Just finished a series called "Rise of Empires Ottoman" which has a core focus on the conquest of Constantinople. It's a 7 part show, a mix of acting and input from historians
Few facts and events i found intriguing
1. Constantinople was considered the greatest city in the World at the time with a 14 mile impenetrable, cannon-resistant wall and a golden harbour, but was somehow reduced to just being a capital of an ageing breakaway ex Roman territory.
2. Both Emperor Constantine VI and Sultan Mehmet believed in self fulfilling prophecies. The Emperor was named after the town like his predecessor Constantine and they had the same maiden name. It was said only a man with both names will lose the 'city of God'. On the flip side, the Sultan was informed of a lunar eclipse during the siege, which traditionally was seen as a bad omen for Ottoman enemies.
3. Ayia Sofia the main Church caught fire from lightning the day after the sighting of the 'blood moon' and turned the populace hysterical, it was herald as a biblical esque moment that signalled defeat for the Christians.
4. The Warfare and Siege was completely new to the Ottomans. They were a marauding empire like the Mongols and weren't equipped for prolonged wars. Even establishing a small fleet was no match against European mercenaries. So they had to introduce firearms, dig tunnels under the walls and drag actual ships on land to move behind the city.
5. The level of espionage and double crossing at the high level was insane for a 21 year old to handle. The Sultan offered to give half his empire to an Italian former pirate turned soldier of fortune, who declined and chose to honour his contract with Constantine VI. This was in spite of italians known to be 'scholars for dollars' - Catholics weren't Jihadi like their Puritan counterparts
6. The Sultan spoke over 5 languages, took the throne aged 12 and saw himself as the successor to Alexander the Great. He was said to have been the best connected ruler of his generation, having swayed Hungarians, Serbians, Galatanese and rebel Turks under his step mothers influence.
7. The impact of wars were collosal. The Ottomans fielded well over 100K men throughout the course of the siege. Byzantine went bankrupt and melted all the crosses in the city to mint coins.
Few facts and events i found intriguing
1. Constantinople was considered the greatest city in the World at the time with a 14 mile impenetrable, cannon-resistant wall and a golden harbour, but was somehow reduced to just being a capital of an ageing breakaway ex Roman territory.
2. Both Emperor Constantine VI and Sultan Mehmet believed in self fulfilling prophecies. The Emperor was named after the town like his predecessor Constantine and they had the same maiden name. It was said only a man with both names will lose the 'city of God'. On the flip side, the Sultan was informed of a lunar eclipse during the siege, which traditionally was seen as a bad omen for Ottoman enemies.
3. Ayia Sofia the main Church caught fire from lightning the day after the sighting of the 'blood moon' and turned the populace hysterical, it was herald as a biblical esque moment that signalled defeat for the Christians.
4. The Warfare and Siege was completely new to the Ottomans. They were a marauding empire like the Mongols and weren't equipped for prolonged wars. Even establishing a small fleet was no match against European mercenaries. So they had to introduce firearms, dig tunnels under the walls and drag actual ships on land to move behind the city.
5. The level of espionage and double crossing at the high level was insane for a 21 year old to handle. The Sultan offered to give half his empire to an Italian former pirate turned soldier of fortune, who declined and chose to honour his contract with Constantine VI. This was in spite of italians known to be 'scholars for dollars' - Catholics weren't Jihadi like their Puritan counterparts
6. The Sultan spoke over 5 languages, took the throne aged 12 and saw himself as the successor to Alexander the Great. He was said to have been the best connected ruler of his generation, having swayed Hungarians, Serbians, Galatanese and rebel Turks under his step mothers influence.
7. The impact of wars were collosal. The Ottomans fielded well over 100K men throughout the course of the siege. Byzantine went bankrupt and melted all the crosses in the city to mint coins.
