Fall of Constantinople 1453
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1453 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Turkey | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Byzantine–Ottoman wars, Ottoman Wars in Europe | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 41.0300, 28.9350 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was captured by the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun on 6 April.
The attacking Ottoman Army, which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by Sultan Mehmed II (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the Byzantine army was led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing Adrianople.
The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed moment of the Late Middle Ages, marking the effective end of the Roman Empire, 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 medieval period and the beginning of the early modern period. The city's fall also stood as a turning point in military history. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon ramparts and walls to repel invaders. The walls of Constantinople, 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Fall of Constantinople (revision 1380471388), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Sack of Constantinople 1204 · 1 km
- Battle of Constantinople (1241) 1241 · 2 km
- Battle of Constantinople (378) 378 · 4 km
- Battle of Katasyrtai 917 · 4 km
- Siege of Constantinople (1203) 1203 · 4 km
- Reconquest of Constantinople 1261 · 4 km
Other battles of the Ottoman Wars in Europe
- Battle of Kosovo 1389
- Battle of Nicopolis 1396
- Battle of Tripolje 1402
- Siege of Novo Brdo (1440–1441) 1440
- Battle of Kosovo (1448) 1448
- Siege of Berat (1455) 1455
- Battle of Oranik (1456) 1456
- Battle of Albulena 1457
- Battle of Ohrid 1464
- Battle of Meçad (1465) 1465
All 35 battles of the Ottoman Wars in Europe →
Browse more: battles in Turkey · Asia · Medieval battles