Preparing for war
Ottomans. The conquest of the capital of Byzantium was dreamed of by the leaders of the Muslim armies for many centuries. Sultan Mehmed II, like his immediate predecessors, took the title of Sultan-i-Rum, that is, "ruler of Rome." Thus, the Ottoman sultans claimed the legacy of Rome and Constantinople.
Mehmed II, returning to the throne in 1451, from the very beginning set himself the task of capturing Constantinople. The conquest of the Byzantine capital was supposed to strengthen the political positions of the Sultan and once and for all solve the problem of the enemy bridgehead in the center of the Ottoman possessions. The transition of Constantinople to the rule of a strong and energetic Western European ruler could seriously complicate the position of the Ottoman Empire. The city could be used as a base for the army of the Crusaders, with the dominance of the fleet of Genoa and Venice at sea.
The Byzantine emperor and other surrounding rulers initially believed that Mehmed did not pose a great danger. This impression was formed by the first attempt to rule Mehmed in 1444-1446, when, due to the protest of the army, he handed over the reins of government to his father (Murad passed the throne to his son Mehmed, deciding to withdraw from state affairs). However, he proved the opposite with his deeds. Mehmed nominated his confidants, Zaganos Pasha and Shihab ed-Din Pasha, to the posts of the second and third viziers. This weakened the position of the old grand vizier, Chandarla Khalil, who was advocating a more cautious policy towards Byzantium. He ordered to kill his younger brother, getting rid of the pretender to the throne (this was the Ottoman tradition). True, there was one more contender - Prince Orhan, who was hiding in Constantinople. His Byzantine emperor Constantine XI tried to use it in a political game, bargaining for relief from the Sultan, threatening to release Orhan, which could lead to civil war. However, Mehmed was not scared. He pacified the Karamaid principality by marrying the daughter of Ibrahim Bey, the ruler of Karaman.
Already in the winter of 1451-1452. the sultan ordered the construction of a fortress to begin at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus (here the width of the strait was about 90 m). Rumeli-Gisar - Rumeli fortress (or "Bogaz-Kesen", translated from Turkish - "cutting the strait, throat") cut Constantinople from the Black Sea, in fact it was the beginning of the siege of the city. The Greeks (they still called themselves Romans - "Romans") were confused. Constantine sent an embassy, which reminded of the Sultan's oath - to preserve the territorial integrity of Byzantium. The Sultan replied that this land was still empty, and besides, he ordered to convey to Constantine that he had no possessions outside the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantine emperor sent a new embassy, asked not to touch the Greek settlements located on the Bosphorus. The Ottomans ignored this embassy. In June 1452, a third embassy was sent - this time the Greeks were arrested and then executed. In fact, it was a declaration of war.
By the end of August 1452, the Rumeli fortress was built. A garrison of 400 soldiers was placed in it under the command of Firuz-bey and powerful cannons were placed. The largest of them could fire cannonballs weighing 272 kg. The garrison was ordered to sink all ships that pass by and refuse to pass inspection. Soon the Ottomans confirmed the seriousness of their words: in the fall, two Venetian ships sailing from the Black Sea were driven away, and the third was sunk. The crew was hanged, and the captain was impaled.
Rumelihisar, view from the Bosphorus.
At the same time, the Sultan was preparing a fleet and an army in Thrace. In the fall of 1452, troops were drawn to Edirne. Gunsmiths throughout the empire worked tirelessly. Engineers built battering and stone throwing machines. Among the armourers at the Sultan's court was the Hungarian master Urban, who left the service with the Byzantine emperor, since he could not pay the necessary amount and provide all the materials necessary for the production of weapons of unprecedented power. When asked about the possibility of the destruction of the walls in Constantinople, Urban answered positively, although he admitted that he could not predict the range of fire. He cast several powerful guns. One of them had to be transported by 60 bulls, several hundred servants were assigned to it. The gun fired cannonballs weighing approximately 450-500 kg. The firing range was more than one and a half kilometers.
Illicit shipments of weapons, including guns, went to the Turks from Italy, including the Anconian merchant associations. In addition, the Sultan had the means to invite the best casting and mechanics from abroad. Mehmed himself was a good specialist in this field, especially in ballistics. The artillery was reinforced by stone-throwing and battering machines.
Mehmed II assembled a powerful shock fist from about 80 thousand regular troops: cavalry, infantry and the Janissary corps (about 12 thousand fighters). With irregular troops - militias, bashibuzuks (with Turkic "with a faulty head", "sick in the head", recruited among the mountain tribes of Asia Minor, in Albania, they were distinguished by extreme cruelty), volunteers, the number of the Ottoman army was over 100 thousand people. In addition, the army was accompanied by a large number of "travel agents", traders and merchants and other "fellow travelers". In the fleet under the command of Balta-oglu Suleiman-bey (Suleiman Baltoglu) there were 6 triremes, 10 birems, 15 galleys, about 75 fust (small high-speed vessels) and 20 heavy parandarium transports. Other sources report 350-400 ships of all types and sizes. The rowers and sailors in the Ottoman fleet were prisoners, criminals, slaves and part of the volunteers. At the end of March, the Turkish fleet passed through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmara, causing surprise and horror among the Byzantines and Italians. This was another miscalculation of the Byzantine elite, in Constantinople they did not expect that the Turks would prepare such a significant naval force and be able to block the city from the sea. The Turkish fleet was inferior to the Christian naval forces in the quality of crew training, the ships were worse in seaworthiness, combat qualities, but its forces were enough for the blockade of the city and the landing of troops. And to lift the blockade, significant naval forces were needed.
At the end of January 1453, the question of starting the war was finally resolved. The Sultan ordered the troops to occupy the remaining Byzantine settlements in Thrace. The cities on the Black Sea surrendered without a fight and escaped defeat. Some settlements on the run of the Sea of Marmara tried to resist and were pogromous. Part of the troops invaded the Peloponnese in order to distract the brothers of the emperor, the rulers of the Moray despotism, from the main theater of military operations. The ruler of Rumelia, Karadzha Pasha, put in order the work from Edirne to Constantinople.
Greeks
Constantine XI Palaeologus was a good manager and a skillful warrior, had a sound mind. He was respected by his subjects. All the short years of his reign - 1449-1453, he tried to improve the defenses of Constantinople, looking for allies. His closest assistant was the commander-in-chief of the fleet, Luca Notaras. In the face of an inevitable attack, the emperor was engaged in the delivery of food, wine, agricultural tools to the city. People from the nearest villages moved to Constantinople. During the years 1452-1453. Constantine sent ships to the Aegean Sea to purchase provisions and military equipment. Silver and jewels were taken from churches and monasteries to pay the salaries of the troops.
Monument to Constantine Palaeologus opposite the cathedral in Athens.
In general, mobilization was carried out in the city. All reserves were sought to improve defense capability. Throughout the winter, the townspeople, men and women, worked, cleared ditches, strengthened the walls. A contingency fund was established. The emperor, churches, monasteries and private individuals made contributions to it. I must say that the problem was not even the availability of money, but the lack of the required number of soldiers, weapons (especially firearms), the issue of supplying the city with food during the siege. They decided to collect all the weapons in one arsenal in order to allocate them to the most threatened areas if necessary.
Although the walls and towers were old, they represented a formidable force; with the proper number of soldiers, Constantinople was impregnable. However, the population decline made itself felt - Constantine was able to collect only about 7 thousand soldiers, including a certain number of mercenaries and allied volunteers. There were few cannons, moreover, the towers and walls did not have artillery sites, and when the guns were recoil, they destroyed their own fortifications. From the sea, the city was defended by a fleet of 26 ships: 10 Greek, 5 - Venetian, 5 - Genoese, 3 - from Crete, and one each from the cities of Ancona, Catalonia and Provence.
The huge Turkish fleet in the Sea of Marmara, the enemy fortress that cut off the city from the Black Sea, rumors of powerful Turkish artillery led to a decline in the morale of the townspeople. Many believed that only God and the Virgin Mary could save the city.
Possible allies
Constantine XI Palaeologus repeatedly turned to Christian rulers for help with persistent requests. In February 1552, the Venetian Senate promised to help with military ammunition, but otherwise limited itself to vague promises. Many Venetian senators considered Byzantium to be virtually dead and wrote it off. Suggestions were made to improve relations with the Ottomans.
The Christian powers "helped" more in word than in deed. A fragment of the former Byzantine empire - the Trebizond "empire" was busy with its own problems. In the 15th century, the Komnenos dynasty, which ruled Trebizond, completely degenerated. The "Empire" paid tribute to the Ottomans and was liquidated by them a few years after the fall of Constantinople. Almost the last province of the Byzantine Empire, the Moray despotate with its capital in the city of Mystras, was attacked by the Ottomans in the fall of 1552. Morea withstood the blow, but no help was needed from her. Small Latin enclaves in Greece also did not have the opportunity to help Constantinople due to their weakness. Serbia was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire and its military contingent participated in the siege of Constantinople. Hungary recently suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Ottomans and did not want to start a new campaign.
The Venetians, after the death of their ship in the strait, thought about how to protect the caravans coming from the Black Sea. In addition, in the Byzantine capital they owned a whole quarter, the Venetians had significant privileges and benefits from trade in Byzantium. The Venetian possessions in Greece and the Aegean were also under threat. On the other hand, Venice is bogged down in an expensive war in Lombardy. Genoa was an old rival enemy, and relations with Rome were strained. I did not want to fight the Ottomans alone. In addition, I did not want to seriously spoil relations with the Turks - Venetian merchants conducted profitable trade in Turkish ports. As a result, Venice only allowed the Byzantine emperor to recruit soldiers and sailors in Crete, but in general remained neutral during this war. In April 1453, Venice nevertheless decided to defend Constantinople. But the ships were assembled so slowly and with such delays that when the Venetian fleet gathered in the Aegean Sea, it was simply too late to come to the rescue. In Constantinople itself, the Venetian community, including visiting merchants, captains and ship crews, decided to defend the city. Not a single ship was supposed to leave the harbor. But at the end of February 1453, six captains ignored the instructions of the leader Girolamo Minotta and left, taking away 700 people.
The Genoese found themselves in about the same situation. Their concern was caused by the fate of Pera (Galata), a quarter belonging to Genoa on the other side of the Golden Horn and the Black Sea colonies. Genoa showed the same cunning as Venice. They pretended to help - the government appealed to the Christian world to send help to Byzantium, but itself remained neutral. Private citizens received the right to freedom of choice. The authorities of Pera and the island of Chios were instructed to adhere to such a policy towards the Ottomans as they deem most convenient in the current situation. Pera remained neutral. Only the Genoese condottiere Giovanni Giustiniani Longo provided assistance to Constantinople. He led two ships with 700 well-armed soldiers, 400 of whom were recruited in Genoa and 300 in Chios and Rhodes. This was the most numerous detachment that came to the aid of Constantinople. In the future, Giustiniani Longo will prove himself as the most active defender of the city, leading the ground forces.
In Rome, the critical situation of Constantinople was viewed as an excellent opportunity to persuade the Orthodox Church to union. Pope Nicholas V, having received a letter from the Byzantine ruler with consent to accept the union, sent messages about help to various sovereigns, but did not achieve a positive response. In the fall of 1452, a Roman legate, Cardinal Isidore, arrived in the Byzantine capital. He arrived at the Venetian gallery and brought with him 200 archers and soldiers with firearms hired in Naples and Chios. In Constantinople, it was considered that this was the vanguard of a large army, which would soon arrive and save the city. December 12, 1452 in the church of St. Sofia will host a solemn liturgy in the presence of the emperor and the entire court, the Florentine union was renewed. Most of the population received this news with gloomy passivity. It was hoped that if the city survived, then the union could be rejected. Others joined against the union, led by the monk Gennady. However, the Byzantine elite miscalculated - the fleet with the soldiers of Western countries did not come to the aid of the dying Christian power.
The Dubrovnik Republic (the city of Raguz or Dubrovnik) received confirmation of its privileges in Constantinople from the Byzantine Emperor Constantine. But the Raguzians also did not want to jeopardize their trade in Turkish ports. In addition, the Dubovnik fleet was small and they did not want to expose it to such a risk. The Raguzians agreed to act only as part of a broad coalition.
City defense system
The city was located on a peninsula formed by the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn. The city quarters facing the shores of the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn were protected by walls that were weaker than the fortifications that defended Constantinople from the land side. The wall with 11 towers on the shores of the Sea of Marmara was well protected by nature itself - the sea current here was strong, preventing the landing of troops, shoals and reefs could destroy ships. And the wall came close to the water, which worsened the capabilities of the enemy landing. The entrance to the Golden Horn was protected by a fleet and a powerful chain. In addition, the wall with 16 towers at the Golden Horn was strengthened by a moat dug in the coastal strip.
From the bay and the Vlaherna quarter, the northwestern suburb of the Byzantine capital, to the Studio area by the Sea of Marmara, powerful walls and a moat stretched. Blachernae somewhat protruded beyond the general line of the city walls and was covered by one line of walls. In addition, it was strengthened by the fortifications of the imperial palace. The Blachernae wall had two gates - the Caligaria and the Blakhernae. In the place where Blachernae connected with the wall of Theodosius, there was a secret passage - Kerkoport. The Theodosian walls were built in the 5th century during the reign of the emperor Theodosius II. The walls were double. There was a wide ditch in front of the wall - up to 18 m. A parapet ran along the inner side of the ditch; there was a gap of 12-15 meters between it and the outer wall. The outer wall was 6-8 meters high and chalked up to hundreds of square towers, set 50-100 meters apart. Behind it there was a passage 12-18 m wide. The inner wall was up to 12 m high and had 18-20 m square or octagonal towers. The lower tier of the towers could be adapted for a barracks or a warehouse. The towers of the inner wall were positioned so that they could fire at the gaps between the towers of the outer wall. In addition, there were separate fortifications in the city - walled quarters, palaces, estates, etc. The middle section of the wall in the valley of the Lykos River was considered the weakest point. Here the relief of the area decreased, and a river flowed into Constantinople through a pipe. This site was called Mesotikhion.
The location of the Greek troops
With a sufficient garrison, taking such a fortress at that time was very difficult. The problem was that the Byzantine emperor did not have sufficient forces to reliably defend such an extended system of fortifications. Konstantin did not even have the strength to reliably cover all the main directions of a possible enemy attack and create strategic and operational reserves. I had to choose the most dangerous place, and close the remaining directions with minimal forces (in fact, patrols).
Constantine XI Palaeologus and Giovanni Giustiniani Longo decided to focus on the defense of the outer walls. If the Ottomans had broken through the outer line of defense, there would have been no reserves for a counteroffensive or defense of the second line of fortifications. The main Greek forces, under the command of the emperor himself, defended Mesotichion. The direction was chosen correctly - it was here that the Turkish command struck the main blow. On the right wing of the imperial troops, the shock detachment of Giustiniani Longo was located - he defended the Charisian gate and the junction of the city wall with Blachernae, and with the strengthening of the enemy onslaught, he strengthened the forces of the emperor. This area remained to be defended by the Genoese, led by the Bocchiardi brothers (Paolo, Antonio and Troilo). A Venetian detachment under the command of Minotto defended Blachernae in the area of the imperial palace.
On the left flank of the emperor, the walls were guarded by: a detachment of Genoese volunteers led by Cattaneo; the Greeks, led by a relative of the emperor Theophilus Palaeologus; the section from Pigia to the Golden Gate - the connection of the Venetian Philippe Contarini; Golden Gate - Genoese Manuele; plot to the sea - the Greek detachment of Dimitri Kantakuzin. On the walls by the Sea of Marmara in the Studion area, the soldiers of Giacomo Contarini (Giacobo Contarini), then the monks, were on patrol. They were supposed to notify the command of the appearance of the enemy.
In the area of the harbor of Eleutheria, the warriors of Prince Orhan were located. At the hippodrome and the old imperial palace were the few Catalans Pedre Julia, in the Acropolis area - Cardinal Isidore. The fleet located in the bay was commanded by Alvizo Diedo (Diedo), some of the ships defended the chain at the entrance to the Golden Horn. The coast of the Golden Horn was guarded by Venetian and Genoese sailors led by Gabriele Trevisano. There were two reserve detachments in the city: the first with field artillery under the command of the first minister Luka Notaras was located in the Petra area; the second with Nicephorus Palaeologus - at the church of St. Apostles.
By stubborn defense, the Byzantines hoped to gain time. If the defenders managed to hold out for a long time, then there was a hope of getting help from the Hungarian army or Italian squadrons. The plan was correct, if not for the presence of powerful artillery among the Ottomans, capable of breaking through walls and a fleet, which made it possible to develop an offensive from all sides, including the Golden Horn.
The location of the Turkish troops and the beginning of the siege
On April 2, 1453, the advance detachments of the Ottoman army came to the city. The inhabitants of the city made a sortie. But as the enemy forces stayed, they pulled back the troops for the fortifications. All the bridges over the ditches were destroyed, the gates were blocked. A chain was pulled through the Golden Horn.
On April 5, the main forces of the Ottomans approached Constantinople; by April 6, the city was completely blocked. The Turkish sultan offered Constantine to surrender the city without a fight, promising to give him the Morey despotate, life-long immunity and material reward. Residents of the capital were promised inviolability and preservation of property. In case of refusal, death. The Greeks refused to give up. Constantine XI announced that he was ready to pay any tribute that Byzantium could collect and cede any territory except Constantinople. Mehmed began to prepare the army for the assault.
Photo of part of Panorama 1453 (Historical Museum Panorama 1453 in Turkey).
Part of the Ottoman army under the command of Zaganos Pasha was sent to the northern shore of the bay. The Ottomans blocked Peru. A pontoon bridge began to be built across the wetland at the end of the bay in order to be able to maneuver troops. The Genoese were guaranteed the inviolability of Peru if the inhabitants of the suburbs did not resist. Mehmed was not going to take Peru yet, so as not to quarrel with Genoa. The Turkish fleet was also based near Peru. He received the task of blocking the city from the sea, preventing the supply of reinforcements and provisions, as well as the flight of people from Constantinople itself. Baltoglu was supposed to break into the Golden Horn.
Regular units from the European part of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Karadzhi Pasha were stationed at Blachernae. Under the command of Karadzhi Pasha, there were heavy cannons, the batteries were supposed to destroy the junction of the wall of Theodosius with the fortifications of Blachernae. Sultan Mehmed with selected regiments and janissaries settled in the valley of Lykos. Urban's most powerful guns were also located here. On the right flank - from the southern bank of the Lykos River to the Sea of Marmara, there were regular troops from the Anatolian part of the empire under the command of Ishak Pasha and Mahmud Pasha. Behind the main forces in the second line, detachments of bashi-bazouks were located. To protect themselves from possible forays of the enemy, the Ottomans dug a moat along the entire front, erected a rampart with a palisade.
The Ottoman army had up to 70 guns in 15 batteries. Three batteries were set up at Blachernae, two at the Charisian gate, four at the gate of St. Romana, three - Pigian Gate, two more, apparently, at the Golden Gate. The most powerful cannon hit half a ton with cannonballs, the second-most powerful cannon - with a projectile of 360 kg, the rest - from 230 to 90 kg.
The Dardanelles Cannon is an analogue of the Basilica.
Mehmed might not have stormed the city at all. Constantinople, blocked on all sides, would have held out for no more than six months. The Ottomans more than once took heavily fortified cities, deprived of the supply of food and aid from outside, the fortresses sooner or later surrendered. However, the Turkish sultan wanted a brilliant victory. He wished to immortalize his name for centuries, therefore, on April 6, artillery shelling of the city began. Powerful Turkish guns immediately damaged the walls in the area of the Charisian Gate, and on April 7, a gap appeared. On the same day, the Ottomans launched the first attack. The mass of armed volunteers and irregulars were poorly dispatched to the attack. But they met skillful and stubborn resistance and were rather easily driven back.
The defenders of the city closed up the breach at night. The sultan ordered to fill up the moat, put more cannons and concentrate troops in this place, so that they can be thrown into the assault when the guns break through again. At the same time, they began to prepare a tunnel. On April 9, Turkish ships tried to enter the Golden Horn, but were thrown back. On April 12, the Turkish fleet attempted a second time to break into the gulf. The Byzantine fleet launched a counterattack, trying to cut off and destroy the Turkish vanguard. Baltoglu took the ships away.
Part of the army was sent to capture the Byzantine forts. The Therapia castle on a hill near the Bosphorus lasted for two days. Then its walls were destroyed by Turkish artillery, most of the garrison was killed. The smaller fort at Studios, on the shores of the Sea of Marmara, was destroyed in a few hours. The surviving defenders were impaled in full view of the city.
In the early days, the Greeks made several sorties. But then the commander Giustiniani Longo decided that the benefits of such attacks were less than the harm (there were not enough people anyway) and ordered to withdraw people from the first line of defense (parapet on the inner side of the moat) to the outer wall.
The Turkish command concentrated heavy guns in the Lykos valley and on April 12 began bombing a section of the wall. Among the guns was such a giant as Basilica - this cannon fired half a ton of cannonballs. True, due to the complexity of maintenance, the gun fired no more than 7 times a day. The basilica had tremendous destructive power. In order to somehow weaken its effect on the walls, the Greeks hung pieces of leather, bags of wool on the walls, but there was little benefit from this. Within a week, Turkish artillery completely destroyed the outer wall above the riverbed. The Turks fell asleep in the moat. The Greeks at night tried to close up the breach with the help of barrels filled with earth, stones, and logs. On the night of April 17-18, Turkish troops launched an assault on the breach. Ahead was light infantry - archers, javelin throwers, followed by heavy infantry, janissaries. The Ottomans carried torches with them in order to set fire to wooden barriers, hooks for pulling logs and assault ladders. The Turkish soldiers in a narrow gap did not have a numerical advantage, moreover, the superiority of the Greeks in protective weapons was affected. After four hours of fierce fighting, the Ottomans rolled back.
