Dig Into History

52

and hauling stone, bricks, and timber

to close the breaches by night, they were

exhausted almost beyond endurance.

Then, Mehmed bypassed the barrier chain

by hauling 70 of his ships overland to

launch them upon the Golden Horn. His

actions added an additional five miles of

sea wall the defenders of Constantinople

now had to protect. The end was close

at hand.

opening and anchored by the Castle of Galata on

the northern bank. The photo above, taken in a

museum in Istanbul today, shows a painting of

Constantinople at the time when the chain was

used, with a portion of the chain that has

survived below.

Determination Plus!

Mehmed knew the difficulties he faced and made

careful preparations for the attack. Turkish fortresses

were built on both sides of the Bosporus to prevent

supplies and reinforcements from reaching the city.

In addition, he assembled a massive force of 80,000

men and a fleet of 300 to 400 ships. To be sure, this

was a formidable threat. But the Ottoman army

was determined to win, and they had a weapon

that matched their determination: large-caliber

siege cannon. Created for the Ottomans by a

Hungarian named Urban, these cannon would

blast to fragments ramparts that no troops could

overcome.

For weeks, the Turks bombarded

the city, breaching the outer

fortifications and hammering at

the inner defenses. The defenders,

numbering only 7,000 to 8,000

men, were stretched very thin

upon the long walls. Their ranks

gradually decreased as casualties,

sickness, and desertion took their

toll. Under constant assault by day

Super Cannon

O

ne cannon used in

the 1453 siege of

Constantinople was

enormous. Twenty-seven

feet long, it could hurl a

1,200-pound ball more than

a mile. It took two hours to

load and could only fire

eight rounds per day.

The Immortal

Emperor

C

onstantine XI

Palaiologos was the

last Byzantine

emperor. In the years that

followed the city’s fall, it was

said that he was not dead

but merely sleeping — and

that one day the “immortal

emperor” would awaken to

drive out the Turks.

Mehmet the

Conqueror

claims

Constantinople

in 1453.