The Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople

The Fall of Constantinople
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.47

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		fearsome, successor, assault, medieval, military, leadership, warfare, battle, cannonball, strategic, successful, route, attempt, direct, weapon, kingdom
	content words:		Roman Empire, Once Constantinople, Middle Ages, Byzantine Empire, If Constantinople, Ottoman Turks, Sultan Mehmed II, Sultan Mehmed, Constantine XI, Many Byzantine

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The Fall of Constantinople
By Sharon Fabian

¹     The battle for the city of Constantinople was a turning point. It was the final stand for medieval style warfare. It was the final stand for the ancient Roman Empire as well. Once Constantinople had fallen, there was no doubt about it " the Middle Ages were over, and it was the time of the Renaissance.

²     Constantinople, once named Byzantium, was the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was the eastern part of the Roman Empire that had continued on after the Roman Empire in Europe had fallen. Constantinople had been its capital for about 1,000 years, except for a short time after the 4th Crusade when it had been taken over by the Crusaders. For the rest of that 1,000 years, Constantinople had been the center of the kingdom that was the successor to the great Roman Empire.

³     Byzantium was an important kingdom for another reason too. It was located at a strategic point along the trade route between Europe and Asia.

⁴     Over the years, many other attempts had been made to capture Constantinople; however, they had not been successful. Other parts of the Byzantine Empire had been less fortunate. By the 1400s, the Byzantine Empire had shrunk from a once mighty empire to a small kingdom with Constantinople at its center. If Constantinople fell, it would mark the end of the empire as well.

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