1453 CEReputable sourceWell documented
The Fall of Constantinople
On the timeline · around 1453 CE ·
What happened
By 1453 the Byzantine Empire had shrunk to little more than the city of Constantinople, defended by fewer than 5,000 men. The young Ottoman sultan Mehmed II besieged it with the largest cannon yet built, and after a 53-day siege his troops breached the ancient walls on 29 May 1453. The last emperor, Constantine XI, died fighting, and the city fell.
Why it matters
The fall of Constantinople ended the Roman Empire after nearly 1,500 years and the Byzantine Empire after more than a thousand. It sent Greek scholars fleeing west with their manuscripts, helping fuel the Renaissance, and made the Ottomans the new masters of the region.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. 1453: The Fall of Constantinople · Reputable source
Related timelines
- The Ottoman Empire → — The Ottoman conquest that ended the empire