1453

The Fall of Constantinople

In 1453, the Byzantine Empire no longer had the means to resist against Ottoman power. Constantinople was besieged by Sultan Mehmed II’s troops in April 1453. The West’s inaction and also the mistrust of the Empire prevented aid from reaching the Byzantine people; Constantine XI Palaiologos was assisted only by Venetian and Genovese troops. The taking of Constantinople on 29th May 1453, signed the fall of the Byzantine Empire, and thus, the end of the Roman Empire as a legal entity.