Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of <a href="/facts/Constantinople/fLcY371n">the capital</a> of the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine Empire</a> by the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-day <a href="/facts/Siege/7RAugQoD">siege</a> which had begun on 6 April. 
The attacking <a href="/facts/Army_of_the_classical_Ottoman_Empire/1B7tn4ev">Ottoman Army</a>, which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old <a href="/facts/List_of_sultans_of_the_Ottoman_Empire/kEpbIIMQ">Sultan</a> <a href="/facts/Mehmed_the_Conqueror/gdtDX2nE">Mehmed II</a> (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_army_(Palaiologan_era)/SoBxbWAf">Byzantine army</a> was led by <a href="/facts/List_of_Byzantine_emperors/zofQz7f7">Emperor</a> <a href="/facts/Constantine_XI_Palaiologos/vtNmmFmu">Constantine XI Palaiologos</a>. After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing <a href="/facts/Edirne/Yv0IwFUQ">Adrianople</a>.
The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed of the <a href="/facts/Late_Middle_Ages/XNtcJjrU">Late Middle Ages</a>, marking the effective end of the <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Roman Empire</a>, a state which began in roughly 27 BC and had lasted nearly 1,500 years. For many modern historians, the fall of Constantinople marks the end of the <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">medieval period</a> and the beginning of the <a href="/facts/Early_modern_period/hhpHM721">early modern period</a>. The city's fall also stood as a turning point in <a href="/facts/Military_history/AKonYGMV">military history</a>. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon <a href="/facts/Rampart_(fortification)/cAXuSr2V">ramparts</a> and walls to repel invaders. The <a href="/facts/Walls_of_Constantinople/A5rAaatE">Walls of Constantinople</a>, especially the Theodosian Walls, protected Constantinople from attack for 800 years and were noted as some of the most advanced defensive systems in the world at the time. However, these fortifications were overcome with the use of <a href="/facts/Gunpowder/AEcB6HCR">gunpowder</a>, specifically from Ottoman cannons and <a href="/facts/Bombard_(weapon)/JfpbsnQb">bombards</a>, heralding a change in siege warfare. The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) which created gaps in the Theodosian Walls for the Ottoman siege.

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Fall of Constantinople