Italians in the siege of Constantinople in 1453, through the pen of Michael Kritovoulos of Imbros
Italians in the siege of Constantinople in 1453, through the pen of Michael Kritovoulos of Imbros

Summary/Abstract: The Battle for Constantinople in 1453 is a central literary interest for almost all contemporaries of the Fall of the Byzantine Empire. Whether of Roman or Latin provenance, historians recorded testimonies of extraordinarily brave warriors who attempted to defend the City of Constantine the Great from the fierce Ottoman attacks. In the works of the “Historians of the Fall,” Roman, Genoese, and Venetian fighters are depicted as flawless and fearless individuals who, until the breach of Theodosius II’s walls, strove to prevent Constantinople from becoming Istanbul – the new capital of the powerful Ottoman Empire. One of the Byzantine historians who devotes nearly half of his work to describing the last Byzantine battle is Michael Kritovoulos of Imvros. As the personal biographer of Sultan Mehmed II, The Islander primarily focused his historiographical analysis on the Ottoman troops assaulting the Roman capital, but the text also reveals a certain note of genuine admiration for the defenders. In such a narrative sketch, Kritovoulos managed to distinguish between the Genoese led by Giovanni Giustiniani and the Venetians, who are not mentioned as participants in the defense of Constantinople. The reasons for the omission of the Venetians in Michael’s work are precisely the subject of our research.

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