The Conquest of Constantinople - Essay Example

Constantinople, now commonly known as Istanbul was the Capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome, it became the center of the Empire. The name Constantinople was given to it in the honor of its founder Constantine and before that, it was called “Nova Roma” which means New Rome. If we go a little more into the past it will come to our knowledge that this city was also called “Bezantium” after Byzas; a Greek 7th century ruler. The whole history of names is almost enough to explain the importance Constantinople has had over the time.

So far, its major contributive factor to its importance was its geographical location. In terms of trade, it was golden. Trade from Asia, Western Europe as well as the Middle East had to cross it; also it is connected to many important countries through the water route. With so many advantages, Constantinople was a city that every empire wanted for themselves, hence the multiple names and changes in the rulers. This paper, however, elaborates and focuses on the fall of Constantinople into the hands of the Muslim Empire.

Constantinople was part of the Byzantine Empire when the Muslims took control of it. When Islam spread, the Muslim Empire was obviously at its peak. These were the beginning of the glory days for the Muslims. In AD 378, Byzantine lost much of its control over Middle East as well as North Africa, but they very much had the control over Constantinople. It was a city with fortresses, like mentioned above, it was golden: in terms of business, security as well as control. Even though the downfall of Byzantine was inevitable, they did not let go of Constantinople so easily, Muslim armies attacked the city again and again but in vain.

By the 15th Century, the Ottoman Turks had managed to seize almost all of what in today’s day is called Turkey and a few Islands apart from the City itself. The person to do this almost impossible task was Mehmud II, who succeeded his father in 1451 to become the Ottoman Sultan. According to Roger Crowley, Mehumd was: “The man whom the Renaissance later presented as a monster of cruelty and perversion was a mass of contradictions. He was astute, brave and highly impulsive — capable of deep deception, tyrannical cruelty and acts of sudden kindness.

He was moody and unpredictable, a bisexual who shunned close relationships, never forgave an insult, but who came to be loved for his pious foundations.” This is the exact kind of nature one needs in order to write history. The attack was led by Mehmud in 1453, and it is said that the siege lasted for 57 days. The attack was divided into three segments due to the difficulty of crossing the fortress which protected the city. The first attach was made in May, Monday at approximately 1.00 pm by a group called Bashi Bazouks.

They attacked the weakest points of the walls, but they were forced to retreat after two hours. Next, Ishaq’s army called the Antolian Turks took up the attack. They were far more organized, equipped and prepared. They strategically blew trumpets to distract the opponents and fired the walls with their Cannons. By doing this, they became the first army to enter the City. When the Antolian Turks entered the city, the Christian army was very much prepared and waiting for them. The battle continued and the Christian army lost more than half of its members and it was left in a weakened and miserable state.

At dawn, the attack was called off. Lastly, the final attack was made by a personal favorite army of Mehmud called the Janissaries. They made use of stones, javelins, missiles as well as bullets to rattle the already confused and unready army of the Christians. A long battle was fought and no one was ready to give up. Soldiers had hand to hand battles and gradually the Turks penetrated into the city. They made use of the Kerkoporta port which was used by Christians and its gate had been left open.

Adding fuel to the fire, the Turks also managed to control the water the led to the city. This way, Constantinople finally came into the hands of the Muslims and it was renamed to Istanbul, as it is known today. Mehmud II made significant history with this achievement and till date, Istanbul remains to be a Muslim state with majority of Muslims. Works Cited Byzantine-Ottoman Wars: Fall of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . Constantinople. 2013 . 3rd December 2013 . Constantinople. 2013 .

3rd December 2013 . History of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . Istanbul. 2013 . 3rd December 2013 . The Fall of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . The Sack of Constantinople, 1453. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . This week in history: The Fall of Constantinople had profound consequences. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . Turkey's Continuing Siege: Remembering the Fall of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 .