The Final Day
On May 26, a thick fog surrounded Constantinople, and the inhabitants believed it hid the departure of the Holy Spirit from the Hagia Sophia. As a result, they probably took it as a bad omen, and Constantine XI prepared for the worst. On the evening of May 28, Constantine apparently told his subjects that they must prepare to die for faith and family. After calling a council of war on May 26, Mehmed prepared for an all-out assault on the May 28/29 after a day of prayer and rest.
The final assault began just before midnight on May 28 as Mehmed sent auxiliaries to kill and tire out the defenders. The next step involved attacking the weakened Blachernae walls, and then the Janissaries charged. The Byzantines held out until their commander was wounded and then their defense collapsed. Constantine XI led the defense on the Lycus Valley walls, but eventually the Turks swarmed the city and forced him back. No one knows the exact fate of the emperor because his body was never recovered, but it is likely that he died leading one final desperate attack.
The Ottomans streamed into the morning service at Hagia Sophia and killed many worshippers while capturing the rest. Mehmed allowed his men to plunder the city for three days instead of the usual one day of raiding. The total losses sustained by both sides during the prolonged siege are unknown, although an estimated 4,000 defenders died while up to 30,000 were captured and enslaved. The Ottomans probably lost tens of thousands. The fall of Constantinople was deemed as a shattering blow to Christendom, so Pope Nicholas V called for a crusade to recover the city. However, not one Western monarch answered the call, and Mehmed renamed the city Istanbul.
The siege of Constantinople was a turning point in history and is often recognized as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance era. Some Greek scholars in Constantinople successfully fled the city and brought their knowledge and manuscripts with them to Western Europe. The fall of the city also ended European trading links with Asia. As a result, explorers had to find new routes and their exploits began an age of exploration.
Mehmed II earned the nickname ‘Conqueror,’ and the city of Constantinople gave him a valuable base for further European conquest. The fall of the city finally ended the nearly 1,500 years long Roman Empire, and the Ottomans held on to the city until their empire crumbled after World War I.