As Turkey commemorates the 567th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul by Ottomans, we take a look at how it happened
Five hundred and sixty-seven years ago today, an Ottoman army led by Sultan Mehmet II did what no other Muslim commander or army had been able to do for centuries. Not only did the Turks capture the "Queen of Cities," but also effectively dissolved the last remnant of Eastern Roman – also known as Byzantine – rule and brought an end to one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen.
The Portuguese came up with the idea of reaching East Asia, known then as the Orient, by sea. Going on the basis of what they knew about the world at that time, they planned to sail east around the horn of Africa to reach India and China. It can be argued that the conquest of Constantinople practically started the Age of Exploration.
330 AD: Roman Emperor Constantine I relocates the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium and renames the city Constantinople. 1197 AD: Constantinople is struck by a destructive fire, which burns down the Latin Quarter and the area around the Gate of the Droungarios on the Golden Horn. 1509 AD: A devastating earthquake strikes Istanbul. A tsunami and 45 days of aftershocks follow the quake. Over 1,000 houses and 109 mosques are destroyed, and an estimated 10,000 people die.
Mehmet II ascended to the throne again in 1451. His first order of business was to strengthen the Ottoman Navy and make preparations for conquering Constantinople. His great-grandfather Beyazid I had built the fortress of Anadoluhisari on the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait. On the European side, Mehmet erected another fortress called Rumelihisari. By gaining complete control of the straits Mehmet was able to start his siege of Constantinople.
Help did arrive from mercantile city-states in Northern Italy, and some Western individuals did come to help defend the city. Among them was Giovanni Giustiniani, a soldier from Genoa. He arrived with 700 armed men. The emperor immediately gave him overall command of the defence of the land walls. Additionally, Venetian ships present in the Golden Horn offered their services to the emperor.
Estimates show the fleet Mehmet built to besiege the city from the sea consisted of 126 ships, including six large galleys, 10 ordinary galleys and 15 smaller galleys.The Ottomans had the ability to cast medium-sized cannons, but the range of some cannons they deployed was far greater than the defenders' expectations. Ottoman advances in arms production were greatly helped by a master founder named Orban. A cannon named "Basilica," designed by Orban, was 8.
On April 5, the Sultan himself arrived with the last of the troops. Due to the length of the city's walls, the defenders decided that only the outer walls would be manned.The Ottomans' massive cannon fired on the walls for weeks, but because of its imprecision and very slow rate of reloading the defenders were able to repair most of the damage after each shot.
However, with the help of a German engineer, the defenders dug counter-mines, allowing Byzantine troops to raid the mines and kill Turkish workers. The first tunnel was intercepted on May 16. Other mines were raided on May 21, 23, and 25 and promptly destroyed. Ottoman Christian troops attacked first, followed by wave after wave of irregulars known as Azaps, who were poorly equipped, and troops from Anatolia, who focused on a section of the walls in the northwestern part of the city. The cannon had damaged this section, and Anatolian troops were able to breach it and enter the city but were immediately pushed back. Finally, as the battle raged on, the last wave, the elite Janissaries were ordered to attack the city walls.
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