=Byzantium: The Decline and Fall |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-41650-1 |location=New York |author-link=John Julius Norwich}}
* {{Cite book |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |title=A Short History of Byzantium |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1997 |location=New York}}
<!-- O -->
<!-- P -->
* {{cite book |last1=Philippides |first1=Marios |last2=Hanak |first2=Walter K. |title=The siege and the fall of Constantinople in 1453 |date=2011 |publisher=Ashgate |location=Farnham Burlington, Vermont |isbn=9781409410645}}
<!-- Q -->
<!-- R -->
* {{Cite book |last=Reinert |first=Stephen |title=The Oxford History of Byzantium |publisher=Oxford UP |year=2002 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |title=The Fall of Constantinople, 1453 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1965 |isbn=978-0-521-39832-9 |edition=Canto |location=Cambridge, England |author-link=Steven Runciman}}
<!-- S -->
* {{Cite book |last=Setton |first=Kenneth M. |title=The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571): The Fifteenth Century |publisher=DJane Publishing |year=1978 |isbn=0-87169-127-2 |volume=2 |author-link=Kenneth Setton}}
* {{cite book |last=Sphrantzes |first=George |translator-last1=Philippides |translator-first1=Marios |title=The fall of the Byzantine Empire: a chronicle |date=1980 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |location=Amherst |isbn=978-0-87023-290-9}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Spilling |editor-first=Michael |title=Battles That Changed History: Key Battles That Decided the Fate of Nations |location=London |publisher=Amber Books Ltd. |year=2010 |isbn=9781906842123}}

<!-- T -->
<!-- U -->
<!-- V -->
* {{Cite book |last=Vasiliev |first=Alexander |title=A History of the Byzantine Empire, Vol. II |date=1928 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |volume=II |location=Madison |translator-last=Ragozin |translator-first=S.}}
<!-- W -->
<!-- X -->
<!-- Y -->
<!-- Z -->
{{refend}}

===Journal articles===
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Buc |first1=Philippe |title=One among many renegades: the Serb janissary Konstantin Mihailović and the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans |journal=Journal of Medieval History |date=14 March 2020 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=217–230 |doi=10.1080/03044181.2020.1719188 |s2cid=214527543 |issn=0304-4181 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Ivanović |first1=Miloš |title=Militarization of the Serbian State under Ottoman Pressure |journal=The Hungarian Historical Review |date=2019 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=390–410 |doi= |jstor=26902328 |issn=2063-8647}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Sanjian |first1=Avedis K. |title=Two Contemporary Armenian Elegies on the Fall of Constantinople, 1453 |journal=Viator |date=1970 |volume=1 |issue= |pages=223-61 |doi= |jstor= |issn=}}
{{refend}}

===Websites===
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite web |last=Giardinetto |first=Armando |url=https://www.ilsaltodellaquaglia.com/2022/05/29/29-maggio-1453-una-cronaca-della-caduta-di-costantinopoli/ |title=29 maggio 1453 – Una cronaca della caduta di Costantinopoli |work=Il Salto della Quaglia |date=29 May 2022 |access-date=17 May 2023 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517105446/https://www.ilsaltodellaquaglia.com/2022/05/29/29-maggio-1453-una-cronaca-della-caduta-di-costantinopoli/ |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Franz Babinger|Babinger, Franz]] (1992): ''Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time''. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-01078-1}}.
* [[Richard A. Fletcher|Fletcher, Richard A.]]: ''The Cross and the Crescent'' (2005) Penguin Group {{ISBN|0-14-303481-2}}.
* Harris, Jonathan (2007): ''Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium''. Hambledon/Continuum. {{ISBN|978-1-84725-179-4}}.
* Harris, Jonathan (2010): ''The End of Byzantium''. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-11786-8}}.
* {{Cite book |last1=Momigliano |first1=Arnaldo |title=Storia di Roma, 1 |last2=Schiavone |first2=Aldo |publisher=Einaudi |year=1997 |isbn=88-06-11396-8 |location=Turin |language=it |author-link=Arnaldo Momigliano}}
* {{Cite book |last=Murr Nehme |first=Lina |title=1453: The Conquest of Constantinople |publisher=Aleph Et Taw |year=2003 |isbn=2-86839-816-2 |author-link=Lina Murr Nehme}}
* {{Cite book |title=La Caduta di Costantinopoli, II: L'eco nel mondo |publisher=Fondazione Lorenzo Valla |year=1976 |editor-last=Pertusi |editor-first=Agostino |volume=II |location=Verona |language=it |trans-title=The Fall of Constantinople, II: The Echo in the World}}
* Novo, Andrew, Queen of Cities, Seattle, Coffeetown Press, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1603810760}}
* Philippides, Marios and Walter K. Hanak, The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Ashgate, Farnham and Burlington 2011.
* Smith, Michael Llewellyn, "The Fall of Constantinople", in ''History Makers magazine'' No. 5 (London, Marshall Cavendish, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1969) p.&nbsp;192.
* Wheatcroft, Andrew (2003): ''The Infidels: The Conflict Between Christendom and Islam, 638–2002''. Viking Publishing {{ISBN|0-670-86942-2}}.
* [[Justin Wintle|Wintle, Justin]] (2003): ''The Rough Guide History of Islam''. Rough Guides. {{ISBN|1-84353-018-X}}.

== External links ==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Fall of Constantinople
 |viaf= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [Siege_of_Constantinople_(1453) ''The Siege of Constantinople'' As The Islamic World Sees it] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422141211/http://materiaislamica.com/index.php/Siege_of_Constantinople_(1453) |date=22 April 2021 }}
* [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1180/1453-the-fall-of-constantinople/ World History Encyclopedia – 1453: The Fall of Constantinople]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0038xbd Constantinople Siege & Fall], BBC Radio 4 discussion with Roger Crowley, Judith Herrin & Colin Imber (''In Our Time'', 28 December 2006).

{{Clear}}
{{Byzantine Empire topics}}
{{Major Ottoman sieges}}
{{Middle Ages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fall of Constantinople| ]]
[[Category:1450s in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:1453 in Europe]]
[[Category:1450s in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Sieges of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars|Constantinople 1453]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1453]]
[[Category:15th-century massacres]]
[[Category:East–West Schism]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the Byzantine Empire|Constantinople 1453]]
[[Category:Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire|Constantinople 1453]]
[[Category:Sieges of Constantinople|1453]]
[[Category:Battles of Mehmed II|Constantinople]]
[[Category:15th century in Istanbul]]
[[Category:Massacres in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Last stands|Constantinople]]
[[Category:Looting in Turkey]]
[[Category:Massacres committed by the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Slavery in the Middle Ages]]