Category Archives: The Fall of Constantinople 1453

The Final Hours and Last Eucharist

We come now to the last hours of Byzantium. The defenders were weary after defending the city since April 5th. The Emperor’s hope lay with a relief fleet from Venice, but this had failed to appear. On 3 May a … Continue reading

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Move the Navy by Road!

As you know I have been away in Albania and Macedonia trying to walk (part) of the way to Byzantium. I have felt very bad about not posting but there was little time and even less internet access. More on … Continue reading

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The Siege of Constantinople – An Update

The Sultan decided to concentrate his fire to achieve a greater effect. Remember some of his cannon were so large they they could only fire a round every few hours. He needed what modern commanders would call ‘concentration of effort’. When all cannon were in place the bombardment then continued unabated until the night before the Fall, that is for another forty eight days. Just think what it would have been like to live with the threat of cannon firing at your home all the time. Given that the citizens of Constantinople had never experience this before, you have to recognise how amazing the human spirit is to adapt so quickly in a fight for survival. Continue reading

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If Only Constantine Had Employed Urban

The Byzantines called this Rumeli Hisar, or “The castle of Romeland”, which was a pretty good name as it was the medieval equivalent of the Sultan parking his tank on the Emperor’s lawn. Mehmet could do as he pleased and respected no treaties. Continue reading

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The Siege of Constantinople Begins

On this day, 5 April in 1453, the Ottoman Turkish Sultan, Mehmet I (1402-1421) arrived to join his army establishing its siege of Constantinople. Continue reading

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