Battles & Wars › Gunpowder empires › Fall of Constantinople
Mehmed II the Conqueror
1432–1481· Person· Europe
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The Ottoman sultan who captured Constantinople at age 21 and made it his capital, Istanbul.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Mehmed ruled briefly as a boy, then again from 1451. He prepared the siege of Constantinople carefully: a new fortress on the Bosporus, giant cannon, a fleet and an overland portage of ships. After the conquest he repopulated the city, installed a new Orthodox patriarch and built Topkapı Palace. Later campaigns took Serbia, Bosnia and the last Byzantine remnants and made the Crimean Khanate a vassal, but he failed at Belgrade (1456) and Rhodes (1480).
Why it matters
He turned the Ottoman state into an empire spanning Europe and Asia, with Istanbul as its capital until 1922.
Legacy and how we know
A biography by the Greek official Kritoboulos, Ottoman chronicles, Venetian reports, and Gentile Bellini's 1480 portrait in London's National Gallery. He is honored in Turkey as Fatih, 'the Conqueror'.
Still debated
Whether his sudden death in 1481 was natural or poison, and the target of his final campaign, remain uncertain.
Connections (4)
▸Mehmed II the Conqueror commanded the Ottomans at Fall of ConstantinopleWell documented
The connection
Mehmed II prepared for over a year. He built the Rumeli Hisarı fortress in 1452 to close the Bosporus, hired Orban to cast giant guns, and gathered a large army and fleet. When a chain blocked the Golden Horn harbor, he had about 70 ships dragged overland on greased rollers into it. On May 29 he ordered the final assault.
When and how
Constantinople, spring 1453; Mehmed, aged 21, and commanders such as Zaganos Pasha, against Constantine XI and the Genoese captain Giovanni Giustiniani.
How we know
Kritoboulos, a Greek who served Mehmed, wrote his biography, and Byzantine and Venetian eyewitnesses describe his orders, including the overland move of ships.
Debates and open questions
The route and number of ships moved overland differ between sources, as does how close Mehmed came to calling off the siege.
▸Mehmed II the Conqueror used huge bombards made possible by Gunpowder and cannonWell documented
The connection
Mehmed saw that cannon could beat land walls no army had broken in a thousand years. He paid Orban well, had huge guns cast for the siege, and founded a state gun foundry tradition the Ottomans kept for centuries. A giant bronze bombard cast for him in 1464 guarded the Dardanelles and still fired on a British fleet in 1807.
When and how
Edirne and Constantinople, 1452–53; the founder Orban; later the Ottoman cannon works (Tophane) in Istanbul, founded under Mehmed.
How we know
Byzantine and Ottoman accounts describe Orban's hiring; the 1464 Dardanelles Gun, inscribed with Mehmed's name, is now at the Royal Armouries' Fort Nelson in England.
Debates and open questions
How much Ottoman gunnery relied on hired European experts like Orban, rather than its own craftsmen, is debated.
▸Mehmed II the Conqueror commissioned Orban's great Bombards: giant siege gunsWell documented
The connection
Mehmed II prepared the siege like a major construction project. He hired Orban at a high wage, paid for the bronze, and asked for a gun big enough to breach Constantinople's walls. He reportedly took personal interest in the casting and the test firing at Edirne in early 1453.
When and how
Edirne (Adrianople), the Ottoman capital, winter 1452–53; test-fired before being hauled toward Constantinople.
How we know
Doukas and Kritovoulos, writing within a few decades, describe Mehmed's orders and the test firing.
Debates and open questions
Kritovoulos flattered Mehmed, so the sultan's personal role may be exaggerated, and the gun's specifications vary by source.
▸Orban and the Ottoman cannon foundries worked, after Byzantium could not pay, for Mehmed II the ConquerorWell documented
The connection
According to Doukas, Orban first offered his services to Emperor Constantine XI, who could not pay even his modest salary. Orban went to Mehmed II, who offered about four times as much and asked whether he could make a gun to breach Constantinople's walls. Orban said he could.
When and how
Constantinople and Edirne, 1452; Orban, Constantine XI and Mehmed II.
How we know
Doukas, a Byzantine historian writing soon after 1453, tells the story, and other accounts confirm Orban's work for Mehmed.
Debates and open questions
The pay story may be shaped to stress Byzantine poverty, and Orban's nationality and earlier career are not known for certain.