Here I go thinking about the Roman Empire again.
I had no idea that this siege was so closely contested, despite the odds. I always thought the cannons blasted the theodosian walls to kingdom and that was that. Another enlightening video, thank you.
"The spider weaves the curtains in the palace of the Caesars" That's amazing.
I have passed through the Roman walls thousands of times. Actually, when you think about it, it is literally a 1000-year-old Roman wall, but no one think about that. The walls are completely part of the city and intertwined with daily life.
Constantine XI was such a badass. One of the few to actually lead his troops to the very end in defense of their city
I like how you can visualize the history of the empire with the main entry of the Golden Gate - it gets bricked over and shrinks through the centuries until it is no bigger than a normal door.
Great video! Rome went down bravely, led by a heroic emperor. This video has helped me talk to my dog about the fall of Constantinople. He was very depressed.
The Golden Gate is sealed due to a Greek myth. It is said that a Greek king will reconquer Constantinople and restore the empire, and he will enter the city in triumph by the golden gate as the emperors of old. The Ottomans were superstitious so they sealed that gate. There's also the Marble Emperor myth, according to which Constantine XI's body was recovered by the Angel Michael and was buried underneath the golden gate.
In my experience, the American public education system barely emphasizes Constantinople. Our sense of the Middle Ages centers more around Western Europe, focusing on the British and French monarchies. But really the major centers of civilization were in the East, like Constantinople, the Middle Eastern Caliphates (Baghdad, etc.), and of course, China.
Fridays become just a little more sweet when ToldInStone releases a new video 😊
“Athena herself could scarcely have built these walls in so short a time” 💀 Has that dude ever read a Greek tragedy
This sounds like an event that should be made into a movie.
I visited Istanbul this year. I don't know the city well, and it was difficult to get to the walls. I got off the tram a stop too late, and it was extremely hard to get back to them on foot because the area was dominated by busy roads with poor pedestrian access. There's a '1453 Panorama' museum near where the fighting took place that gives a very patriotic Turkish interpretation of the siege, but is still very interesting and entertaining. Yet the walls themselves are mostly in a fairly run-down series of parks, which aren't well served by public transit. I'm sure more people would visit the spectacular ruins and that part of the city if it was made easier and more inviting, and the Istanbul local authorities should look into it.
Tolkien's inspiration for the Rammas Echor, the ancient great wall encircling Minas Tirith and the Pelennor Fields, its farmlands and suburbs.
It was amazingy to see these walls still standing today on my recent holiday.turkey really is an amazing place for history both Ancient and medieval.....Im great full toldinstone for his videos and books for preparing me for my Mediterranean trip though turkey,greece,Italy
Oh I used to commute past these almost every day, some parts look so pristine that I questioned whether or not they were renovated.
I’m a simple man. I see Toldinstone new video, I hit play
A correction. Yedikule is early Ottoman, not late Byzantine
Great, thanks for sharing Big Dog!
@RedStickHistorian