1453.The fall of Constantinople.PODCAST.

The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful and influential empires in history. By the second century, it governed territory in southwestern Europe, Britain, around the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in North Africa, the Balkans, and in Asia Minor. Through conquest and occupation, Rome became the most important city in the western world, and the peace enforced by Roman arms became known as the Pax Romana. Yet even while it was rising to dominance, the Roman Empire was facing internal problems that its founders had never imagined. The sheer scope and extent of conquered territory stretched the Roman army to its limits. The culture of Rome itself was under threat as conquered people brought new religions and new ideas into the empire. Even the geographic location of the city of Rome became a problem; located far down on the Italian Peninsula, Rome was not a natural trading center or an ideal place from which to rule a far-flung empire. In 212, Emperor Caracalla unwittingly made the situation more difficult and complex by extending Roman citizenship to every free man within the territory governed by the city of Rome. Suddenly, it was no longer necessary to have been born a member of a powerful family in the city of Rome to rise to prominence in the empire. Later in the third century, there was an attempt to change the constitution of the empire to make it more effective in ruling its vast territory; the empire was split into four parts, with a separate emperor ruling each. However, this approach—the Tetrarchy—inevitably led to a series of civil wars between the four emperors. It would not be until the rule of Emperor Constantine the Great from 306 to 337 that the empire would finally be reunited. But then, Constantine split the empire again. He formally created the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, with the Western Empire ruled from Rome and the Eastern Empire ruled from the captured city of Byzantium, soon renamed Constantinople. The fall of Constantinople was a turning point in European history. Until then, the Ottoman Empire had been no more than a distant threat in the east, held at bay by the Byzantine Empire. With the city occupied, there was nothing to prevent a relentless Ottoman drive to the west, into the Balkans and beyond. There is good evidence that the fall of Constantinople also contributed to the Renaissance, a sudden increase in artistic and scientific knowledge in Europe that took place in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and led to the end of the Dark Ages. Much of the Renaissance was based on the notion of taking the ideas of ancient antiquity and using them as the basis for new ideas and approaches. In the early stages, much of this new thinking emerged from the study of ancient Roman texts. However, the fall of Constantinople and the resulting influx of Greek scholars and texts to Europe led to a second wave of new ideas, particularly in Italy, where refugee Greeks translated important ancient works into Latin. It is estimated that of approximately 50,000 ancient Greek texts that are known to exist today, up to 40,000 may have come from libraries in Constantinople. The Renaissance led to a transformation of society, culture, and science in Christian Europe, and that can be attributed, at least in part, to the fall of Constantinople. This event also changed warfare. The walls of Constantinople were among the largest and strongest in existence when Orban’s cannons pounded them into rubble. Suddenly, every existing fortification was vulnerable to an attacking force armed with powerful artillery. The whole architecture of defense changed, and new fortresses were built not just to withstand cannon fire but to mount their own defensive cannons. The use of Janissaries armed with muskets also led to major changes in the way in which armies were formed. Where previously the only infantry units capable of ranged attack were those armed with bows or crossbows, by the end of the fifteenth century, almost every major army included units armed with firearms. All armies of the period also included artillery units capable of attacking both fortifications and enemy units. Few events in history have shaped subsequent events to the same extent as the fall of the city of Constantinople. This single battle changed the map of the world, fueled the Renaissance, led to the spread of the Ottoman Empire into Europe, and changed battlefield equipment and tactics forever. This truly was one of the pivotal moments of the last millennium.