THE ANNIVERSARY IF THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE

The Fall of Constantinopolis by Fausto Zonaro

The fall of Constantinople (Hallosis tis  Konstantinoupoleos) was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks.  This terrible event took place on the 29th of May, 1453 the peak of a 53-day siege which had begun on the 6th April 1453.


The Ottoman army, which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by Sultan Mehmet II, while the Byzantines were led by Emperor Constantine XI Paleologos.  After conquering the city, Sultan Mehmet made it the new Ottoman capital.



The Fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, which was practically the sequel of the Greek-speaking world of the Roman Empire, a state which dated back to 27 BC, lasting almost 1.500 years.



The capture of a city that marked the split between Europe and Asia Minor, also allowed the Turks to conquer mainland Europe.  After fierce battles, attacks and counter-attacks the Turks were held back by the Byzantine-Greek forces under Guistinianos, in Blachairnae, until he was seriously wounded. As Guistinianos was taken away from the battlefield, the defence, unfortunately, began to collapse.  To the south, Constantinos led the forces defending the walls of the City.  Also under heavy pressure, his position began to collapse, when the Ottomans discovered that the Kerkoporta gate had been left open.


Constantinople, after having suffered several devastating sieges, its population dropped, in 150 years, from 400.000 to 40.000.  Also, Byzantine relations with the rest of Europe were extremely sour, during the previous several centuries.  The Schism of 1054 and the 13th century Latin occupation of Constantinople enlarged a mutual hatred between the Orthodox Byzantine Empire and Catholic Europe. 


Nevertheless, there was a deep awareness that Byzantine control of Constantinople was a necessary bastion against Muslim jurisdiction over land and sea in the eastern Mediterranean and the fall of the City removed what was the protecting power for Christian Europe against Muslim invasion.


The fall of  Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire was a key event of the Late Middle Ages which is sometimes considered the end of the medieval period and one of the darkest times in Greek history.


      

The Turkish president Erdogan said on Thursday, 28th May 2020 at a press conference that Islamic prayers will be held, in Hagia Sophia today to commemorate the fall of Constantinople, as part of the celebrations organized by the Turkish government. These events have infuriated Christians all over the world.  Even the Turkish opposition is exasperated and very angry with Erdogan's unheard of behaviour.


Erdogan constantly threatens of turning the Christian Orthodox Cathedral, now a museum, into a mosque, in order to appease the Turkish Islamists and distract the public from the catastrophic failure to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the declining economy and the increasing deaths of the Turkish soldiers in the Syrian and Libyan wars.


       
The Greek government vehemently rejected the claims of Tayyip Erdogan concerning the fall of Constantinople.  They insisted for explanations and an apology the soonest possible.     

The Siege of Constantinople by Fausto Zonaro