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A History of the Eastern Roman Empire - 4th-15th century

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A History of the Eastern Roman Empire - 4th-15th century

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https://www.britannica.com/place/Byzantine-Empire

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A History of the Ottomans - 14th-20th century

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A History of the Ottomans - 14th-20th century

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https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire

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https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/medieval-renaissance/ottoman-super-cannon-the-bombard-that-built-an-empire/

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The Hagia Sophia in the Present Day - A Church-turned-Mosque-turned-Museum

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The Hagia Sophia in the Present Day - A Church-turned-Mosque-turned-Museum

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hagia_Sophia_Mars_2013.jpg
Image taken by Arild Vågen

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Portrait of Mehmet II, painted by Gentile Bellini in 1480

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Portrait of Mehmet II, painted by Gentile Bellini in 1480

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gentile_Bellini_003.jpg

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https://www.booktaxiistanbul.com/modules/mod_image_show_gk4/cache/istanbul-airport-transfergk-is-98.jpg

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Reflections - If the Ottomans were turned away....

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Reflections - If the Ottomans were turned away....

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What if, by some chance, the Ottoman Empire had not succeeded in taking the city for themselves? It's hard to consider a non-existent city's future, but I would imagine that the doomed city of Constantinople, formerly a capital of a large and sprawling East Roman Empire, would take steps to mend the divide between eastern Orthodoxy and western Catholicism. A glaring reason that the city was lost was because the Byzantine forces were severely outnumbered and no nation would support them (besides those forced to - the Venetians and Genoese had small outposts at Constantinople, but supplied very little help besides those) mostly due to their differing views on Christianity - the Papacy has excommunicated the city on many occasions due to their "heretic" views on the Church. On the other hand, I also believe that the Ottomans would be in major disarray from such a catastrophic loss, since the opponent was only one city with very little help. Mehmet would most likely be facing rebels from pretenders and other disgruntled Ottomans (who were beginning to stir during the siege), or perhaps even a retaliatory strike from Christendom itself.

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The War For the City and the Conflict of Christianity

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The War For the City and the Conflict of Christianity

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The prominent external conflict (and the central issue of the book) is about the fight for Constantinople . The city was the capital for the Eastern Roman Empire for over 1000 years since the old Roman Empire split into West and East, but a millennium of warring with neighboring dynasties, states, and caliphates has worn the once-mighty empire to a single city. Sultan Mehmet II desires the "Red Apple" of Christianity, and sets his eyes on the city for a new capital for his Muslim horde, eventually to become the largest empire since Rome. The battle would go down in history as a resounding victory for the Ottomans and Islam, but a major reason that the Christians lost was because of the division in Christianity. While not a precise internal conflict, the reunification of the churches were surely on the forefront on everyone's minds - the West was reluctant to send reinforcements due to the implications of supporting and legitimizing a heretical religion. While steps were taken to reunify prior to the siege's start, the higher-ups of the Orthodox Church almost always resisted and prevented reunification from ever occurring, despite the Emperor's wishes. However, it was within the Emperor's powers to override the church should he desire, meaning that he decided it was in the church's best interest to remain separate. this was most likely the reason that the city was taken - the Emperor's subservience to God.

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The Quiet Traitor with the Loud Cannon - Orban

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The Quiet Traitor with the Loud Cannon - Orban

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While not as prestigious as the Sultan Mehmet II or Emperor Constantine XI, the Hungarian Orban played a very pivotal role in the final siege for Constantinople, one in which was irreplaceable - designing and constructing the Sultan's cannons to destroy the city walls. At first, Ottoman forces were without major artillery to destroy, scale, or do anything at all to the Walls of Theodosius. Orban, a Hungarian cast off by the Byzantine Empire, approached the Sultan before the siege offering up his skills as a cannon maker in the summer of 1452. His first task was to create a cannon larger than any the Ottomans had at the time, and then after a successful test firing against the reeling Christians, asked for one double the size. His crew created it over the process of a few days, and was critical in destroying the gargantuan Christian wall before the cannon was rendered inoperable later in the siege. However, the devastation wrought by Orban's cannons was undoubtedly the main reason that the walls were broken and the city was stormed.