Constantine XI.

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Constantine XI

Constantine XI Palaiologos ( Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος Konstantínos Dragásis Paleológos , born February 9, 1404 in Constantinople ; † May 29, 1453 in Constantinople) was the last Byzantine emperor from 1448 to 1453 and died during the defense of Constantinople . His preferred surname Dragases is derived from the Serbian noble family Dragaš, his mother Helena Dragaš . Constantine was the successor of his brother John VIII Palaiologos .

Life

Konstantinos was the eighth of ten children of his father Manuel II. Palaiologos and his mother Helena Dragaš and grew up in Constantinople under their care. From 1437 to 1439 he was regent in Constantinople for his absent brother, Emperor John VIII Palaiologus. Before his own emperorship, Constantine was the despot of the Byzantine province of Morea on the Peloponnese peninsula , where he removed the last relics of the Frankish domination. After the death of his brother in October 1448 he became emperor and on January 6, 1449 he was crowned in Mistra , the capital of the despotate , in order to forestall any Ottoman objections. Nevertheless, at this point in time the fall of the empire was as good as sealed.

The Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II had already conquered almost all of Asia Minor . Only a small area around Constantinople and a narrow coastal strip along the eastern Black Sea coast were the last remaining areas of the Byzantine Empire , along with the Morea and some Aegean islands. The Sultan offered the emperor rule over the Morea, which he refused. In 1452 the Ottoman army began preparations for the siege, which finally began on April 2, 1453. On May 29, 1453, the emperor, the Eastern Roman soldiers and five hundred Genoese arrived on ships , who were enthusiastically received by the Byzantines, prepared for the final battle and prayed one last time in Hagia Sophia before the Ottomans attacked. It was a tough battle with many losses, but the Ottomans had miners and an extremely large caliber (75 cm) cannon , which had only recently been invented by a Hungarian cannon caster. According to some historians, it was not decisive for victory because of the insufficient number of projectiles and problems with its own powerful recoil. A small side gate (the Kerkaporta near Blachernae ) that was unlocked and possibly blocked by cannon fire had been overlooked by the defenders and allowed the attackers to enter. The Byzantines ultimately lost the battle. Emperor Constantine XI was seen fighting heroically at the gates of the capital, but his body was never found. Legends and myths have revolved around him for centuries - a legend tells that the conqueror Mehmed II had every corpse washed and examined until it was allegedly found (before the fight he took off all badges, only he forgot the purple shoes). What happened to him then is unclear.

Konstantinos' death and the taking of Constantinople meant the fall of the Byzantine Empire and the last Christian bulwark against the Ottoman Empire. On the Black Sea in Asia Minor there was still the small empire of Trebizond , which was Christian and Byzantine-Greek. In 1461 this was also conquered by the Ottomans, which meant the complete end of Christian rule in Asia Minor.

Unofficial saint

Constantine is considered a saint by many Orthodox Christians . Officially, however, he was never canonized because he had neither led a particularly religious lifestyle nor is death in battle viewed as a special martyrdom for Orthodoxy .

Monuments

Statue of the emperor in Mitropoleos square in Athens

In the Greek capital Athens there is a monument to the Byzantine emperor on Mitropoleos Square. Another monument is in Mystras . There is also a monument to Constantine XI. in Didymoticho in front of the local cathedral.

literature

  • U. Mattejiet: Constantine XI. Palaiologos . In: Lexikon des Mittelalters , 5, Sp. 1378 f.
  • Alexios G. Savvides, Benjamin Hendrickx (Eds.): Encyclopaedic Prosopographical Lexicon of Byzantine History and Civilization . Vol. 2: Baanes-Eznik of Kolb . Brepols Publishers, Turnhout 2008, ISBN 978-2-503-52377-4 , pp. 255-257.

Web links

Commons : Constantine XI.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Constantine XI Palaeologus. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Accessed March 14, 2018 (English).
predecessor Office successor
Theodore II Despot of Morea
1428-1448
Thomas , Demetrios
John VIII Emperor of Byzantium
1448–1453
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