May 22, 1453 · Sea Walls of Marmara coast Theater
May 22, 1453
A total lunar eclipse on the night of May 22 terrified the Byzantine defenders — an ancient prophecy held that Constantinople would fall when the moon was full. The Ottomans launched coordinated attacks on the sea walls by both the Golden Horn fleet and the Marmara sea approach, while simultaneously renewing artillery bombardment of the land walls. Byzantine sailors held the sea walls with incendiary weapons and concentrated missile fire. The defenders repulsed the seaborne attacks, but the eclipse's psychological damage was severe: morale collapsed in the city as the population interpreted the darkened moon as divine confirmation of doom.
Commanders