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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Voulgaroktonou, post: 2753591, member: 84047&quot;]On Tuesday 29 May 1453 an Ottoman army of ca. 80,000 men, led by Sultan Mehmet II, captured the city of Constantinople after a 53 day siege, bringing to an end the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine empire. Rather than submit to the Sultan&#039;s demand to surrender Constantinople, the emperor Constantine XI Palaeologos chose to die fighting in defense of the city and his faith. Although the 7,000 defenders fought bravely, the city&#039;s massive 5th c. AD walls, which had for a millennium proved impregnable to successive sieges, were no match for the Turkish cannon, and the 80,000 man Ottoman army overwhelmed the small defending force of Byzantines and their Italian allies. Once Constantine realized the city was lost, he threw off his imperial regalia and plunged into the midst of the fighting. His body was never found.</p><p><br /></p><p>There have been numerous studies of the fall of Constantinople, but one of the most convenient for English readers is Sir Steven Runciman&#039;s <u>The Fall of Constantinople 1453</u>. The quoted sections that follow are from his wonderful book. On Monday the 28th, realizing the end was near, the emperor encouraged his small force by reminding them what they were fighting for. “To his Greek subjects he said that a man should always be ready to die either for his faith or his country or for his family or for his sovereign. Now his people must be prepared to die for all four causes. He spoke of the glories and high traditions of the great Imperial city. He spoke of the perfidy of the infidel Sultan who had provoked the war in order to destroy the True Faith and to put his false prophet into the seat of Christ. He urged them to remember that they were the descendants of the ancient heroes of Greece and Rome and to be worthy of their ancestors. For his part, he said, he was ready to die for his faith, his city, and his people.”</p><p><br /></p><p>That evening the last Christian service was held in the great church of Holy Wisdom, the Hagia Sophia, that for a thousand years had been the heart of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox put aside their bitter doctrinal differences. “Priests who held union with Rome to be a mortal sin now came to the altar to serve their Unionist brothers. The Cardinal was there, and beside him bishops who would never acknowledge his authority; and all the people came to make confession and take communion, not caring whether Orthodox or Catholic administered it. There were Italians and Catalans along with the Greeks. The golden mosaics, studded with the images of Christ and his saints and the emperors and empresses of Byzantium, glimmered in the light of a thousand lamps and candles; and beneath them for the last time the priests in their splendid vestments moved in the solemn rhythm of the Liturgy. At this moment there was union in the Church of Constantinople.”</p><p><br /></p><p>Coins of this last Roman emperor are very rare, but a small hoard of them entered the market in 1991. Thanks go to my wife Susan who urged me to purchase one at the time. I&#039;ve attached its photo. The obverse depicts the image of Christ, while the emperor&#039;s portrait appears on the reverse. It&#039;s a diminutive, unprepossessing silver coin, but its history speaks volumes.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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