Siege and Fall of Constantinople

Timeline

1. 1453Walls of Constantinople · ConstantinopleThe Ottoman army encamped outside the walls, and the giant cannon cast by the Hungarian founder Urban began bombarding the Theodosian Walls. The defenders repaired works and organized counterattacks, but numbered only about seven thousand, and outside aid was slow to arrive.
2. 1453Golden Horn · ConstantinopleThe Byzantines chained the entrance to the Golden Horn to block the Ottoman fleet; Mehmed II ordered a slipway laid between the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, dragging dozens of warships overland into the Golden Horn and breaking the naval blockade.
3. 1453Constantinople · ConstantinopleAt dawn the Ottomans launched a third general assault; the defenders were exhausted and the walls near the Kerkoporta were breached. Constantine XI fell in battle (according to most traditions), the Byzantine Empire perished, and Constantinople fell into Ottoman hands.