So, cannonballs weighing kg 1, The first attack was carried out on April 18, , but it failed causing losses to the Ottoman army. Moreover, defenders of the city received military assistance from three Genoese and one Byzantine ship, which broke the Ottoman blockade in the Bosphorus on April Aksemseddin, a famous scientist of the era who supported the Sultan in those difficult days, wrote a letter to the Sultan saying the siege must go on.
This is the only document of the incident which has been preserved to this day. A second plan was put in place. Some 60 ships were moved toward the Golden Horn on a road through a small cove with the help of men and oxens. The ships reached the Golden Horn on April 22 shocking the Byzantine army which was hopeful of assistance from Genoese ships.
On May 6, the Ottoman army shifted its focus on the city walls between Topkapi and Edirnekapi, which had been weakened due to cannonballs. Meanwhile, the Hungarian ambassador came to the Ottoman army and threatened that a Crusader army would set sail if the siege was not called off. Byzantinian men also sneaked into the Ottoman army spreading rumors that help was coming for the enemy from the Balkan side. Constantine XI, on the other hand, was trying to keep his realm in high spirits by organizing religious rite one after the other.
During the massive three-wave attack of the Ottomans at sunrise, Giovanni Giustiniani-Lungo, a Genoese soldier who was leading the defense was injured. Topkapi city walls and its high tower were destroyed by artillery fire and burning gunpowder. While the great Ottoman emperor is mostly remembered for the dazzling military conquests of his reign, he was also a true intellectual. Mehmet is believed to have spoken Persian, Arabic, ancient Greek and Italian — which is viewed by many as a sign suggesting his desire to form an empire spanning the West and East alike.
Turkish historians say his library included books on such topics as geometry, religion, engineering, astronomy, arithmetic, archaeology, geography and philosophy. Known to be a poet, the conqueror also had a great interest in the arts, having commissioned Renaissance painter Bellini to do his portrait. The Ottoman emperor might have been inspired by the life of Alexander the Great in his pursuit of forming an empire, having read a great deal about the military campaigns led by the legendary figure.
Homer's Iliad was among the books in his library, and Ptolemy's ancient world map is believed to have been one of the gems of his collection. In a brief life of just 49 years, the conqueror managed to leave an indelible mark on history and his legacy still lives on today; he managed to turn his story from humiliation to greatness. Mighty sovereigns of Ottoman throne: Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. Back to the throne When his father died in , Mehmed II ascended the throne once more, yet this time with many lessons learned and a degree of experience under his belt.
On May 29, the city finally fell, earning Mehmed II the well-deserved title of "conqueror. Intellectual side While the great Ottoman emperor is mostly remembered for the dazzling military conquests of his reign, he was also a true intellectual.
Last Update: May 04, pm. The Ottomans had circumvented that famous defense. To demoralize the defenders and to stir fear inside the city, the Turks also impaled prisoners within sight of the walls. The Byzantines responded by throwing Turkish prisoners to their deaths from the ramparts. After long weeks of siege, after the relentless pounding of the cannon that had been set up and directed by the Hungarian professional Orban, the walls at last broke.
The city was about to be taken. Through it all, Emperor Constantine refused to surrender and rallied both local inhabitants of the city and Latin Christians from Venice and Genoa, who were merchants who had worked in the city, all fighting together in defense of the beleaguered metropolis.
When the walls were breached, Emperor Constantine did something dramatic. With that, he tore off the emblems of his imperial rank, which marked him as the emperor, and like an ordinary soldier rushed into the thickest part of the fighting, and he was never seen alive again.
The city of Constantinople fell on May 29, The Sultan Mehmet entered Hagia Sophia, what had been a church, and now turned it into a mosque. Geometric designs were painted over the famous mosaics of Hagia Sophia, and verses of the Koran were placed where earlier holy icons had been hung. Henceforth, the victor of this siege would acquire a new nickname. In the rest of Europe, the news of the fall of the city took some time to spread given what communications were like, how slow they were in those days.
In fact, given the confusing situation of war, news of the capture of Constantinople only reached Rome and Italy more than a month after it had happened. When the news did spread in the West, it was met with shock, disbelief, and a growing sense of horror. Some contemporaries simply refused to believe it, as if the news must be wrong.
Others accepted it but were certain that this must be reversed; it must be changed. In fact, fascinating rumors circulated that sort of reinforced the strength of this conviction.
Such rumors are worth considering because they tell us deep truths about what people at the time were feeling, fearing, or wishing. Let me offer two examples. As mentioned before, Emperor Constantine had rushed into battle without insignia, his body was never identified after the fighting. As a result, legends circulated that Emperor Constantine did not die, but had miraculously been saved, and had fallen into a mystical sleep. The rumors continued; even now, Emperor Constantine is sleeping in a secret underground chamber under the city gates of Constantinople, waiting for the chance to reclaim his empire.
Another legend referred to the church of Hagia Sophia. This story concerned priests who were in the middle of holding Christian services as the siege reached its climax.
Instead, they were somehow absorbed into the walls of the church. Someday, the story ends, those priests will step out of the walls, to complete their rituals after a hiatus of hundreds of years. Constantinople was was finally conquered by the Ottoman Turks in The key to the Ottoman Turks conquering Constantinople was the cannon constructed by Orban, a Hungarian artillery expert , that pounded the walls of Constantinople and eventually broke them down, allowing the Ottoman army to breach the city.
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