Constantinople was the most strategic city in the Byzantine Empire. It is now called Istanbul in Turkey. It lies at the crossroads between Europe and Asia.
The Hadith declares the army and its leader who conquer the city to be the best (Ahmed)Many Muslim expeditions tried to conquer the city from the time of Muawiya (radhiallahu anh) in 48 AH. The city was conquered under the seventh Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II ibn Muraad Al Faatih (the Conqueror).
Muhammad Al Faatih was born in 1429 CE. He become Sultan at the age of 22. He studied Qur’aan, Hadith, Fiqh, Maths, Geography, History and Military Sciences.
To conquer the city he built a fort on the European side of the Bosporous strait. The largest cannons since that time were built. One’s missiles weighed 300kg and its range more than 1,6km.
A 50 day siege started on April 9, 1453. The sea access was blocked so the Sultan ordered ships to be transported overland on oil painted wood and they were unloaded on the other side. On May 29 cannons blasted through the city walls and the Sultan entered, completing the conquest of the Byzantine Empire.
Sultan Muhammad also established large schools with both secular and religious sciences. He conquered the Balkans, taking Greece, Bosnia, several Venetian possessions and parts of Italy. He passed away in 1481 at the age of 52.
Sultan Muhammad Al Fatih
