Editing 1453 (section)

==== Fall of Constantinople ====
[[File:Le siège de Constantinople (1453) by Jean Le Tavernier after 1455.jpg|alt=A labeled miniature painting showing the fall of Constantinople in 1453|thumb|Mid-1450s French [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] depicting the [[Fall of Constantinople]]]]
[[Mehmed II]], the Sultan of the [[Ottoman Empire]], began preparations to conquer the city of [[Constantinople]], the capital of the declining [[Byzantine Empire]], soon after his ascension to the throne in 1451. He had fortified the European coast north of the city, giving him full control over the [[Bosporus|Bosporus Strait]].{{Sfn|Necipoğlu|2009|p=221}} Mehmed mobilized the [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman army]] in early January, and arranged for large [[Bombard (weapon)|bombards]] to be brought to the staging areas. Some Ottoman forces attacked the Byzantine strongholds of [[Nesebar|Mesambria]] and [[Silivri|Selybria]] later in January; Mesambria quickly surrendered, while Selybria held out until March.{{sfn|Philippides|Hanak|2011|pp=411, 573}}{{Sfn|Harris|2010|pp=185–186}} Mercenary forces led by the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] captain [[Giovanni Giustiniani]] arrived in the city on January 26, joining [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] forces stationed in the city.{{Sfn|Harris|2010|p=189}}

Ottoman forces began besieging Constantinople itself on April 6, with Mehmed hoping to starve the city into surrender. Although the city's population had declined greatly since its peak, food shortages set in quickly; an emergency order was given to distribute bread to the family of soldiers, as many had abandoned their posts to care for their starving families.{{Sfn|Necipoğlu|2009|pp=220–221}} With the entrance to the city's harbor, the [[Golden Horn]], blocked by the Byzantines, Ottoman forces transported their ships from the Bosporous into the Golden Horn by hauling them over the hills of [[Galata|Pera]]. After three smaller assaults over the prior weeks, the Ottomans launched a mass assault on the morning of May 29. The third wave of the assault took the city's walls and subdued the defenders, with the Byzantine emperor [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]] dying in unclear circumstances. Ottoman forces sacked the city for three days.{{sfn|Philippides|Hanak|2011|pp=575–578}}[[File:Byz1453 (cropped).png|alt=A map of the Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Empire in 1453. Successor states, including Morea, Athens, Epirus, Trebizond, and Theodoro, are also featured|thumb|The Byzantine Empire and its successor states before the fall of Constantinople in 1453]]
Some rump states of the Byzantine Empire still remained — the [[Despotate of the Morea]] and the separatist [[Empire of Trebizond]]. The [[Palaiologos]] scions [[Demetrios Palaiologos|Demetrios]] and [[Thomas Palaiologos|Thomas]] shared the title of Despot of the Morea, and fought among themselves. Later in 1453, a rebel leader named [[Manuel Kantakouzenos (usurper)|Manuel Kantakouzenos]] led a group of Albanians in the Morea into [[Morea revolt of 1453–1454|a rebellion]] against the despots. Mehmed dispatched the Ottoman general [[Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey]] to put down the revolt, although he would not see immediate success.{{sfn|Bartusis|1992|pp=134–135}}

The fall of Constantinople caused great fear, anxiety, and anger among Christian leaders throughout Europe. [[Anti-Turkish sentiment]] spread widely. As the news spread across Europe, songs and poems were composed lamenting the fall of the city and condemning the Ottoman Empire. Prominent examples from 1453 include Balthasar Mandelreiß's poem {{lang|de|[[Türkenschrei]]}}, commissioned by the Holy Roman imperial court, and [[Michael Beheim]]'s song-poem {{lang|de|Von den Türken und dem adel sagt dis}}.{{sfn|McDonald|2017|pp=372–373}} [[Pope Nicholas V]] called for a crusade against the Ottoman Empire, issuing a [[crusading bull]] on September 30.{{sfn|Hardy|2024|p=6}}