perfect glory, the little Chapel of San Lorenzo, painted by the tender
hand of Fra Angelico, remains unharmed, the only work of that grand
painter to be found in Rome. If one could have chosen a monument for the
good Pope, the patron and friend of art in every form, there could not
have been a better than this. Fra Angelico seems to have been brought to
Rome by Pope Eugenius, but it was under Nicholas, in two or three years
of gentle labor, that the work was done. It is, however, impossible to
enumerate all the undertakings of Pope Nicholas. He did something to
reestablish or decorate almost all the great basilicas. It is feared--but
here our later historians speak with bated breath, not liking to bring
such an accusation against the kind Pope, who loved men of letters--that
the destruction of St. Peter's, afterward ruthlessly carried out by
succeeding popes, was in his plan, on the pretext, so constantly
employed, and possibly believed in, of the instability of the ancient
building. But there is no absolute certainty of evidence, and at all
events he might have repented, for he certainly did not do that deed. He
began the tribune, however, in the ancient church, which may have been a
preparation for the entire renewal of the edifice; and he did much toward
the decoration of another round church, that of the Madonna delle Febbre,
an ill-omened name, attached to the Vatican. He also built the Belvedere
in the gardens, and surrounded the whole with strong walls and towers
(round), one of which, according to Nibby, still remained fifty years
ago, which very little of Nicholas' building has done. His great sin was
one which he shared with all his brother-popes, that he boldly treated
the antique ruins of the city as quarries for his new buildings, not
without protest and remonstrance from many, yet with the calm of a mind
preoccupied and seeing nothing so great and important as the work upon
which his own heart was set.
This excellent Pope died in 1455, soon after having received the news of
the downfall of Constantinople, which is said to have broken his heart.
He had many ailments, and was always a small and spare man of little
strength of constitution; "but nothing transfixed his heart so much as to
hear that the Turks had taken Constantinople and killed the Europeans,
with many thousands of Christians, among them that same 'Imperadore
de Gostantinopli' whom he had seen seated in state at the Council of
Ferrara, listening to his own and other arguments, only a few years
before--as well as the greater part, no doubt, of his own clerical
opponents there. When he was dying, 'being not the less of a strong
spirit,' he called the cardinals round his bed, and many prelates with
them, and made them a last address. His pontificate had lasted a little
more than eight years, and to have carried out so little of his great
plan must have been heavy on his heart; but his dying words are those
of one to whom the holiness and unity of the Church came before all. No
doubt the fear that the victorious Turks might spread ruin over the whole
of Christendom was first in his mind at that solemn hour.
"'Knowing, my dearest brethren, that I am approaching the hour of my
death, I would, for the great dignity and authority of the apostolic see,
make a serious and important testimony before you, not committed to the
memory of letters, not written, neither on a tablet nor on parchment, but
given by my living voice, that it may have more authority. Listen, I pray
you, while your little Pope Nicholas, in the very instant of dying, makes
his last will before you. In the first place I render thanks to the
Highest God for the measureless benefits which, beginning from the day of
my birth until the present day, I have received of his infinite mercy.
And now I recommend to you this beautiful Spouse of Christ, whom, so
far as I was able, I have exalted and magnified, as each of you is well
aware; knowing this to be the honor of God, for the great dignity that is
in her, and the great privileges that she possesses, and so worthy, and
formed by so worthy an Author, who is the Creator of the universe. Being
of sane mind and intellect, and having done that which every Christian is
called to do, and specially the Pastor of the Church, I have received the
most sacred body of Christ with penitence, taking it from his table with
my two hands, and praying the Omnipotent God that he would pardon my
sins. Having had these sacraments I have also received the extreme
unction, which is the last sacrament for the redeeming of my soul.
Again I recommend to you, as long as I am able, the Roman Church,
notwithstanding that I have already done so; for this is the most
important duty you have to fufil in the sight of God and men. This is the
true Spouse of Christ which he bought with his blood. This is the robe
without seam, which the impious Jews would have torn, but could not. This
is that ship of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, agitated and tossed
by varied fortunes of the winds, but sustained by the Omnipotent God, so
that she could never be submerged or shipwrecked. With all the strength
of your souls sustain her and rule her: she has need of your good works,
and you should show a good example by your lives. If you with all your
strength care for her and love her, God will reward you, both in this
present life and in the future with life eternal; and to do this with all
the strength we have, we pray you, do it diligently, dearest brethren.'
"Having said this he raised his hands to heaven and said: 'Omnipotent
God, grant to the holy Church, and to these fathers, a pastor who will
preserve her and increase her; give to them a good pastor who will rule
and govern thy flock the most maturely that one can rule and govern. And
I pray for you and comfort you as much as I know and can. Pray for me to
God in your prayers.' When he had ended these words he raised his right
arm and, with a generous soul, gave the benediction,' _Benedict vos Deus,
Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus_'--speaking with a raised voice and
solemnly, _in modo pontificate_"
These tremulous words, broken and confused by the weakness of his last
hours, were taken down by the favorite scribe, Giannozzo Manetti, in the
chamber of the dying Pope; with much more of the most serious matter
to the Church and to Rome. His eager desire to soften all possible
controversies and produce in the minds of the conclave about his bed, so
full of ambition and the force of life, the softened heart which would
dispose them to a peaceful and conscientious election of his successor,
is very touching, coming out of the fogs and mists of approaching death.
In the very age that produced the Borgias, and himself the head of that
band of elegant scholars and connoisseurs, everything but Christian,
to whom Rome owes so much of her external beauty and splendor, it is
pathetic to stand by this kind and gentle spirit as he pauses on the
threshold of a higher life, subduing the astute and worldly minded
churchmen around him with the tender appeal of the dying father, their
_Papa Niccolato_, familiar and persuasive--beseeching them to be of one
accord without so much as saying it, turning his own weakness to account
to touch their hearts, for the honor of the Church and the welfare of the
flock.
MAHOMET II TAKES CONSTANTINOPLE.
END OF THE EASTERN EMPIRE
A.D. 1453
GEORGE FINLAY
By the greater number of historians the fall of Constantinople under the
Moslem power is considered as the decisive event which separates the
modern from the mediaeval period. From the same event dates the final
establishment of the Ottoman empire both in Asia Minor and in Europe. At
that moment, when the Moorish power in Spain had been almost destroyed,
Christian Europe was threatened for the second time with Mahometan
conquest.
From 1354, when Suleiman crossed the Hellespont and captured Gallipoli,
the Turks from Asia Minor had kept their foothold on European soil. Under
Amurath I (1359-1389), Bajazet I (1389-1403), Mahomet I and Amurath
II (1404-1451)--the last of whom, in 1422, unsuccessfully besieged
Constantinople--the Ottoman dominions in Europe were much extended. When
Mahomet II, son of Amurath II, became Sultan (1451), the Turks were so
strongly established, and the Eastern Empire was so much weakened, that
he was prepared to finish the work of his predecessors and make the
Ottoman power in Europe what it has ever since been.
Mahomet "the Conqueror"--such was his surname--had for his adversary
Constantine XIII, the last of the Greek emperors, who was proclaimed in
1448, with the consent of Amurath II, whose power is thus attested. The
Empire was torn by the quarrels of political factions and by theological
dissensions. When Mahomet succeeded to the sultanate he was but
twenty-one years old, but had already given proof of great talents,
learning, and ambition, all guided by a judgment of remarkable maturity.
The first object of Mahomet's ambition was the conquest of
Constantinople, the natural capital of his dominions. As long as it was
held by Eastern Christians the Ottoman empire was open to invasion
by those of the West. The first threatening act of Mahomet was the
construction of a fortress on Constantine's territory, at the narrowest
part of the Bosporus, and within five miles of Constantinople.
Constantine was too weak to resent the menace with vigor, and Mahomet
treated his mild protest with contempt, denying the right of a vassal of
the Porte to dispute the Sultan's will. A feeble resistance by some
of the Greeks only gave Mahomet pretexts for further aggression, soon
followed by his formal declaration of war.
Both parties began to prepare for the mortal contest. The siege of
Constantinople was to be the great event of the coming year. The Sultan,
in order to prevent the Emperor's brothers in the Peloponnesus from
sending any succors to the capital, ordered Turakhan, the Pacha of
Thessaly, to invade the peninsula. He himself took up his residence at
Adrianople, to collect warlike stores and siege artillery. Constantine,
on his part, made every preparation in his power for a vigorous defence.
He formed large magazines of provisions, collected military stores, and
enrolled all the soldiers he could muster among the Greek population of
Constantinople. But the inhabitants of that city were either unable or
unwilling to furnish recruits in proportion to their numbers. Bred up in
peaceful occupation, they probably possessed neither the activity nor the
habitual exercise which was required to move with ease under the weight
of armor then in use. So few were found disposed to fight for their
country that not more than six thousand Greek troops appeared under arms
during the whole siege.
The numerical weakness of the Greek army rendered it incapable of
defending so large a city as Constantinople, even with all the advantage
to be derived from strong fortifications. The Emperor was therefore
anxious to obtain the assistance of the warlike citizens of the Italian
republics, where good officers and experienced troops were then numerous.
As he had no money to engage mercenaries, he could only hope to succeed
by papal influence. An embassy was sent to Pope Nicholas V, begging
immediate aid, and declaring the Emperor's readiness to complete the
union of the churches in any way the Pope should direct. Nicholas
despatched Cardinal Isidore, the Metropolitan of Kiev, who had joined the
Latin Church, as his legate. Isidore had represented the Russian Church
at the Council of Florence; but on his return to Russia he was imprisoned
as an apostate, and with difficulty escaped to Italy. He was by birth
a Greek; and being a man of learning and conciliatory manners, it was
expected that he would be favorably received at Constantinople.
The Cardinal arrived at Constantinople in November, 1452. He was
accompanied by a small body of chosen troops, and brought some
pecuniary aid, which he employed in repairing the most dilapidated
part of the fortifications. Both the Emperor and the Cardinal deceived
themselves in supposing that the dangers to which the Greek nation and
the Christian Church were exposed would induce the orthodox to yield
something of their ecclesiastical forms and phrases. It was evident that
foreign aid could alone save Constantinople, and it was absurd to imagine
that the Latins would fight for those who treated them as heretics and
who would not fight for themselves. The crisis therefore compelled the
Greeks to choose between union with the Church of Rome or submission to
the Ottoman power. They had to decide whether the preservation of the
Greek empire was worth the ecclesiastical sacrifices they were called
upon to make in order to preserve their national independence.
In the mean time the emperor Constantine celebrated his union with the
papal Church, in the Cathedral of St. Sophia, on December 12, 1452. The
court and the great body of the dignified clergy ratified the act by
their presence; but the monks and the people repudiated the connection.
In their opinion, the Church of St. Sophia was polluted by the ceremony,
and from that day it was deserted by the orthodox. The historian Ducas
declares that they looked upon it as a haunt of demons, and no better
than a pagan shrine. The monks, the nuns, and the populace publicly
proclaimed their detestation of the union; and their opposition was
inflamed by the bigotry of an ambitious pedant, who, under the name of
Georgius Scholarius, acted as a warm partisan of the union at the Council
of Florence, and under the ecclesiastical name of Gennadius is known in
history as the subservient patriarch of Sultan Mahomet II. On returning
from Italy, he made a great parade of his repentance for complying
with the unionists at Florence. He shut himself up in the monastery
of Pantokrator, where he assumed the monastic habit and the name of
Gennadius, under which he consummated the union between the Greek Church
and the Ottoman administration.
At the present crisis he stepped forward as the leader of the most
bigoted party, and excited his followers to the most furious opposition
to measures which he had once advocated as salutary for the Church, and
indispensable to the preservation of the State. The unionists were now
accused of sacrificing true religion to the delusion of human policy, of
insulting God to serve the Pope, and of preferring the interests of their
bodies to the care of their souls. In place of exhorting their countrymen
to aid the Emperor, who was straining every nerve to defend their
country--in place of infusing into their minds the spirit of patriotism
and religion, these teachers of the people were incessantly inveighing
against the wickedness of the unionists and the apostasy of the Emperor.
So completely did their bigotry extinguish every feeling of patriotism
that the grand duke Notaras declared he would rather see Constantinople
subjected to the turban of the Sultan than to the tiara of the Pope.
His wish was gratified; but, in dying, he must have felt how fearfully he
had erred in comparing the effects of papal arrogance with the cruelty of
Mahometan tyranny. The Emperor Constantine, who felt the importance of
the approaching contest, showed great prudence and moderation in his
difficult position. The spirit of Christian charity calmed his temper,
and his determination not to survive the empire gave a deliberate
coolness to his military conduct. Though his Greek subjects often raised
seditions, and reviled him in the streets, the Emperor took no notice of
their behavior. To induce the orthodox to fight for their country, by
having a leader of their own party, he left the grand duke Notaras in
office; yet he well knew that this bigot would never act cordially with
the Latin auxiliaries, who were the best troops in the city; and the
Emperor had some reason to distrust the patriotism of Notaras, seeing
that he hoarded his immense wealth, instead of expending a portion of it
for his country.
The fortifications were not found to be in a good state of repair.
Two monks who had been intrusted with a large sum for the purpose of
repairing them had executed their duty in an insufficient and it was
generally said in a fraudulent manner. The extreme dishonesty that
prevailed among the Greek officials explains the selection of monks as
treasurers for military objects; and it must lessen our surprise at
finding men of their religious professions sharing in the general
avarice, or tolerating the habitual peculations of others.
Cannon were beginning to be used in sieges, but stone balls were used in
the larger pieces of artillery; and the larger the gun, the greater was
the effect it was expected to produce. Even in Constantinople there was
some artillery too large to be of much use, as the land wall had not been
constructed to admit of their recoil, and the ramparts were so weak as
to be shaken by their concussion. Constantine had also only a moderate
supply of gunpowder. The machines of a past epoch in military science,
but to the use of which the Greeks adhered with their conservative
prejudices, were brought from the storehouses, and planted on the walls
beside the modern artillery. Johann Grant, a German officer, was the most
experienced artilleryman and military engineer in the place.
A considerable number of Italians hastened to Constantinople as soon as
they heard of its danger, eager to defend so important a depot of Eastern
commerce. The spirit of enterprise and the love of military renown had
become as much a characteristic of the merchant nobles of the commercial
republics as they had been, in a preceding age, distinctions of the
barons in feudal monarchies. All the nations who then traded with
Constantinople furnished contingents to defend its walls. A short time
before the siege commenced, John Justiniani arrived with two Genoese
galleys and three hundred chosen troops, and the Emperor valued his
services so highly that he was appointed general of the guard. The
resident bailo of the Venetians furnished three large galeases and a body
of troops for the defence of the port. The consul of Catalans, with his
countrymen and the Aragonese, undertook the defence of the great palace
of Bukoleon and the port of Kontoskalion. Cardinal Isidore, with the
papal troops, defended the Kynegesion, and the angle of the city at the
head of the port down to St. Demetrius. The importance of the aid which
was afforded by the Latins is proved by the fact that of twelve military
divisions, into which Constantine divided the fortifications, the
commands of only two were intrusted to the exclusive direction of Greek
officers. In the others, Greeks shared the command with foreigners, or
aliens alone conducted the defence.
When all Constantine's preparations for defence were completed, he found
himself obliged to man a line of wall on the land side of about five
miles in length, every point of which was exposed to a direct attack. The
remainder of the wall toward the port and the Propontis exceeded nine
miles in extent, and his whole garrison hardly amounted to nine thousand
men. His fleet consisted of only twenty galleys and three Venetian
galeases, but the entry of the port was closed by a chain, the end of
which, on the side of Galata, was secured in a strong fort of which the
Greeks kept possession. During the winter the Emperor sent out his fleet
to ravage the coast of the Propontis as far as Cyzicus, and the spirit of
the Greeks was roused by the booty they made in these expeditions.
Mahomet II spent the winter at Adrianople, preparing everything necessary
for commencing the siege with vigor. His whole mind was absorbed by
the glory of conquering the Roman Empire and gaining possession of
Constantinople, which for more than eleven hundred fifty years had been
the capital of the East. While the fever of ambition inflamed his soul,
his cooler judgment also warned him that the Ottoman power rested on a
perilous basis as long as Constantinople, the true capital of his
empire, remained in the hands of others. Mahomet could easily assemble a
sufficient number of troops for his enterprise, but it required all his
activity and power to collect the requisite supplies of provisions
and stores for the immense military and naval force he had ordered to
assemble, and to prepare the artillery and ammunition necessary to insure
success.
Early and late, in his court and in his cabinet, the young Sultan could
talk of nothing but the approaching siege. With the writing-reed and
a scroll of paper in his hand he was often seen tracing plans of the
fortifications of Constantinople, and marking out positions for his own
batteries. Every question relating to the extent and locality of the
various magazines to be constructed in order to maintain the troops was
discussed in his presence; he himself distributed the troops in their
respective divisions and regulated the order of their march; he issued
the orders relating to the equipment of the fleet, and discussed the
various methods proposed for breaching, mining, and scaling the walls.
His enthusiasm was the impulse of a hero, but the immense superiority of
his force would have secured him the victory with any ordinary degree of
perseverance.
The Ottomans were already familiar with the use of cannon. Amurath II had
employed them when he besieged Constantinople in 1422; but Mahomet now
resolved on forming a more powerful battering-train than had previously
existed. Neither the Greeks nor Turks possessed the art of casting large
guns. Both were obliged to employ foreigners. An experienced artilleryman
and founder named Urban, by birth a Wallachian, carried into execution
the Sultan's wishes. He had passed some time in the Greek service; but,
even the moderate pay he was allowed by the Emperor having fallen in
arrear, he resigned his place and transferred his services to the Sultan,
who knew better how to value warlike knowledge. He now gave Mahomet
proof of his skill by casting the largest cannon which had ever been
fabricated. He had already placed one of extraordinary size in the
new castle of the Bosporus, which carried across the straits. The gun
destined for the siege of Constantinople far exceeded in size this
monster, and the diameter of its mouth must have been nearly two feet
and a half. Other cannon of great size, whose balls of stone weighed one
hundred fifty pounds, were also cast, as well as many guns of smaller
calibre. All these, together with a number of ballistae and other ancient
engines still employed in sieges, were mounted on carriages in order to
transport them to Constantinople. The conveyance of this formidable train
of artillery, and of the immense quantity of ammunition required for its
service, was by no means a trifling operation.
The first division of the Ottoman army moved from Adrianople in February,
1453. In the mean time a numerous corps of pioneers worked constantly at
the road, in order to prepare it for the passage of the long train of
artillery and baggage wagons. Temporary bridges, capable of being
taken to pieces, were erected by the engineers over every ravine and
water-course, and the materials for every siege advanced steadily, though
slowly, to their destination. The extreme difficulty of moving the
monster cannon with its immense balls retarded the Sultan's progress, and
it was the beginning of April before the whole battering-train reached
Constantinople, though the distance from Adrianople is barely a hundred
miles. The division of the army under Karadja Pacha had already reduced
Mesembria and the castle of St. Stephanus. Selymbria alone defended
itself, and the fortifications were so strong that Mahomet ordered it to
be closely blockaded, and left its fate to be determined by that of the
capital.
On April 6th Sultan Mahomet II encamped on the slope of the hill facing
the quarter of Blachern, a little beyond the ground occupied by the
crusaders in 1203, and immediately ordered the construction of lines
extending from the head of the port to the shore of the Propontis. These
lines were formed of a mound of earth, and they served both to restrain
the sorties of the besieged and to cover the troops from the fire of
the enemy's artillery and missiles. The batteries were then formed; the
principal were erected against the gate of Charsias, in the quarter of
Blachern, and against the gate of St. Romanus, near the centre of the
city wall. It was against this last gate that the fire of the monster gun
was directed and the chief attack was made.