Turkey: The Siege of Constantinople (1453). Sultan Mehmet II’s camp outside Constantinople, taken from a French manuscript by Jean Le Tavernier (-1462), c. 1455. Constantinople, the capital of Constantine XI’s Byzantine Empire, was captured by Sultan Mehmet II and his Ottoman armies after a seven-week siege. Mehmet had applied pressure on Constantinople and the Byzantines by building forts along the Dardanelles. On 5 April, he laid siege to Constantinople with an army numbering 80,000 to 200,000 men.
Constantinople, the capital of Constantine XI’s Byzantine Empire, was captured by Sultan Mehmet II and his Ottoman armies after a seven-week siege. Mehmet had applied pressure on Constantinople and the Byzantines by building forts along the Dardanelles. On 5 April, he laid siege to Constantinople with an army numbering 80,000 to 200,000 men. Constantine reportedly fell leading a charge against the invaders, though his body was never found. The last defenders were killed and the Turks proceeded to loot the city. The battle brought down the 1,100-year Byzantine Empire and is seen by many scholars as marking the end of the Middle Ages.
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