Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:44 The Rhegium Gate
1:37 The design of the walls
2:48 The Golden Gate
3:51 Defying invaders
4:45 The Ottoman threat
5:36 The Mesoteichon vs. Mehmed's guns
6:58 The Kaligaria Gate
7:22 The final assault
8:16 The Kerkoporta
8:41 The Turks take the walls
9:44 The Charisius Gate
Transcript · Introduction 0:08 · The walls of Constantinople shaped the Middle Ages. Without them, the Byzantine Empire could 0:15 · have collapsed in late antiquity, the Arab invasions might have swept over the Balkans 0:20 · and beyond, and the whole course of European history would have been dramatically different. 0:26 · The famous walls were begun early in, or possibly just before, the reign of Theodosius II, 0:31 · and were completed by the year 413. They consisted of a double ring of walls about 0:38 · 6 km long, extending the full width of the peninsula on which Constantinople was built. · The Rhegium Gate 0:44 · This is the Rhegion or Mevlana Gate. It has survived almost unchanged since the mid-fifth 0:50 · century. It has several inscriptions. The most intriguing of these, on the left of the doorway, 0:56 · bears witness to the most extensive reconstruction of the Theodisan Walls. 1:01 · In 447, only a generation after their completion, a massive earthquake destroyed many towers. 1:07 · Since Attila the Hun was then ravaging the Balkans, the timing was quite poor – so a 1:12 · massive reconstruction effort was set in motion. It was spearheaded by the prefect Constantine, 1:18 · who left this fun little record of his efforts here, in Latin. It says: 1:24 · "On the orders of Theodosius, Constantine rebuilt these mighty walls in less than two months. 1:31 · Athena herself could scarcely have built so mighty a fortress so quickly." · The design of the walls 1:38 · Both walls were faced with brick-banded limestone over a core of mortared rubble. 1:43 · The inner wall, 11 m high and up to 6 m thick, was fortified with 96 towers, each up to 20 m tall. 1:53 · The outer wall, set at a lower elevation, was about 9 m high and 2 m thick, 1:58 · with towers positioned midway between those of the inner wall. 2:03 · Let's take a closer look at the walls. I'm standing on what was the rampart of the lower 2:08 · wall. To my left is the inner wall, and the parateichon – the raised terrace between them. 2:16 · As I pan, you can see how the walls were built, with bands of brick and rubble. 2:22 · To our left, where there is now a park, is where the moat was. 2:27 · Beyond the outer wall was a moat more than 20 m wide and up to 10 m deep. 2:33 · Since the terrain sloped, the moat was divided by lateral walls that functioned as dams, 2:38 · allowing each section to be filled to a different height. 2:42 · The moat and walls were pierced by nine principal gates and a disputed number of posterns. · The Golden Gate 2:49 · Here we have a fine view of the south end of the Theodosian Walls. But the real highlight 2:54 · is just behind us – and that is the Porta Aurea, the Golden Gate, the most impressive of all the 3:01 · gates in the Theodosian Wall. As you can see, it's a monumental, marble-plated structure – so 3:08 · monumental, in fact, that it's sometimes thought it might have been built before 3:11 · the rest of the walls, by Theodosius I. Whoever built it, the sense of grandeur is indisputable, 3:17 · even though it has lost the elephant quadriga that once crowned it. The grand central portal 3:23 · was used by the emperors after their triumphs. So it was here that Heraclius came back to 3:29 · Constantinople after the great Persian campaign, and here too – much later – that Michael VIII 3:35 · returned after the Latin occupation. The side gates were used by everyday traffic. 3:41 · Behind this gate, as you can probably just make out, is a small castle – the so-called Yedikule, 3:46 · the Seven Towers – which was built in the late Byzantine period. · Defying invaders 3:52 · The walls proved their worth almost as soon as they were built, deflecting Attila the Hun 3:56 · toward the Western Roman Empire. They saved the Byzantines during the Avar-Persian siege of 626, 4:03 · and preserved the empire again during the massive Arab sieges of 674-8 and 717-18. 4:11 · Over the following centuries, the walls defied the Bulgars, 4:14 · Kievan Rus, and every other invader drawn to the richest city in the Mediterranean world. 4:21 · The walls continued to be developed. Here, in the angle facing the Golden Horn, 4:27 · they were supplemented by this line of defenses, which enclosed the suburb of Blachernae. 4:33 · This section was built by Manuel Comnenus in the twelfth century. 4:37 · Though only a single wall, as opposed to the double Theodosian Wall, 4:41 · it is higher and thicker than the inner line of the Theodosian defenses. · The Ottoman threat 4:46 · For the last century of its existence, the Byzantine Empire was an impoverished 4:50 · fragment of its former self, encircled by the rising power of the Ottoman sultans. 4:56 · After establishing their capital at Edirne, a few days' march from Constantinople, 5:00 · the Ottomans repeatedly tried and failed to take the city. But in the spring of 1453, the dynamic 5:08 · young sultan Mehmed II marched with an Ottoman army of unprecedented size on the imperial city. 5:15 · Mehmed had between 80-100,000 men, and the latest in gunpowder technology. 5:22 · Constantinople had fewer than 7,000 defenders, led by Emperor Constantine XI. 5:29 · Mehmed focused his attack on the Mesoteichon, 5:32 · the section of the Theodosian Walls in the valley of the Lycus River. · The Mesoteichon vs. Mehmed's guns 5:37 · This is the Mesoteichon, the weakest point in the Theodosian Walls. 5:41 · The busy road at the bottom of the hill more or less follows the course 5:44 · of the Lycus River. The Lycus was never a major stream, but its valley was deep. 5:50 · This allowed any attacker with guns to fire straight down on the walls at this point. 5:56 · Because the elevation of the walls was lowest here, Mehmed's cannons could fire 6:01 · straight down on them. The largest gun, cast by a Hungarian engineer named Urban, could hurl a 6:07 · 1,200-pound stone ball more than a mile; it was so heavy that 30 oxen were needed to draw it, 6:13 · and so temperamental that it could only be fired seven times a day. But each of its 6:19 · shots caused tremendous destruction, and about 70 smaller cannons kept up a continuous bombardment 6:26 · The bombardment went on for almost two months. Although long sections of the outer 6:31 · wall were soon reduced to rubble, the defenders repaired every breach and repelled each assault. 6:37 · Even after Mehmed dragged part of his fleet overland into the Golden Horn, 6:42 · forcing the Byzantines to stretch their resources even further, resistance remained stubborn. 6:47 · Mehmed's grand vizier advised retreat; but the sultan was determined to take the city, 6:52 · and ordered a final assault prepared for Tuesday, May 29. · The Kaligaria Gate 6:58 · By May 28, it was clear that the final assault was imminent. 7:03 · After returning from a service at Haghia Sophia, the emperor rode here, 7:07 · to the Caligaria Gate – the Turkish Egri Kapi – near Blachernae Palace. 7:13 · He climbed this tower, and surveyed the Ottoman camp a final time. The next day would be his last. · The final assault 7:22 · The final assault began well before dawn. 7:25 · Thousands of irregular troops charged the outer wall, focusing their attacks on the Mesoteichon. 7:32 · After two hours of continuous fighting, they were hurled back. Then, as Mehmed's 7:37 · cannons pounded the walls at almost point-blank range, the Anatolian regulars charged forward. 7:44 · A colossal ball from Urban's cannon smashed into the Byzantine stockade, leaving a wide breach. But 7:51 · the emperor stationed himself in the gap, and the Turks were repulsed again. Finally, as the first 7:57 · light of dawn washed over the Bosporus, Mehmed sent in the Janissaries, his finest soldiers. 8:04 · For an hour, amid savage hand-to-hand combat, wave after wave crashed into the Byzantine stockade. 8:11 · At this critical moment, disaster struck. · The Kerkoporta 8:16 · According to the Byzantine historian Doukas, just as fighting between the 8:20 · Byzantines and the Janissaries reached its height, 8:22 · a small group of Turks noticed that a postern known as the Kerkoporta had been left open, 8:28 · and seized possession of the Blachernae Walls. This may be the Kerkoporta Gate – but since no 8:35 · historian besides Doukas mentions the incident, we should take all this with a grain of salt. 8:39 · At the height of the struggle with the Janissaries, Giovanni Giustiniani, · The Turks take the walls 8:45 · the commander of the Genoese troops aiding the Byzantines, was mortally wounded and carried away. 8:52 · His men streamed after him. As they did, Mehmed – noticing the confusion – ordered another charge. 9:00 · This is the Pempton Gate. The Turkish name is Hucum Kapisi, "Assault Gate," because it was near 9:07 · here that Mehmed's Janissaries took the walls. The first man over the top was a giant named Hassan. 9:13 · He was cut down, but his companions followed, and quickly overran the Byzantine stockade. 9:20 · The Janissaries took the stockade, forcing the defenders back through the inner wall. 9:26 · As they broke through, they may have been joined by another band that had entered 9:30 · through the Kerkoporta Gate. Emperor Constantine, sensing that all was lost, 9:36 · cast aside his imperial insignia and charged the advancing Janissaries. His body was never found. · The Charisius Gate 9:44 · This is the Charisius, or Edirne, Gate. On the afternoon of May 29, 1453, 9:52 · Mehmed entered the city by this gate, 9:55 · and was acclaimed by the title he would bear the rest of his life: Fatih – conqueror. 10:02 · That afternoon, Mehmed II entered Constantinople. He prayed in Hagia Sophia, 10:08 · which he ordered converted into a mosque. Then, passing through the Augusteion, 10:13 · with its colossal statue of Justinian, the Sultan entered the half-ruined Great Palace. As he 10:21 · walked through rubble-strewn courts and roofless halls, he is said to have quoted a Persian poet: 10:27 · "Spiders weave the curtains in the palace of the Caesars." 10:32 · It was a fitting epitaph for the Roman Empire. 10:38 · I have a new book: Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, 10:42 · and Earthquake Machines: more frequently asked questions about the ancient Greeks and Romans. 10:48 · It's a sequel to Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants; 10:53 · and it's available for pre-order now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through your local bookstore. 11:00 · If you're interested in more toldinstone content (including my podcast), 11:04 · check out my channel Toldinstone Footnotes. I also have a channel called Scenic Routes 11:11 · to the Past, which is dedicated to historically-themed travel. You'll 11:15 · find both channels linked in the description. Last but not least, please consider joining other 11:22 · viewers in supporting toldinstone on Patreon. Thanks for watching.
Kinda shocked me when A CAR drove thru the The Rhegium Gate! Was not expecting that.
Cool. Thanks!
Good post.