Fall of Constantinople facts for kids

French manuscript illustration

The fall of Constantinople was when the Ottoman Empire took over Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, on 29 May 1453. The Ottomans were commanded by 21-year-old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who defeated an army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. The conquest of Constantinople followed a 53-day siege started on 6 April 1453.

This event marks the end of the Byzantine Empire, and so it was the end of the Roman Empire, which had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. Previous Sultans had taken most of the Empire in previous centuries. Some places, like the Morea Despotate and Empire of Trebizond were not defeated by the Ottomans until several years later.

The fall of Constantinople had important results, because the Ottoman Turks at last had control of the Balkans. Nothing could stop them from further Muslim conquests in Europe, which went on until after the Battle of Vienna in 1683. After the fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine empire, many refugees escaped to Western Europe and helped create humanism. In particular, the arrival in Italy of Greek scholars is said to have helped the Renaissance.

Images for kids

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  The Byzantine Empire in May 1453, just before the fall of Constantinople.

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  Restored Walls of Constantinople

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  The chain that closed off the entrance to the Golden Horn in 1453, now on display in the İstanbul Archaeology Museums.

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  The Dardanelles Gun, cast by Munir Ali in 1464, is similar to bombards used by the Ottoman besiegers of Constantinople in 1453 (British Royal Armouries collection).

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  Modern painting of Mehmed and the Ottoman Army approaching Constantinople with a giant bombard, by Fausto Zonaro.

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  Painting of the Fall of Constantinople, by Theophilos Hatzimihail

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  Painting by Fausto Zonaro depicting the Ottoman Turks transporting their fleet overland into the Golden Horn.

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  Siege of Constantinople as depicted between 1453 and 1475

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  Painting by the Greek folk painter Theophilos Hatzimihail showing the battle inside the city, Constantine is visible on a white horse

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  Following the city's conquest, the Church of the Holy Wisdom (the Hagia Sophia) was converted into a mosque.

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  Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror, by Gentile Bellini

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  Siege of Constantinople on a mural at the Moldoviţa Monastery in Romania, painted in 1537

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  Mehmed the Conqueror enters Constantinople, painting by Fausto Zonaro

See also

In Spanish: Caída de Constantinopla para niños