Selymvria Raided 1453 Siege Of Constantinople

[Guest Nicholas The Great]

An epic orchestral note with a heavenly choir sounded when i found this site.

 

Hi im Nick and a big fan of the roman time periods, however not a self proclaimed expert and would like the help of you historical geniuses out there. I am in the works of writing a novel that takes place from 1442-1453 and am trying my best to make it as historically accurate as possible, which im finding is very hard with such a thin slice of such a huge pie. Ive read the decline and fall of the roman empire ( well most of it, its about 1500 pages ) and can say that with that combined with many internet pages and essays im not finding exactly what im looking for.

 

My novel takes place in Selymvria, ( or perhaps another town right outside constantinople that is still under roman control but that is the only one i could find a name for)

 

I am trying to find the exact location, or atleast a very accurate guesstimate of where it could be, (IE 5 miles west of the city walls) Im also looking for perhaps an exact date that the ottomans could have raided this, or atleast a month would be greaet, ( my novel is pretty detailed including seasons, weather and i dont want anything to clash )

 

This might not be the best location, as i said i use that city loosely because it is the only one i could find a name for, I do however want the city location to be outside constantople and fall right before the siege of constantinople.

 

I am also looking for the names of the ottoman generals and the byzantine generals who took part in this battle or any commanding ranks.

 

any extra detail would be greatly appreciated like, how rutheless the ottomans were capturing the roman towns before the siege, what they did , did they burn them? I think i heard somewhere they recruited the men in the cities or children to fight for them not sure if this is correct..

 

Also, did the cities put up much of a fight? did constantinople send any forces out to act as scouts for the ottomans arrival, or did they simply sit and wait for them to show.

 

I know these questions might be very detailed or impossible to answer but i will take any help i can get on the matter.. It isnt just a book on the events of a war it is a pretty dramatic story interwining in this time period, i just dont want to pull these details out of my butt or simply make them up.

 

 

i appreciate any help you can give, ill be checking back regularly to discuss

 

-Nick

[Honorius]

i highly doubt that any troops couldve been spared for the defense of Selymbria if there was a defence.. i havent read anything on a siege of the city but i highly doubt the inhabitants wouldve even seen a point in defending the town/city there is no way it coudlve been held again the armies of the ottomans.

 

i think the ottomans offered a sieged city either a surrender where they could keep possesions and not be harmed or if they decided to defend the city there would be no quarter given. usually the general would allow his men 3 or 5 days pillage and rape of the city. about the child soldier things thats true too, the famous ' Janissaries' where christian children who where trained in taught to be fanatical muslim warriors.

 

edit: spelling.

Edited August 8, 2006 by Honorius

[polecat]

i highly doubt that any troops couldve been spared for the defense of Selymbria

 

For more info on Selymbria: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selymbria

[Honorius]

ah well i was mistaken but then again that is wikipedia.

[Basil II Bulgaroctonus]

It is highly unlikely that any resistance was given at all. Constantinople at the time was heavily undermanned, and as the capital is the more important of the two I believe any remaining troops (if there were any) would have been recalled to the capital.

 

I usually trust Wikipedia, but if there was a defense it was probably only a gesture. I've never heard of a siege in this town, but I may be wrong.

[Gaius Octavius]

"History of the Byzantine State", Revised Edition; George Ostrogorsky, Rutgers University Press, 1969.

 

Might answer some of your questions and give you a flavor of the Papal, Russian and Italian influences on events. The last chapters might interest you most.

[Antiochus of Seleucia]

Ever check Gibbon's book? It goes to the fall of the Roman East.

[Tobias]

Hmm, Gibbon isn't exactly the best or most unbiased source for the history of the Eastern Roman Empire, unfortunately...

Edited August 21, 2006 by Tobias

[Antiochus of Seleucia]

I've never actually read that part of the book, but I guess it's better than nothing...

[Gaius Octavius]

I can't give you citations, but from my notes:

 

The Queen of Cities fell to Mehmed II Fatih two and one half hours after dawn on Tuesday, May 29, 6961 (1453AD). Constantine XI Dragazes Paleologus probably was killed at the St. Romanus Gate. His body has not been found. He reigned for 5 years.

 

The Queen of Cities was founded by Flavius Constantine and lasted for 1,143 years, 10 months and 4 days.

 

The Byzantine calandar system counted years From the Beginning of the World, calculated (from the Bible) to be 5,508 BC. September 1 was the new year. An indiction is a fifteen year period. We are in year 7,514 From the Beginning of the World.

 

The contempable, contemptious, porcine mehmet, rode into Sancta Sophia on his horse and despoiled the Church.

 

The above (ex my appropriate adjectives) is probably in the book I offered earlier or from Michael Psellus.

 

Just some color for your effort.

[AEGYPTUS]

Just read a book on Constantinople reasonatley by Roger Crowley he suggested that in forts around the city there were garrisons who were crushed easily by a far larger Turkish force. I was just wondering why did they not abandon these forts in defence of the Capital ?

Edited September 4, 2006 by AEGYPTUS

[Honorius]

Aegyptus beat me to it

 

atm im reading Roger Crowleys 1453 and he does mention that the few remaining outposts outside of Constantinople were garrisoned ones such as selymbria

 

perhaps they believe constantinople impregnable.. and that they still believe that the city was divinley protected?

[Kosmo]

The hungarians asked the byzantines that in exchange for help against the ottomans they should give them Messembria a port enclave in Thracia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesebar

The byzantines were reluctant and the deal was dropped.

They also had some islands in the Egeean that the Venetian wanted.

Maybe their spirits were high and did not see the situation as desperate as we do.

They had no reasonable ideea about how efective ottoman artillery was ans I still do not know how extensive was the damage done to city walls.

Maybe with a bit of luck they could have survived that siege, but some strange events brought the fall before they were really defeated.

Some say that indonesian Krakatoa volcano blow up and the ash would have made the sky red and strange shadows in the night scaring the defenders.

http://www.tughranet.f2s.com/kuwae.htm

[Gaius Octavius]

Check Viggen's post on the 'Battle of Vienna' in Historia in Universum. The 'Timeline' might give you some information and names.