Megali Idea - Fall of Constantinople

Fall of Constantinople

Though the Byzantine Empire was Roman in origin and was called "Roman Empire" by its inhabitants in antiquity, it became Hellenistic with time to the point where Greek replaced Latin as the official language in AD 610, owing to its location (in the Greek-speaking realm and sphere of influence) and the fact that, following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it became the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire. Byzantium held out against the invasions of the centuries with a vitality that the Western Roman Empire lost, repelling the Visigoths, the Huns, the Saracens, the Mongols and finally the Turks (during the first siege). Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium, fell to the Fourth Crusaders in the early years of the 13th century; however, the Crusaders were fellow Christians, and so, this fall did not wipe the City from the provinces of Christendom; indeed, given time, the city was liberated. However, the city fell to a far different foe in 1453—the Muslim Turk—and this fall of Constantinople marked the nadir of Byzantine civilization; the city was comprehensively sacked and looted; the Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque. Following the conquest of Constantinople, the capture of the remainder of the Byzantine territories was easily accomplished by the Ottomans.