The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the TurksPears, Edwin
History
The Destruction of the Greek Empire and the Story of the Capture of Constantinople by the Turks
Pears, Edwin
Byzantine Empire -- History -- 1081-1453; Istanbul (Turkey) -- History -- Siege, 1453
The Moscovite mentions an encounter during this attack between a
Greek strategos or general named Rangebè and a Turk named Amer Bey,
the standard-bearer of the sultan. The Greek made a sortie, put the
followers of Amer to flight, and then attacked Amer himself, whom he
cut in two. The Turks, furious at the loss, surrounded Rangebè and
killed him.[335]
The next day the Venetian Council of Twelve decided that Trevisano with
his four hundred men should leave the entrance to the harbour and take
up the defence of the newly threatened walls at Aivan Serai. There
appears, however, to have been considerable opposition on the part of
his crews, who preferred to remain afloat. Finally this was overcome,
and on the 13th they went to their positions at the place mentioned,
where the defenders had been occupied in constantly repairing the
breaches made by the guns. Trevisano’s galleys were left in the
imperial harbour of Neorion near the end of the chain. His place was
taken by Diedo, captain of the Tana galleys, who was now appointed to
the chief command of the fleet.
[Sidenote: A new assault on May 12.]
At midnight of the 12th fifty thousand Turks made an attack near
Tekfour Serai, the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, between Adrianople
Gate and Caligaria, where a battery of guns had been planted from the
commencement of the siege and had greatly damaged the breastwork and
the Outer Wall. The attack was made with such force, and the shouting
of the invaders was so loud, that Barbaro says ‘most of us believed
that they would capture the city.’ Once more the attack failed. On the
14th, Mahomet removed the guns which he had placed on the slope of
Pera Hill and had them taken to Aivan Serai and placed so as to attack
the gate of the imperial palace of Blachern. It was found, however,
that the guns in this position did no great harm, and they were once
more removed, taken to the Lycus valley, and placed near the others to
batter the walls near the Romanus Gate. From this time onward this was
the principal place against which Mahomet concentrated his attack.
The entries in the diaries of the siege, showing that, while other
parts of the wall were often attacked, the bombardment in the Lycus
valley was unceasing day and night, occur during many days with
monotonous regularity. Equally constant were the efforts for the
defence: ‘We, on our side, were working day and night to repair the
walls with logs and earth and other materials.’
[Sidenote: New attempts to force the boom, on May 16 and 17.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account