Conquest of Constantinople

The conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II was one of the most momentous events of the 15th century and the realisation of a promise attributed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: 'Constantinople will certainly be conquered. How excellent the commander who will conquer it, and how excellent his army!' (Ahmad). Mehmed II, aged 21, assembled the largest cannon and naval force the Ottomans had ever fielded. He had massive bombards cast that could fire stone balls weighing hundreds of kilograms. The Byzantine garrison of approximately 7,000, including Genoese and Venetian auxiliaries, defended the Theodosian Walls against an Ottoman army of 60,000 to 80,000. After 53 days of siege and bombardment, the walls were breached. Emperor Constantine XI died fighting. Mehmed entered the city and converted the Hagia Sophia — then a church — into a mosque. His conquest ended the Byzantine Empire after over a millennium, shifting the centre of power and marking, for many historians, the transition from medieval to early modern history.