The Fall of Constantinople – just one conquest among many or

turning point of history?

The following materials will give you an impression of the fall of Constantinople. Complete the tasks to be

able to write a well-founded answer to the guiding question.

In 1354 the Ottoman Turks lead an

unprecedented1 Westward expansion,

in search of more land and territory.

Before and during this expansion the

Byzantine Empire had been losing

territories and power. Not only fights

against the Muslim opponents2 but

also conflicts with Christian powers

had reduced its importance. The

Fourth Crusade [Kreuzzug] in 1204,

which had been aimed at reconquer-

ing3 Jerusalem, ended in the capture

and sacking [Plünderung] of Constan-

tinople by Venetians and other cru-

saders4.

The Ottoman Empire had expanded

into mainland Europe, defeating Ser-

bian, Hungarian, Polish and Wallachian

forces, thus establishing a strong hold

on the Balkan region. The Ottoman's most significant victory, however, came in 1453 when they destroyed the Byz-

antine Empire by doing what was previously thought impossible—breaching the great walls of Constantinople and

it's triple-line defence, which had protected the Empire since the days of Theodosius II who had built the wall in the

fifth century.

The Fall of Constantinople 1453 was special The Fall of Constantinople 1453was not special

1 unprecedented – never seen before

2 an opponent – an enemy/adversary

3 to conquer – to win/control sth. [reconquer – to win/get back]

4 a crusader – ein Kreuzritter [a crusade – ein Kreuzzug]

2. Read the text and take

notes in the chart below.

1. Watch the film trailer Fetih 1453 and answer the following questions:

Who is fighting whom? Why do they fight?

The Byzantines still had one advantage: the walls

of their capital. Constantine built the first city

wall at its founding circa 330 AD. A century later,

Theodosius II constructed new and more formi-

dable fortifications. His new wall was 36 feet tall

with a thickness of 25 feet studded with at least

94 towers large enough to hold artillery5 ma-

chines.

The inhabitants could hold out behind their stone

fortifications indefinitely receiving shipments of

food and aid by sea. Over the next 1,000 years, the design proved its worth withstanding 22 separate sieges.

The Ottomans however had brought a new weapon to the siege: gunpowder. The “Basilica” measured over 27 feet

in length and weighed enough that it reportedly had to be carried – piece by piece – by a team of 60 oxen and a crew

of up to 400 men. Its barrel6 was 30 inches in diameter7 and its bronze walls were 8 inches thick. It fired a massive

marble ball that was designed to knock down fortifications with one shot.

Yet, its effectiveness was largely psychological at the beginning. Each of the super cannons were surrounded by

smaller weapons in around 15 batteries positioned around the walls of Constantinople. Basilica’s shots were fol-

lowed by volleys from smaller cannons that did a

large portion of the work.

Basilica itself was capable of firing only seven shots a

day for fear of it cracking8. Even then, the gun had to

be cooled with massive amounts of olive oil and

cleaned frequently. Once cooled, it would take large

crews a long time to reload and prepare the next

shot. This allowed the Byzantine defenders enough

time to repair holes in the wall almost as quickly as

the next shot could be prepared.

5 artillery – cannons

6 a barrel – ein Rohr

7 diameter - Durchmesser

8 to crack – zerbrechen/zerbersten

A big chain across

the Bosporus could

stop ships from

entering the Golden

Horn.

3. Observe the defences [Verteidigungsanlagen] of the city and the siege engines [Belagerungswaffen] of the

attackers. Take notes on what could be considered extraordinary about them.

The cannon “Basilica”, designed by Hungarian engineer Orban.

Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II Emperor Constantine XI

Q1

4. Compare the two speeches Q1 and Q2.

Take notes on the following questions:

a) Answer the W-questions:

Who speaks?

Where and when?

Who is addressed?

What is the main message?

b) How do they portray the enemy?

c) Why should their men fight?

in firm resolution – in fester Entschlossenheit; glory – Ruhm/Pracht; infidel – Ungläubiger

to besiege sb./sth. – jmd./etw. belagern; impious – gottlos; slaughter – abschlachten

devour – verschlingen; refuge – Zufluchtsort; guardian – Beschützer; martyrdom – Märtyrertum

Q2 Address of the Sultan, calling upon all to fight bravely, and promising them that they would be rewarded with goods and many other fine things, if they fought well

My friends and my comrades in the present struggle! […] I have called you together in order to remind you,

first of all, that whatever you have at present you have attained, […] by hard work and with great struggles

and dangers […] And secondly, as to the rewards now put before you here, I wish to show you how many

and how great they are and what great glory and honor accompany the winning. […]

First, then, there is great wealth of all sorts in this city, some in the royal palaces and some in the houses of 5 the mighty, some in the homes of the common people and still other, finer and more abundant, laid up in the

churches as treasures of all sorts, constructed of gold and silver and precious stones and costly pearls. […]

Of all these, you will be the masters!

Then too, there are very many noble and distinguished men, some of whom will be your slaves, and the rest

will be put up for sale; also very many and very beautiful women, young and good-looking, and virgins 10 lovely for marriage, noble, and of noble families. […] And you will have boys, too, very many and very

beautiful and of noble families.

[…] A great and populous city, the capital of the ancient Romans, which has attained luck and glory, being

indeed the head of the whole inhabited globe – I give it now to you for spoil and plunder […]

It is evident that to whatever extent the leadership and glory of this city has spread, to a like extent the re-15 nown of your valor and bravery will spread […] along with honor and glory!

And, best of all, we shall demolish a city that has been hostile to us from the beginning and is constantly

growing at our expense and in every way plotting against our rule. So for the future we shall be sure of

guarding our present belongings and shall live in complete and assured peace, after getting rid of our

neighboring enemies. We shall also open the way to further conquest. 20

From: The Siege of Constantinople in 1453, according to Kritovoulos (civil servant working for Mehmed II.)

attain sth. – etw. erreichen; a reward – eine Belohnung; glory – Ruhm; honor – Ehre

wealth – Reichtum; treasures – Schätze; noble – edel/adelig; ancient Romans – antike Römer;

spoil and plunder – Beute und Plünderung; to be evident – offensichtlich sein; renown – Ansehen;

valor/bravery – (Helden)Mut; hostile – feindlich to plot against sb. – sich gegen jmd. verschwören

__________________________________________________________________________

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Q3

On the third day after the fall of our city, the Sultan celebrated his victory with a great, joyful triumph. He

issued a proclamation9: the citizens of all ages who had managed to escape or hide should leave their hiding

places throughout the city and come out into the open, as they were to remain free and no question would be

asked. He further declared the restoration10

of houses and property to those who had abandoned our city be-

fore the siege. If they returned home, they would be treated according to their rank and religion, as if nothing

had changed.

— George Sphrantzes

M1

After the conquest many Greeks, such as John Argyropoulos and Constantine Lascaris, fled the city and

found refuge11 in the Latin West, bringing with them knowledge and documents from the Greco-Roman

tradition to Italy and other regions that further propelled12 the Renaissance13.

The migration waves of Byzantine scholars in the period following the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is con-

sidered by many scholars key to the revival of Greek and Roman studies that led to the development of the

Renaissance humanism and science. These émigrés were grammarians, humanists, poets, writers, print-

ers, lecturers, musicians, astronomers, architects, academics, artists, scribes, philosophers, scientists, poli-

ticians and theologians. They brought to Western Europe the far greater preserved and accumulated

knowledge of their own (Greek) civilization in form of ancient Greek, Roman and Arabic texts and studies.

9 to issue a proclamation – eine Bekanntmachung veröffentlichen

10 restoration – Wiederherstellung, Rückgabe

11 to find refuge – Zuflucht finden

12 to propel sth. – etw. vorantreiben

13 The Renaissance: the revival of European art and literature under the influence of classical (ancient Roman/Greek) models in

the 14th–16th centuries.

5. What kind of consequences, do you think, had the conquest of Constantinople for the city’s inhabitants in

particular and for Europe in general. Take notes.

6. Read Q1 and M1. What were the actual consequences for the city’s inhabitants and for Europe? Do they

match your expectations? Take notes.

7. It is 1454, one year after the fall of Constantinople. You were attacker OR defender of the city. Write a letter to

a friend or member of your family. Talk about:

what you first thought when you heard, Constantinople is going to be attacked

the siege itself

your leader and his speech that you heard

the consequences of the city’s fall for you personally

Send the letter to me via e-mail (kwiatkowski@fritz-reuter-oberschule.de) until 5th April 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Argyropouloshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_Lascarishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_scholars_in_the_Renaissancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_scholars_in_the_Renaissancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greecehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Romehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_humanismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science_in_the_Renaissancemailto:kwiatkowski@fritz-reuter-oberschule.de

ERWARTUNGSHORIZONT

Task Possible solution

1 Who? Turks/Ottomans are fighting the Byzantine Empire to conquer Constantinople.

(Muslims fight [orthodox] Christians.)

Why? Religiously motivated fight against the infidels [Ungläubige]

2

The Fall of Constantinople 1453 was special The Fall of Constantinople 1453was not special

- It was thought impossible to breach the wall of Constantinople since an-

tiquity [Antike]

- Most important victory for the Otto-man Empire

- Religious opponent - Constantinople: bridge between the

two parts of the Ottoman Empire

(and between Europe and Asia)

important for trade and military strategy

- the city had already been conquered once: by Venetians in 1204

- part of a long chain of wars and con-quests of the Ottoman Empire

- Byzantine Empire not a big opponent - Ottomans had won already against Ser-

bian, Hungarian, Polish and Wallachian

forces

3 Extraordinary defences:

- Enormous walls of Constantinople: very old, thick - Chain that blocks ships from entering - City withstood 22 sieges [Belagerungen]

Extraordinary siege:

- Gunpowder - New weapon (huge cannon)

4 a) Answer the W-questions:

Who speaks? Where

and when? Who is

addressed? What is

the main message?

b) How do they por-tray the enemy?

c) Why should their men fight?

Emperor Constantine XI

Constantinople, 1453

defenders

defend the city, God is

with us

“enemy of Christ”, “evil

Turks”. “impious and

infidel enemy”

defend fatherland, fight

for Christ, defend Chris-

tians/ Greeks, glory,

fame, martyrdom [Mär-

tyrertum]14

Sultan Mehmed II

in front of city gates, 1453

attackers, his soldiers

promises rewards once the city is

conquered

“noble and distinguished men”,

“noble families”, “great and popu-

lous city, the capital of the ancient

Romans”

rewards: “gold and silver and pre-

cious stones and costly pearls”,

slaves, women, boys, honor and

glory, peace, further conquests

6 - remain free, no question asked - restoration of houses and property to people who left the city before the siege - people who return are treated according to rank and religion, as if nothing had changed

- Greek refugees [Flüchtlinge] bring knowledge, books etc. important boost for Renaissance (study of Ancient texts, philosophies, sciences)

14

Als Märtyrer bezeichnet man Menschen, die sich (meist aus religiösen Gründen) für eine Sache selbst opfern.