The Great Transition

A pivotal moment of the siege was Sultan Mehmed II’s naval maneuver. To bypass the massive iron chain the defenders had stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn, Mehmed ordered his fleet to be transported overland.

Dozens of ships were dragged on greased logs over the hills from the Bosporus into the Golden Horn. This unexpected strategy placed Ottoman forces directly inside the inner harbor, tightening the siege on the capital.

May 29, 1453

Following weeks of bombardment, Mehmed II ordered a final assault. The walls were breached, Emperor Constantine XI fell in battle and was killed (his body was never identified).

Sultan Mehmed II entered the city victoriously, establishing Constantinople as the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.