The Battle and Fall of Constantinople, 1453. Islamic Turks Take the Invincible City, Age of Exploration Hastened.

This battle shattered the Byzantine Empire once and for all, flinging open Europe’s doors to the advancing tide of Islam. It was the moment the Ottoman Turks seized their mantle as the supreme Muslim power, a position they would hold, unchallenged, for nearly five centuries—until the dawn of the twentieth century. Constantinople. February - March, 1453. Turkish Ottoman Forces: 90,000 Soldiers. Byzantine Forces: ~ 10,000 Soldiers. Additional Reading and Research: Fuller, J.F.C. A Military Hi...