Innholdsfortegnelse for Byzantine Empire i Byzantine Empire

Born to a bear trainer and an actress in Constantinople, the woman fated to become the wife of a Byzantine emperor hardly had an auspicious start in life. In Theodora’s early years her life took a path that her later detractors would revel in, providing effortless fuel for the gossip that would surround her even after death. For there is little doubt that Theodora had two intertwined and equally suspect occupations before her marriage: she was well known both as an actress and as a courtesan. This line of work was also taken by at least one of her two sisters, and it is said that her mother ushered the girls into their professions after the death of their father, Acacius. John of Ephesus, a writer sympathetic towards Theodora, refers…

Throughout his entire life, Basil II had one primary aim — to transform the Byzantine Empire into the greatest the world had ever seen. He was not concerned with literary culture, he had no love for the educated classes, he showed no great interest in women and fathered no children. Neither was Basil an articulate speaker or a particularly charming person. Under his leadership, however, the Byzantine Empire reached the culmination of its power, a feat only capable due to Basil’s unrelenting and ruthless quest to succeed, despite the many obstacles thrown in his path. From the beginning, Basil’s path to victory was not an easy one – he was born the oldest son of Romanos II and Theophano, the daughter of a poor tavern keeper. Romanos, likely aware of…

Anna Komnene was let down by her own husband Nikephoros Bryennios, who refused to challenge John for the throne. She was not without reason to believe a woman could rule in Constantinople after the death of her father. Dynastic succession in Byzantium was never straightforward and only required the support of Constantinople and the Church. Being a porphyrogénnētē (purple-born) helped to encourage the belief that an individual was ordained by God to rule – it had recently brought sisters Zoë (1028-1050) and Theodora (1042-56) to the throne when the Makedon dynasty was left bereft of male heirs. In 1067, meanwhile, Eudocia had inherited the empire from her husband, acting as regent on behalf of her sons. These were surely the women Anna sought to emulate. Constantinople had warmly accepted Zoë…

When Pope Leo IX claimed supreme authority over all Christian churches in 1053, he justified it with a manuscript called The Donation of Constantine. This was a decree from Emperor Constantine I in the 4th century that granted the Pope of Rome supremacy over “Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem and Constantinople, as also over all the churches of God in the whole earth”. This authority, in addition to significant landed estates in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, was supposedly in gratitude to Pope Sylvester I, who cured Constantine of leprosy. There was just one, teeny tiny problem: the manuscript was a fake. It was written in the 8th century for Pope Stephen II to strengthen his negotiations with Pepin the Short, who was the father of Charlemagne. In the mid…

A rocky finger of land pointing out to the Aegean Sea, Mount Athos, in northern Greece, has been the beating heart of the Eastern Orthodox Church since the 10th Century. The holy peninsula’s towering cliffs and fragrant chestnut forests have been home to monastic communities, underground hideaways and hermits’ cells for more than a millennium. Today, scattered across Athos are 20 sprawling monasteries – 17 Greek, one Russian, one Bulgarian and one Serbian. Together, they form a time capsule of Byzantine tradition, devoid of any distractions that may stand between the monks and God. Women, along with all female animals, save cats, have been banned from the mountain since its earliest days, when the brothers had to protect their sanctuaries from plundering pirates, Catholic crusaders and Ottoman opportunists. Known in…

Even today, the shadow of Byzantium looms large over the world of fashion and beauty. Known for their outfits made from bold colours, dripping in gold and jewels, modern fashionistas can learn a lot from the wealthy men and women of Constantinople. At the start of the Byzantine period, customs relating to beauty and fashion were very similar to those found in the Western Roman Empire. They draped themselves in togas, and dressed themselves with jewellery to complete their look. Only the richest members of society could afford lavish jewels, so wearing them was a statement of one’s power and wealth. In fact, the Byzantines liked gold so much that, towards the end of the era, gold plate was used for jewellery instead, because there may have been a shortage…

Chariot racing was the most popular spectator sport in the Byzantine Empire. Races took place in Constantinople’s Hippodrome circus, which could seat up to 100,000 people at once. Spectators from all classes, including the emperor, enjoyed the games as a distraction from their daily life while the racers themselves were normally slaves. The racers were divided into four team, which inspired the same fierce loyalty as modern football teams. In fact, fans of rival teams often brawled in the aisles. The races were also a prime opportunity for the emperor to present himself to the public, something that otherwise rarely occurred. PRE-GAME SHOW As the racers arrived to prepare for a day of competing, a wide array of entertainments were put on for the spectators to enjoy like wrestling, dancing,…

The Byzantines boasted a well-equipped, highly organised army of 110,000 men, with a rich military tradition. Armies were centred around heavy cavalry, consisting of ranged and melee units. Soldiers dripped in heavy chain, plate and scale armour, with even their horses clad in iron. They wielded mass-produced spears, maces, swords and shields, used to engage the enemy in intense combat – enabling cavalrymen, trained with both the lance and bow, to outflank them. Meanwhile, with no formalised salary in place, Arab warriors were motivated by religious zeal, or else the plunder of war. Much of their weaponry and armour was looted from the battlefield. They dressed light, with two mail hauberks, some wearing Iraqi bronze, teardrop-style helmets, others just turbans. Armies were centred around an elite cavalry vanguard, with two…

SIEGE OF THE CAPITAL 678 The besieging forces of the Umayyad Caliphate were the first to experience Greek fire when their navy was set ablaze. ARABIAN ATTACK 718 Despite a relentless invasion from Arab forces, Emperor Leo III’s navy were victorious thanks to Greek fire. THOMAS THE SLAV 822 Both sides had Greek fire at their disposal but it was the Emperor Michael II who used it best during the revolt of Thomas the Slav. WAR WITH THE RUS 941 Emperor Romanus I Lecapenus successfully defeated the invading Russian fleet at sea with his favourite fiery weapon.…

In line with previous emperor’s policy towards the crusaders, Isaac II offered passage through Byzantium in return for Barbarossa (who proclaimed himself emperor of the Romans in direct challenge to Isaac) swearing to keep the peace. However, promised Byzantine supplies never materialised, forcing the German army to raid and pillage, thereby raising tensions. Furthermore, pathways were often blocked, leading Barbarossa to believe Isaac was deliberately trying to stall his progress. Then, Barbarossa’s son, the duke of Swabia, was alerted a Byzantine army was camped just three miles from his location. Though the army was not a threat, the duke was suspicious and decided to attack, scattering the Byzantine soldiers. Concurrently Barbarossa received information from Sibylla, the Queen of Jerusalem, who warned that Isaac was conspiring with Saladin. Though the accusation…

1. Rumeli Hisari (Fortress of Europe) Winter 1451: Nicknamed Bozaz Kesen (meaning throat-cutter), Mehmed II ordered the building of a magnificent castle with 7.6m (25ft) thick walls. Situated at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus Strait, its inhabitants used it to cut supplies to Constantinople. 2. The chain 2 April 1453: Constantine XI ensured the centuries-old chain was strung across the mouth of the Golden Horn in Constantinople as the Ottoman army camped on their doorstep. It prevented enemy ships from entering the inlet. 3. Enemy camp 2 April 1453: The Ottoman Turks together with a European army camped outside the city walls, the European army to the north of the river, the Janissaries in the middle protecting Mehmed, and the Anatolian army further down. 4. Theodosian Wall 6 April…

The Byzantine Empire, or the Roman Empire, as the Byzantines called themselves, lasted for more than 1,000 years. Its impact on the contemporary world throughout modern history, long after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, remains evident through its achievements, lasting legacy and influence. Indeed, the Byzantines live on not only through their inventions, which are still being used today, but also other aspects of Byzantine life that have since been adopted by modern countries, such as symbols and art styles. One of the greatest intellectual movements in human history – which the Byzantines contributed greatly to – was the Renaissance, the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. In the final years before the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, many Byzantines fled to the West to escape the…

The Byzantines developed many new styles of architecture in order to build ever more magnificent edifices. One of the most important innovations was that of the pendentive dome. Even though it had existed since the Roman times, the first fully developed example survives from the reconstruction of Hagia Sophia in 563. In 558, an earthquake caused the dome to collapse, so five years later the pendentive dome was formed as a solution to the problem of the weight of the enormous dome. This innovative approach allowed the circular dome to be built on top of a rectangular floor plan. During the Middle Byzantine period, churches evolved from the traditional basilica to the type known as cross in square. The name derives from the shape of the inner divisions, which form…

THEODOSIAN DYNASTY 379-457 The successful early years of the Byzantine Empire contrasted with the struggles faced by the rulers of Rome. A thriving economy allowed Constantinople to be fortified with huge walls, while extra cash was used to pay off potential invaders and employ mercenaries, including some of the Huns who sacked Rome LEONID DYNASTY 457-518 Leo I, the first of the Leonid dynasty, was put on the throne by Aspar, a powerful Gothic general serving in the Byzantine forces who expected him to be a puppet ruler. Instead a power struggle broke out that ended with Aspar’s assassination in 471. The Leonids ruled for another 47 years. JUSTINIAN DYNASTY 518–602 The Byzantine Empire entered its first golden age under the Justinians. The military campaigns of Justinian I – often…

Any empire worth its salt benefited from a coherent legal code. Oddly enough, Rome had never scored highly in this regard. Attempts had been made – all the way back to the Twelve Tables of the fifth century BCE – to improve matters, but by the time of Justinian the empire's laws were still in something of a muddle. As Justinian's territories expanded, the need for reform grew increasingly urgent. It was time to codify, to standardise and to allow for a little legal innovation rather than simply assembling highly selective dossiers of ancient laws. Moreover, it was high time that all the empire's citizens were subject to the same standards of justice: getting away with wrongdoing simply because you were higher up the social ladder seemed rather arbitrary. Thus…

In 768, a teenage girl called Irene arrived in Constantinople from Athens, accompanied by a fleet of warships loaded with silk. There, she was met by the city’s leading men and women, who walked her down to the imperial palace. Days later, amidst much pomp, a crown was placed upon her head, and with that, she was married – to Emperor Constantine V’s son, who would become Leo IV. Born in 753, Irene may have been discovered through an eastern ritual called the bride show – introduced to the court by the emperor’s wife, a Khazar princess. Officials scoured the empire for well-educated, exceptionally attractive women from reputable families, bringing them back to the capital and parading them past the groom, who simply picked his favourite. The adolescent Irene, though,…

Birthed within the purple marble chamber of the Great Palace of Constantinople, Anna Komnene (1083-1142) was born to a throne she never received. Being the first child of the union between the two military aristocratic families of the Komnenos and the Doukai – the alliance that had brought her father Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118) to the throne in 1081 – ensured for Anna a position of prominence and opportunity. For the first years of her life, the daughter of the fledgling Komnenian dynasty was considered heir apparent and raised with the finest education in Constantinople. As an adult, she developed her prowess, running a literary salon and discussing the latest rhetoric, philosophy, and science. Anna Komnene’s academic circles produced commentaries and histories within the Byzantine capital that are a testament…

Language. That was the first, the most enduring and the most defining difference between the Christianity of the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire. The west spoke Latin; the east, Greek. The peoples of the two halves of the Empire spoke in their respective languages, they worshipped in them, they thought and argued and they prayed in them, with all the differences in world view and imagination that comes from two different languages. Indeed, so long-lasting were these differences that many villages in southern Italy that were reconquered by the Byzantines under their greatest emperor, Justinian, remained Greek-speaking right through until the 20th century, enclaves of Byzantine culture in the heart of the Latin west. In the first centuries CE this was not too great a problem, as…

In 324, Constantine the Great decided to move the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium. Six years later, the new city was inaugurated. New Rome was a reality and would remain the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire for the next 11 centuries. In its early history, Constantinople resembled Rome – it was administered by a city prefect and had a senate. Indeed, most of its institutions closely followed the example of Rome. Moving the capital was a bold decision by Constantine, but it was not a dangerous one. As Greek historian Herodian wrote, “Where the emperor is, Rome is.” Constantine converted to Christianity towards the end of his life, changing world history forever. With the gradual Christianisation of the empire, new architectural styles emerged, while new…

It’s one of the most famous scenes in movie history. It took five weeks to shoot and a year to prepare. It was filmed on the largest movie set yet constructed. Yet the chariot race in Ben-Hur was only a pale reflection of the drama and spectacle of chariot racing in New Rome: Constantinople. Games bloody, brutal and violent had been at the heart of the public control exerted by the Roman emperors on the vast, seething hordes of their city. But Constantinople was expressly founded as the Christian capital of a Christian empire: the gladiatorial games and savage public spectacles could have no place there. However, the strategy of ‘panem et circenses’ had an imperial provenance that stretched back past Juvenal’s satires of the 2nd Century: the emperors of…

CONSTANTINOPLE, 73-1453 Greek fire was the most feared weapon in Medieval warfare. An incendiary chemical, it would set fire spontaneously, stick to wood and flesh, and couldn’t be extinguished by water. While pitch and oil-soaked projectiles were used extensively in the Middle Ages, Greek fire was the sole preserve of the Byzantine Empire, its composition a closely guarded secret. It’s thought to have been invented in the 7th century by Jewish refugee Kallinikos of Heliopolis. Thrown in pots or pumped through tubes, it helped repulse many sieges on Constantinople. In fact, its deadliness has been cited as the reason for the empire’s long reign. 01 SAFETY CHECK When the weapon you’re using is the Dark Age equivalent of a napalm payload, it’s probably best to do a health and safety…

In the space of about 150 years, Constantinople went from the ‘Queen of Cities’ to being sacked by Christians in the Fourth Crusade. The story of how this happened brings together all the elements of a great epic; precious cities under threat, punishing sieges, hundreds of thousands moving from West to East, political ploys by emperors and popes, brutal murders and major battles. Discover the cross-continental crusader tale as seen by the Byzantines, and how the movement to take Jerusalem from its Muslim captors destroyed the greatest Christian city in the world. At an estimated 375,000 inhabitants, Constantinople was one ofthe largest cities in the Christian world in 1150. Comparable cities at the time include Palermo, Italy with roughly 350,000 inhabitants and Cordoba, Spain with 450,000. The Byzantine Empire stretched…

1071 Battle of Manzikert Battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks, Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes was defeated and captured by Alp Arslan, and marked the beginning of end of Byzatine controlled Asia Minor. 1071 Alexios I Komnenos becomes emperor of Byzantium Founder of the Komnenos dynasty, he seized the throne with the help of his family from Nicephorus III and asked Pope Urban II for Latin mercenaries. 1081 Pope Urban II calls for the First Crusade Motivated by a number of factors from wanting to exert his control of secular rule and a desire to see Jerusalem conquered by Christians, Pope Urban II launches the First Crusade. 1095 Capturing of Antioch After a gruelling nine month-long siege, the strategic city of Antioch was taken by the crusaders. 1098…

Byzantium was open to foreigners, and allowed them to ascend the societal ladder so long as they were worthy. Such a case is Harald Hardrada, the Norwegian king from 1046 to 1066. However, before ascending to the throne of his kingdom he had been a military commander of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire. The Varangian was a military unit comprising mainly people from England and Scandinavia. Hardrada, after an unsuccessful attempt to claim the Norwegian throne in 1030, was exiled to Kiev – but his desire for glory led him to Constantinople with 500 loyal soldiers. He was sent by the Byzantine emperor on a plethora of expeditions across Asia Minor and – according to the chronicles – he managed to capture 80 Arab strongholds. Afterwards, he was…

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The emperor Justinian never lacked admirers. Some of them lapsed into sycophancy. “You have a dignity beyond all others,” wrote Pope Agapetus, and “it was in the likeness of the heavenly kingdom that God gave you the earthly rule, that you might teach men the protection of justice and drive away the howling of those who rave against it”. Justinian would often be remembered as one of the towering figures of early Byzantine history: the law-maker, the reformer, the ruler who launched bold initiatives to win back territories in the west. On the other hand, some would portray him as the man who embarked upon pointless, costly military misadventures and left behind a toxic legacy. The emperor’s contemporaries couldn’t quite decide which analysis was correct, and historians continue to squabble…

Three factors have a tendency to deplete imperial coffers: fighting costly wars, losing large swathes of tax-paying citizens to epidemic diseases and an addiction to tax-evasion among the citizenry. Justinian confronted all three challenges. Attempts were made to reform the system of tax collection by returning the job to local councils rather than trusting the so-called vindices – or "destructive hirelings" as Justinian referred to them. This plan met with limited success. Efforts were also made to impose new levels of taxation on those in the higher echelons of society. This plan provoked a great deal of animosity. Adding to his woes, Justinian faced opposition from those further down the social pecking order. The Nika riots of 532 were provoked, at least in part, by the emperor's aggressive taxation policies.…

One of the wonders of Ravenna, Italy, the Basilica holds a unique position in the history of art and architecture. Begun in 526 and completed 21 years later, this marvel of Roman and Byzantine styles is the only structure of its kind to survive from Justinian I’s reign, and holds the biggest collection of Byzantine mosaics outside of Constantinople.…

The Isaurian’ Leo III ascended to the purple in 717, after forcing the abdication of his predecessor, Theodosius III. Inheriting the empire in a fragile state, he harboured deeply iconoclastic views, believing that icons or images should only be used to portray human subjects – any attempt to depict the divine would be tantamount to idol worship. This view was particularly prominent in the east, where most soldiers came from, and thereby shored up his support among the generals. In 726, he went so far as to forbid representations of all saints, martyrs and angels, removing ‘miraculous’ icons and relics – which had long been celebrated in the western provinces. It had been a controversial subject, one that had provoked harsh denunciations from the papacy, sparked riots in Constantinople and…

Basil II had a long and complicated relationship with the aristocracy. Not only did he have to fight to keep their hands off his throne, but he also put in place measures to stop them ever lusting after it again. Basil poured his ruthless military spirit into his domestic policy, with stripping influence from the overpowered nobles becoming a central focus. These great military families displayed excessive wealth and power that made attempts on his throne feasible. Basil expanded legislation that protected the small farmers and peasants from the great families, which in turn helped increase imperial power. Title to land was rigorously inspected and some great estates of powerful families were confiscated. He also forced the nobles to pay off the arrears owed by peasants. This poured so much…

Usurping the throne of Nikephoros III Botaneiates at the age of 33, on Easter Sunday in April 1081, Alexios I Komnenos took charge of a bankrupt empire economically ruined by the devaluation of coinage. It was also disrupted by claimants and dependent upon a network of Turkish and Armenian allies to hold the once heartland cities of Anatolia, to which Byzantine populations had fled after Turkish invasions. The first decade of his long reign witnessed assaults on three sides and the collapse of the patchwork of Anatolian strongmen, as well as the loss of the great metropolis of Antioch, called “the third city of the world” by Byzantines (after Constantinople and Rome). The collapse hit breaking point in 1092 when the Turk Chaka Bey launched the first Turkish navy from…

One of the points of contention between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches concerns the kind of bread used in the Eucharist ceremony. In the West, it became customary to use unleavened bread for communion, on the assumption that this was the kind of bread Jesus was most likely to have eaten at the Last Supper. The Orthodox view was that unleavened bread was associated with Judaism and so they opted for leavened bread in church services as a way of distancing themselves from Jewish practices. In the 11th century, this minor detail was used as wedge to divide the two Churches and various eloquent justifications were written to describe how the yeast represents the risen Christ. Catholics were referred to as ‘azymites’ (from the Greek words meaning ‘without yeast’) by…

The site of Hagia Sophia has been a holy place for centuries. Constantine I built a church on the foundations of a pagan temple in 325 CE and this was restored and then extended several times. However, after the church was destroyed by fire during the Nika Riots in 532, Emperor Justinian I had a grand vision. Wanting to restore the empire to its former glory, he decided to build the greatest church the world had ever seen. Justinian hired a pair of famed mathematicians, Anthemios and Isidore, to design it. In 537, just under six years later, the Hagia Sophia (meaning ‘Holy Wisdom’) was completed. Its enormous dome relied on a revolutionary design that made it the largest in the world for almost a millennium. Despite its incredible design,…

In the 5th Century, pantomime dancing drew crowds as large and enthusiastic as chariot racing. The dance troupes employed professional cheerleaders called claqueurs to orchestrate the audience and its applause. These claqueurs, however, began to apply their skills to political demonstrations, whipping crowds up into frenzies. In response, the imperial authorities effectively nationalised the claqueurs, bringing them into the guild of public entertainment that was financed by the imperial purse, and assigning them to the colour factions of the chariot racing teams. However, the fervour the claqueurs could engender, when combined with sporting passions, led to a series of riots and disturbances that culminated in the Nika Riots of 532. To stop this recurring, the factions and their claqueurs were made a part of imperial ritual, with the acclamation of…

Mohammed was born in around 570CE, a member of the dominant Meccan merchant tribe, the Quraysh. Mecca was a hub of polytheism, and idol worship – home to the prominent pagan shrine, the Kaaba. At the age of 40, Mohammed began having religious experiences, and started preaching a new monotheistic faith to the Meccans – quickly amassing followers, but enduring increasing persecution. After establishing an autonomous Muslim community in Medina, an event known as the Hijra, he scored a series of brilliant military victories over the Meccans, before taking Mecca and uniting the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. When he died in 632, his companion Abu Bakr was nominated leader of the realm, the caliph. Having re-affirmed his rule in Arabia, Abu Bakr launched simultaneous blitzkrieg campaigns into Byzantine Syria…

While the threat of Greek fire itself was a deterrent to most invading forces, it struck little fear in the hearts of the Ottomans in 1453 as it hadn’t been used in centuries. In fact, the Ottoman Empire managed to conquer Constantinople once and for all, renaming it Istanbul and using it as their own capital. Though the Ottomans had developed their own version of Greek fire, the successful siege condemned not only the Byzantine Empire but also the secret of its most feared weapon to the history books. To this day, its exact composition remains a mystery to the world. Although the recipe was passed down from emperor to emperor throughout the Byzantine Empire, it was never written down lest it fall into enemy hands and be used against…

Almost everything we know of the early history of Russian and Ukrainian people comes from the Primary Chronicle – Tale Of Bygone Years in its original title – by the monk, Nestor. While scholars now think other authors contributed to the chronicle, the Primary Chronicle remains our primary source. In it, Nestor tells how the tribes of Slavs around Novgorod were in a constant state of warfare with each other. They had already had contact with Vikings who, using the rivers as highways for their longboats, had penetrated deep into the interior of this thickly forested land. Vikings usually made first contact as traders then, if sufficient wealth was uncovered, they returned as raiders and, sometimes, conquerors. But the Slavic tribes along the River Volkhov – a river significant for…

1. Romanos forms ranks Emperor Romanos organises his 20,000 men into a long line several ranks deep, with his cavalry on either flank. He commands the centre himself, with Bryennios taking the left and Alyattes the right. Bizarrely, he entrusts the reserve forces to Andronikos Dukas, who openly loathes Romanos. 2. The Byzantines advance Confident of luring the Seljuks into a pitched battle, Romanos orders his men to advance. They achieve little while wasting energy. 3. Death from on high The Seljuk mounted archers exploit the flat ground to harry the Byzantine troops from range, raining down arrows. 4. An elusive foe The Byzantines continue to pursue only for Alp Arslan to pull his formation back in time. 5. Arslan’s camp falls The Byzantines enjoy a Pyrrhic victory in the…

The Seljuk Turks were not the only ones trying to breach Constantinople’s walls. To the West control over southern Italy was lost to the Normans under their leader, Robert Guiscard in 1071. Ten years later Guiscard and his son launched another attack on the Byzantine’s Balkan regions and nearly succeeded in capturing the emperor, thereby presenting the real chance that the Normans would march onto the gates of Constantinople. Throughout the century, fearing that provincial armies would become too powerful and their generals too ambitious – and it would only take a few with delusions of glory – the Byzantine emperors hired mercenaries to fight Byzantine battles, including Turks. Against the Pechengs (a Turkic people who by this point had kicked out the Magyars – otherwise known as Hungarians –…

Sultan Mehmed II took his position on a small mound in sight of the walls of the ancient city of Constantinople. Those tasked with defending the city – the stronghold of Orthodox Christianity – from the waves of invaders that threatened her could clearly see his location as they peered across from the city walls over an incredible number of tents situated barely 230 metres (750 feet) away. The tents were arranged in clusters. At the centre of each was the makeshift home of an officer, on top of each a defiant flag fluttering in the wind against the Sea of Marmara. The 21-year old sultan’s ceremonial red-and-gold tent lay further back, its grandeur befitting that of the Ottoman Empire’s leader. The sight of some 60,000 soldiers, together with thousands…

Constantinople Ottoman forces finally broke through the robust city walls and sturdy defences and gained access to Constantinople. Amid the deafening sound, they slew hundreds of men, captured women and children and looted the city for promised riches. How much of it was destroyed? Main landmark or building destroyed Death toll 4,000 Main weapon used 29 MAY 1453 Antwerp With Spain declared bankrupt, the Tercio was angry at not being paid and so swept into Antwerp with the intention of looting. Over three days, they stole large numbers of items and ended up setting fire to the city, completely destroying the wealthiest quarter. How much of it was destroyed? Main landmark or building destroyed Death toll 8,000 Main weapon used 4 NOV 1576 Rome The troops of Holy Roman Emperor…