Editing Fall of Constantinople (section)

{{Short description|1453 Ottoman capture of the Byzantine capital}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{For|other sieges of the city|List of sieges of Constantinople}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| partof            = the [[Byzantine–Ottoman wars]]
| image             = Le siège de Constantinople (1453) by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.jpg
| image_size        = 270px
| caption           = ''The siege of Constantinople'' (1453), French miniature by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.
| date              = 6 April – 29 May 1453<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=4|day1=6|year1=1453|month2=5|day2=29|year2=1453}})
| place             = [[Constantinople]], Byzantine Empire (present-day [[Istanbul]], Turkey)
<br />{{Coord|41.030|N|28.935|E|display=inline,title}}
| result            = Ottoman victory
| territory         = {{bulletlist|Constantinople conquered by the Ottomans|[[Despotate of the Morea|Morea]], [[Empire of Trebizond|Trebizond]], [[Principality of Theodoro|Theodoro]] and [[Despotate of Epirus|Epirus]] continue as Byzantine [[rump state]]s until their conquests in [[Ottoman conquest of the Morea|1460]], [[Siege of Trebizond (1461)|1461]], [[Ottoman capture of Theodoro|1475]] and [[Ottoman conquest of Epirus|1479]]
}}
| combatant1        = {{plainlist}}
* [[Ottoman Empire]]
* [[Serbian Despotate]]{{NoteTag|[[Đurađ Branković]], being a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, had to send 1,500 soldiers to help Mehmed II in his siege of Constantinople.{{sfnp|Buc|2020}}{{sfnp|Ivanović|2019}}}}
{{endplainlist}}
| combatant2        = {{plainlist}}
* [[Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty|Byzantine Empire]]
* [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] mercenaries
* [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] volunteers
* [[Papal States]]
* [[Kingdom of Sicily]]{{sfnp|Giardinetto|2022}}
* [[Crown of Aragón|Crown of Aragon]] (Catalan retinue)
* Orhan Çelebi loyalists
{{endplainlist}}
| commander2        = {{plainlist}}
* '''[[Constantine XI Palaiologos|Constantine XI]]'''{{KIA}}
* [[Loukas Notaras]]{{Executed}}
* [[Theophilos Palaiologos]]{{KIA}}
* [[Demetrios Palaiologos Kantakouzenos|Demetrios Kantakouzenos]]{{Executed}}
* [[Giovanni Giustiniani Longo|Giovanni Giustiniani]]{{DOW}}
* [[Gabriele Trevisano]]{{POW}}
* [[Alviso Diedo]]{{WIA}}
* [[Gabriele Orsini del Balzo]]{{KIA}}{{sfnp|Giardinetto|2022}}{{sfnp|Lilie|2005|p=464}}
* [[Isidore of Kiev|Cardinal Isidore]]{{POW}}
*  [[Orhan Çelebi]]{{Executed}}
{{endplainlist}}
| strength2         = {{plainlist}}'''Land forces:'''
* 7,000–10,000 professional soldiers
* 30,000–35,000 armed civilians<ref name="Fall of Constantinople"/>
* 600 Orhan Çelebi loyalists<ref name="osmanaras600askeri" />
* 200 archers{{sfnp|Lilie|2005|p=464}}
* 200 archers{{sfnp|Nicol|2002|p=57}}
* 200 Catalan retinue
{{endplainlist}}
'''Naval forces:'''<br />
26 ships
{{plainlist}}
* 10 [[Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty|Byzantine]]
* 8 [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]]
* 5 [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]]
* 1 [[Aragon]]ese
* 1 [[Republic of Ancona|Anconitan]]
* 1 [[Provence|Provençal]]
{{endplainlist}}
| casualties2       = 4,500 killed in action (both military and civilian)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1921 |title=Geographical Record |journal=Geographical Review |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=611–629 |jstor=208254 |issn=0016-7428 |quote=Less excusable still is the treatment accorded to the statements of Kritopoulos, that 4,500 were killed at the fall of Constantinople.}}</ref>{{sfnp|Nicolle|2000|p=41}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Labatt |first=Annie |date=October 2004 |title=Constantinople after 1261 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cnst/hd_cnst.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20fourth%20to%20fifth,it%20had%20declined%20to%2050%2C000. |access-date=30 June 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630190945/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cnst/hd_cnst.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20fourth%20to%20fifth,it%20had%20declined%20to%2050%2C000. |url-status=live }}</ref><br/>30,000–50,000 civilians enslaved<ref name="iK51W"/><ref name="Akbar2002">{{harvp|Akbar|2002|p=86}}: "Some 30,000 Christians were either enslaved or sold."</ref><ref name="Davis">{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Paul K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKhZHVtIX8UC&pg=PA84 |title=Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-521930-2 |page=84 |language=en |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=6 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106131450/https://books.google.com/books?id=eKhZHVtIX8UC&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>|{{endplainlist}}
| commander1        = {{plainlist}}
* '''[[Mehmed II]]'''
* [[Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger|Halil Pasha]]{{Executed}}
* [[Zagan Pasha]]
* [[Suleiman Baltoghlu]]{{WIA}}
* [[Karaca Pasha]]
* [[Hamza Bey]]
* [[Mahmud Pasha Angelović|Mahmud Pasha]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mahmud-pasa |title=Mahmud Paşa |access-date=26 June 2023 |archive-date=26 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626212325/https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mahmud-pasa |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{endplainlist}}
| strength1         = {{plainlist}}'''Land forces:'''
* 100,000–130,000 in total (Western sources){{NoteTag|Some contemporaneous Western sources gave exaggerated figures ranging from 160,000 to 300,000.<ref name="pertusicadvol1" />}}
40,000–50,000 in total (Turkish sources)<ref name="Fall of Constantinople"/><ref>Feridun Emecen, Fetih ve Kıyamet 1453</ref>
60,000–80,000 in total (Modern sources)<ref>"Fall of Constantinople". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.</ref><ref>Setton, Kenneth M. (1978). The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571): The Fifteenth Century. Vol. 2. DJane Publishing.</ref>
* Various cannon and [[Bombard (weapon)|bombards]]
**
'''Naval forces:'''
* 31 [[galley]]s
* 95 large row boats
{{endplainlist}}
| casualties1       = 200–18,000{{sfnp|Crowley|2013b|p=104|ps=: "As always casualty figures varied widely; Neskor-Iskander gave the number of Ottoman dead at 18,000; Barbaro a more realistic 200"}} (first day)<br/>Heavy:<br/> 15,000–50,000 (disputed)
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Byzantine–Ottoman Wars}}
}}
{{History of the Byzantine Empire sidebar}}

The '''Fall of Constantinople''', also known as the '''Conquest of Constantinople''', was the capture of [[Constantinople|the capital]] of the [[Byzantine Empire]] by the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-day [[siege]] which had begun on 6 April.    

The attacking [[Army of the classical Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Army]], which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan]] [[Mehmed the Conqueror|Mehmed II]] (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the [[Byzantine army (Palaiologan era)|Byzantine army]] was led by [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor]] [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]]. After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing [[Edirne|Adrianople]].

The fall of Constantinople and of the Byzantine Empire was a watershed 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 [[Middle Ages|medieval period]] and the beginning of the [[early modern period]].<ref name="ealoipolis" /><ref name="GpAG8" /> The city's fall also stood as a turning point in [[military history]]. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon [[Rampart (fortification)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Theodosian Walls |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Theodosian_Walls/ |access-date=30 April 2023 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430222628/https://www.worldhistory.org/Theodosian_Walls/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, these fortifications were overcome with the use of [[gunpowder]], specifically from Ottoman cannons and [[Bombard (weapon)|bombards]], heralding a change in siege warfare.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 June 2017 |title=The fall of Constantinople |newspaper=The Economist |url=http://www.economist.com/node/346800 |access-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618134946/http://www.economist.com/node/346800 |archive-date=18 June 2017}}</ref> The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing {{convert|500|kg|lb}} over {{convert|1.5|km|mi}} which created gaps in the Theodosian Walls for the Ottoman siege.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=1453: The Fall of Constantinople |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1180/1453-the-fall-of-constantinople/ |access-date=30 April 2023 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en |archive-date=2 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602134956/https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1180/1453-the-fall-of-constantinople/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Silverburg |first=Sanford R. |date=26 January 2007 |title=The Middle East Online: Series 1: Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917–1970. Edited by Eugene Rogan. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale |journal=Microform & Imaging Review |volume=36 |issue=2 |doi=10.1515/mfir.2007.75 |s2cid=162273820 |issn=0949-5770}}</ref>