Constantinople- the Last Great Siege, 1453

by Roger Crowley

  Orban’s supergun (the Basilica) 1, 2, 3, 4

  number of 1

  preparing 1

  effect of cannon fire 1

  of the defenders 1

  drawbacks 1

  firing strategy 1

  used by defenders as huge shotguns 1

  light 1

  creation of cannon with looping trajectory 1, 2

  statistics of bombardment 1

  first attack 1

  in the modern city 1

  cannonneers 1

  Cantacuzenos, Demetrios 1, 2, 3

  carracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Catalan consul 1

  Catalans 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  catapults 1, 2, 3, 4

  Catholic Church

  start of the Great Schism 1

  compared with the Orthodox 1

  rift over the Nicene Creed 1

  and potential unity with the Orthodox 1

  Council of Florence (1438 ) 1

  cavalry (Ottoman) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  household 7

  given their battle orders 1

  heavy 1

  light 1

  Central Asia 1, 2, 3

  Chalcocondylas 1, 2, 3

  Champagne, Marshal of 1

  charcoal 1, 2, 3

  Charles VII, King of France 1

  chavushes (Mehmet’s military police)1, 2

  Chelebi, Evliya 1

  Chios 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Chora Monastery 1

  Chosroes, King of Persia 1

  Christian I, King of Denmark and Norway 1

  Christianity

  struggle with Islam for the true faith 1, 2

  Christians protected by Islam as ‘People of the

  Book’ 1

  schismatic Christian sects 1

  symbol of Islamic triumph over Christianity 1

  see also crusades

  Chroniates, Nicetas 1, 2

  Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem 1

  Circus Gate (Wooden Gate), Constantinople 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Clermont sermon (1095) 1

  Coco, Giacomo 1, 2, 3, 4

  Columbus, Christopher 1

  Commynes, Philippe de 1

  Constantine the Great, column of, Constantinople 1, 2, 3, 4

  Constantine the Great, Emperor 1, 2

  vision of a cross before the Milvian Bridge battle 3

  chooses Constantinople for his new Christian

  capital (AD 324) 1, 2, 3

  construction of the city 1

  doctrinal disputes 1

  Constantine XI, Emperor

  birth (1405) 1

  background 1, 2

  ceremonial title 1

  unenviable inheritance 1, 2

  appearance 1

  personality 1

  breaching of the Hexamilion (1446) 1

  accession (1449) 1

  as Despot of Morea 1, 2

  vows of vassalage to the Sultan 1

  attempts to forge a dynastic marriage 1

  sends envoys to Italy (1451) 1, 2

  during the building of Rumeli Hisari 1, 2

  supports union of the two churches 1, 2

  lack of coronation at St Sophia 1

  prepares for the city’s defence (winter of 1452 ) 1

  council of war with Giustiniani 1

  tries to maintain the city’s morale 1

  deeply alarmed by attack 1

  peace proposal 1, 2

  strained by the attritional fighting 1

  and search for signs of a rescue fleet 1, 2

  forces Ottoman cavalry back 1

  and mining threat 1

  advised to leave the city, and collapses 1

  Mehmet’s offer 1

  orders unblocking of Circus Gate 1

  prepares for a supreme effort 1

  told of Giustiniani’s wounding 1

  rallies the people to work together 1

  pre-battle speech 1

  headquarters in central section 1

  service in St Sophia 1

  defence of the city 1

  death of 1, 2, 3

  unknown fate 1

  Constantinople

  chosen as Constantine’s new Christian capital (324) 1, 2, 3

  capital of the Byzantine Empire 1

  the front line in the Christianity vs. Islam struggle 1

  origin of the holy war 1

  splendour of 1, 2, 3, 4

  bronze horses removed to Venice 1, 2, 3

  relics of Christendom 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  defences 1, 2, 3

  Avar siege (626) 1

  first Arab siege of 669 1

  siege of 674 1, 2, 3

  Arab failure to take the city in 717 1, 2, 3, 4

  Muslim martyrs make the city a holy place for Islam 1

  deeply marked by experience of Arab sieges 1

  Galata destroyed (1171) 1

  Italian community massacred (1183) 1, 2

  falls to Christians in Fourth Crusade (1204) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  ‘Latin Empire of Constantinople’ 1

  recaptured by the Byzantines (1261) 1

  Orhan captures the city (1326) 1, 2

  becomes Istanbul 1

  the first European city to experience the Black Death 1

  reduced population 1

  poverty 1, 2

  besieged by Bayezit 1, 2

  besieged by Murat II in 1422 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Mehmet’s early plans to capture the city 1

  divided by religious passions 1, 2

  volatile proletariat 1

  winters 1

  Hexamilion breached (1446) 1, 2

  Ottoman army advances towards (1453) 1, 2

  sealed against the enemy 1

  start of the siege 1

  Ottoman cavalry starts to penetrate the city 1

  penitent procession hit by storm 1

  heaviest bombardment of the siege 1

  Giustiniani’s stockade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Mehmet promises three days of plunder 1, 2, 3

  procession carrying icons and relics 1

  the locked gates 1

  the Ottoman attack 1

  indiscriminate slaughter 1

  churches and monasteries plundered 1

  obsessive search for booty 1

  ordinary citizens marched off to slave markets 1

  rebuilding of the city 1, 2

  Muslim joy at the capture 1

  consequences of the fall in the Christian world 1, 2

  becomes prosperous again 1

  the new skyline 1, 2

  the Ottoman city 1, 2, 3, 4

  the fall as a fulcrum moment in the Middle Ages 1

  Contarini, Jacopo 1

  Contarini, Philippo 1

  Copernicus, Nicolas 1

  copper 1, 2

  Corfu 1, 2

  Corfu, Antonio de 1

  ‘corned’ powder 1

  Council of Florence (1438 ) 1, 2, 3

  Creçy, Battle of 1

  Cretans 1, 2, 3, 4

  Crete 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  crossbowmen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  crossbows 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  crusades 1

  Urban II’s Clermont sermon (1095) 2

  350 years of crusader warfare 1

  Constantinople sacked by ‘Christian’ crusaders (Fourth Crusade, 1204) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  papal bull of 1366 1

  led by Hungarians 1, 2

  reasons for defeats 1

  ten-year truce 1

  Crusade of Varna is defeated 1, 2

  end of 1, 2

  and the fall of Constantinople 1

  culverins 1, 2

  currency 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  cutlasses 1

  Cyprus 1, 2, 3

  Cyzicus 1, 2

  Dallam, Thomas 1

  Dalmata, John 1, 2

  Damascus 1, 2

  Dandolo, Enrico 1, 2

  Danube River 1, 2, 3, 4

  Dar al-Harb (Hous
e of War) 1, 2

  Dar al-Islam (House of Islam) 1, 2

  Dardanelles 1, 2, 3, 4

  trade routes 5

  Orhan’s war band crosses (1350s) 1

  blocked by Italian ships 1, 2, 3

  Darius, King of Persia 1, 2

  Demetrios (brother of Constantine XI) 1, 2, 3, 4

  Demetrios the Great, tower of 1

  dervishes 1, 2, 3

  Didimotkon, near Edirne 1

  Diedo, Aluvixe 1, 2, 3, 4

  Dneiper River 1

  Doctrine of Economy 1

  Dolfin, Dolfin 1

  Dolmabache Palace 1

  dolphin emblem 1

  Doria, Zorzi 1

  Double Columns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

  double-headed eagle (house of Palaiologos) 1, 2, 3

  Doukas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

  Dracul, Vlad 1

  Dubrovnik 1, 2

  Dulle Griete, the Great Bombard of Ghent 1

  Edirne 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Ottomans take (1362) 9

  birth of Mehmet II (1432) 1

  Mehmet’s early childhood 1

  Mehmet recalled from governing Amasya 1

  large proportion burnt down (1444) 1

  Mehmet’s return after his father’s death 1

  Mehmet settles into the royal palace (1451) 1

  test firing of Orban’s gun 1

  Mehmet sets off on campaign (23 March 1753) 1

  trade with Venetians 1

  slave market 1

  Halil Pasha hanged 1

  see also Adrianople

  Edward III, King 1

  Egypt 1, 2, 3, 4

  Eleutherii 1

  Elizabeth I, Queen 1

  ul-Ensari, Ebu Seybet 1

  ul-Ensari, Hamd 1

  Epibatos 1, 2

  Epiphanios 1

  Erzurum, Anatolia 1

  escalade 1

  Eugenius gate 1

  Eugenius IV, Pope 1

  Euphrates River 1

  Europe: divided from Asia by the Bosphorus 1, 2

  Fatih district, Istanbul 1, 2

  Fifth Military Gate, Constantinople 1, 2

  Filelfo, Francesco 1

  Filomati 1

  Firuz Bey 1

  Flanders, Count of 1

  food supplies 1, 2, 3

  Forum of Constantine, Constantinople 1

  Forum of the Bull, Constantinople 1

  Forum of the Ox, Constantinople 1

  Forum of Theodosius, Constantinople 1

  Francisco of Toledo, Don 1, 2, 3, 4

  Franks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  fratricide law 1, 2

  Frederick I Barbarossa, Emperor 1

  Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor 1, 2

  Froissart, Jean 1

  Fulcher of Chartres 1

  fustae (raiding galleys) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  gads 1

  Galata 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  a fortified Genoese town 7

  wealth of 1, 2

  guarantee of peace with Mehmet 1, 2

  Genoese troubled by threat to their colony 1

  and the boom 1, 2, 3, 4

  permanent lookouts on the town walls 1, 2

  trades profitably with both city and besiegers 1, 2

  overt neutrality compromised 1

  Turks bombard ships at the boom from behind Galata 1

  indirectly threatened 1

  warning to chief magistrates 1

  Galata, Podesta of (Angelo Lomellino) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Galata Hill 1

  Galata Tower 1, 2

  galleys

  Venetian transport 1, 2

  war 1, 2, 3, 4

  raiding (fustae) 1, 2

  great 1

  narrow 1

  ordered by Pope from Venice 1, 2

  long 1, 2

  light 1

  Gallipoli 1, 2, 3, 4

  earthquake (1354) 5, 6

  Ottoman fleet based at 1, 2, 3

  fleet destroyed by Venetians (1416) 1

  shipbuilding 1

  fleet assembled 1

  Ganga, Anatolia 1

  Gataloxa 1

  Gate of Charisius (Cemetery Gate; later Edirne gate), Constantinople 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

  Gate of the Military Boot Makers,

  Constantinople 1

  Gate of the Silver Lake, Constantinople 1

  Gate of the Spring, Constantinople 1, 2, 3

  Gates of Gibraltar 1, 2

  gazis (warriors of the Faith) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Gebze 1

  Genghis Khan 1

  Gennadios (George Scholarios) 1

  anti-unionist clergy 2

  public harangue against union 1

  belief in imminent end of the world 1

  manifesto 1

  spiritual father of Orthodoxy 1

  self-imposed isolation 1, 2

  on the dying Byzantium 1

  captured 1

  rescued from slavery 1

  restored as patriarch of the Orthodox community 1

  Genoa 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Genoese 1, 2

  colony at Galata 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  rivalry with Venetians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  fails to send promised aid 1

  and the boom 1, 2

  soldiers 1, 2

  Pope sends merchantmen to the city 1

  confronted by Ottomans 1, 2, 3

  praised by Constantine 1

  and Giustiniani’s wounding 1, 2

  George, Brother 1, 2, 3

  Georgevich, Bartholomew: Miseries and

  Tribulations of the Christians held in Tribute

  and Slavery by the Turk 1

  Georgia, King of 1

  Gepids 1

  Gibbon, Edward 1

  Gilles, Pierre 1, 2, 3

  Giustiniani, Nicholas 1

  Giustiniani family 1

  Giustiniani Longo, Giovanni 1

  brings 700 men to defend Constantinople 2

  expert in wall fighting 1, 2

  repair of walls 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  councils of war 1, 2

  decision to defend the outer wall 1

  start of the siege 1

  skirmishes for the ditch 1

  stoutly marshals defenders 1

  a strategist of genius 1

  Genoese 1

  and operation to burn Ottoman fleet 1

  and Notaras 1, 2, 3

  offers his galleys for Constantine’s escape 1

  saved from death 1

  helps to force Ottoman cavalry back 1

  the hero of the siege 1, 2

  wounded 1

  in charge of central section 1

  success of his stockade 1

  Italians fight under his command 1

  severe injury 1

  carried away from battle 1, 2

  learns that defence has crumbled 1

  escapes 1

  death and epitaph 1

  Golden Gate, Constantinople 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Golden Horn 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  a sheltered deep-water inlet 10, 11

  an excellent anchorage for the imperial fleet 1

  the boom 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

  guarded by Genoese and Venetian sailors 1

  Genoese merchantmen attacked by Ottoman fleet 1

  sea wall barely guarded 1

  no longer a sanctuary against attack 1

  crucial control lost by the defenders 1

  a zone of unresolved tension 1

  pontoon bridge across the Horn 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  defence of 1