Why did Constantinople fall? Constantinople fell because the Byzantine Empire had been declining for centuries and was no longer strong enough to hold it. Constantinople fell on 29th May, 1453. This is the day that marks the end of the Byzantine Empire, which is also the end of the Roman Empire. It is also said to mark the end of the Middle Ages. However, Constantinople didn’t disappear. It became the capital of the Ottoman Empire, before that empire fell and it became the capital of the new state of Turkey, being renamed Istanbul.
Constantinople had a very long history. It was consecrated in 330 and it lasted until 1930. It still technically exists, although it is called Istanbul. It was founded by Constantine I, and bears his name. Constantinople means “the city of Constantine” in Greek. Constantine I was a Roman emperor and the first Christian emperor. He had the city built in 330 and then he moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople. This doesn’t sound so unusual when you think about it. Before Constantine took power, the empire had been ruled by two emperors for a while because it was just too vast. There was an emperor on the west and one in the east. Constantine started off like this, but he soon took control of the whole empire. He saw that Rome was too far to the west of the empire and was not well located for trade. The place where he would build Constantinople was right in the middle of the empire, was very well placed for trade, and allowed more expansion into the east. The Roman Empire was split again after Constantine died and within a hundred years or so, the Western Empire had been destroyed. The Eastern Empire, with its capital at Constantinople continued from strength to strength.
Fast forward nearly a thousand years and Constantinople is not as strong as it was. The Eastern Roman Empire transitioned into the Byzantine Empire, and it was powerful for a while, even expanding at one point. However, by the beginning of the 13th century, the empire was starting to fall apart. The reason for the decline and fall was the same as for many empires throughout history. They were constantly fighting with neighboring empires to defend their own empire or to expand their empire. Constant warfare exerts a huge toll, financially, in manpower, and culturally. By the 13th century, they were exhausted. This led to infighting and civil war within the empire. A divided empire will never be as strong as a unified one. Then there were two forces constantly trying to defeat the empire. These were the Ottoman Turks, and the European crusades.
There had been several crusades to try and free Jerusalem. It had been captured by the European powers and then lost again. The fourth crusade was sent to recapture Jerusalem in 1202. On their way, they were approached by Alexios IV, a deposed Byzantine emperor. He wanted the crusaders to take back Constantinople for him, in return for an enormous amount of money. The crusaders liked the idea, and they took the city. Alexios IV was reinstalled, but he couldn’t pay the money. He melted down many religious icons to make payments, which the people of the city didn’t like. He was overthrown and the crusaders tried to get his successor Alexios V to pay. He refused so the crusaders took the city again. This sacking of Constantinople was really the beginning of the end for the city and the Byzantine Empire as a whole.
The Byzantine empire split into three parts that constantly fought each other. The Black Death of the 14th century decimated the population and the empire gradually shrank. By 1453, the Byzantine Empire, all that was left of the Roman Empire, consisted of the city of Constantinople and the surrounding area. The Empire was ruled by Constantine XI, the last Roman Emperor. The Ottoman Empire was becoming more powerful and stretching north. Constantine tried to get help from the European powers, but they weren’t interested. The pope was always interested in trying to get the western and eastern Roman empires back together again, and Constantine agreed in return for help against the Ottomans, but the kings of Europe didn’t want the pope getting too powerful and declined.
The Ottomans laid siege to Constantinople from early April and there were not enough people left in Constantinople to man all of the walls.; That is a sign of how the city had fallen because there used to be half a million people living there. They attacked on Mary 29th and the city fell. 1123 years of the Eastern Roman Empire and 1470 years of the Roman Empire came to an end. The city was never recaptured and became the capital of the Ottoman Empire. When that empire, in turn, fell in 1922, Constantinople became Istanbul, the capital of the new country, Turkey. And this is what I learned today.
Try these next:
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade
Photo by Soner Arkan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/stunning-istanbul-cityscape-with-bosphorus-view-29594401/