On May 29, 1453, after a 53-day siege, the Ottoman army of Sultan Mehmed II broke through the walls of Constantinople. E...

On May 29, 1453, after a 53-day siege, the Ottoman army of Sultan Mehmed II broke through the walls of Constantinople. Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos died fighting at the city's walls. As the news spread, thousands of civilians rushed to Hagia Sophia, the largest church in Christendom for nearly a thousand years, barring its great bronze doors behind them. Many believed an old prophecy that an angel would descend and drive back any invader who reached the column of Constantine. The angel never came. According to the Greek historian Doukas, one of the most important chroniclers of the fall, Ottoman soldiers smashed through the doors with axes. The people inside were seized and bound, men tied with ropes, women with their own veils and belts, and led away to be sold as slaves. Those too old or too weak to march were killed on the spot. Priests were dragged from the altars in the middle of the liturgy. The icons were stripped of their gold and silver, and sacred vessels, relics, and books were looted, burned, or destroyed. Sultan Mehmed entered the church later that same day and ordered it converted into a mosque. The first Friday prayer was held there days later. Hagia Sophia remained a mosque for nearly five centuries before Ataturk made it a museum in 1934. In 2020, Turkey converted it back into a mosque, a decision condemned by Greece, the Orthodox Church, and much of the Christian world. For Greeks, May 29 is still remembered as the darkest day in their history. The day the Queen of Cities fell, 573 years ago today. #Constantinople #HagiaSophia #Greece