In 1453, after a long seige, Constantinople, the half-ruined capital of and all that was left of the once-great Byzantine Empire, fell to the Ottoman Turks. Once the Byzantines fell, the city was attacked by the Turkish army, and many were killed in revenge for the long seige. Distraught at the distruction, the Turkish leader (Mehmed II, I think) forced the Turks to stop, and decided to rebuild the now even more ruined city and make it his capital. Many turks and other members of the Empire moved to the city, and Istanbul is a firmly islamic, turkic city today.
Now what if this had gone differently? For example, what if some sort of problem with the gates of the city had caused them to break near the beginning of the seige, and Constantinople fell far faster, perhaps with a survivng Constantine XI (Would Mehmed just kill him anyway?). In this scenario, would the Constatinopolitians still be massacred by the Turks, or was that simply punishment for not surrendering? Is Constantinople's location too valuable for it to become just another greek city within the Ottoman Empire, or would Mehmed leave the city somewhat alone? If Constantinople remained greek, where would the Turkish capital be?
Crazy idea: After conquering Trebizond, Medmed makes that his capital...
And, for a second part, did Constantinople have any chance of NOT falling in 1453, and even if it did survive, were it's days numbered? Though the idea of having a tiny little city-state in the middle of Turkey claiming to be the Roman Empire is an interesting one.
I'm not too knowledgeble about the Turks in general, so any information about how insane and implausible my conclusions are is welcomed.
Now what if this had gone differently? For example, what if some sort of problem with the gates of the city had caused them to break near the beginning of the seige, and Constantinople fell far faster, perhaps with a survivng Constantine XI (Would Mehmed just kill him anyway?). In this scenario, would the Constatinopolitians still be massacred by the Turks, or was that simply punishment for not surrendering? Is Constantinople's location too valuable for it to become just another greek city within the Ottoman Empire, or would Mehmed leave the city somewhat alone? If Constantinople remained greek, where would the Turkish capital be?
Crazy idea: After conquering Trebizond, Medmed makes that his capital...
And, for a second part, did Constantinople have any chance of NOT falling in 1453, and even if it did survive, were it's days numbered? Though the idea of having a tiny little city-state in the middle of Turkey claiming to be the Roman Empire is an interesting one.
I'm not too knowledgeble about the Turks in general, so any information about how insane and implausible my conclusions are is welcomed.