*Ø* Blogmanac | Celestial wonders and the fall of Constantinople, 1453


Did a Pacific volcano change Western history?

May 29, 1453 On a Tuesday, Constantinople (now Istanbul) fell to the Turks, or, as it is said in the Muslim world, Constantinople was liberated. It was a major turning point in world history as Constantinople, founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine, was a seat of learning and the tangible presence of Western civilization in the East. It has been said that the flight of many scholarly refugees from Constantinople to Italy was the single most important mainspring of the European Renaissance. Yet the antagonists of the siege of Constantinople had the minds of the Middle Ages era, and the effect of ‘ominous’ heavenly wonders probably affected the outcome.

During the preceding weeks, the city had suffered many heavy rains and hailstorms. Being medieval men, the leaders believed that the Christian city would not fall to Sultan Mehmed II’s siege unless there was a sign in the moon. Unfortunately for them, the moon went into a long and dark eclipse on May 22nd, displaying a thin crescent – the image of the Turkish standard flying over Mehmed's camp.

Read on – I have just posted this new article at the Scriptorium