The city, however, was surrounded b… Just as the story of Constantine XI’s last stand tied together the heroic ideals of classical and Christian Rome, the Hagia Sophia endures, as a testament to the faith that went into it and as a link to the pinnacle of the Eastern Roman Empire (see final thoughts). When the Emperor came to, he was again faced with pleas for him to flee. The Sultan also pledged to allow the people of Constantinople who wanted to depart to do so, and he would guarantee the safety and possessions of those who stayed. “I should praise God if thou wouldst live in peace with us, as thy forefathers did; they treated my predecessors with filial respect, and this city with the greatest consideration. As I will quote below, Mijatovic went into more detail regarding the final night of Christian prayers at the Hagia Sophia. Constantine XI Paleologos, the last Emperor of the East Roman Empire, who was martyred by the forces of Sultan Mehmet during the assault on The City on May 29, 1453, was a man whose personal life was marked by tragedy, but who above all maintained steadfast his Christian faith and his dedication to his duties as the Christian Emperor. Similarly to the Greeks, who made the final Byzantine Emperor a symbol of national resilience during their ultimately successful push for independence in the early nineteenth century, I find the story of Constantine XI’s last stand quite moving. Mijatovic then offered a detailed account of Constantine XI’s prayers: “Constantine prayed with great fervour. Heading for the gate, they engaged Turkish troops and fought until the end. If it be His will that the city should become thine, where is he who can oppose His will? However, on July 10, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned the hallowed Hagia Sophia cathedral back into a mosque. He could have walked away, unscathed, but chose to die fighting. I am resolved to die here with you.’ And saying this, the Emperor turned his head aside, because tears filled his eyes; and with him wept the Patriarch and all who were there.”. Then he received his last communion. Shall I be the one to flee from it? Nicholas A. Ferrell, a life-long resident of brownstone Brooklyn, is the content editor and acting site administrator for The New Leaf Journal. So it would remain, in practice, until 1934, when the new Republic of Turkey turned it into a museum open to all faiths. Directed by Faruk Aksoy. “If the Emperor had not arrived with fresh assistance, that same night would have been our final destruction.”   According to the same account, he had to be discouraged from going to the front lines himself. The Emperor addressed his troops for the last time before the final Turkish assault during the day on the 28th. Constantine Palaologus XI speaks before his officers and allies before the final siege of Constantinople by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed Bey Most noble leader, illustrious tribunes, generals, most courageous fellow soldiers and all loyal honest citizens! Sourced from Pinterest. The once capital of the greatest Christian empire had now become the capital of the most successful Islamic empire in history. Regardless of the sincerity of all of the Sultan’s promises, the historian and diplomat Cedomilj Mijatovic noted that the Ottoman’s assessment of the Emperor’s military position consisted of “undeniable facts.”  He noted that “[t]he walls on the land side [of Constantinople] were broken through in several places, four towers were quite destroyed, the small garrison could not be otherwise than exhausted, and there was no prospect of a speedy arrival of help from without.”  Nevertheless, Mr. Mijatovic observed that “Constantine had a more lofty conception of his own duty and dignity,” one that could not survive by accepting the Sultan’s terms. Mijatovic, relying on the same sources as Hutton, had the same account of the events leading up to Constantine’s last visit to the Hagia Sophia. This is post 2 of 2 in the series “Constantine XI”. Constantine XI was the last Byzantine emperor, the last Christian ruler of what had been the Eastern Roman Empire, killed trying to defend his city against the final, successful Ottoman attack in May 1453. The Hagia Sophia that we know today was completed in 537 under the reign of Justinian I, the last Latin-speaking Roman Emperor, and the one who extended the Eastern half of the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent. Into your hands I commit now my scepter. He was not, he had no need to be, ashamed of his tears, as he was resolved bravely to do his duty to the last.”. The Hagia Sophia, one of Christendom’s most hallowed churches, was converted into a mosque before being turned into a museum. As we know, the Christian emperor would, within the day, cast aside his regalia and make his final stand as a Christian soldier, falling with his men. Mijatovic then described Constantine’s departing the Hagia Sophia: “When he turned to leave the church, the great congregation wept aloud. Constantine, we are told, commanded the defense and encouraged his men to hold the city walls with all they had left. Constantine Xi Palaiologos 1405-1453 was the final emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Whoever of them was persecuted by misfortune and came to us was safe; but whoever raised a hand against our city never prospered.”, “Retain as thy rightful possession the territories which thou has unjustly taken from us, and settle the amount of tribute, which we will do our utmost to pay every year, and then go in peace. In the final and most memorable passage of his response as recorded in the chronicles, Constantine explained why he could not abandon the city: “To surrender this city is neither in my power nor in the power of any one here. As the sun set on the Roman Empire for what would be its final night, anxious citizens of the city gathered in the magnificent cathedral, the Hagia Sophia, for what would be its final night to date as a functioning Christian church. He undertook to fortify the city and appealed for support from Catholics in Western Europe, but it would be for naught. He left his imperial chair, and approaching the screen separating the altar from the nave, he prostrated himself before the great eikons of Christ and the Madonna, which were on the left and on the right side of the central entrance to the altar.”. Copyright © 2021 The New Leaf Journal All Rights Reserved. You will find many articles about society and culture, music, arts and literature, history, and current affairs. As the sun both literally and figuratively set on the Roman Empire on May 28, the Emperor addressed his commanders and chief citizens one final time. I pray you, my friends, in the future do not say to me anything else but, ‘Nay, sire, do not leave us.’ Never, never, will I leave you. Despite the fact that he was both kind and competent, his empire was beyond the point of no return. Enter your email address to sign up for The Newsletter Leaf Journal. During a council meeting on the 25th of May, the Emperor was again encouraged to flee the city. Instead, the council provided for some to flee while it made plans for the final defense of the capital. However, by refusing to surrender and fighting bravely with his men until the end, Constantine XI secured a different place for himself in history. What would the world say of me? In so doing, I will note where we are relying on chroniclers and where I am noting passages from nineteenth century historians analyzing the chronicles. And he went out in a way that none of his predecessors had ever come close to matching. Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site. If God gives us grace and valour, and the Holy Trinity help us, in Whom alone we trust, we will do such deeds that the foe shall fall back with shame before our arms.”. Constantinople would not only be sacked and absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, but also renamed “Istanbul,” which it remains today as part of modern Turkey. It was likely, as historian Sean Munger suggested in a blog post in 2014, that Constantine likely removed removed royal regalia before he entering the fray (as some accounts reported), leaving the Ottomans with no way of recognizing him among the thousands of dead. (Sultan Mehmed II subsequently had his head cut off, peeled off the skin, and stuffed it … Constantine XI’s reign was brief, and his dominion, even before the fall of Constantinople, was small. 191 When he is not working on The New Leaf Journal, he is a legal research specialist in the area of U.S. immigration law. Emperor Constantine XI cast off his purple cloak and made a last stand with his remaining soldiers. The legend of Constantine, as I noted earlier, was a rallying cry for the Greeks in their war for independence against the Ottomans in the nineteenth century (Munger, supra). Constantinople’s defenders held out bravely, hoping in vain that reinforcements from Hungary or western Europe might relieve the pressure of the Turkish siege. Not only did Byzantium achieve greater feats of art and science than Rome, they safeguarded (and advanced) for nearly 1,500 years the ancient knowledge of the Greeks and Romans. See our About page to learn more. Constantine and the Last Vespers at Hagia Sophia. After the death of his father Murat II, Mehmet II ascends to the Ottoman throne. Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos is not only remembered for being the last Byzantine Emperor who put up a brave last stand against the Ottomans, but also for his last speech to his officers and allies before the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453 by Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. On May 28, 1453, Greco-Christian Constantinople, the last bastion of the once vast Byzantine and Roman Empires, faced the prospect of the imminent fall of the city to the Ottoman Empire. I have also provided links to the books and pages that I am using as references, so you will be able to follow along. Meanwhile Constantine XI manages to overthrow the Ottomans in Europe with the help of a general uprising of their Orthodox subjects and thus revitalizes the empire. Chroniclers report that all those who were gathered were moved by Gregory’s words, and that the Emperor, upon hearing it vocalized that the Church now recognized that the fall of Constantinople as unavoidable, he momentarily fainted. They were joined in the Hagia Sophia by their Emperor, Constantine XI, who went to church for the final time to pray and ask his subjects for their pardon. On May 29, 1453, the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II launched their successful final assault on Constantinople, ending a 53-day siege and demolishing the last legitimate claimant to the legacy of the Roman Empire. He is not only remembered for being the last Byzantine Emperor who put up a brave last stand against the Ottomans, but also for his last speech to his officers and allies before the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453 … Our second account comes from a book with two names:  “Constantine, The Last Emperor of the Greeks; or, The Conquest of Constantinople by the Turks.”  Written by Cedomilj Mijatovic, this story upon which I relied heavily for my earlier article on Constantine XI, was published in 1892. Evidence suggests the European Renaissance was brought about an influx of, “Gr… Christian Rome and Greece revered history’s martyrs. Copyright © 2021 The New Leaf Journal All Rights Reserved. The last stand of the Byzantines was led by Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos (some, including Edward Gibbon, number him XII), who had been on the throne for a mere four years before he fell along with his city on its final day. After concluding his prayers, Constantine XI then proceeded in a manner suggesting that he did not expect to return to the cathedral again: “Having passed some time in prayer, he approached every prelate present in the church, asked them to pardon him if he had ever offended any of them, embraced each of them, and then went to the altar and received the Holy Communion.”. Wounded, but still ambulatory, Constantine fought until he was struck down by an Ottoman soldier. However, the Turks, after vicious fighting, breached the gates and poured into the city. That there is a thread linking Augustus, who became master of the Roman world after prevailing in his civil war against Marc Antony in the latter half of the first century BC, to Constantine XI, the final Greek and Christian ruler of Constantinople, is remarkable in and of itself. Alternatively, the Sultan would offer the Emperor the suzerainty of the Peloponnesus under his jurisdiction. The now-former Patriarch Gregory, we are told, implored the Emperor: “If the Imperial City could not be saved, let the Emperor be saved! Constantine’s final days and death, in a sense, honored the traditions of Republican and Christian Rome – and in this sense, served as an equally fitting and tragic end to the Roman Empire. The final message from Constantine XI to the Sultan read as follows (p. 138): “As it is plain thou desirest war more than peace, as I cannot satisfy thee by my vows of sincerity or by my readiness to swear allegiance, so let it be according to thy will. For three days the city was abandoned to pillage and massacre, after which order was restored by … All content published on the New Leaf Journal is property of the New Leaf Journal and its editors, unless otherwise expressly stated. (Sultan Mehmed II subsequently had his head cut off, peeled off the skin, and stuffed it … I know that my going out of the city might be of some benefit to me, inasmuch as all that you foresee might really happen. Constantine XI Palaeologus, Palaeologus also spelled Palaiologos, (born February 9, 1404, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]—died May 29, 1453, Constantinople), the last Byzantine emperor (1449–53), killed in the final defense of Constantinople against the Ottoman Turks. After addressing his Court for a final time, Constantine made his last inspection of the walls of Constantinople. I turn now and look above to God. On May 28, 1453, Greco-Christian Constantinople, the last bastion of the once vast Byzantine and Roman Empires, faced the prospect of the imminent fall of the city to the Ottoman Empire. However, rather than escape, Constantine prepared to go to the front lines himself: “God forbid that I should live an Emperor without an Empire! Benjamin Harrison’s Memorable July 4, 1888, Irene Triplett, last Civil War Pensioner, Dies. Unlike Constantine the Great, who some 1100 years earlier reigned from Constantinople over an Empire that stretched from Britain to Syria, Constantine XI inherited the remnants of an Empire that did not extend far from Constantinople itself. The borders would continuously expand and contract according to the pressure of its teeming enemies, however, and by 1453, the Byzantine Empire was little more than just the city state of Constantinople. This, we are told, elicited tears from both the Emperor and his council. It’s important to remember, though, that when the Western Roman Empire fall, the Eastern Roman Empire did not. The Emperor should live, because in his person are centered the hopes of his people. With that, the last Roman Emperor left the cathedral that had been left to him for the final time, resolved to defend it until his last, which would come the very next day. The last stand of Emperor Constantine XI. Save it! We are told that while gazing on the illuminated and noisy camp of the enemy, the Emperor remained silent, wrapped in thought, while tears ran down his cheeks. Veterans Day and World War I Double Quarantines, 75th Anniversary of the Japanese Surrender. In an earlier post that you may read here, I discussed the events of May 28 and related several other anecdotes about Constantine XI’s actions during the Siege of Constantinople and his last stand with his men once the Ottomans breached the city’s defenses. the last stand of the last emperor of constantinople..constantine xi. At a council including the Emperor on May 3, his military commanders, and other dignitaries of state and church, several senators, prelates, and the Patriarch of the church pled with Emperor Constantine to flee – hoping that by surviving he would attract volunteers to force the Sultan to withdraw. Some accounts report that the Ottomans paraded the head of a man that they thought was Constantine, but it was not recognized by the inhabitants of the city. Or perhaps as the Byzantine Empire of his judgment. ” detailed account of Constantine XI shall., Mehmet II ascends to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.. 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