May 29 is a holiday in Turkey. It is celebrated with great pomp and ceremony, especially in Istanbul because it marks the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople on that day in 1453. After a 53-day siege, the forces of Sultan Mehmet II were able to breach the walls of the city, following weeks of intense bombardment. Public prayers are held at the mausoleum of Sultan Mehmet II and ceremonies are conducted at three locations where the sultan’s statues are located. A re-enactment of the final battle, a musical laser show, fireworks, dances, music, adulatory speeches and a parade by colorfully dressed Ottoman soldiers highlight the Istanbul celebrations. Meanwhile, bookstores do a roaring trade selling books, commemorative albums, and magazines about the Ottoman victory nearly six centuries ago.
Last May, President Erdogan described the Mehmet II’s victory as “not only one of the greatest victories in history but also a turning point that ushered a new era.” The man who has the integrity of a hyena and the style of a poison toad added that Mehmet the Conqueror and others had helped Turks “call these lands our home.” A typically strange phrasing when Constantinople is 2,600 miles (as the crow flies) from the Turks’ arid homeland in Central Asia. But then again, May 29th in Turkish-occupied Anatolia is a day full of hot air, chest thumping, racism, and nostalgia for the good old days when slaughtering Christians brought one closer to the 72 celestial houris.
A person who respects the truth and is honorable would think twice about celebrating the sham and shameful “victory” on May 29, 1453.
What kind of victory was it when the Byzantine defenders numbered 7,000 (about 2,000 were Italian) while the Ottoman forces had 80,000 fighters. According to various European sources, the Ottoman army numbered 300,000. In every category (ships, cannons, bombards, cavalry, horse transport, large rowing boats), the Ottomans vastly outnumbered the defenders who were led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos. Despite their huge military advantage, it took the Turks almost two months to conquer the city.
What kind of victory was it when the Byzantium “Empire” was just the city of Constantinople and several villages? Turks boast they vanquished the Byzantium Empire but the “empire” they vanquished was a city of 50,000. It wasn’t the empire of Emperor Basil I and II and General Narses or the empire that ruled over the lands from the Euphrates to the Gibraltar? It wasn’t the empire whose capital was the most sophisticated in Europe and had a population of 400,000. A great city where women taught at the universities.
Byzantine Empire had fractured long before the Ottoman hordes showed up at the gates of Constantine the Great’s city. Throughout its history, Byzantium had overcome close to 30 sieges but had been severely wounded by the sacking (1204) of Crusaders. In the previous decade it had also been ravaged by the Black Death (bubonic plague).
By 1450—a few years before the Turk turned up, the empire—actually city-state–was impoverished and exhausted. The Turks conquered a shrunken city and not an empire.
What kind of Turkish victory is it when mostly Spanish sailors manned the Turkish ships, the Ottoman sappers were Serbs and the Ottoman cavalry had a great many Serb mercenaries?
What kind of Turkish victory is it when single cannon, built by a Hungarian named Orban, played a decisive role in breaching the city walls? Orban’s cannon was an unheard-of 27 ft long and could deliver 600 lb. stones over a mile.
What kind of glorious victory is it when just before the Ottoman attack the sultan beheaded the Byzantine ambassador sent to negotiate with him?
What kind of victory is it when “blood flowed through the streets like rainwater after a sudden storm, corpses floated out to the sea like melons along a canal,” according to Greek historian George Sphrantzes? The corpses were mostly those of Greek civilians. As one historian put it, they had become “food for the [Turkish] sword.”
What kind of victory is it when the winners’ losses are far higher than that of the defeated? Because of their vast number, Turks could absorb the losses while the 7,000-Byzantium army couldn’t.
What kind of victory is it when Turks raped teenage girls and good-looking teenage boys? It’s documented that after the city was conquered, soldiers’ tents were full of teenagers (girls and boys) waiting to be raped and sold as slaves. After three days of looting and desecrating churches, about 30,000 of the inhabitants were sold into slavery.
What kind of victory is it when old people and the infirm who had sought shelter in their churches were hacked to death?
What kind of victory is it when the winner occupies the main cathedral (Hagia Sophia) of the vanquished and converts it to a mosque? Didn’t the Turks have the creativity, discipline, craft, and dedication to build a mosque for their God rather than steal a holy place Greeks had built for their God? Any thinking or honorable Turk would feel humiliated that one of its greatest leaders saw fit to steal his enemy’s sacred ground. We are not talking about shameless Erdogan who recently converted the church to a mosque.
Emperor Constantine XI died while leading a final charge in defense of his city. Sultan Mehmet lived till the age of 48. By then, he was emaciated and looked twenty years older. In the Ottoman tradition of patricide and fratricide, he was killed by poisoning upon the orders of his son. Bayezid II paid his father’s Persian doctor to poison the “conqueror” of the Byzantium “Empire”.
This year, too, “sultan” Erdogan celebrated the shameful victory of Mehmet II and filled the air with his usual rancid proclamations and awkward braggadocio. Of course, the man who looks as if he has been weaned on pickle has no honor or sense of shame. Over the years, consistent with his style, he has exaggerated the power of the Byzantium’s defenders so as to inflate the reputation of Mehmet II and the horde of 300,000 which was preoccupied with raping infidel girls and boys and hacking to death defenceless old people in Hagia Sophia.
mortimer says
Savages! Barbarians! Invaders! Thieves! The Koran contains a chapter called ‘Plunder’.
Rob Porter says
mortimer – This is a very good article in respect of the manner in which it highlights just how hollow was Mehmed II’s victory in 1453. The Muslim army had more soldiers than there were citizens in Constantinople. The city was a mere shadow of what it had once been, a run-down place, but Mehmed still made it his capitol – because he didn’t know any better!
mortimer says
One of the greatest crimes in history.
Brando says
And here is more info about the Turks so-called “intelligence”:
THE PRINTING PRESS FORBIDDEN
1. In 1485 sultan BAYEZID II forbade the printing press( invented in 1450)
2.In 1515 his SON sultan SELIM passed a new law affirming the prohibition.
3.Later it was allowed but Only for Non-Muslims and Only in Their Languages(Hebrew,Greek,Armenian)
ONLY IN 1727
Only then was the printing press allowed for books in Turkish and Arabic.
THE JEWS OF SALONICA
It was the second biggest city in Greece during the Ottoman period,and Spanish Jews settled there after 1492 (when they had been expelled from Spain).
1.They began a printing press using HEBREW letters but here is the twist: the books printed were Mostly in SPANISH.
2.Later in the 19th century they changed to using the LATIN alphabet: but by then their Spanish was
that of the 15th century with Hebrew,and other foreign words,now called LADINO, which is 95% similar to 20th century Spanish.
SALONICA
By 1920 Jews there were 70% of the population and Ladino was spoken by at least 70% of the city. The Jewish population was killed by the Nazis.
Rob Porter says
Mortimer – May I point out a few realities of this less than wondrous Muslim victory over which these Musli pea-brains gloat.
I never cease to marvel at Muslim ignorant gloating over the non-achievement that was the Muslim victory at Constantinople in 1453. It was a great symbolic victory, but not a great military victory.
At the Byzantine empire’s height, Constantinople had a population between 500,000 and a million. In its decline over hundreds of years its population shrank, as did the economy of that region.
“Between 1346 and 1349 the Black Death plague killed almost half of the inhabitants of Constantinople.” “.. by 1453, Constantinople consisted of a series of walled villages separated by vast fields encircled by the fifth-century Theodosian Walls.” The population was about 50,000.
Along came Mehmed II’s Muslim army of 50 – 80 thousand. Inside the city were just 7,000 defenders, nowhere near enough to defend its long walls. Mehmed’s army had huge Austrian cannons that pounded the city’s walls into rubble. So, big deal, the Muslims won and Europe did nothing to help Constantinople. The Roman Catholic Church was not going to help the Orthodox in Constantinople.
Boycott Turkey says
Great Article by Jirair and very accurate of the events that took place before and after of the massacre and genocide of Greeks. Turks always like to boast how it was a great conquest but in fact Byzantium was already weakened from the sacking by the crusaders and also they got a canon from a Hungarian called Orban this canon breached the walls of Constantinople and then they killed and raped civilians I notice when Muslims steal land and ethicle cleanse Christians or Hindus Jews they will boast it was a great conquest but if infidels Do it back for self defence they claim they are oppressed and illegally occupied
Unfortunately this day nothing seems to be changing Turkey still getting weapons from NATO and Russia to commit more Genocides against Armenians history repeats itself the truth is if Turkey didn’t get infidel weapons they would have stolen nothing before the Arabs had always unsuccessfully tried to capture Constantinople but failed due to the lies of muhammed
GreekEmpress says
Constantinople and all of Anatolia belongs to Greeks/Armenians/Assyrians.
The Turks are just barbaric squatters.
Infidel says
Actually, the worldwide history of the Turks would belie that. From Constantinople in the West to Nalanda in the East, the Turks – whether Ottoman, Seljuq, Khwarezmid, Tatar, Karakhanid, Ghaznavid or Mughal – were notorious for destroying non-muslim temples, be it of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians and so on. What gives Mr Tutunjian the idea that any Turk of any country would be remotely embarrassed about it?
Raja says
Islam is so ruthless to the dead (beheading) and the living and the fact that it is blatantly immoral makes it the most embarrassment-proof political club of all time.
Keith O says
Erdogan, the tinpot dictator is hanging off the perceived “victories” of his despotic predecessors in an effort to cast himself as the new caliph of a great Turkish empire.
What a deluded wanker!
born saturday says
the victory of barbarocity against civilisation…. the victory of evil over good…. the victory of satan over God which is temporary and earthly only…. a victory that made the whole world even more barbaric than it was before and taught that evil is what prevails on earth…. ofcourse the spanish and serb mercenaries could not then imagine that their own lands would be conquered enslaved and massacred just like Constantinople… this was a disastrous victory for the whole world that led the ottomans to establish their slave trading islamic massacre and jihad right into the doorstep of europe and become a permanent threat waiting for the right time to strike and conquer the dazzled europeans like they are doing today…. an unlucky day for the whole world but mostly for the hundred of millions of people who were massacred or enslaved with the africans as the largest number…. a victory that made the north part of africa islamic and arab inhabitted, over the dead boddies of the africans that were massacred or enslaved…. a victory that made the then world and the world ever after more and more barbaric and inhumane….
CogitoErgoSum says
Sounds like the Turks “victory” was similar to the beating to death of a weak old man who was almost dead anyway. Then the killers stole everything he had and raped his children and grandchildren. That’s not something to celebrate but, yes, it is something that should never be forgotten by decent people, ever, because if decent people do forget, the Turks will do the same as their ancestors did – and call it glorious.
Raja says
CogitoErgoSum,
Now wait for the next generations of Turkey to glorify genocide of Armenians and modern day Greeks. For the vanquished a loss can be a long term memory but for the victors the memory can be sweet and means forgotten. NATO should take a note of this.All the more imperative that Islam be eradicated and every Muslim should be ashamed of Islam.
born saturday says
the lesson taught by the byzantines was that you never surrender and you fight untill death when you fight against islam… this is what paleologos the king did even though he could save his life and his family and fortune…. in this way the greeks who knew that, never stopped revolting against the ottomaniac empire that enslaved and massacred them untill the glorious revolution of 1821, when the greek slaves and thieves brought the most feared empire of the world down to its knees and with some help managed to re eastablish the first Hellenic country 200 years ago exactly…. so therefore the greeks made up for the fall of constantinople and the victory of the barbarians by begining the demise of the ottomaniac empire… it was 400 years of slavery yet the greeks found the courage with the slogan freedom or death defeated the hordes of the ottomaniacs and drove them backwards…
born saturday says
again what was the secret of the greek slaves bringing the most feared empire down to its knees in 1821… for you who have been reading about jihad for long you must have realised that islam advances by causing fear which is why it uses terrorism…. it was then the same exactly than it is now…. terrorism and the spread of fear… what does islam and its hordes mostly fear themselves which causes them to retreat??? islam fears most those who can overcome the fear of its terrorism and are reluctant to die fighting against it… those who chant freedom or death…
gravenimage says
Yes–many brave people–Greeks, Spaniards, Portugese, French, Italian, Sicilian, Balkan–fought back against the Muslim yoke *and won*.
Walter Sieruk says
To actually answer a rhetorical question ofthe quote in the above,top ,jihadwatch article which is “What kind of victory is it when the winner occupies the main cathedral (Hagia Sophia) of the vanquished and converts it to a mosque? Didn’t the Turks have the creativity, discipline, craft, and dedication to build a mosque…?”
The reason that Sultan Mehmet II had that done was for the symbolic reason was that the Muslim at that time felt and still do now the turning Hagia Sophia into mosque was a direct and strong symbol of conquering triumph and superiority of Islam over Christianity.
As most readers of this sit know President Erdogan has an Islamic daydream ,along with a number of other high ranking devote Muslim government officials of Turkey of literally restoring the Ottoman empire as a new Ottoman empire .Which would then ,naturally , include the jihadist agenda destroying or at least subjecting Christianity under the power of Islam .
There is some change that this Islamic daydream might in the future become a possible reality
Walter Sieruk says
Related to my first posting on this subject is a specific interpretation of Bible prophecy about a restored a possible coming of a restored Ottoman empire.
To give some Bible based information with authorized Islamic literature also taken into account and yet not to go into detail and that state that this is a theory of Bible prophecy and not a complete prophecy fact. This is what might happen. This awful and terrible conflict in the twenty -first century is part of the war between the Judo- Christian West and the Islamic East. The Mahdi will arise in the Middle East he will appear a wonderful man to many people, in reality he will be wicked man and will be so very deceitful and lying to he will seem, very much, like a good righteous and rightly guided man who will make a short and false “peace” in the Middle East. The Mahdi with have a partner who will be the false “jesus” of Islam. This Islamic ”jesus” will give Christian’s a choice , which is convert to Islam or die by beheading, this is the Koranic way to killing non-Muslims, as in 47:4.
Those vicious murders of Christians in the future are predicted in the Bible. As seen in Revelation 20:4. Furthermore in Israel the Mahdi “shall divide the land” Daniel 11:39. [K.J.V.] between the Jews and Muslims and the Mahdi will also by many deceiving lying signs and wonders, will unify Shi ‘ite and Sunni Islam together common goal destroying the State of Israel ,once and for all. The Mahdi will then take the all the military force
of Islam with Satanic intention of totally destroying the Jewish State, one and for all.
That’s when the Second Coming of real Jesus will occur .This is at the Battle of Armageddon where the final and complete defeat of the Mahdi, along with false ”jesus,” and his Islamic military forces. After the great Victory there will be then the total destruction of Islam. As found in the Bible in, for example, Ezekiel chapter 37 and 38. Zechariah Chapter 12 and then 14:9-21 well as in Revelation 19:11-21.
There is an Christian Arab pastor ,Michael Youssef who had written two well researched and informative books about the Islamic messiah called the Mahdi the are END TIMES AND THE SECRET OF THE MAHDI also the book entitled JESUS , JIHAD AND PEACE Furthermore, another Christian author on the topic of the Mahdi and prophecy is other than pastor Youssef is Joel Richardson who wrote THE ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST :THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE BEAST and the other book entitled THE MIDEAST BEAST : THE SCRIPTURAL CASE FOR THE ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST.
Crusades Were Right says
Mark 12th September in your diaries, folks…
…and CELEBRATE with a cappuccino and croissant.
EVERYONE who values LIFE and LIBERTY should be celebrating that date (not just Austrians).
gravenimage says
Constantinople Victory Day: Erdogan’s Day of Shame
…………………
Yes–this gloating over this bloody conquest of the remnant of the Byzantine Empire is just sickening.
And Conastantinople didn’t just suffer from the effects of the black death and the sacking of the city, but of 700 years of Muslim attacks.
This is not just crowing over this bloody attack from half a millenium ago–this has to do with Erdogan’s bloody agression *now*.
SAFI says
this has to do with Erdogan’s bloody agression *now*
Absolutely right. Whitewashing and glorifying the atrocities of his ottoman predecessors is essential for legitimizing his regime’s present day agenda…
gravenimage says
Thank you, Safi. Erdogan is a threat to us right now.
AleX says
Great article.
Chapeau to the author!
Mauricio says
I think it’s a good article indeed. But why bother? The greeks seem so fond of the muslim culture. I have seen an increase of pro muslim news articles like this one from today:
https://orthodoxtimes.com/greek-fm-greek-and-islamic-cultures-are-an-inspiration-for-creative-and-peaceful-coexistence/
Infidel says
Ironically, while the Greeks are anti-Turk, they followed the enemy-of-my-enemy logic and made friends w/ the Arabs. This is also why throughout the Cold War, they were virulently anti-Israel, much like the Copts in Egypt, and that it’s only improved in recent times. I suspect that that Church, while confronting Turkey, wants to retain their Arab friends. Although I agree w/ you that it’s not worth doing
SAFI says
Infidel as someone who knows that country well, I can tell you the Church doesn’t run Greece’s foreign policy and I don’t think it even has an opinion on it. To the extent religion has any effect on greec’s relations with other countries it simply makes some religious Greeks feel a bit more sympathetic to Russia than they might otherwise had felt. As for its stance re Israel-Palestinian conflict it’s not just that the Arabs were supposedly hostile to Turkey, it’s also that Israel was very close to Turkey until quite recently (I’d say until about 12 years ago officially) which made Greece hesitate to improve its ties with the Jewish State. Two things have changed since then that made Greece-Israel closer cooperation possible, first Israel is no longer buddy buddy with Turkey and secondly Israel is no longer completely at odds with the Arab World, largely thanks to the Abraham accords(though I’m not Trump’s biggest fan I have to give him credit for that) thus Greece is no longer afraid of alienating the Arabs by coming closer to Israel.
As for the article Mauricio linked above I suspect such gestures have something to do with Athens’ recent partnering up with Dubai which I think began immediately after the UAE’s “reconciliation” with Israel with the signing of the Abraham Accords. Although honestly I also think that Greeks in general are almost perplexingly non-“islamophobic” especially for a people who spent 4-5 centuries under the ottoman caliphate’s jackboot. Maybe the experience was so traumatic that they chose to forget and move on as a society though I suspect it might got more to do with the greek far-Left’s grip on the country’s education establishment(there’s been a frighteningly powerful and influential communist party there since the end of WWII) which much like the American Left are hell-bent on white-washing the religion of those poor maginalized oppressed muslims who enslaved and plundered their country for a few centuries and wiped greek culture from most of the lands where it used to thrive… Of course Greece’s Cold-War (and present) ties and alliances with some Arab States probably also play a role in the Greeks’ strangely non-hostile attitude towards Islam plus I think Greece hasn’t experienced any islamic terrorist attacks since the 80s except for some church vandalisms by “refugees” in recent years and some general criminal behavior by some muslim migrants like elsewhere in Europe.
I think that might have only began slightly changing recently only thanks to their next-door islamist dictator’s attempts to incite muslims against european governments which may have forced some greeks out there to take a closer look at the religion of peace but I’m not even sure if that’s the case…
Falsafa says
nice fantasy piece worthy of a comic book story!
the Byzantines were bloodthirsty savages, with all their mutilations, eye gougings, limb choppings.
here is a sample of the unspeakable savagery of the Byzantines:
“After the Battle of Kleidion of 1014, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II had captured several thousand soldiers from the Bulgarian Empire. He put them into groups of 100 and blinded 99 in every group. The last soldiers had only one eye gouged out, and these one-eyed men were ordered to lead their blind friends back to their commander. This earned Emperor Basil II the nickname of ‘the Bulgar Slayer’.[1] According to some accounts of the story, Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria died from a heart attack upon seeing the returning blind soldiers.”
…and you anti muslim / anti Turkish bigots (which is it make up your minds! not all Turkish are overtly religious) call us barbarian!?
what a pathetic bunch of bigots you are! comical the lot of you!
SAFI says
What is it you celebrating then bro? … Cause I haven’t seen anyone else celebrating mutilations eye gougings , limb choppings, beheadings, impalements, skinning alive, burning alive and every other similar technique (in addition to plundering, mass slaughter, raping and enslaving infidels etc etc) the way your government does every year on this day (and every other day really) Wanna explain you poor non-barbarian victim of bigotry?
gravenimage says
This implication from the ludicrously self-styled “Falsafa” that Muslims had to conquer Byzantium because of their treatment of Bulgars in battle during the Middle Ages is just ludicrous–in fact, Muslims were savage in their treatment of Bulgarians until the 19th century, when they were finally driven out.
Then, Islam had targeted the Byzantine Empire long before–the “Prophet” supposedly had fantasies of conquest himself.
Then, does “Falsafa” here have a problem with invading Muslims raping, enslaving, and murdering those vulnerable people who too sanctuary in Hagia Sophia? Not so he says.
But then, it is always fine for Muslinms to brutalize their victims–there is in fact nothing so Islamic.
The claim that if you don’t want Muslims to rape, conquor, and murder you and impose the savagery of Islam on you that you are a “bigot” is one that “Falsafa” has made before.
SAFI says
Graveimage, t’s not so much about what some muslims did a few centuries ago (despite “Falsafa’s” argument being pure sophistry, it’s still true that Muslims are not the only ones who committed atrocities historically)… but the real takeaway should be that Turkey(especially under Erdogan’s regime) seems to be uniquely and fiercely (and almost comically) proud and unrepentant of and super keen on celebrating its bloody history of jihad (even though the turkish govt loves castigating the west for its colonial past by the way) as demonstrated by these ridiculously pompous annual celebrations via which the turkish government reminds its people and everyone else how they enslaved and dispossessed the infidels who used to own “istanbul” and how damn proud they’ll always be about it