Transcript: "The Siege Continues April 19- May 15, 1453" The Conquest of Constantinople, Part 4

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Transcript: Episode 25, part 4 "The Siege Continues April 19-May 15, 1453" The Conquest of Constantinople  

“Welcome to Empires Podcast the Ottomans. I am Frank, your host. I am proud to announce that Empires Podcast the Ottomans now has an official Patreon page.

There are two tiers, Janissary Recruit, which is just $3 a month, and Grand Visor, which is $8 a month. Each tier comes with its own particular perks. However, all tiers will get early access to Empires Podcast the Ottomans Main Narrative, which I plan to keep it free.

But if you join the Patreon, you can get it a couple of days ahead of everybody else. Moving forward, the podcast will be releasing extra episodes exclusively on the Patreon. Generous listeners have chipped in Empires Podcast the Ottomans.

There is an Amazon book wish list. And I plan on creating some really exciting episodes from this new material. You don't want to miss out.

So now is the time to join Empires Podcast the Ottomans Patreon account. You can find a link to supporting Empires Podcast the Ottomans on Patreon in the show notes.

“Before we jump in, I'd like to give a very quick shout out to Lori over at Her Half History Podcast. I have been a long time follower of Lori on X, formerly of Twitter fame, and on Instagram. I also subscribed to Her Half History Podcast on Apple.

Lori was gracious enough to agree to go on my website and author an article on a topic covering women in the Ottoman Empire. That article is still in the works, but in the meantime, I wanted to introduce my listeners to her show. So here is Lori in her own words.

History is the greatest adventure story, but does it ever leave you wondering what the women were doing all that time? This is Lori from the Her Half History Podcast, and the answer is that some women were seizing power or escaping slavery or spying for their country or creating artistic masterpieces while countless others were doing the laundry, getting married and wondering why their clothes don't have more pockets. If you would like to hear the stories of women doing all of those things, check out Her Half of History at herhalfofhistory.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

“And now let's join the young Sultan Mehmed II. Outside the walls of Constantinople.

The Siege Continues April 19 through May 15th, 1453, The Conquest of Constantinople, Part 4, Episode 25. Since we are already three parts deep, and now four parts deep, into The Conquest of Constantinople, I figured it would be good if we did a very brief recap. Previously, in Part 1 of Episode 25, we went over the bird's eye view of Byzantine and Ottoman strategic positioning.

“We discussed the Fortress of Doom, which was erected on the European side of the Bosporus, and afforded the Ottomans increased control of the ships passing in and around the Straits, which were sailing to and from the Black Sea region. In Part 1, we detailed some of the Byzantine's desperate political wrangling to gain European support. If you recall, not much was forthcoming except a few supplies and very limited promises.

On the Ottoman side, Mehmed was making sure the odds and ends around his empire were secured. In Part 2, Episode 25, I covered the Ottoman and Byzantine military postures themselves, what units they had available, specific commanders, and the strategies of each side. Most notable in Part 2 was the arrival of the legendary Genoese commander Giovanni and his 700 professional men.

“Giovanni was made tactical commander of overall Byzantine forces. In this episode, I also cover the Ottoman army, which showed up outside the walls of the ancient city. In Part 3, we see the Ottoman military arriving outside the walls of Constantinople on April 2, 1453.

The Turkish vanguard begin building siege works around the walls. Mehmed arrived on April 6 with his heavy cannons, his Janissaries, and screening Sapahi horsemen. April 12-18 saw Constantinople suffer heavy bombardment by the Ottoman cannons, and the defenders repulsed two major ground attacks by the enemy.

“There was also a big naval engagement, which saw the humiliation of the Ottoman naval commander and admiral, Baltoglu, hint hint, things aren't going to go so well for our admiral, after this point in part 4. All of this brings us up to week's episode 25, part 4, day 14 of the siege. In the early morning hours of April 20, Sultan Mehmed was pacing around in his tent anxiously.

By now he had enjoyed a first row seat to five major Ottoman assaults. Three by land and two by sea. And these were utterly and dismal failures.

“What's more, it wasn't just Mehmed who witnessed these failings. His men too, from the highest officers and sons of the leading families of the Ottoman establishment, to the lowliest of the low, private and laborer. Everyone was working hard and deferred to the Sultan's presence, yet a spark was missing from their eyes.

During these days of warfare back then, things would generally get quiet at night, unlike today's hellish modern warfare of infrared night vision and heat-seeking missiles. The soldiers of both sides would set up watches, and the rest would gather around the fire to discuss the day's events, share the trauma, and generally stare into the fire and wonder about their futures. On the Ottoman side, the men began to share tales of the incredible legacy of the defense of Constantinople.

“How many armies had tried to make a run for the city and yet failed? How many commanders ended up beheaded? Or the bodies of the attackers filling up the ditches in front of the Theodosian walls?

Pretty soon morale was beginning to wane, and it wasn't something Mehmed could simply whip up a few malcontents into submission. So he sent his loyal servant and mentor, the redoubtable Aksum Sedim, of which I released an extra episode, the last of the free extras I might add, link in the show notes. Aksum Sedim was a visionary mystic and traveled amongst the Ottoman rank and file.

“And he wasn't shy about mixing it up, with both high society and the regular conscripts. He shared myths of the legendary Muslim ruler, who was said to take Constantinople one day. The dreams and portents all pointed to Mehmed, he assured the men.

He was to be this conqueror. Pretty soon, if not restored, morale was stabilized amongst the Ottoman ranks. It would reach Mehmed that a contingent of Christian vessels were approaching from the south of Constantinople and were loaded with provisions.

He therefore ordered his naval commander, Admiral Baltoglu, to stop them. Baltoglu already had been berated and narrowly avoided execution by Mehmed for failing to force the Golden Horn a few days before, back in part three. And, he saw this as his moment to shine and redeem himself.

“Poor dude! He sailed out with fire in his belly and fought like a demon against the Christian ships. However, the four vessels pummeled the Ottoman squadron sent against them.

Baltoglu lost an eye in the battle and nearly died. However, Mehmed wasn't having it. To the cheers of the Byzantines, the ships sailed in and deposited their much-needed provisions.

Mehmed ordered the Admiral dragged, literally, before him. He publicly stripped the Admiral of his clothes and, with him naked, had him flogged a hundred times. He then divested Baltoglu of all his offices and titles, and ordered that his private estates and money be divided up amongst his janissaries.

Surveying the scene around him, Mehmed consulted then with his engineers. He decided upon an idea that would go down in the military history books. First, the situation.

“The Ottomans' main problem at this point was that despite the fortress of Doom, despite their superiority in numbers in terms of naval squadrons and vessels, the Christians were simply outgunning them, literally in firepower, and outmaneuvering their vessels. In short, the Ottomans had the cash to build an impressive navy on paper, however, it was looking more and more like that paper was something of a flammable tiger. The Christian powers had been naval powers for centuries by this point, and their captains and crews were manning some of the most technological sophisticated warships of their time.

This meant the Ottomans couldn't cut Constantinople off 100% from supplies and reinforcements. And as a matter of fact, throughout this siege and until the city finally fell, ships would be coming and going through the Golden Horn. And if you are besieging a gigantic target like Constantinople, this simply can't be allowed to stand.

“You can pull up maps yourself of Istanbul and see what I'm talking about. But the Horn of the Great City contained a massive harbor in which it was cut off by a giant chain. If the Sultan could get his vessels inside this harbor, he could a.

Cut off the city of reinforcements and resupplies. Flank the walls of the city and force its defenders to spread out even more thinly than they already were. The Ottoman Navy tried to forcibly overpower the Christian vessels and cross over the chain.

As we have covered in part two and part three, this failed miserably. So the thinking went amongst Mehmed's camp. What if the Ottomans, well, simply moved their vessels up and over the horn to the northern side and slid their warships into the harbor?

“This would have three main advantages. First, they could avoid the massive Christian navies outside the horn. Second, if the Christian vessels entered the harbor, they'd come under heavy bombardment by the Ottoman cannons, and they wouldn't be able to maneuver, thus nullifying their advantages.

Third, if the Ottomans were successful, it would hand them a strategic advantage without a costly tactical battle. Thus, on April 21, Azov infantry, laborers, and general conscripts got super duper busy. Upon the walls of Constantinople, Emperor Constantine and Giovanni looked down with curiosity and then terror as they realized what the Ottomans were up to.

Logs were being rolled in from the Ottoman camp, greased up, while the sailors and men physically dragged the vessels out of the Bosporus to the east of Constantinople and then used the logs as rollers to push the warships up over the northern landmass. The distance covered, I estimate, by staring at these maps all night seems to be four or five miles. I'm not quite sure, but the Byzantines knew it was only a matter of time before the Ottomans slid these vessels into the western part of the harbor.

“Murmurs and cries went up from the defenders on the wall, but already the Greeks began to plan their counteroffensive to this new development. In the Ottoman camp, its masterful engineers quickly reconstructed a special road to hurry the ships along in addition to the wooden rails. Massive oxen were pulling the ships with hundreds of rope.

This road of wooden planks, rails, pulleys, oxen and men and ships extended from Dolmabahçe to the ridge up near the cemetery of Pera. Meanwhile on the western end, the end facing the Byzantine's harbor, the Ottomans built defensive positions and moved their massive cannons around where their warships were to be dropped in. The Ottomans were anticipating a Greek counterattack and they decided to make sure that their fleet, which would be the most vulnerable as they slid them into the water, were going to be well protected from the terrible and legendary fire boats of the Greeks.

“By April 22, under the watchful eye of Mehmed, the Ottomans had landed a full squadron in the harbor. The ships were spread out in a diamond defensive formation position and protected on their flanks and in the front by the gun emplacements along the shoreline. On the night of April 25, Emperor Constantine sent out several Greek fire boats meant to ram into the Ottomans and set the whole party on fire.

Throughout the night, both sides battled and skirmished, but the Greeks were beaten back with heavy losses, and the Ottoman warships floated with no damages whatsoever. On April 26, Emperor Constantine had to fight failing morale as the Venetians and Genoese angrily accused the other for failing to sink this Ottoman fleet. He had to intervene personally and separate both parties.

“This wouldn't bode very well on the night of the final Ottoman attack. I'll not give a blow by blow account, but the Ottomans during this entire time they were moving the fleet were also digging their ditches and extending their defensive positions ever closer to the central wall of the city. They decided on a shift of strategy with their cannons as well and were focusing their heavy bombardment on the central wall.

They would also launch, and I couldn't get a lot of details on this, but it seems like a limited ground attack that was repulsed with heavy losses. By May 1, Constantinople was almost, I'd say about 80% cut off by sea and 100% cut off by land. The Venetian and Genoese defenders were urging the emperor to flee the city while he still could.

“The idea seemed to be the emperor Constantine could retreat to either Genoese or Venetian territory in somehow, some way the Byzantine Empire or at least its legacy could carry on. However, Constantine, ever conscious of the history, weight and legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire, refused to leave his city. May 7 saw the redoubtable Giovanni fighting back an Ottoman push against the central wall, which was breaking apart.

During the fight, an Ottoman Janissary named Moreau pinned Giovanni against the wall, severely wounding him. Giovanni would have died at the hands of the Janissary had not a brave Greek jumped down and saved him. Thus wounded, Giovanni had to be taken out of the fight for a few days.

It is said, however, that his wound may not have been as severe as some said, and he might have been building it up as an excuse for him to flee the city just when the time was right. At any rate, Giovanni was a different man after that bloody encounter with the Janissary. On May 12, an Ottoman probing attack actually breached the walls.

“However, luckily for the Byzantines, this Ottoman force seemed as surprised by this development as the Greeks. The force was pushed out with heavy losses on both sides. By May 15, both Mehmed and Constantine seemed ready to step back and take a breather.

It is rumored that diplomatic messages were sent between each respective ruler's minions. Both sides offered, again, there is no hard proof of this, but it wouldn't surprise me if this did happen. But, it is said both sides offered generous terms if the other party would give up.

The Emperor of the Byzantines offered insanely generous terms to the Ottomans, whereby the city would become a virtual vassal of the Ottoman state forever. On Mehmed's side, he also offered some generous terms as well. The Byzantine Empire would be allowed to go on, but it would be confined to the palace grounds.

“Looking back on this now and doing the research, I think that what Mehmed may have had in mind is something like the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, which is still around today in the Greek Orthodox Church. And it seemed to think that, hey, we could keep an Emperor of the Romans around, but you're basically going to be in this building and that's it. At the end of the small talk, both of the rulers refused to budge from their ultimate goals.

And that brings us to the end of part four. Thank you so much for joining me. If you enjoy Empires Podcast the Ottomans, please consider becoming a Patreon.

There is a link in the show notes. And if joining a Patreon is not your thing, but you'd still like to support the show, I have an Amazon book wish list. All of these are Ottoman Empire books.

You can get a shout out on the show if you make a purchase. Just email me. If a shout out is not your thing and I don't hear from you, but a book shows up, I will give the book a shout out.

Thank you so much.”

🇹🇷Empires Podcast the Ottomans 🇹🇷

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