TRANSCRIPT Podcast: "And Europe Wept" May 29, 1453: Conquest of Constantinople, Part 5

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This Transcript was taken from Apple Podcasts- The Ottoman Empire Podcast, by Frank.  Check out the source here: ➡️And Europe Wept Source Transcript⬅️

“Hello, I'm Frank, the creator and host of Empires Podcast the Ottomans. You can support Empires Podcast the Ottomans by checking out my show's Patreon page. There are currently two tiers.

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“And Europe Wept, May 29th, 1453, Conquest of Constantinople, Part 5. First, if you're just arriving to Empires Podcast the Ottomans, or trying to get caught up, I really encourage you to hit the pause button, scroll on down to Conquest of Constantinople, Episode 25, and begin with Part 1. This episode today is a final part of a five-part series on the fall of the Queen of Cities, and I want you to enjoy your listening experience without feeling left out as far as the details.

And now, gang, finally we've arrived. I plan on doing a Strategic Consequences of Constantinople's Conquest in Episode 26. In that future episode, I'll make sure and frame the conquest as best I can in terms of both myth, the diplomatic, military and cultural impact it had on Europe, and how the Queen of Cities slipped away into the abode of Islam, an event that would reverberate throughout time down to our own present day.

“In today's episode, however, we're going to be picking up with Mehmed II and Constantine XI on May 15th, 1453. The siege of Constantinople in 1453 was the final, best and most ruthless assault against the city in its history. For the defenders hunkered down behind the Theodosian Walls, turrets and forts, they were experiencing four really big problems.

First, was the fact the Turks, despite flashy tactical moves military history buffs remember, such as the naval crossing over land, we covered in part four, or the construction of a massive siege tower fit for a Lord of the Rings movie. The Ottomans were beating the defenders with simple tactics. The sappers and ditch diggers had been working diligently from April the 6th up till the present, extending Ottoman fortifications all the way up right under the walls of the defenders.

“The massive moat in front of the central Theodosian Wall had been filled up with rocks, dirt, logs and other material so that a frontal landed assault on foot with ladders could have at least a chance of success. All these efforts occurred under constant heavy bombardment from the Ottoman cannons. Sometimes, in military history, it's not the bling but the basics which count.

Second, the defenders from April 6 till middle of May weren't under a direct solid unified chain of command. Emperor Constantine XI was constantly hoarding between over twenty different groups trying to keep the peace. The Catholics, the Orthodox, all these groups who didn't see other Orthodox, other Catholics and so on and so forth as really fellow Christians and defenders.

“Many of these groups had been motivated by gold, some by religion, and still some were just seeking plain old glory. Whatever their original motivations, by May 15, most of them were fed up and were looking to skip house. When they weren't fighting the Ottomans, they were bickering, arguing and backstabbing amongst themselves.

And so, as I said, Constantine was fighting two battles, one up on the walls and one behind the walls amongst his own people. The third situation in the city was the lack of food. By this point, the citizens were eating rats, cats and dogs, and most of the horses had already been slaughtered and devoured.

“They still managed some fish from the harbor, but malnutrition was beginning to take its toll. This, as you can imagine, led to a cascading effect of weakened immune systems and disease was breaking out in the poor sectors of the city. Fourth, as the siege dragged on and on and on, when it became obvious that help from the rest of Europe was not going to show up, a lot of the top noblemen, commanders and mercenary units and leaders began to hedge their bets in case of an Ottoman victory.

For the leading citizens of Constantinople, this meant hoarding supplies in their own private turrets and little forts which dotted the interior of the city. They held back even soldiers, for if the Turks did break through, they had no illusions about the suffering which would befall everyone. I'll go into detail on these leading citizens and their attempts at hedging their bets in the next episode.

“But for now, let us suffice to say that Emperor Constantine, when he needed every able-bodied sword and lance up on the walls, he had to contend with dukes, grand dukes and court officials beginning to hole up in their forts and palaces at a crucial time. Another contention of Constantine, and really this should be a fifth problem for the Byzantines, was that of myths, stories and prophecies. I plan on doing a Patreon special extra episode, so you'll want to head on over to Empires Podcast's Ottoman Patreon and sign up in the future, but let's just say that there was a prophecy floating around about the full moon being eclipsed into the Crescent of Islam, a holy icon falling during a procession, an eerie cloud of darkness yet strangely illuminated from within, draping the city.

“These rumors and prophecies spelled out a terrible demise for the Queen of Cities, and one in which Constantine was continually running around trying to put the fires out. Let's talk really quick about the number of defenders and their distribution. For most of the Conquest series, I've been relying upon the work entitled, quote, The Siege and Fall of Constantinople in 1453, end quote, by Marios Filippides and Walter Hanuk, a truly great tome chock full of primary source material, and which belongs on the bookshelf of every Ottoman history buff.

It looks like the defenders behind the wall, actual men and women, with weapons numbered around some 4,000 to 4,500 at this point. They were thinly spread, with some turrets on the north and south end of the walls, manned by just one guy. When the Ottomans slipped their naval squadrons up and over the horn and into the harbor, the Byzantines had been forced to peel off about 500 soldiers to defend the sea walls.

“Emperor Constantine and his ever-present Giovanni took the majority of the soldiers and manned the central wall with his massive fortress, as any breakthrough would come in this sector of the wall.

In the Ottoman camp, the varied rise and fall of the fortunes of war weren't too kind to the young sultan. Mehmed II must have been extremely anxious. It was now over a month into the siege, and supplies were running low.

His logistic operations had to travel ever more widely in order to supply his army with fresh water and food. Even though the Ottoman camp was an example of cleanliness and order, exemplified by the burning of corpses, disposal of human waste, and fresh water and medical centers, this still was after all the fifteenth century, and the terrible specter of disease and plague was ever present. Plus, you had good old Halil and his old guard, who were now openly questioning the wisdom of Mehmed and his enterprise.

“Halil once more allied himself with the leading families of Anatolia. Things were looking dicey. If Mehmed failed to take the city, then he'd be lucky to keep his life after relinquishing the throne.

Halil had been in near constant contact with his Eastern Roman counterpart throughout the entire siege, and may have, according to rumor, been passing the enemy intelligence on Ottoman attacks. They also brought up in meetings that the longer the siege went on, the more likely Europe was to intervene, an attack while the Ottomans were distracted. The ever-present and terrible probability that John Hunyadi might gather up an army and ride south and proceed to roll up the Balkan portion of the Ottoman Empire, called Rumelia in Turkish, was a constant fear.

Mehmed, allied with his firebrand and now commander of the Janissaries, Zarganos, wanted to continue the siege. As a middle ground between the Warhawks and the Old Guard, Mehmed and Halil decided to offer a formal terms of peace to Constantinople. And so on May 22nd, they dispatched a message with those terms.

“The terms which I won't get into here were, let's just say, insulting. And Constantine had already resolved himself to die in the city, and he rejected it. This move, though, strengthened the hand of the Warhawks led by Zarganos, and they urged Mehmed to make one last and final push, a massive zerg rush against the city, losses be damned.

On May 26th, summoning his top officers and generals, Mehmed indicated his intentions of a full frontal assault on the city. He announced one final push, and however this time, the Ottomans would be going in full swing. Halil couldn't do anything to stop a direct attack, and an open order by the Sultan.

“However, should the attack fail, he was already lining up the dominoes to make sure Mehmed could be sidelined until a suitable replacement be found. In the early morning hours of May 27th, the rank and file of the Azabs, laborers, mercenaries and Sa'pi, and various other units were peeled away from the entrenchments and positions, formed a giant semi-circle around Mehmed, who was speaking from a raised platform. The Sultan didn't mince words.

He shouted that what awaited the first soldier to cross over the Theodosian wall was either the riches of this world or eternal martyrdom in heaven. For the cowards who attempted to flee the battlefield, well, what awaited them would be torture and long agonizing death at the hands of his janissaries. As the early morning air chilled, the giant cannons opened up with a massive bombardment and would continue for over a day.

“Up on top of the central walls, the redoubtable Giovanni had been inspecting the defenders with his men when a cannonball nearly ended his life. Within the city the citizens ran for cover as some of the cannonballs overshot their target and landed within. Priests began to lead processions up and down the narrow roadways and sprinkled everyone with holy water.

Giovanni, now recovered from the concussion of his early encounter of the cannonade, gave a speech to his men about martyrdom and eternal glory. At the great Hagia Sophia Cathedral, the greatest of all Eastern Orthodox churches, for the first time ever a joint mass between Catholics and Orthodox was held, a huge ironic twist between the East and West Schism within Christianity. After the service, Giovanni, the other top commanders of their units and the Emperor, met for what would be the last war council.

“The spies, ever constantly exchanging information between both Ottoman and Eastern Roman camps, reported that Mehmed was gearing up to make one final assault. Constantine must have known that if he could just hold out against this assault, he'd have a chance at outlasting the Ottomans. And then the assault, the most furious one sure, ever witnessed by the Eastern Romans, could simply go down as another failed attempt at taking Constantinople.

Oh boy, how the gods of fate are worse when they give us hope, it seems. As such, the Emperor resolved to put the cream of the defenders, some two thousand of them, up in the central Theodosian Walls. The walls were doubled, you had one wall facing the enemy, and then a second wall right behind it.

In the center of this wall was the massive fortress called Peribolas. It was here that Constantine and Giovanni would make their final stand. Constantine ordered the soldiers brought in, and the gates leading out of the second wall and into the city were shut and locked.

“Here everyone was going to make their stand, and everyone would die if necessary. One a.m. May 29. Constantine and Giovanni stood shoulder to shoulder looking out at the Ottoman camps.

The bombardments had ceased a few hours earlier. Spread out before them for miles and miles was the Ottoman camp. Thousands and thousands of campfires, lamps and candles lit up the darkness like a dragon bleeding from a million stab wounds.

Suddenly the dull humdrum of the Ottoman camp was replaced by utter silence. Not even the baying of horses could be heard. Then the lights of the enemy camp were suddenly snuffed out all at once.

“A blanket of utter silence and blackness covered over the Ottoman positions. All around the ramparts the last remnant of the Eastern Roman Empire defenders murmured and worried. Rushing into the void of darkness and silence, the Ottoman side shot to life with blared music of cymbals, trumpets and yelling as the professional marching bands of the Janissaries and other units blared out a din of terror.

Thousands of axoms and several ranks with ladders, lances and axes came barreling out of the darkness and charging over the now filled up moat in front of the central wall. A cloud of arrows covered their advance as the Greeks poured glowing hot fire down on top of the axoms as they clambered up their ladders. For the next hour and a half, the Azabs attacked in wave after wave of human Zurich attacks.

“The Italian-German contingents, trapped with nowhere to flee on top of the walls, fired volleys of musket fire down into the attackers, terribly cutting down their ranks. After about forty-five minutes, the momentum of the axoms waned and their numbers were thinning out. All across the foot of the Theodosian central wall lay pals of wounded and dead and dying Azov foot soldiers.

Their cries and carnage at last moved Mehmed, who around 2:30 a.m. ordered the Azov chards to stop. Behind the Azov, the dismounted Sapahi and the brutal disciplinary sergeants allowed the beaten and badly wounded Azov to finally fall back. Ottoman martial bands played a different drum cadence, which indicated the order to form up the dismounted Sapahi and the Anatolian soldiers.

“Accompanying these units were the various soldiers of fortune, conscripts, and other irregular militias. The Anatolian troops especially were better armed and trained than their comrades, the regular Azovs. With the shouts and cries of the Ottomans, and all under the steady drum beat and trumpets of the marching bands, these units attacked.

The scene on the central, northern, and southern walls was one of utter carnage, human suffering, and utter nightmare as the defenders fought back this massive assault. The defenders couldn't prevent several ladders from taking hold, and terrible hand-to-hand fighting occurred on the tops of the embattlements. Many accounts of the fall of Constantinople give stories of the Turks breaching here and there into the city, only for these units to become isolated, cut off, and destroyed.

“Either way, by dawn the defenders, hungry, exhausted, wounded, had pushed back two incredible Ottoman assaults. Back up in Mehmed's camp, as the early morning dew was resting upon the tents, things were getting desperate. So egregious the losses among the Azabs that their leaders, some of the more prominent men of the Empire, who relied upon the labor of the Azabs in peacetime to work their estates, raise their crops, harvest the crops for food, were calculating that if the city didn't fall and they couldn't make up their losses by profiting off the slaves and treasures of the Eastern Romans, they might just have to do something about the butcher Mehmed.

Halil, as you can imagine, was stirring the pot with this group, and he began immediately urging peace and for the Sultan to withdraw. No doubt he had already sent word to his counterparts in Edrine, the same place so many years before Mehmed had been deposed. However, Zagaons, Akshim Sedin, all counseled the Sultan that he was being tested by God.

“All he needed to do was put his own self on the line at this point, along with his Janissaries. Ah yes, the Janissaries. Where were these legendary elite shock troops of the Ottoman Empire doing?

Just sitting around twirling their thumbs? Well, kinda.

On the battlefield, the Janissaries served the same role the Imperial Guard would under Napoleon, that of a strategic reserve, depository of military technical expertise, and maintaining the strong arm of its leader when times were getting tough. In fact, they were the only things standing between Sultan Mehmed II and Halil with his old guard, now that these major Ottoman assaults had failed with heavy losses. The Janissaries to a man, along with their commanders, demanded to be thrown into the attack so they could make a crack at the city.

From Mehmed's standpoint, he realized his standing was utter shit from the Anatolian and leaders of the Azabs. Their losses with nothing to gain meant that his Janissaries were the only force that was going to keep him in power. So, for better or worse, his destiny and that of the Janissaries were tied together.

“However, if he took the city, then all would be forgiven for such a great victory. At any rate, Zagaons and a particularly gritty and hard-as-boiled eggs Janissary commander, Kara-Ju, outright threatened Halil and his supporters openly in the war council. Halil stepped aside, and the Sultan announced his Janissaries would have a crack at the city.

His troops were fresh, well-fed. The ranks of the Janissary regiments called Orta's lined up. About 70% of their number were made up from the Derv-Sherme, or boy tribute, whereby Christian nations were made to offer up hundreds, or in some cases thousands, of healthy and intelligent boys aged 8 to 18 for service in the Ottoman Empire.

“These young kids cut off from family and religion were enrolled in the palace schools or training center of the Janissaries. This would be a good moment for me to stop and just kind of add really quick that if you join the Patreon, Empires Podcast the Ottomans, I will be giving an entire series on the Janissaries. No, it's not going to be me just boringly recounting facts and figures.

I plan on crafting a common narrative and really a story about these famed regiments. So, you want to hit the pause button, scroll on down to the show notes and click the Patreon link. Thank you.

And now, let's get back to it. They now staffed Mehmed's war councils and filled the ranks of the Janissaries. Training from literally childhood, these Janissaries were proficient in the Turkish language, basic tenets of Islam, and more importantly, war tactics.

“Both interpersonal fighting, with the Janissaries' famed double-curved blade, battle axes and archery. The Janissaries would form up in teams of threes, and could fight in larger units. So tight their discipline, it was said that ten thousand of them could be led by a shoestring.

They never retreated, and they had a brutal reputation which preceded them. They were sheathed on the body in chainmail, which was overlaid with metal plates, armed with multiple weapons and colorful uniforms, the most famed being their headdress or keppy white-topped hats. Just how many Janissaries did Mehmed have at his disposal at Constantinople during the siege?

In episode 25, part 2 of this series, which you can check out, I detailed the Ottoman military that showed up outside the Theodosian walls, and I estimated based on multiple sources because, surprisingly, the research is spotty on this, but I estimate that Mehmed had anywhere between 6,000 to 8,000 Janissaries. Which seems about right, because military experts say that you need a 3 to 1 ratio if you are going to attack a fixed fortification. With the sun cresting the horizon, the Janissaries formed up.

“The first assaulting group rushed upon the walls with a terrible battle cry. Now the defenders, already in the hottest pocket of hell, found themselves sinking ever lower into the deep layers of suffering. Janissary assaulting groups screamed and stepped over dead and dying comrades, hurling themselves up and over the walls and fighting the defenders.

Giovanni and Constantine fought bitterly against them, with lances and pikes trying to keep them at bay. Several groups would break through and make it into the city, only to be pushed back by a frantic counterattack. Overall there were five attacks made by the Janissaries, and it was, as you guessed it, this fifth attack which finally broke the resistance of the defenders.

Up in the fort, Giovanni was fighting off the third wave of attacking Janissaries when he was wounded. What happened next goes down in history's mysteries. Some say Giovanni was scared and wanted to flee the city and was looking for an excuse.

“Any excuse really, whereby he could save face and escape. Others say Giovanni was wounded, it just wasn't that bad, but it shook his spirit. After all, we have to remember, Giovanni had been wounded, sometimes severely, several times during the 53-day siege.

Whatever the matter, much to Constantine's terror, outrage and fear, Giovanni was brought before him and Giovanni demanded the key to the central gate so that he and his men could escape and head down to their ship. Against the Emperor's protest, Giovanni and his men opened the rear gate and made their way to his waiting sloop and safety in the harbor. News of Giovanni being carried away and of his men abandoning their position spread like, as you can imagine, wildfire amongst the Byzantine defenders.

“The Janissaries were launching their fourth attack when, legend has it, a Janissary named Hassan planted the flag of Islam up on the tops of the battlements. Hassan, however, was overwhelmed and cut down in this fourth attack, pushed back by Constantine who was leading a furious charge. This fourth attack by the Janissaries is really key because one of their orta or what was left of it had been cut off within the two walls.

This group of men, about fifty, fought their way to the Charisius gate and killed the defenders inside. Mehmed, watching from the sidelines, saw this group take the gate, and the orta's raised their standards for the rest of the Janissaries to see. The Janissaries lined up outside and directed their fifth and final assault at this gate held by their comrades.

“The Janissaries stormed over the walls and killed the thinly defended. And the Christian defenders at the Charseas gate found themselves suddenly surrounded by Janissaries on both sides and attempted a fighting retreat. But because Constantine had locked the gates, they ended up being cut off and hacked to pieces by the Janissaries.

This attacking group fought their way up to the Charseas gate and opened it up for the rest of the army to come pouring through. Upon the Peribolas fort, Constantine saw Ottoman flags everywhere on the battlements, and the cries and shouts of the Turks as they were pouring into the city. His generals and dukes bowed to their Emperor, took their personal guards, and promptly retreated back to their palaces, homes, turrets, and many forts to defend their families.

“The regular foot soldiers watching all of this attempted to throw down their weapons and flee, but they were caught by most of the advancing Janissaries, Ottoman army, and hacked to pieces. What happened to the final Roman Emperor we don't really know. Some say he fell fighting the Turks, others that he slid out of his armor and regalia and fled on foot to live out his life in quiet as a commoner.

Whatever happened, the Roman Emperor Constantine XI disappeared from the pages of history. There are tons of books, and so I'm not going to dive too deeply into the final fate of the Emperor, but it's just my opinion as the creator of Empires Podcast the Ottomans that I think in all likelihood Emperor Constantine XI died like any good Greek hero did, attempting to take down his enemies. During the days of pillage in Constantinople, I also think that his body just got overlooked and was tossed into the burning piles of corpses with the rest.

“A sad end to the world's greatest political, economic and religious entity, the Eastern Roman Empire.

And that, my friends, concludes our Conquest of Constantinople series. Next episode, I plan on doing a segment on the strategic implications of the conquest, but for the Ottomans in Europe. In the meantime, I invite you to check out this week's guest writer on Empires Podcast the Ottomans website.

His name is Raphael. Raphael is a blogger who has studied the Roman Empire and has many various itinerants for years. He guest authored a post for the show's website and I invite you to check it out.

You can find a link to Raphael's website and the blog post in question in the show notes.”

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