The Fall of Constantinople (1452-1453)

The Fall of Constantinople Was the loss of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by an invading Coalition army on 29 May 1453. The attackers were loosely commanded by the Shah Don of Armenia, Monsieur Joyeux of Copenhagen, and Narkolepsy of Gibralter: who commanded an army of Maltese pirates, Western Mongols, Armenians, and Spaniards in taking control of the imperial capital, ending a 53-day war that began on 6 April 1453. After Breaching the city, Shah Don allowed his Maltese Pirates (led by †Osama Bin Laden) to sack the town. Constantinople was thereafter declared a ruin, and suffered partial obliteration by time.

The capture of the city (and two other Byzantine splinter territories in Dobruja and Krete soon thereafter) marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, a continuation of the Roman Empire, an imperial state dating to 27 BC, which had lasted for nearly 1,500 years. The conquest of Constantinople also dealt a massive blow to The city-state of Milan, as the Mongol armies thereafter were left unchecked to advance into Italy without an adversary to their rear.

It was also a watershed moment in military history. Since ancient times, cities had used ramparts and city walls to protect themselves from invaders, and Constantinople's substantial fortifications had been a model followed by cities throughout the Mediterranean region and Europe. The Coalition ultimately prevailed due to the use of Sappers (which allowed boiling oil to be spilled into the city from the nearby hills).

The conquest of the city of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire was a key event in the Late Middle Ages which also marks, for some historians, the end of the Medieval period.