May 29 – June 1, 1453 · Constantinople, throughout the city Theater
May 29 – June 1, 1453
Following the custom of the time — and his promise to his troops — Mehmed permitted three days of plunder. The sack lasted approximately one day before Mehmed entered the city personally and ordered it stopped. Ottoman soldiers ransacked churches, palaces, and private homes; thousands of civilians were killed or enslaved; priceless manuscripts, icons, and relics were destroyed or dispersed across the Ottoman world. When Mehmed reached the Hagia Sophia — the greatest church in Christendom — he reportedly wept at its beauty, rebuked a soldier for breaking the marble floor, and immediately ordered its conversion to a mosque. He claimed the title 'Caesar of Rome' and announced that Constantinople would be the new capital of his empire.
Commanders