StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Conquest of Constantinople - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Constantinople, now commonly known as Istanbul was the Capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome, it became the center of the Empire. The name Constantinople was given to it in the honor of its founder Constantine and before that, it was called “Nova Roma” which means New Rome…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.7% of users find it useful
The Conquest of Constantinople
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Conquest of Constantinople"

Constantinople, now commonly known as Istanbul was the Capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome, it became the center of the Empire. The name Constantinople was given to it in the honor of its founder Constantine and before that, it was called “Nova Roma” which means New Rome. If we go a little more into the past it will come to our knowledge that this city was also called “Bezantium” after Byzas; a Greek 7th century ruler. The whole history of names is almost enough to explain the importance Constantinople has had over the time.

So far, its major contributive factor to its importance was its geographical location. In terms of trade, it was golden. Trade from Asia, Western Europe as well as the Middle East had to cross it; also it is connected to many important countries through the water route. With so many advantages, Constantinople was a city that every empire wanted for themselves, hence the multiple names and changes in the rulers. This paper, however, elaborates and focuses on the fall of Constantinople into the hands of the Muslim Empire.

Constantinople was part of the Byzantine Empire when the Muslims took control of it. When Islam spread, the Muslim Empire was obviously at its peak. These were the beginning of the glory days for the Muslims. In AD 378, Byzantine lost much of its control over Middle East as well as North Africa, but they very much had the control over Constantinople. It was a city with fortresses, like mentioned above, it was golden: in terms of business, security as well as control. Even though the downfall of Byzantine was inevitable, they did not let go of Constantinople so easily, Muslim armies attacked the city again and again but in vain.

By the 15th Century, the Ottoman Turks had managed to seize almost all of what in today’s day is called Turkey and a few Islands apart from the City itself. The person to do this almost impossible task was Mehmud II, who succeeded his father in 1451 to become the Ottoman Sultan. According to Roger Crowley, Mehumd was: “The man whom the Renaissance later presented as a monster of cruelty and perversion was a mass of contradictions. He was astute, brave and highly impulsive — capable of deep deception, tyrannical cruelty and acts of sudden kindness.

He was moody and unpredictable, a bisexual who shunned close relationships, never forgave an insult, but who came to be loved for his pious foundations.” This is the exact kind of nature one needs in order to write history. The attack was led by Mehmud in 1453, and it is said that the siege lasted for 57 days. The attack was divided into three segments due to the difficulty of crossing the fortress which protected the city. The first attach was made in May, Monday at approximately 1.00 pm by a group called Bashi Bazouks.

They attacked the weakest points of the walls, but they were forced to retreat after two hours. Next, Ishaq’s army called the Antolian Turks took up the attack. They were far more organized, equipped and prepared. They strategically blew trumpets to distract the opponents and fired the walls with their Cannons. By doing this, they became the first army to enter the City. When the Antolian Turks entered the city, the Christian army was very much prepared and waiting for them. The battle continued and the Christian army lost more than half of its members and it was left in a weakened and miserable state.

At dawn, the attack was called off. Lastly, the final attack was made by a personal favorite army of Mehmud called the Janissaries. They made use of stones, javelins, missiles as well as bullets to rattle the already confused and unready army of the Christians. A long battle was fought and no one was ready to give up. Soldiers had hand to hand battles and gradually the Turks penetrated into the city. They made use of the Kerkoporta port which was used by Christians and its gate had been left open.

Adding fuel to the fire, the Turks also managed to control the water the led to the city. This way, Constantinople finally came into the hands of the Muslims and it was renamed to Istanbul, as it is known today. Mehmud II made significant history with this achievement and till date, Istanbul remains to be a Muslim state with majority of Muslims. Works Cited Byzantine-Ottoman Wars: Fall of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . Constantinople. 2013 . 3rd December 2013 . Constantinople. 2013 .

3rd December 2013 . History of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . Istanbul. 2013 . 3rd December 2013 . The Fall of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . The Sack of Constantinople, 1453. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . This week in history: The Fall of Constantinople had profound consequences. 2013. 3rd December 2013 . Turkey's Continuing Siege: Remembering the Fall of Constantinople. 2013. 3rd December 2013 .

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Conquest of Constantinople Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1495901-the-conquest-of-constantinople
(The Conquest of Constantinople Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/english/1495901-the-conquest-of-constantinople.
“The Conquest of Constantinople Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1495901-the-conquest-of-constantinople.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Conquest of Constantinople

The End of the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire had been established by the mid of the fifteenth century in the wake of The Conquest of Constantinople at the hands of Sultan Mehmet II in 1453 A.... Module title: Module ID: Submission date: ‘The End of the Ottoman Empire' The present paper aims to make a critical evaluation of the work ‘The End of the Ottoman Empire' created by Elie Kedourie (1968), by elaborating the reasons behind the fall of the mighty empire as well as the abolishment of the traditional caliphate, which had been an essential part of the age-old political system of the vast region encompassing the entire Middle East for the last five centuries....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Early Modern Athens and Early Travellers to Greece

In its recorded history of over three thousand years, Athens has seen many changes.... Commonly referred to as the cradle of civilization, Athens has played a pivotal role in the development of the country that we now know as Greece (Martin).... The city has long been the hub of Greek influence, spanning from its early days as the leading city of Classical Greece in the fifth century B....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

City of Constantine

It was conquered in 1453 during the conquest of Turks lead by Sultan Mehmet II.... In the paper “City of Constantine” the author describes the history of constantinople named after the Roman Emperor Constantine 1 which means “City of Constantine”.... During the reign of the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Justinian 1 was accounted for many imperial and administrative policies that improved revenues of the state and brought heights to constantinople....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Islam: Its Origin and Early Expansion

2 (Goldschmidt 2005, 106) At the time, the Byzantine Empire with its capital at constantinople, and the Sassanian Empire, had both become impoverished by constant wars.... "The fierce efficiency of the desert warriors and their fervor under Islam contributed to the explosive campaign of conquest....
3 Pages (750 words) Assignment

Condition of the Byzantine Empire

Government officials in constantinople disregarded the entire leadership mandated to administer different parts The renewed struggles to win over Ravenna, for instance, failed to deter the setting up of foreign-controlled regions at the heart of Italy.... The Antioch's refusal to conform to the ecclesiastical influences fronted by constantinople can also be attributed to the failure of the state actors to manipulate the Church1....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Mehmed the Conqueror

The Grand Turk: Sultan Mehmet II - Conqueror of constantinople, Master of an Empire and Lord of Two Seas.... The Grand Turk: Sultan Mehmet II-Conqueror of constantinople and Master of an Empire.... Additionally, the source covers conquest of constatinople, campaigns and the code.... Additionally, the source covers conquest of constatinople, campaigns and the code.... The article talks about early reign, constantinople conquest, Asia and Europe....
1 Pages (250 words) Annotated Bibliography

The First World War: Gallipoli Campaign

This is a crucial battle result as the fall of Dardanelles to the Allied forces would have handed them a strategic advantage – as it would have opened the doors for an invasion of constantinople, the Turkish capital.... This paper "The First World War: Gallipoli Campaign" discusses the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War as a valuable case study for learning about leadership qualities and styles....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Analysis of Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition by Norman Itzkowitz

In the Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition Norman Itzkowitz is keen to examine the links between politics, war, conquest, and religion played a significant role in the rise as well as the decline of the Ottoman Empire.... "Analysis of the Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition by Norman Itzkowitz" paper provides an academic and educational evaluation of the book....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us