Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-06
C0NSTANTIN0PLE TAKEN BY TURKS

tes." large oarboats not difncult to drag
out Of water and place on CREASED
skids. The only astonishing part OF
the operation was the celebrity ana
order in which it was conducted.
At day dawn OF April % the Geuoes9
Of Galata and the Greeks from the top
OF the ramparts saw with stupor sew
enty Turkish ships ascend the abrupt
hill to the sound of fafe and drum ana
descend the slope on the other side 10
the Golden Horn. This audacious ma.
neuver obliged the besieged to rein.
force the combatants in the ramparts
and the ships.
Mahofnet II. sultan of the faithful.
and Constantine XIII. the last of the
Roman emperors. were
Two Worthy foemen worthy OF each
other. Mahomet was
VPponents. twenty-five years OF age.
Since his accession TO the throne a sins
gle thought had occupied his mind
Constantinople. The prophet had saids
The greatest prince OF Islam will be
the one who takes Constantinopls
And Mahomet ii was that one.
Constantine XIII was worthy OF tho
grand dynasty which would terminate
with him. He employed a noble activi-
ty In seeking to avert the danEers
praying the princes of Christianity not
to permit his throne and city to per-
ish. During the siege he was brave'
the first at the ramparts to inspire
courage and energy. He could have
obtained an honorable capftulation
after the first check. His counselors
begged him to embark on the Genoesa
galleys with which he could search for
aid from his brother. the 'despot of the
Moree"; from the Albanians and their
terrible Scanderbeg. from John Hun
yad, from the Pope. and from CHRISTIAN
princes. The emperor replied: your
counsel is excellent, but never VIII 1
abandon in such a moment my clergy.
the holy churches of the capital. my
throne and my people. What Will the
world say OF me? 1 pray you. on the
contrary. to beg me not to ABANDON
Won Yes L desire to die here with you
ALL
when there was naught else but hon
or to be saved. Constantine drew mis-
sword and fell fighting at the Saint
Roman gate.
The last of the Caesars inspires not
alone pity but admiration. Constantine
XIII is one Of the grand ngures OF
history
The means of action of the Emperor
Paleologue and the sultan were by no
means equal. The sultan commanded
an army of 100000, among these 12,OoO
janissaries, the most redoubtabie SOL
diers in Europe. In the menanced city
there could be found only 4.913 Greek
combatants on the side of the emperor.
These figures, singularly precise, are
given by the historian, Phrantzes. Dur
ing the siege the principal roles were
held by the Genoese and Venetian cap
tains and the most difficult points were
occupied by the 5000 brave Italian SOL
diers they commanded. The renowned
Genoese, Jean Giustiniani, arrived the
day before the siege with two vessels,
sol
coats of mail, Giustiniani was the hero
of the siege. His fall in the final hour
was the signal for the fall of the city.
Unfortunately there was discord
among venetians and Genoese, between
whom there was
Discord Among positive hatred.
the Defenders they being rivals
was discord also among a part of the
Greeks. The Grand Duke -Notaras, the
first parsonage at the court of the en-
peror, declared openly that he pre-
ferred to see the turban of the sultan
in Constantinople rather than the Ro-
man mitre. Even in the most tragic
moments of the siege a silent misun-
Outstanding existed between Greeks
and Italians.
A study of the relation of the Byzan-
tine empire with the catholicity of the
occident casts a bright light on the
Caesars in the two last centuries or
Its history became, as in other times.
Greco-Latin city. Even after the fall
OF the Latin empire. founded by the
Crusaders in 1904. the influence of the
occidental Mediterranean continued to
increase
The most intelligent of the emperors
of Byzance understood the necessity
of retuvenating Byzantism; several OF
them married Latin priNcesses; they
favored the development of the Genoese
colony of Galata.
But the people and the clergy or
Constantinople could not understood
that policy Of the emperors; the peo-
pie detested in Latinism the souvenir
OF the attack and piIlage of April Il.
1204; they despised the "barbarians''
Rome. and believed themselves the sole
depository of the faith and civilization
Many times there were bloody re-
volts. encouraged by the clergy or
plotted the passions of the crowd
against the Latins. These animositL-s
more than the disparity i'm numbers
of the rival armies at ConstantinopI.
were the real cause of the fall of Con-
stantinople in 1853.
y
NO great Christian power sent succor
TO the besieged city Neither the King NJ
Aragon. who In advance
No Help From had claimed the Island
Monorcbs of emnos. nor the Serb
ian, Georges Brauco-
'itch. sent promised succor. The Venetian
Heet. Notwithstanding the authority and
of the Pope. delayed departure
Tor the beleagured. Twenty to thirty ships
Under Jacques Loreham remained at
-hio, awaiting a favorable wind. and
t was there that news of the disaster
cached him. This succor alone had
saved Constantinople
Before the final assault the sultan
promised his soldiers three days or
'iliase. All the imperial city contained.
men, women, children, riches, confessed
he booty of the conqueror Mahomet
entered his new capital with great
,omp ana proceeding directly to 81.
'ophla he assembled the pulpit, and. turn
hs toward the east. he muttered a
prayer, whilst an imam recited the con-
esslon OF the Sunnite faith. Since that
lme, 46l years ago, the church of Com
tantine, the temple Of divine wisdom
las served the conquerors as a mosque.
The sons of the Grand Duke Notarn.