The great, important city which was the centre of the Byzantine empire, was brought to an end after the last siege took place in 1453 AD. But it was not just the end of the Byzantine empire, it was also the transition from the Middle ages, to the Renaissance, that was marked by this important siege. This battle also brought the Ottoman empire to its peak and glory.
The main factor of the outcome is that the Byzantine empire was already collapsing before the siege and was in decline. Mehmed II was declared the new sultan of the Ottoman empire in 1451 and immediately began making preparations to conquer the city. Constantine XI, the Byzantine emperor at the time, did not realize the new sultan’s intentions until 1451, when Mehmed had finished building two fortresses against Venetian help that might have come to the city. As soon as Constantine realized what was happening, he too prepared the city for siege. Constantine sent a message to many European countries, begging them to come to his aid. But no one sent an army. Yet small independent troops of soldiers kept arriving and among these was Giovanni Giustiani with 700 professional soldiers. With no large outside aid, the Emperor started to make preparations, which included putting a chain across the Golden Horn (The Byzantine harbour) to prevent the Ottoman fleet from entering. Mehmed finally finished his fleet, and the Ottoman army started to advance and reached the city just after Easter, 1453. The Ottoman army numbered about 70000 land troops with about 100 ships, several cannon and one huge cannon. The Byzantine army, however, numbered only 7000 fighting men, of whom 2000 were foreign soldiers, and 26 naval ships. Mehmed started the siege with a long bombardment of the city with his huge cannon, but due to the immense length of time it took to reload, the citizens were able to repair the walls that had been affected. Several assaults on the walls failed with heavy losses to the invaders. The Ottoman fleet also experienced difficulty and was embarrassed after four Christian ships managed to fight their way to the city. The fleet was also unable to break the chain, and so Mehmed ordered the fleet to be rolled over logs on land, around the chain and back into the harbour. This greatly alarmed the defenders, especially when a counter-attack with fire ships failed. This manoeuvre forced the Emperor to withdraw some men from the main walls to the sea walls. Mehmed then ordered the construction of several mines that would lead under the city. A Byzantine engineer named Johannes Grant managed to locate most of the mines and torture of two enemy officers revealed the others. But it became evident to the defenders that no help would come, and the defence started to collapse. On May 29, the Ottoman army led the final assault and broke into the city. Constantine perished in the last attempt to counter the attack. Although the city was quickly overrun, many ships managed to leave the city, packed with citizens and soldiers. Mehmed allowed his troops three days of plundering, after which the citizens were graciously allowed to continue their lives. Mehmed was named the conqueror after this accomplishment and moved his capital to Constantinople. Over time, Islam took hold of the city, and the battle signified the end of the Byzantine empire, the start of the Renaissance and the height of the Ottoman empire.
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