The Fall of Constantiople and the Final Act of the Roman Empire

Much of what you thought you knew about the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 is wrong. That’s the central thesis of this splendid book by a leading American scholar of the history of the Eastern Roman empire. In much of our literature, this empire is erroneously called “Byzantine,” because 17th-century Western European academics held that Greek-speaking, Orthodox Christian state in low regard. The people who lived there called themselves “Romaioi -- Romans,” and Kaldellis persuasively argues that we should respect that name.

For many years, the standard in English language account has been The Fall of Constantinople: 1453, by British historian Steven Runciman (1903-2000). It was originally published in 1965 by Cambridge University Press. Kaldellis notes:

“It is also, by now, outdated in many respects, more than I can list here. Yet it is still cited as a adequate reconstruction of events. In fact, Runciman misjudged the dynamics of the siege.” (p. 7)

Kaldellis refutes the widely-held perception that the 1453 defense of Constantinople was doomed to fail. Many of the surviving eyewitness accounts of the siege were written by Venetian and Genoese mercenaries. The two Italian maritime republics hated each other, and were often contemptuous of their Greek employers; their agenda was often to blame the other, rather than to explain what they experienced. Ottoman Turkish sources, compiled a generation after the fall, are filled with triumphalist glorification of the brilliant leadership of sultan Mehmed II “the Conqueror” (1432-1481).

Kaldellis contends:

“If Venice had sent just two ships of well-armed knights and experienced commanders, thereby doubling the size of the force that Giustiniani had brought in January, it would have made a world of difference. It might well have forced Mehmed to withdraw. . . . . It is not as if Venice was incapable of doing this.” (p. 189)

The success of the siege is often attributed to monster Turkish cannons, cast by Orban, a renegade Hungarian engineer. It is uncertain how many of these guns were deployed. They required a long cooling period after firing and could only sustain a few shots per day. A similar weapon, the “Dardanelles Gun,” cast in 1464, survives in the UK’s Royal Armouries. Originally a gift to Queen Victoria in 1866 by the Ottoman sultan, the gun weighs almost 17 tons, and it fired a 900 mm stone sphere, about 35.4 inches, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardanelles_Gun]

The book is organized as a Preface and ten chapters,

1. The Queen of Cities, Still
2. Turks, Romans, and Italians
3. The Outbreak of War
4. The Strategy of the Defenders
5. Mehmed's Plan of Attack
6. The Defenses Hold
7. Stalemate
8. The Final Assault
9. Conquerors and Slaves
10. The Impact of the Fall

The book is enhanced by five clearly drawn maps (including detailed diagrams that show every tower on the land walls), numerous well-chosen illustrations, and eight color plates. Appendices include a Glossary of names and places and a “Who’s who?” of people mentioned in the text.

Kaldellis concludes,

“The fall of Constantinople instantly became a matter of interest and concern around the world. . . . Many sensed that, beyond the magnitude of the event itself, the conquest of the City signaled important transformations. . . . Possibly no prior siege, except that of Troy, had yet produced such a rich body of narrative and debate. It still has a way of galvanizing attention through popular histories, novels, films, and official commemorations. Christian rulers continued to plan the City’s reconquest down to the early twentieth century, perpetuating the idea that the matter of the conquest was still an open question.” (p. 252)

Anthony Kaldellis is professor of Classics at the University of Chicago, specializing in Greek historiography, Plato, and Byzantine Studies. His previous publications include Romanland (2019), and The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium (2023). He is also the host of the podcast “Byzantium & Friends.”

Our Reviewer: Mike Markowitz is an historian and wargame designer. He writes a monthly column for CoinWeek and is a member of the ADBC (Association of Dedicated Byzantine Collectors). His previous reviews include The Cambridge Companion to Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Archaic Greece, Amazons: The History Behind the Legend, The Byzantine World, Classical Controversies, Reassessing the Peloponnesian War, War and Masculinity in Roman and Medieval Culture, Nemesis: Medieval England's Greatest Enemy, The Wars of the Roses: A Medieval Civil War, The Emperor and the Elephant, Tiberius, The Roman Empire and World History, Leadership in the Ancient World: Concepts, Models, Theories, A History of the Greek World from 479 to 323 B.C., Commanders and Command in the Roman Republic and Early Empire, Love, War and Diplomacy: The Discovery of the Amarna Letters and the Bronze Age World They Revealed, and Nikephoros II Phokas (912-969): The White Death of the Saracens,

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Note: 1453: The Conquest and Tragedy of Constantinople is also available in e-editions.

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