Western Turkey: Antiquity, the Byzantine Empire and the Journeys of the Apostle Paul: Siege of Constantinople 1453

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Sultan Mehmed II and his Ottoman army laid siege to the city of Constantinople on 06 April 1453 and broke through the walls after 53 days. The attackers were commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan who conquered the capital of the Christian Byzantine Empire and converted it into a Muslim caliphate. Most of the city was destroyed after 3 days of looting.

Click here to access a terrific long written rendition of the event on Wikipedia.

The defeat of Emperor Constantine XI Palaeologus marked the defeat of the last critical remnant of the Byzantine Empire, which had survived over 1000 years.

Click here for the larger, scalable version of this dramatic picture, and click a second time. Notice that you should then be able to use the scroll bars up and down in the expanded view.

What an horrific struggle!

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In order to better understand the background of this earth-shaking event, I want to first introduce you to the 1453 Panorama Museum in western Istanbul, located 15 km. from the city center / Sultanahmet - taxi, tram or bus. This museum was built about 200 meters east of the Theodosian Walls where the Ottoman Turks first breached the walls, after the small Kerkoporta Gate was breached about 2-3 km. to the north near the Blachernae Palace.

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I took these pictures of the scenes from the 360-degree panorama inside the museum. They show the battle from the perspective of the Ottoman attackers - outside of the walls - looking eastward toward the defending Byzantine armies of Constantinople on the walls.

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Above, a fiery missile - possibly "Greek Fire" launched by catapults - flies toward the Ottomans.

Below, you can see the irreparable breach made by the Ottomans that allowed them to flood into the city. I believe the event is portrayed "gloriously and heroically" in the painting, compared to actual historical accounts I've read.

Below is a photo of the spectators inside the museum on the viewing platform responding to what they see and hear. Remember, this museum is built "in the round" for 360-degrees.

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I noticed that relatively few Westerners visit the museum, probably because it is not well publicized and is located so far from the city center (Sultanahmet). It also represents a glorious victory over one of the greatest Christian strongholds in the West.

However, I think this stop is imperative for any visitor to the city, as it allows you to see a dramatic, pictorial representation of an event that forever changed the Byzantine Empire from Christian to Moslem. By destroying its capital, Constantinople, and the last vestiges of this great empire, the course of Western Civilization made an abrupt turn.

The door was then opened for the Ottomans to invade the Balkan peninsula, which began immediately thereafter, including the two unsuccessful sieges of Vienna, in 1529 and 1683. Each is a remarkable story.

Click here for the Siege of Vienna 1529.

Click here for the Second Siege of Vienna 1683

It will also help you to understand the story of many Byzantine tourist sites on your visit to the Sultanahmet, including those that have been wholly or partially destroyed (some have disappeared) - the Hagia Sophia, the cisterns, the Hippodrome, the Constantine Palace (literally beneath the Blue Mosque), the Aqueduct of Valens, displays at the Archaeological Museum, among others.

I made the following video inside the 1453 Panorama Museum. Notice the "realia" - implements and objects of war - on the floor next to the viewing platform. Most of these larger pieces are certainly original - that is, they were taken from the battlefield.

The cannon in the video certainly must have been used, as it's cracked. I'm sure these items constituted prized souvenirs to the Ottoman conquerors, and were kept safe from being lost over time. The cannon balls - hewn from solid granite (I'd estimate 60-70 cm. in diameter) - are most probably original. Another cannon, above, is from the siege, as well. It's located in the courtyard at Istanbul's Military Museum, and is worth the visit.

The diameter of the largest cannon used in the attack was over 1 meter! This huge one, and several of the smaller ones were cast by a Hungarian cannon-maker, Urban, at the present-day city of Edirne (Greek: Adrianople). They were then pulled overland 150 miles / 240 km. to Constantinople. A few were reported to have been taken to ships on the shore of the Sea of Marmara before they were off-loaded near Constantinople.

The Ottoman military music you hear in the background of the battle scenes at the 360 Museum is similar to that from the military marching bands you can see at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul or at the Istanbul Military Museum.

Clicking on the YouTube links, above, will give you a quick listen.

The cannon and moulded cannon balls are probably genuine!

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Above is a terrific map of the Byzantine city of Constantinople before it was conquered. The Theodosian Land Wall - stretching 7 km. on the left, north-to-south - was targeted by Mehmet II, and indeed fell decisively on the last day of the siege.

Click here for a scalable version of this map. Click on it and then use the side scroll bars or mouse wheel to navigate.

I took the following video of the existing Byzantine wall (with a lot of wind in the background) at a site near the 1453 Panorama Museum.

I made this video while traveling north-to-south on a tram that runs parallel to a major freeway and the Byzantine Wall.

A similar view.

This is a picture of the museum's ground floor. Exhibits are all in Turkish. I didn't find them to be very helpful.

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This photo, below, shows the panorama museum from the outside - looking east - toward a stretch of the Byzantine Wall, seen in the background, left.

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Map below: The 1453 Panorama Museum is located at the Topkapi Tram Stop - on the tram line that runs between the airport and Sultanahmet (tourist area). Look inside the left edge of the red square. It is just south of the large Topkapi motorway intersection on this map (marked in green, with black script "Topkapi"):