![]() ![]() Whoever conquered it would reap rewards both material and political. It was also rumoured to harbour great wealth. It was the end of the classical world and the crowning of an Ottoman Empire that would last until 1922.Constantinople was a city worth fighting for – its position as a bridge between Europe and Asia and its triangular shape with a deep water port made it ideal both for trade and defence. And as one contemporary witness described it: “The blood flowed in the city like rainwater in the gutters after a sudden storm”. After holding out for 53 days, the city had fallen. ![]() When Sultan Mehmet the Second rode into the city of Constantinople on a white horse in 1453, it marked the end of a thousand years of the Byzantine Empire. ![]() Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the siege of Constantinople in 1453. ![]()
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