Constantinopolis (38 page)

All of the tents were now down and his men were milling about, forming marching lines and mounting horses. His own horse was brought around and he pulled himself up in his saddle, stretching his stiff bones. He smiled to himself. He was getting too old for this. When he was in his twenties he could march all day and night and day again without rest. He did not feel the cold or heat, and hardly the wounds. Now he felt everything. He was slowing down just a touch and that could be fatal in battle. He must be extra wary. If he could win this next battle, he need to never battle again. He could retire in peace, a hero of his people, as long as the damned Germans left him alone.

A commotion at the edge of his sight stirred his attention. A lone messenger on horseback had entered the camp and was surrounded by his men. He watched him motioning with hand movements and pointing frantically toward Hunyadi. News from the city or from the Pope. He hoped the ships were ready and that Constantine had sufficient forces to assist in the attack and not just sit back behind his comfortable walls.

Hunyadi watched the messenger being led slowly to him. He pretended not to notice him, not wanting to appear anxious. He studied the valley again with mock interest, finally turning when the horseman was actually in his presence.

“What is it?” he asked with feigned indifference.

“It is I, my Lord, Gregory.

“Ah yes Gregory. Then your message must be from Constantine. Is he begging for yet more from me? I already come with an army for him.”

“He is dead.”

“What?”

“The city has fallen my Lord. Constantinople is no more. Constantine is dead.”

The news shook Hunyadi to the core. Constantinople gone. This news was terrible. Hunyadi realized what prestige this victory would bring Mehmet in the Islamic world. Even among the Christians in the Baltics, there would be fear and even admiration. He not only would gather the treasures of the city but tremendous wealth from the sale of slaves. Recruits seeking additional victory and spoils would swell his ranks. Worse yet, there was no longer a divided focus for the Ottoman forces. They would be coming for him. Coming for Hungary. Why had he not sent forces earlier? Why had he not seen the terrible ramifications of the loss of this city?

He realized he never believed it would fall. So many armies had beat themselves to death on the walls of Constantinople. The city survived as if by the hand of God. Somehow it seemed Constantinople would always survive. Now it was gone.
The Roman Empire was gone
. The past had faded away before his eyes. The Ottomans had replaced it. Now they were the dominant force in Europe. The dominant force in the world. He must prepare his defenses. There would be no more distractions allowing him forays into Ottoman territory. The distraction was gone. He must save Hungary if he could.

Hunyadi invited Gregory to join him. The Greek gladly agreed. The Hungarian leader ordered his men to form, but they marched north instead of south. North to Hungary and to safety. He would have time to prepare. He hoped when Mehmet came, it would be enough.

MONDAY, JULY 16, 1453

Pope Nicholas sat on his throne and held his afternoon audience. He was listening carefully to an updated report regarding the papal treasury. Hard work and austerity measures had began to pay off, reducing debt and building a small reserve. He was slowly erasing the foolish mess with which his predecessor had left him.

Nicholas was in a good mood. The financial news had brightened an already sunny day. He thought perhaps he would go for a long walk after the audience was concluded, and enjoy the gardens before dinner and evening prayers. He concluded the financial report and was rising to leave when the Venetian Ambassador appeared at the door.

A shadow passed over Nicholas. He could tell something was wrong. Probably another complaint about the Genoans or the Neapolitans or any other squabbling Italian city. Why they could not simply work together was beyond him. Or better yet, why could they not unite under Papal authority for the greater glory of Italy and God? If they could work together they could dominate trade with the East. And with a new partnership with the Greeks after the Union of Churches, much could be accomplished.

But whatever the issue was, he decided he had better hear it so he could get on with his walk. He put on his best smile and waved the Ambassador over.

“Ah my friend, you have caught me just when I was ready to conclude my activities for the day. Perhaps this could wait until tomorrow?”

The ambassador bowed. “I am afraid it cannot Your Holiness. I have terrible news.”

“Let me guess. The Genoans have sunk one of your ships, and you want me to demand repayment?” Nicholas was half joking, his good mood still spilling over with a hope this news would not ruin it entirely.”

“Constantinople has fallen.”

Nicholas studied the ambassador’s face, hoping the man was simply joking back with him. He saw immediately he was not. Nicholas forgot his mood and his walk. “What do you mean? How do you know?”

“We received word by ship just a few days ago. The Doge immediately ordered that word be sent to you. Apparently Galata has also fallen. We have lost all access to the Black Sea. We have lost our trade routes to the East. We have lost our first defense against the Ottomans. Only God knows how long before they threaten Italy itself.”

“Surely they will move against the Hungarians first? We must aid them. I shall call a crusade immediately.”

“Of course Your Holiness is wise in all things. I might suggest that would be the worst thing you could do. We are divided and weak. We are only strong at sea. If we publicly attack the Ottomans before we are organized they may move immediately against us. We could hardly stop them. It is best to let them swallow up the remaining Greek territories and then take on the Hungarians. We can keep them away from Italy by sea, and hopefully Hunyadi will stop them on land. I do not think we are prepared to fight them now.”

The Pope responded, “Of course by doing this are you still in a position to trade with the Ottomans, and you are not required to unite with your fellow Italian cities. I know your games. You will do with the Hungarians what you did with the Greeks. You will give them half promises while behind their backs you will deal with the Turks and continue your wars with your sister cities. I grow tired of these games. I will consider what you advise. It may be the best course of action but I want you to remember you may wake up one morning and find the Ottomans at your front door. What will you do then? Who will come to your aid when you have refused to come to theirs? God protect us all.”

Nicholas concluded the audience and then returned to his private chambers. He was scarcely able to walk. The great Christian city had fallen. In the ancient world five great Christian Cities had existed: Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Rome. Now only the last survived, a crumbling ruin of 50,000 inhabitants where millions used to dwell. Rome was in many ways the mirror of Constantinople. A faded memory of greatness long since past. Would he find the Turks at Rome’s walls one day? Tens of thousands of Ottoman warriors. What would he use to defend himself? A few hundred guards? Would the Venetians and Genoans even come to his aid?

Had God abandoned them? Constantine had done the right thing. He had embraced the true church. Nicholas had sent reinforcements and secured the assistance of Hunyadi. Most importantly, he had sent his special Papal prayers to heaven. Did God not listen to his prayers? Did this Islamic Allah somehow have power over the Christian God? The Muslims claimed that God was one and the same. Preposterous heresy! Yet why did God not strike them down at the walls of Constantinople? Perhaps the Greeks needed their own Babylonian Captivity. Certainly they had lived immoral, calculating lives and had broken from the true faith. Yet was he not living among a den of thieves? These Venetians and Genoans and all the others could not be trusted for a moment. Any of them would destroy each other with hardly a thought, even in assistance of the terrible Sultan if it profited them enough. Perhaps God was punishing them all?

All he could do was pray and work hard. He must make his best decisions and hope it would be enough. He thought of the great cathedral of St. Sophia, surely now a defiled mosque. He thought of Constantine, faded away like his empire and his city.

Nicholas canceled his evening appearance. He extinguished the few candles in his room and fell to his knees on the hard stones. He spent the night awake in prayers for the Greeks and for his own people. May God protect them from the terror of the Turks.

The fall of Constantinople on Tuesday, May 29, 1453 sent shockwaves throughout both the Christian and Islamic worlds. For the Christians, the fall of the city brought home the threat of an Ottoman domination of Europe. For the Islamic world, a long delayed dream, one of the dreams of the Prophet himself was finally achieved. For both individuals and entire nations, the world would never be the same.

THE GREEKS AND ITALIANS

Constantinople

Constantinople flourished tremendously after its fall. The city had never really recovered from the Latin conquest in 1204. When the Greeks had recovered the city in 1261 they had discovered a shell of a city, badly damaged and looted of most of its treasures and wealth.

After Mehmet captured the city in 1453, he immediately began enormous efforts to revitalize the city. He imported thousands of Greeks and Turks from other parts of his empire to move into Constantinople both for population purposes and also as artisans and skilled workers. Mehmet began a series of immediate public works in the city including building mosques and a palace. The city grew in population and importance, and served once again as the center of a great empire.

Although the majority of the Greek population of the city was initially enslaved, Istanbul became a multicultural city with a tolerance of different races and religions. A number of Orthodox churches were left in place and Mehmet allowed a Greek Monk named Gennadius, who had been a popular and outspoken critic of the Union, to serve as the Patriarch of Constantinople and thus the Patriarch of the Orthodox church.

Istanbul today remains the largest city in Turkey with a population of 14 million. The original confines of the city have been overgrown to include areas well beyond the original walls, the Galata peninsula and beyond, as well as large areas on the Asian side. The St. Sophia, which became a mosque and is now a museum, remains one of the distinct landmarks in one of the most striking cityscapes in the world.

The Greek People of Constantinople

The Greek people of Constantinople numbered less than 100,000 at the time of the siege. The city had at one time contained more than 500,000, but had declined substantially over the years, particularly after the Latin capture of Constantinople in 1204.

Historians estimate approximately 4,000 Greeks were killed on May 29, 1453. The rest of the residents were for the most part placed in slavery. The wealthier and noble residents were often able to purchase their freedom through ransom either directly or through intermediaries. They were then able to travel to Italy, Hungary, or one of the remaining Greek territories.

The poorer classes were unable to purchase their freedom and were largely left to the whim of their new Turkish masters. They were spread throughout the Ottoman and indeed the Muslim world as a whole. Some of the residents were allowed to stay, and others may have been brought back to the city, particularly artisans and craftspeople. There can be no doubt that the citizens suffered terribly. Family members were killed or torn apart to be sold, never to see each other again. The lives of the vast majority of the citizens of Constantinople were forever and dramatically changed by the fall of the city.

Impact on the Renaissance.

Many historians since the fall of Constantinople have attributed the loss of the city to have spurred the beginning of the Italian Renaissance, or at least served as a significant contributing factor. The line of reasoning is that Greek scholars, carrying precious manuscripts of the writings of Aristotle, Plato, and others, fled to Italy after the fall of the city, thereby bringing a re-awaking of the ancient world to the Italian people, along with other sophisticated Greek reasoning from the Byzantine Empire.

More recently, this analysis has changed. The Renaissance had already begun well before the fall of Constantinople. Additionally, because of the poor conditions and limited means available to the Byzantine empire, Greek scholars had been fleeing to Italy for years before the fall of the city itself.

However, the fall of the city certainly brought a wealth of escaping Greeks and substantial documentation to Italy. Certainly it can be said that the fall of Constantinople, and the decay of the empire beforehand, enhanced the Italian Renaissance, rather than creating it.

The Greek (Roman) Empire

The Greek Empire, the last continuation of the Roman Empire, did not survive long after the fall of Constantinople. Although Constantine’s brothers were still alive, there was no effort to crown another Emperor. The Moria, which was held by his brothers and consisted of the Greek Peloponnesus, held out until 1460. Trebizond, an independent spin off Kingdom on the shores of the Black Sea fell in 1461. A few islands that were Greek would be controlled by Italians or other non-Ottomans at various times, but for the most part the Greek people would be dominated by the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years.

The Greeks waged a war of independence from 1821 to 1832, with assistance from Russia, the United Kingdom and France. The nation ultimately gained its freedom although huge areas of “Greater Greece” including Thrace and the Anatolian Peninsula have remained Turkish. An effort after World War I to regain portions of this greater Greece met with disastrous results when the Turks rebelled in their own war of independence. Despite a desire on the part of some Greeks to regain Constantinople, the city has remained and will likely remain part of Turkey.