Fall of Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople
	Part of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars
	; The siege of Constantinople (1453), French miniature by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.
Date	6 April – 29 May 1453; (1 month, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location	Constantinople, Byzantine Empire (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) ; 41°01′48″N 28°56′06″E / 41.030°N 28.935°E
Result	Ottoman victory
Territorial; changes	Constantinople conquered by the Ottomans
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire; Serbian Despotate;	Byzantine Empire; Genoese mercenaries; Venetian volunteers; Papal States; Kingdom of Sicily; Crown of Aragon (Catalan retinue); Orhan Çelebi loyalists;
Commanders and leaders
Mehmed II; Halil Pasha ; Zagan Pasha; Suleiman Baltoghlu (WIA); Karaca Pasha; Hamza Bey; Mahmud Pasha;	Constantine XI †; Loukas Notaras ; Theophilos Palaiologos †; Demetrios Kantakouzenos ; Giovanni Giustiniani (DOW); Gabriele Trevisano (POW); Alviso Diedo (WIA); Gabriele Orsini del Balzo †; Cardinal Isidore (POW); Orhan Çelebi ;
Strength
Land forces: 100,000–130,000 in total (Western sources); 40,000–50,000 in total (Turkish sources) 60,000–80,000 in total (Modern sources) Various cannon and bombards ; Naval forces: 31 galleys; 95 large row boats;	Land forces: 7,000–10,000 professional soldiers; 30,000–35,000 armed civilians; 600 Orhan Çelebi loyalists; 200 archers; 200 archers; 200 Catalan retinue; Naval forces:; 26 ships 10 Byzantine; 8 Venetian; 5 Genoese; 1 Aragonese; 1 Anconitan; 1 Provençal;
Casualties and losses
200–18,000 (first day); Heavy:; 15,000–50,000 (disputed)	4,500 killed in action (both military and civilian); 30,000–50,000 enslaved

The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of 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 Ottoman Army, which significantly outnumbered Constantinople's defenders, was commanded by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmed II (later nicknamed "the Conqueror"), while the Byzantine army was led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. After conquering the city, Mehmed II made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital, replacing 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 medieval period and the beginning of the early modern period. The city's fall also stood as a turning point in military history. Since ancient times, cities and castles had depended upon 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. However, these fortifications were overcome with the use of gunpowder, specifically from Ottoman cannons and bombards, heralding a change in siege warfare. The Ottoman cannons repeatedly fired massive cannonballs weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) over 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) which created gaps in the Theodosian Walls for the Ottoman siege.