Special Sub-Topic: Constantine XI and the Fall of the Constantinople Authored by: cjd411 Sub-topic of: Byzantium

The inhabitants of Constantinople during the 15th century referred to themselves as “Byzantine”.

f. The Byzantine Empire is a modern term. The inhabitants of the former Eastern Roman Capital still considered and referred to themselves as “Roman”, although their culture was far more Hellenic than Latin.

Before ascending to the Imperial throne, Constantine XI Palaeologos went by his mother’s last name. How was he referred to before he was crowned on January 6, 1449?

Constantine Dragas. Dragas was Constantine’s Serbian mother’s family name. Constantine Petrovich was the first Governer General of Russian Turkestan, Constantine Prezan was a Romanian General in World War I, and Constantine Ducas was a Byzantine co-emperor during the 11th century.

The Byzantine Empire had very little territory left by the early 15th century. The entire empire, which at its height had stretched from Greece to Egypt to Persia, now consisted of little more than Constantinople and a few scattered holdings in Greece. Before honing the Imperial Purple, Constantine XI regained several of the Empire’s former holdings, albeit for a short period of time. Which two significant territories did Constantine regain?

Athens and Thebes. As 'Despotes' of Morea (the Peloponnese), Constantine launched attacks on the Florentine cities of Athens and Thebes, forcing their Italian duke to pay him tribute. These victories were short lived.

Which of the Empire’s enemies took back the territories gained by Constantine XI after a brief period of time?

The Ottoman Empire. Already surrounding Constantinople on all sides, the Ottoman Empire refused to allow Byzantine power to return to all of Greece, and the Empire was again reduced to Constantinople and its surrounding area plus the Peloponnese.

Mehmet II became impatient with the remnant of the Byzantine Empire and finally launched his attack on Constantinople in an attempt to consolidate his superiority over the former Byzantine Empire. In what year did he launch is attack on the Western side of Constantinople?

1453. By 1453 Sultan Mehmet II had large fortresses on both sides of Constantinople. He had conquered most of Greece and now felt the need to consolidate his power and conquer Constantinople, so in this year he marched 100,000 troops including 20,000 Janissaries to the Western gates of Constantinople.

On 22 May, 1453 Byzantine reconnaissance reported to the Emperor that there was no sign of the Venetian fleet or any Western help on the way. At this news, the Emperor broke down and wept knowing that the whole of Christendom had abandoned the Empire in the East. He committed himself to the mercy of Christ and prepared his 5,000 troops and 2,000 mercenaries. Why did Venice, France, Genoa and the rest of Western Europe abandon the Byzantine Empire in its most desperate time?

They were annoyed that the Eastern Orthodox Church had not reconciled its differences with the Papacy. Ever since the schism or split the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in 1054, the Roman Catholic west had been trying to re-integrate the east. A temporary reunion came about in the 13th century, but ethnic tensions between Greeks and Italians stemming from the stranglehold the Italians had over the Byzantine economy and the sack of Constantinople in 1204 also played a significant role, and finally the Union failed, greatly annoying Pope Nicholas V and the Roman Catholic church.

A slight disadvantage in numbers is one thing, but Constantine XI’s problems were more than slight. How badly were the Byzantine forces outnumbered at the last battle of Constantinople?

14 to 1. The Ottoman Empire attacked Constantinople with over fourteen times the number of troops under Constantine’s command, the numbers being about 100,000 to 7,000 - not to mention the fact that the Ottomans had gunpowder and plenty of it.

Although the Ottomans had a large supply of heavy artillery, the defenses of Constantinople still proved difficult to overcome and the Byzantines were repairing the walls as quickly as Mehmet could destroy them. After weeks of pounding the walls with heavy cannon, what ultimately led to the incursion of Ottoman troops into Constantinople?

The Byzantines forgot to lock one of the gates leading into the city. Unfortunately, one of the access doors in the great walls was left unlocked. Upon discovering this, the Ottoman army poured into the city through this door and captured it. The monster cannon, the "Basilic", could fire a huge ball nearly one mile. However, it took three hours to load and even a target as large as Constantnople proved difficult to hit. The Ottomans DID have secret tunnels, but Byzantine forces learned of these before the attack and destroyed them. Whether guarding that one gate would have made much difference in the longer term is another matter.

What did Constantine XI Palaeologos do upon seeing the Ottoman troops swarm into his city by the thousand?

He threw the Imperial Purple aside, mounted his horse and, with his loyal entourage, charged into the storm, never to be seen again. It was this act that immortalized the name of Constantine XI Palaeologos, leading some Greeks today to think of him as a saint. With no other options, Constantine threw the Imperial Purple aside and rode into the mass of Ottoman invaders and perished. With him died the Roman Empire, too.

What name did Ottoman Emperor Mehmet II give himself after the conquest of Constantinople?

Kayzer-i-Rum. Constantinople was all that remained of the once mighty Roman Empire. Upon its conquest, Mehmet gave himself the title of Kayzer-I-Rum, or "Emperor of Rome". That is all, I hope you have enjoyed my quiz about this often overlooked event which defined the rest of the millennium in Europe and beyond.