🏰 The Fall of Constantinople | 1453 The largest bombards—such as Orban’s 27-foot bronze gun—could fire stone balls of up to ~1,300 lb. While the stated range was over a mile, practical use put many of these guns within ~200–250 yards of the Theodosian Walls as the Ottomans built ramps and batteries close to the walls to maximise effect. Who were the Ottomans? A Turkic dynasty whose ancestors came from the Central Asian steppes (modern-day Mongolia and Kazakhstan region) before migrating west. By the 1200s, they had settled in northwestern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) after the decline of the Seljuk Empire. Founded by Osman I (from whom “Ottoman” comes), they blended Turkic nomadic traditions with Islamic governance, expanding into former Byzantine lands. Why did they want Constantinople? It was the last Byzantine stronghold and the bridge between Europe and Asia, controlling trade through the Bosporus Strait and the Silk Road. Capturing it meant owning the world’s most strategic ci...