In the early morning of May 29, 1453, the pre-dawn silence over the Bosphorus was broken by drumming and the roar of cannons. The besiegers rushed to storm the ancient Constantinople - the capital of the once powerful Byzantine Empire. The city heroically defended itself from the hordes of the Ottoman Turks for the second month. Their Sultan Mehmed P, known as the "Conqueror", vowed to crush the last stronghold of the "infidels" in the East.
The majestic walls of the city proved to be a poor defense. The 100,000-strong Ottoman army was opposed by about 7,000 people, half of whom were Venetians and Genoese, who defended not so much the city on the Bosphorus as their trade profits associated with it. Even during the days of the siege, merchants-competitors found time for internecine strife - the Genoese secretly sold military secrets to the besiegers. Western Europe never sent the promised aid. Constantinople was doomed. Through a gap in the wall, the Turks broke into the city. Emperor Constantine died in battle, Christian soldiers were partly killed, partly taken prisoner. Only a few managed to escape on Italian ships.
Mehmed the Conqueror rode into Constantinople on a white horse. The city was rebuilt. The dome of Hagia Sophia now crowned the Turkish crescent, and instead of Christian banners over the Bosphorus, the green banner of the Prophet Muhammad was raised. Under the new name of Istanbul (in European - Istanbul), the city became the capital of the Turkish state.
The formidable empire of the Ottoman Turks did not arise from scratch. Militant nomads have long lived in Asia Minor, information about them reached Europe from the time of the Crusades. Thanks to the efforts of church preachers, the Europeans formed an idea of them as barbarians, impudent robbers, enemies of Christianity, with whom there can be no peace. However, the Turks knew how to be a religiously tolerant and accommodating people. The "cruel barbarian" Mehmed knew six languages, was interested in the sciences and arts, and willingly invited educated Europeans to his place. The Byzantines and Italians, despite numerous conflicts, tried to maintain mutually beneficial relations with the Turks. In a word, the Turks could be both enemies and friends for Christians, and no one could predict who they would be tomorrow.
https://all-andorra.blogspot.com/2020/06/news-rss-update-30062020-1235.html
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