The Fall of Constantinople

What happened

After a siege of some six weeks, the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II — thereafter known as 'the Conqueror' — stormed Constantinople on Tuesday, 29 May 1453, his great cannons breaking walls that had guarded the city for a thousand years. The fall ended the Byzantine Empire, the last surviving link to the ancient Roman world.

Why it matters

A watershed of world history often taken to mark the end of the medieval period, the conquest also sent Greek scholars and classical manuscripts westward into Italy, feeding the Renaissance revival of ancient learning.

Sources

• World History Encyclopedia. 1453: The Fall of Constantinople · Reputable source