Turning points in history: the Fall of Constantinople

The idea if turning points in history is distinctly old-fashioned. We have been taught that historical change is a matter of constant evolution; not one of events, even if they have the effect of dramatizing historical change. The two falls of Constantinople in 1204 and 1453 provide a vivid illumination of the relationship between events and historical change. Superficially they appear to constitute historical watersheds, which ushered in new ears. The crusader conquest in 1204 fragmented the Byzantine Empire and made possible Italian commercial dominance. The Ottoman conquest in 1453 restored Constantinople to its position as the imperial capital of a major power. Underlying such transformations was Constantinople itself. Over the centuries it developed a mystique that gave it more than the material importance it enjoyed as one of the hubs around which the medieval and early modern worlds revolved. It meant that it was one of those centre, which focus the processes of historical change.