Postwar Reconstruction and Population Resettlement of Constantinople

Timeline

1. 1453–1454Constantinople · ConstantinopleAfter the war the city's population plummeted to roughly 30,000–50,000. Ottoman authorities moved some Greek residents to Thrace and elsewhere while bringing in Turkish Muslims, Christian craftsmen and Jewish merchants from Anatolia and the Balkans to replenish the city's labor force and tax base.
2. 1453–1458Walls of Constantinople · ConstantinopleThe Ottomans repaired walls and gates damaged in the siege, cleared ruins and restored water supply and roads, while building the predecessor of Topkapi Palace and the Fatih Mosque, laying the urban framework for the empire's new capital.
3. 1455–1460Constantinople · ConstantinopleAs population returned and migrants increased, commercial districts such as the Grand Bazaar gradually recovered, and Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Jewish communities continued under the millet system. By the decade's end the city's population had risen markedly, becoming a trade and political center spanning Europe and Asia.