May 29 marks the day when the greatest Christian city in the medieval times fell to the Muslim armies. 564 years ago on this day, Constantine Palaiologos XI, the last Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as Byzantium, fell in battle against the Ottoman Turks before the Gates of Romanos. The Queen of Cities, as Constantinople became known for its immense wealth and sophistication, was besieged for nearly 1,000 year by the Muslims and was finally captured, changing the course of history. It was the end of the age of Byzantium, a civiliastion that gave us many of what we take for granted today, such as public hospitals and universities. The Fall of Constantinople, a city named after its founder St. Constantine in 330 AD, had safeguarded the borders of Europe for a millennium. Its fall was lamented throughout the Christian world, as one of the beacons in learning, religion and arts had ceased to exist.
